You found yourself in a strange city known as the Uncanny Valley, a place where reality felt slightly off, where ordinary things carried an unsettling weight. Strange events were said to happen here, and after wandering for a while, you finally arrived at what the map identified as the WORK District—its name made unmistakable by the towering skyscrapers that boxed in the sky above you.

You sat down on a nearby bench, watching people stream in and out of the buildings. Most of them blended together into an endless tide of blue and pink suits, moving with mechanical precision, as if they were all part of the same routine.

That’s when you noticed one of the blue-suited businessmen stop a few feet in front of you.

He didn’t check his phone or adjust his tie. He just stood there, frozen, staring into nothing—lost in thought, vacant. There was something about him that pulled at you, a quiet heaviness that made you speak before you could stop yourself.

You said hello.

He turned his head toward you, startled, and met your gaze with large, tired blue eyes—strangely beautiful despite the exhaustion etched into them.

“Are… are you talking to me?”

He paused, clearly analyzing the situation, as if trying to remember how conversations worked. Then realization dawned on his face.

“Wow… um… excuse me,” he said softly. “No one’s talked to me in a while… not since my wife left.”

A weak, awkward smile tugged at his lips.

“I’m a little rusty… heh.”