Panic in the Narrow Space
A wave of unease washed over Re-hyeok, leaving him utterly helpless against the approaching dread. He had no idea what to do. His mind felt completely blank, as if he were in a daze. This was an enormous fear unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Thud. Thud. "Re-hyeok..." Clang. Clang... The knocking grew louder and more frantic. The sound of fists pounding on the door, the desperate twisting of the doorknob... In a state of panic, Re-hyeok barely managed to regain his composure. He reached for the phone lying on the bathroom floor. Damn it! The phone's screen was slightly cracked. Instantly, the thought crossed his mind that the installment plan hadn't fully finished, but he had no time to worry about something so trivial. With trembling hands, he finally dialed 112. The call was answered almost immediately. "U-um... This is the police station. Um... P-please, come to our house... Please..." Even through the phone, the officer's calm voice came through. They asked for his name, then inquired about the situation... However, Re-hyeok didn't have the time to explain any of it right now. "P-please, come quickly! There... There's Young-hoon here. H-he's in danger. He's in d-danger!" Re-hyeok was now crying as tears streamed down his face. Meanwhile, the door started to be beaten as if it might break. "P-please come quickly!" At that moment, a dull thud rang out, and the doorknob flew off. What appeared in the gap... an eye. "Hah!" Re-hyeok gulped down air. His body froze once more. All he could do was pant heavily. Even in that state, the police on the phone continued asking about his situation. Despite the questions, Re-hyeok could only repeat the same plea: come quickly. And as he cried, the bathroom door finally creaked open. In front of the door stood Young-hoon, smiling. "Y-Young-hoon..." He called out softly. But there was no reply. He stepped inside. Aaaah! Unfortunately, there was no escape here. "D-don't come... P-please don't come... D-don't come... It's no good! Aaaah... AAAAHH!!" //////// It was just after midnight when Su-hyeok finally arrived at the scene. In the midst of snowflakes drifting across the sky, the two men rubbed their cold hands together and lifted the yellow police tape warning trespassers. It was a small one-room apartment. Just a single bathroom. Crowded with people in this cramped space. Passing by the officers taking photos one by one and collecting evidence, their attention shifted to the bathroom where the actual incident had occurred. A foul stench of blood surged forward. The sharp, piercing smell of blood made even Su-hyeok barely suppress the nausea rising in his throat. The bathroom facing them... No one knew what had happened, but blood was splattered everywhere. From the floor to the walls and ceiling... Had there been a fierce fight? Or were these just traces left by the victim struggling? Right now, nothing could be certain. The only thing they could tell was that the current owner of this house, who had called the police herself, was the one they were after. "Name: Lee Jae-hyeok, age: mid-twenties, discharged from military service, university student, living by working part-time at a convenience store after classes like any other student. The family isn't particularly well-off, so she must have worked weekend shifts too when attending school. And she's been working there for a long time." One officer told Kim Hyeong-taek, the team leader, about Re-hyeok's background. Su-hyeok, standing beside him, also learned that the part-timer he had seen at the convenience store was named 'Lee Jae-hyeok'. Su-hyeok sighed, staring at the blood-soaked bathroom. A headache seemed to be coming on from the overwhelming stench of blood. "And she was a friend to the missing person Ji Young-hoon and Lee Hee-sun." After saying that, Su-hyeok stepped outside. He couldn't stand being at the scene any longer. Was it the foul stench and the acrid smell? Dizziness was pressing in. Especially a suffocating feeling, like his chest was being tightly squeezed. He needed a bit of fresh air. He exhaled a heavy sigh and stepped outside. Taking a cigarette from his pocket and putting it in his mouth, he lit it. Late at night... This place, known as the one-room apartment village, was quite desolate. Although a few people were drawn here out of curiosity, it was far better than the bustling motels where previous incidents had happened. Avoiding the crowd, Su-hyeok went a little further and soon lit the cigarette, inhaling deeply. Rubbing his head... A bitter feeling came over him. It was because Re-hyeok's death felt like it was somehow his fault. Perhaps he could have prevented it. Maybe he could have warned her of the danger, saying something like, "Something dangerous is happening, be careful." His heart was uneasy. She was just a normal university student this morning... Now she was like this... He clicked his tongue briefly and exhaled another cloud of smoke. How long had he been standing there? The question only deepened. What exactly was happening? Was this really the work of humans? Of course, looking at the history of cases so far, there had been plenty of mysterious incidents, and eventually, some were revealed to be the work of humans... But recently, things had seemed more chaotic. He thought it might be because of those people. The guys in the suits, and even as the man had said, perhaps there was something in this world that we don't know... Ever since that day, the conversations with that person had started to nag at him. Were there more things in this world that we didn't know? But soon, he shook his head, thinking it was ridiculous, yet a faint unease lingered in a corner of his heart. "Hoo..." He exhaled another cloud of smoke, then crushed the butt in the ashtray he carried. Just as he was about to return to the scene... Suddenly, Su-hyeok's steps halted. He saw it. A dimly lit corridor with flickering streetlights, and someone standing there. Su-hyeok's gaze met that of the figure. A strange feeling stirred. Although the surroundings were dark and hard to see clearly, he seemed to be looking... No... Exactly at the crime scene. Why? It was an inexplicable feeling. Should he call it the instincts of a detective? Or a premonition of bad luck? It was a feeling that defied explanation. "Hey..." Su-hyeok tried to call out to him. But abruptly, the figure turned and disappeared in a flash. Startled, Su-hyeok hurried after him. "Hey! Wait!" Something in him was moving. As before, hard to explain, but from his experience, his instincts told him this person might have some connection to the case. "Hey! W-wait! Let's talk..." His voice grew a little higher. But the unidentified figure didn't stop. With no choice, Su-hyeok began to run. The unidentified figure slipped out of the alley and onto the long road. Su-hyeok followed onto the road, but "Uh..." He vanished suddenly. His startled gaze swept the surroundings, but the late-night empty road was utterly desolate. No vehicles passed along the road. The empty city... This silence felt strangely eerie. Su-hyeok wondered around again, when... Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder firmly. Shocked, he turned around with a jolt, and behind him stood a colleague, eyes wide with surprise. "W-what is it? Suddenly? Ah, you startled me..." "N-no... It's just..." Panicked, Su-hyeok looked back at the empty surroundings and shook his head. "The team leader ordered us to check surrounding CCTV or car black boxes to see everyone who entered this villa. And this incident... Might be a serial murder, so stay on high alert." "Ah... I see... Okay." Su-hyeok nodded, but his gaze soon turned back to the empty road, and the mysterious person was nowhere to be seen. Reluctantly following his colleague back to the scene, after Su-hyeok left, near the empty road stood a building rooftop. On one rooftop, a man and a woman were seen entering the alley together. Their gazes then landed on a villa bustling with people. Eventually, the man spoke. "This isn't an ordinary case." "A very unpleasant aura is emanating." The woman, appearing out of nowhere beside the man like a ghost, answered. The man didn't waver at the sudden appearance of the woman. Nodding with a familiar expression, he said, "The wail of an unjusted soul is echoing." "And it's not just one." "Yes... Not just one. We should solve it before more victims appear."