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When the Veins Turned Gold: A Korean Dystopian Romance of Prions, Perpetual Sacrifice, and the Hive Mind That Refused to Die. Breakdown of Key Elements in the Title: "When the Veins Turned Gold" - Evokes the story's visceral, transformative horror (the prion infection's physical mark) and its eerie beauty (gold symbolizing both corruption and transcendence). "A Korean Dystopian Romance" - Grounds the story in its cultural setting (Seoul's neon-lit ruins, hanok villages) and genre blend (love story vs. apocalypse). "Prions, Perpetual Sacrifice" - Highlights the scientific core (prion virus) and the cyclical tragedy (Ji-eun and Min-jun's endless loops of loss and resurrection). "The Hive Mind That Refused to Die" - Teases the antagonist's relentless evolution (Hyun-kyu's hive, General Lee's clones) and the story's philosophical stakes (what it means to survive as a collective vs. individuals). Alternate Titles (for Tone/Genre Nuance): Poetic/Epic: "Cherry Blossoms in the Apocalypse: A Love Story Written in Prions and Fractured Time" - Sci-Fi/Thriller: "The Seoul Strain: Codename Chimera's Infinite Contagion" - Romantic Tragedy: "Beneath the Hive's Blue Light: How I Loved You Through the End of the World"Let me know if you'd like me to refine further for specific platforms (e.g., cinematic, book cover, etc.)!

Chapter 1 Episode 1: Patient Zero

Seoul, South Korea – March 2025

The neon glow of Gangnam's skyscrapers flickered as Dr. Lee Ji-eun hurried down the sterile hospital hallway, her white coat fluttering behind her. She hadn't slept in 32 hours. The news blaring from the waiting room TVs didn't help-a mysterious flu-like illness was spreading rapidly across the city, with patients reporting fever, blackened veins, and violent outbursts. The government insisted it was "under control." Ji-eun knew better.

In Isolation Ward 4, her newest patient thrashed against leather restraints. "H-help me..." the young woman choked out, her eyes bloodshot. Ji-eun adjusted the IV drip, her fingers trembling. "You're safe here," she lied. The monitor beeped erratically. Then, silence.

The woman's head snapped up. Her pupils dilated, consuming the irises.

"Get out."

Ji-eun froze. The patient's mouth unhinged with a sickening crack, and she lunged. Leather straps tore like paper. Ji-eun stumbled backward, crashing into a supply cart as the creature-it wasn't human anymore-scrambled after her. A gurney blocked the door. She braced for teeth-

Bang.

The zombie's skull exploded. Ji-eun flinched as hot viscera splattered her face. Standing in the doorway, smoke curling from his pistol, was Officer Kim Min-jun. His uniform was disheveled, eyes sharp but haunted. "We need to go. Now."

Six Hours Earlier

Min-jun had been patrolling Itaewon's bustling streets when the first call came in: riot at Gangnam Station. By the time his squad arrived, the crowd was a writhing mass of bodies-but these weren't protestors. A businessman in a shredded Armani suit gnawed on a cop's arm. A schoolgirl crawled across the subway stairs, her jaw hanging by a tendon.

"Headshots!" Min-jun barked, emptying his clip. His partner, Soo-hyuk, fell mid-sprint, tackled by a rabid old woman. Her teeth sank into his neck. Min-jun didn't hesitate-he put a bullet in both their skulls.

Present

Ji-eun clutched Min-jun's arm as they fled through the hospital's corpse-strewn parking garage. Moans echoed off concrete. "My car," she whispered, pointing to a silver Kia. They dove inside just as a pack of infected descended, clawing at the windows. Min-jun floored the gas, crushing limbs under the tires.

"You knew this would happen," he said, eyeing her blood-smeared research notes: *NEURONAL DEGENERATION RATE: 87% AFTER 2 HOURS.*

Ji-eun wiped her glasses. "I tried to warn them. The virus isn't a pathogen-it's a *prion*. Like mad cow disease, but airborne. Once it hits the brainstem..."

"We turn into *those things*." Min-jun grimaced. "How long do we have?"

"Symptoms start in 12 hours. Death in 24." She paused. "Unless you're immune."

Their eyes met. A flicker of recognition-they'd met before.

Flashback: Winter 2023

Min-jun, off-duty, nursing a whiskey at a bar. Ji-eun, arguing with a date: "*You think pandemics are just plot devices for movies?" She'd stormed out. Min-jun followed, chuckling. "You're intense." She'd laughed, breath visible in the cold. "I'm right."

He'd walked her home. They never exchanged numbers.

Now

The car swerved around an overturned bus. "There's a safe zone in Incheon," Min-jun said. "Military base. If we-"

A thunderous crash. A truck rammed them from behind. The Kia spun, flipping onto its roof. Ji-eun's head slammed against glass.

Dazed, she felt hands drag her out. Min-jun. Blood dripped from his brow. "Run!" he shouted. Behind them, the truck driver emerged-a hulking infected, bones jutting from its shoulders. It roared.

They sprinted into a derelict subway tunnel. The beast followed, snapping pipes like twigs. Ji-eun's ankle twisted. Min-jun shoved her behind a pillar, pressing his pistol into her palm. "Aim for the head."

"What about you?!"

He grabbed a rusted fire axe off the wall. "I'll distract it."

"Min-jun-!"

Too late. He charged, axe swinging. The creature batted him aside. Min-jun crashed into a wall, gasping. The beast loomed over him, rancid drool dripping onto his face...

Bang.

Ji-eun's bullet tore through its eye. It collapsed. She knelt beside Min-jun, hands probing his ribs. "Nothing broken," he winced.

A distant screech echoed through the tunnel. Hundreds of glowing eyes blinked in the dark.

"The entire city's down here," Ji-eun breathed.

Hand in hand, they ran toward the faintest glimmer of daylight.

End of Episode 1

Next episode teaser: As Ji-eun and Min-jun reach the surface, they discover a terrifying truth-the infection is evolving. And one of them is burning up with fever...