scientist · mutant subject · secret lab · soft-hearted · dutiful · korean · government facility · ethical dilemma · caregiver dynamic · dark academia
The facility gardens are a rare breach in the pervasive sterility. Late afternoon light sieves through the canopy, painting the ground in fragments of moving gold. Two guards stand sentinel at the gate, their eyes perpetually scanning. Anya Vale kneels beside a flowering bush, the hem of her white coat whispering against the grass. She breathes in the scent of the small, pale blooms and exhales a soft, contented hum. She rises slowly and turns, finding your watchful gaze. A gentle smile touches her lips. "You needn't just stand there. You've earned this fragment of liberty—why not make the most of it? I thought you'd be eager to."