I am a person who does not exist.
by Kaion · 2026-10-24
# Episode 1. I Am a Person Who Does Not Exist
8:17 AM.
Han Do-yoon failed the identity verification for the third time at the entrance of the subway station on his way to work.
“Please check your verification information again.”
The message that appeared on his mobile phone screen was no different from usual. He placed his fingerprint again, entered his password, and showed his face to the camera. None of them were incorrect.
Yet the result was the same.
[Unable to verify the user.]
Do-yoon frowned.
“What the hell is this.”
Just as he was about to reboot his phone, a message arrived from the company.
[Mr. Han Do-yoon, your attendance verification for today has not been confirmed. Please complete the verification within 10 minutes.]
Do-yoon let out a sigh of relief. At least the company knew who he was.
He clicked the link attached to the message. The familiar employee verification screen opened. He entered his employee number and proceeded with the facial verification.
A moment later, the screen turned black.
[Unable to find registered employee information.]
Do-yoon's finger stopped.
He entered his employee number again. This time, he checked each digit one by one. It was the number he had been using since the day he joined the company. There was no way it was wrong.
However, the result did not change.
At that moment, the phone rang. The caller was the HR department.
“Mr. Han Do-yoon, where are you right now?”
“I’m on my way to work. It seems there’s a problem with the verification system.”
The other party was silent for a moment.
“I’m sorry, but we do not have an employee registered under the name Han Do-yoon.”
“What?”
“Are you sure you’re not confusing us with another company?”
Do-yoon tried to laugh. He wanted to think it was a joke.
“I’ve been working here for three years.”
“Let me check. Please hold on for a moment.”
The call was disconnected.
Doyun stared at his mobile phone for a while. The commuters on their way to work passed by him as if nothing had happened. The world was just the same as usual. The only thing that had changed was his own position.
He headed to the company.
The entry gate at the office did not recognize him. He explained the situation to the security staff, but after checking the screen a few times, the staff shook their head.
“I'm sorry. You do not have registered access rights.”
“Don't you know my face? I come here to work every day.”
The staff made an awkward expression.
“I’m sorry, but you seem to be someone I’m seeing for the first time.”
Doyun could no longer respond.
He looked beyond the entry gate. Inside the glass wall, he saw the familiar office. His usual seat, the notes stuck on the monitor, even the mug kept in the drawer were all the same.
And in that seat sat a man.
Black hair, slightly tilted head, the rhythm of fingers tapping on the keyboard.
Doyun initially thought he had seen it wrong.
The man looked up.
He made eye contact with Doyun.
That face was no different from his own face in the mirror.
However, the man was wearing a much neater shirt than Doyun, and there was no hesitation in his expression. When someone spoke to him, he naturally smiled and responded. It was the kind of smile Doyun had practiced countless times but could never get used to.
At that moment, a notification popped up on the man's monitor.
[Today's work efficiency: 98%]
The man checked the notification and casually closed the window.
Doyun's throat felt dry.
He stepped closer to the glass wall.
“Excuse me.”
The man inside seemed not to hear him.
When Doyun tapped the glass with his palm, the man slowly turned his head.
This time, he was clearly looking at Doyun.
The man narrowed his eyes for a moment, changing his expression as if he had discovered an unexpected error.
And he spoke with his lips.
‘Why are you here?’
Do-yoon held his breath.
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
[New identity information has been registered.]
Do-yoon pressed the notification with trembling hands.
His photo and name were displayed on the screen.
Han Do-yoon.
Below it, small text followed.
[Status: Normal]
[Identity Type: AI Learning Persona]
Do-yoon stared at the screen and slowly lifted his head.
The man beyond the glass wall had already resumed his work.
As if the person named Do-yoon had never existed from the beginning.
Do-yoon refreshed the screen several times.
The result did not change.
He turned off his phone and turned it back on. He checked the network, launched the identity verification app, and scanned his fingerprint as usual. Each time his fingertip touched the screen, a short vibration rang out. The machine was still functioning normally. Only the results produced by the normally functioning machine were abnormal.
[Unable to verify user information.]
Do-yoon tried to recall what mistake he had made. Had he changed his password recently? Had he changed the name on his phone? Had he reissued his ID? No matter how he thought about it, there was nothing that matched.
He searched for the customer service of the government integrated verification service. When he pressed the consultation connection button, an automated voice began to speak.
“Please enter the registered user information for identity verification.”
Do-yoon entered his resident registration number and phone number in order.
“Unable to find a user that matches the information you entered.”
“Wait a moment. Please check again. I am currently using this number, and this mobile phone is registered in my name.”
“I’m sorry. There is no verifiable user information. Please verify your information through the registration agency.”
The call ended with those words.
Do-yoon stood still for a while, holding the mobile phone to his ear. The voice that had just spoken to him vanished as if nothing had happened. He couldn't even get angry at the operator. The counterpart was not a person, and it hadn't understood his words before rejecting him. It had simply read the fact that he was not in the database.
He opened the wallet placed on the desk. The resident registration card was still there. The man in the photo was looking at the camera with the same face as Do-yoon now. The issue date, name, and resident registration number were all familiar to his eyes.
Then the problem was not the card.
The person the card referred to had disappeared.
Do-yoon got up from his seat and stood in front of the hallway mirror. Messy hair, a face that looked like he had lost sleep, and a faint mark under his left eye. He touched his face with his fingertips. The man in the mirror raised his hand in the same way.
“Han Do-yoon.”
He tried calling his own name out loud.
There was no response.
It was to be expected. The man in the mirror was merely mimicking his movements. Yet, Do-yoon strangely felt the need to confirm that fact to feel at ease. In a world where no one answered when he called his name, at least the mirror should not betray him.
At that moment, a notification sound rang from the laptop on the desk.
Do-yoon slowly turned around. The screen displayed a log of login attempts. It was a notification that a new access had been detected from his personal account that he had just been using.
The access location was Seoul. The device was a company work terminal.
And the access time was three minutes later than the current time.
Do-yoon checked the clock. 8:41 PM. The record on the screen pointed to 8:44 PM. It could have been a simple display error. The server time might have been wrong, the synchronization could have been delayed, or someone might have incorrectly entered test data.
He tried to think that way.
However, the moment his eyes caught the sentence displayed below the notification, all those excuses lost their power.
[Access User: Han Do-yoon]
It was his account. It was his name. It was an access he had never made.
Do-yoon immediately opened the password change menu. However, to proceed with the change, he first had to complete identity verification. When he clicked on identity verification, the same phrase as before appeared.
[Cannot verify user information.]
He almost laughed. Someone could access his account, but he could not prove that he was the owner of that account.
Someone was using his name.
In a way that the system recognized.
Do-yoon tried to capture the screen. But a notification popped up saying he could not access the storage space. Just as he was about to take a picture with another device, the laptop screen turned black and then turned back on.
The access record had disappeared.
Only a new notification remained in its place.
[To protect security, abnormal user requests have been restricted.]
Doyun slowly sat down on the chair. The room was quiet. Only the sound of the refrigerator's motor and the cars passing by outside continued as usual. The world seemed unchanged.
However, every door that proved his existence was closing one by one.
Doyun looked down at his mobile phone. His face was faintly reflected on the black screen. He stared at that face for a long time even after turning off the screen.
That night, he thought for the first time.
If he had not disappeared, could it be that someone was replacing him?
And if that someone arrived in the world before him.
Who would the world call the real Han Doyun?