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Past midnight.
Around the time faint moonlight seeped through the curtained window. Amidst the moonlight, a woman lay collapsed, clutching her stomach with a pained expression.
A shadow stood expressionless, looking down at her. As if to show that this had just happened, bright red blood dripped along the blade of the knife in his hand, falling onto the floor in droplets.
The shadow wiped the blood stuck to the knife’s handle on his sleeve. Once the handle revealed its original color, he knelt and sat beside the woman, who was still breathing shallowly. Her hollow gaze met his, lacking even the strength to writhe in pain.
Watching her breaths grow weaker, he suddenly grabbed the hand clutching her stomach roughly. Then, placing the knife handle on his palm, he began folding each finger down one by one. When the handle fit perfectly in her hand, a satisfied smile appeared on the shadow’s face.
After a moment, he glanced once more around the room before bending down and sitting by Yi Kyung’s side, who was barely breathing.
Despite her fading consciousness, Yi Kyung lifted her eyes to meet the shadow’s gaze.
‘That… look in his eyes… where have I seen it before…?’
At that moment, he lowered his head and whispered something into her ear. When the unpleasant warm breath hit her, she could no longer bear it and closed her eyes. He brushed off the blood splattered on his clothes as if it were dirty, then stood up.
Thud thud
Footsteps echoed as he walked away, then the front door slammed shut.
“Someone… please… help me…”
Unfortunately, her voice was far too faint to reach anyone’s ears.
“Please… save me…”
As if exhaling her last breath. She uttered her final words and closed her eyes on the cold floor.
***
One week ago.
“Yi Kyung, you’re really amazing, aren’t you? Already handled a case before even graduating?”
“A case, what are you talking about… Please don’t hype it up so much. I’m embarrassed to face the professors.”
“Embarrassed? You’re truly remarkable. These days, young students like you are all racking their brains trying to get into lucrative departments, but you have such a clear passion for the field you want. There are widespread rumors that you’ll be the next Kim Hyun-jong, you know?”
Professor Kim Hyun-jong was a renowned professor of forensic medicine, so famous that anyone in the field would know him by name alone. Since Professor Kim Hyun-jong was the sole reason Yi Kyung had decided to go to medical school, her determination to become a forensic scientist had never wavered from the moment she enrolled.
Due to her firm resolve regarding her career path and her passionate demeanor, having never missed the top rank since admission, Professor Kim Hyun-jong already doted on his young student, jokingly saying, ‘Our Kyung is my successor, so don’t you dare covet her.’
“By the way, you heard the news too, right?”
At Professor Yoo Yeon-soo’s words, all eyes instantly turned to Yi Kyung. Even without explicitly stating what news, no one gathered there was unaware of ‘that news.’
“The world is truly terrifying these days. To think a serial killer was brazenly roaming the neighborhood…”
Professor Yoo shivered exaggeratedly as if he had goosebumps. Yi Kyung also felt a slight shiver as the events of that day resurfaced.
In truth, it was a day she couldn't forget even if she tried.
It was a drizzly afternoon. The rain that had started before dawn the previous day showed no signs of stopping, quietly descending upon the earth.
And that night. A body, hanged from the ceiling of an old warehouse she happened to witness. Yi Kyung was the first to discover the scene.
Although it was a situation where one might assume suicide, she recognized at a glance that the body was a victim of homicide. However, the decisive factor in solving the case was not her forensic knowledge, but the fact that Yi Kyung had witnessed the culprit's face just a few minutes earlier.
Thanks to her calm response, the suspect was surprisingly caught within an hour. He was reportedly smoking leisurely in his car when police surrounded and arrested him, apparently unprepared for such a swift investigation.
It seemed the case was closed.
However, an unexpected obstacle arose. The suspect initially confessed but suddenly changed his attitude when he realized there was no conclusive evidence.
He insisted on his innocence, forcing the prosecution to search for solid proof. During this process, it was revealed he was responsible for several unsolved cases, thrusting the investigation into a new phase.
Finally, only after being confronted with irrefutable evidence from which he could not escape, did he admit to all four crimes he had committed, and in the trial held just yesterday, he was sentenced to death, the maximum penalty allowed by law.
Yi Kyung couldn't forget the look in the culprit's eyes she had encountered, albeit briefly, in court. Somewhat empty, yet a chill ran through her the moment their eyes met. It was a gaze she never wanted to encounter again.
"Kyung, did you say you live alone too? Make sure to lock your doors. Though, our Kyung manages everything well on her own…”
“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”
“Alright, you must be busy, go on with your work.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Yi Kyung picked up her coat and left the lab.
Today, she had plans with old friends for the first time in a while. She was so attached to the school that she was often called the "Korea University resident ghost," but today she couldn't postpone the appointment any longer. Her friends had been complaining loudly because she had been the only one unable to attend several times already.
Looking at her wristwatch, she had about 30 minutes left until the appointment. Hurrying to the parking lot, she tossed her coat onto the passenger seat and skillfully exited the parking lot.
Contrary to the weather forecast that predicted rain all weekend, the sky was clear without a single cloud. While waiting for the traffic light at a pedestrian crossing, Yi Kyung turned on the radio.
News was flowing from the channel she always listened to. This time was her only opportunity to know what was happening in the world. Since she didn't particularly enjoy internet surfing, she usually heard about current events this way, through the radio.
Just as the light changed and Yi Kyung’s foot moved to the accelerator, the announcer’s voice saying, ‘This is breaking news,’ reached her ears. Sensing urgency in the voice, Yi Kyung slightly raised the volume to hear the bulletin more clearly.
It was then.
A loud siren sound enveloped the surroundings, and an ambulance suddenly started racing through, ignoring the signal. Following it, several more ambulances and police cars became entangled, rapidly crossing the road.
Startled by the sudden commotion, a few drivers stopped on the road lowered their windows and craned their necks to look around, but the siren sound had already dispersed into the air.
—…Meanwhile, the police are investigating the exact circumstances of the accident. Next up…
After the commotion passed, the announcer began to deliver the next news item. Realizing she had less than 10 minutes until her appointment, Yi Kyung hurriedly pressed the accelerator.
***
The inside of the restaurant was bustling with the laughter of friends who had arrived early. When Yi Kyung entered, some friends teased that they would have forgotten her face if she had been just one day later.
A little later, as the ordered food began to arrive one by one, Joo-yeon, dressed in a one-piece, entered the restaurant. Arriving slightly past the appointed time, she put her bag down on the table and immediately started complaining.
“Looks like something happened nearby? I was almost here, but the traffic was so bad from that point on…”
Joo-yeon pulled a chair right next to Yi Kyung and sat down, speaking.
"Weren’t there police cars all over on your way here? Didn’t you guys see them?”
“I think I saw them briefly too.”
“Me too.”
Several other friends also showed curiosity, saying they had seen several police cars on their way. Just then, Yuri, who had briefly left her seat to go to the restroom, sat down and naturally joined the conversation.
“You guys didn’t hear that news?”
“What news?”
“A prison transport vehicle overturned today, and a police officer is missing.”
“Was that around here?”
Joo-yeon, who seemed to have heard the news too, looked out the window with a surprised expression. The road was already quiet, but she kept rubbing her arms as if she had goosebumps.
“A prison transport means prisoners were on board, right? They didn’t, like, escape… did they?”
“Nah, no way they’d be that careless, right?”
“I guess so?”
“Hasn’t something similar to this happened before?”
“Hmm. Wasn’t that something you saw in a drama?”
“Maybe…”
As everyone spoke, Ju-yeon suddenly looked at Yi Kyung.
“By the way, what happened to Kim Eun-soo?”
“Ah, him…”
All eyes turned to Yi Kyung.
Kim Eun-soo, the serial killer who had murdered four young women. He had been sentenced to death and was scheduled to be transferred to Nambu Prison today.
Could he have been in that vehicle?
Yi Kyung felt a chill run down her spine but tried hard not to show her anxiety.
“He received the death penalty. They said he was scheduled to be transferred to Nambu Prison soon.”
“Surely he wasn’t in that car, right?”
“Probably not. Even if he was, what could happen? The police will handle it well.”
Sensing the instantly subdued atmosphere, Yi Kyung forced a smile and spoke. She didn’t want to ruin the mood by bringing up unnecessary talk at a long-awaited gathering with friends.
Fortunately, thanks to her nonchalant tone, the friends’ topic of conversation soon shifted to Joo-yeon, who had recently gotten a boyfriend. Amidst the once again boisterous atmosphere, only Yi Kyung anxiously fiddled with her phone.
***
Even after arriving at her officetel, her anxiety did not easily subside. Before getting out in the parking lot, she considered calling a colleague but realized it was past midnight and clutched her phone tightly as she got into the elevator.
Until the moment she opened the front door, she kept looking back several times, feeling as if someone was following her. Finally, after frantically pressing the passcode for the front door and the door closed again, Yi Kyung let out the breath she had been holding.
In the end, nothing had happened.
She let out a sigh of relief and swept her hand along the wall to find the switch, resolving to fix the motion sensor light at the entrance this weekend for sure.
But at that moment.
A very unfamiliar sensation touched her fingertips. Something very cold…
‘A finger?’
It didn’t take long to realize that what touched her fingertip was a human hand. Her mind, sensing a crisis, was ordering her to quickly open the door and run. However, Yi Kyung couldn't move from her spot, as if time had stopped.
Just then, the moon, hidden by clouds, revealed itself.
Flash. The moment she thought her eyes met ‘his’ in the darkness. A burning pain shot through her abdomen.
Yi Kyung felt nausea and severe dizziness. She desperately reached out to avoid collapsing, but ‘he’ roughly pushed away her hand that touched his sleeve as if it were dirty. Simultaneously, the blade was pulled out, and her body plunged straight to the floor.
Even as her consciousness faded, ‘his’ horrifyingly chilling voice came through clearly.
“Try catching the culprit yourself this time. Good luck.”
The sound of footsteps receded, and then the front door slammed shut.
Her body felt like it was on fire.
“Please… save me…”
Unfortunately, her voice was drowned out by the rain that had begun pouring moments before.
It was the night the relentless three-day downpour began.
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(T/N : 1 additional chapter for every Ko-Fi i got^^)