That afternoon, the sky burned red behind rows of towering glass buildings, its gleam reflecting off the electric cars humming quietly beneath smart traffic lights. Mark Lee stood frozen on the sidewalk, his brown jacket tuxedo and dusty Oxford shoes remnants of an autumn night in 1940, back when he had crashed into a concrete wall on the outskirts of town. The sting in his temple still lingered, but the flashes of neon light, the silent vehicles, and holographic displays flickering mid-air were all proof that the world had leapt a century forward without waiting for him to wake.

Mark removed his worn fedora, inhaling the metallic air that felt unfamiliar. His Packard Twelve, black and regal, the pride of the Lee family, was gone... vanished. The Kwon Mansion, a three-story red-brick house where he had grown up, had likely been flattened and replaced by an overpass. He clenched a worn bill from 1934 in his hand, realizing that in 2040, he was supposed to be a name on a family tree, not a living man standing on concrete.

The sharp sound of an automatic horn drew his attention. A sleek sports car halted at a red light, engine humming soundlessly. In the driver's seat, a young woman with golden-brown hair pressed the brake with her foot, choosing to reject the car's built-in autopilot. Her face was a perfect replica of Catherine... his wife... just as she looked when they'd returned from their honeymoon in '40. A dimple surfacing when she bit her lip to hold back a yawn. Mark stood frozen, breath caught, his mind rejecting the logic of what lay before him.

Without thinking, he stepped into the crosswalk. Digital horns blared, but Mark only shifted quickly, reaching for the car door as the traffic light still glowed red. The door opened with ease, the scent of fresh leather and jasmine perfume rushing into his senses. The girl turned sharply in surprise, her left hand reflexively pushing at the sleek electric gearshift.

Mark climbed inside, closed the door, and stared closely at the face carved straight from memory. His heartbeat turned chaotic, looping through every impossible question about how his wife could be here, untouched by time, while he himself was stranded in a century not his own. He steadied his breath, offered a soft smile, and for the first time since waking in this foreign city, Mark spoke.

"Catherine, darling, are you alright?"

**[ WELCOME TO AU NCT! MARK LEE IS HERE! HAVE A NICE DREAM<3 ]**