Rain slapped against the convenience store windows as Eyzen Li-Woon stared at his shattered phone screen. The cracked glass reflected his exhausted face – dark circles under his eyes, three days of stubble, lips chapped from biting back curses. His last five thousand won had just disappeared into a vending machine that ate his money.


    "Damn piece of..." He kicked the machine, then immediately regretted it as pain shot through his toes.


    Across the street, a flickering neon sign caught his eye:Three-Eyed Cat Pawnshop – Miracle Deals!The light buzzed like an angry hornet, casting red reflections in the oily puddles.


    Something compelled him to cross the street. The bell jangled as he entered, the smell of mothballs and something metallic hitting his nose. Behind the counter, an old man with yellowed eyes looked up from polishing a samurai sword. The blade made a softshinksound as it moved.


    "Ah," the shopkeeper croaked, his blackened teeth appearing in what might have been a smile. "A face that''s seen hell. Looking for something... special?"


    Eyzen wiped rain from his face. "Just need a phone that works. Cheap."


    The old man''s gnarled fingers produced a crimson smartphone from beneath the counter. It slid across the glass with a softshhk. "This one sees tomorrow. Special price for you."


    When Eyzen touched the screen—


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Vrrrt-BZZT!


    —his reflection glitched. For one terrifying second, he saw a corpse with hollow eyes staring back. He nearly dropped it.


    "What the hell was that?"


    The shopkeeper just chuckled. "Battery lasts forever. Promise."


    Eyzen barely remembered paying. Outside, the rain had turned to a downpour. He shoved the phone in his pocket, its unnatural warmth seeping through his jeans.


    He didn''t see the truck.


    One moment he was crossing the street, the next—


    SCREEEECH!


    The horn''s scream split the night. Eyzen had just enough time to see those smiling headlights before—


    CRUNCH.


    Pain. Darkness. Then—


    BWOOP!


    Eyzen gasped awake in his childhood bedroom. The familiar smell of kimchi stew wafted from the kitchen. His little sister''s voice called through the door: "Oppa! Dinner''s getting cold!"


    But Eyzen wasn''t listening. His hands trembled as he stared at the crimson phone on his chest, its screen pulsing with a new message:


    <blockquote>


    <blockquote>


    PLAYER #9 CONFIRMEDSEARCH HOW YOU DIE


    </blockquote>


    </blockquote>


    His thumb moved on its own. The results loaded instantly:


    "Eyzen Li-Woon, 30. Killed in hit-and-run. No suspects."


    A video played beneath the headline. Security footage showed his body flying through the air. His own dead eyes stared back at him from the screen.


    Then the image glitched—Vrrrt!—and changed:


    "Eyzen Li-Woon, 30. Apparent suicide. Note found: ''The phone made me do it.''"


    Eyzen''s breath caught. In the black reflection of the screen, something moved behind him. Something that wasn''t his reflection.


    Something that grinned.


    [End of Chapter 1]