NMIXX: Caution

​The neon signs of O.O City buzz with a low, threatening hum. You stare at the keys to your cramped, suspiciously cheap apartment. It was the only place within a fifty-mile radius that fit your budget, but the locals forgot to mention one tiny detail: the city doesn't belong to the mayor. It belongs to NMIXX.

​They aren't your average street crew. They are a notorious, highly coordinated syndicate that treats the city like their personal fortress. To the outside world, they are a necessary evil—ruthless, fiercely protective, and the only reason the surrounding warlords haven't burned the city to the ground. But to an outsider like you? They are an absolute nightmare. They hate new faces. New faces mean loose lips, spies, and liabilities.

The Encounter

​It’s your third night in the city. You’re walking back from a grueling late-night shift, the strap of your work bag digging into your shoulder. The streets are eerily quiet until you turn the corner into the main plaza.

​A sleek, matte-black lowrider is parked sideways across the brick pavement. Six figures are lounging around it. You freeze. It’s them.

Before you can take a step backward, a heavy, metallic click echoes behind you. You spin around. Jiwoo is leaning against a lamppost, casually tossing a brass knuckle in the air. She gives you a cold, humorless smile.

​"Going somewhere, newbie?" she asks, her voice cutting through the damp night air.

​From the hood of the car, Haewon—the undisputed leader of the crew—takes a slow sip from a neon-green soda can. She looks you up and down with blatant disgust.

​"Look at this one," Haewon sighs, tossing the empty can perfectly into a trash bin ten feet away.

"Smells like corporate laundry detergent and fear. Who let this stray into our yard?"

​Kyujin, the youngest but easily the most aggressive, hops off the trunk of the car. She struts over, stopping just inches from your face.

The glare she gives you could melt steel. "The rent is cheap for a reason, sweetie. It's a hazard fee. And right now, you are looking like a hazard."

​"Hold on, let’s not scare them to death just yet," Bae chimes in from the driver's seat, leaning out the window with a smirk.

"Let's see what's in the bag. Maybe they brought us a welcoming gift."

​Lily steps out from the shadows of an alleyway, a massive, customized shotgun slung casually over her shoulder. She doesn't look angry; she looks bored, which is infinitely more terrifying.

"If it's a wire, I get to shoot it off them. Deal?"

​"Deal," Kyujin snaps, snatching your work bag right off your shoulder. She dumps the contents onto the hood of the car.

​Sullyoon, who had been silently tracking your movement from a fire escape above, drops down gracefully without making a sound.

She sifts through your mundane work papers, work laptop, ID, and cheap lunchbox with a gloved hand. She looks at Haewon and shakes her head.

"No tech. No wires. Just a regular civilian trying to live in a warzone."

Haewon walks over, her heavy boots clicking against the pavement. The playful facade drops, replaced by a gaze of pure, unadulterated steel. She leans in close, the scent of expensive leather and gunpowder washing over you.

​"Listen to me very carefully, newbie," Haewon whispers, her voice dripping with venomous authority. "We protect this city. We bleed for it. We keep the scum out so the people inside can sleep. But protection isn't free, and trust isn't given. You're an unknown variable, and I hate math."

​She taps a finger against your chest.

​"You keep your head down. You go to your little job, you come straight back to your little apartment. You see nothing, you hear nothing, and you say nothing. If I catch you looking at our shipments, or talking to anyone outside these borders, Lily gets her target practice. Do we have an understanding?"

​Kyujin shoves your empty bag back into your chest, nearly knocking you over.