---
The news broadcast ends.
A quiet tension fills the room.
Eunwoo finally speaks, voice trembling.
"Big sis… wasn't that dangerous? If someone finds out it was you—what will you do?"
Jaeahn doesn't even blink.
"Then what? Nothing will happen," she says calmly.
"I trapped them perfectly. No one can trace it back to me."
Her confidence chills him.
---
Where Are Jihu and Do Hwan?
The three sit together, trying to piece their next move.
"We should check Do Hwan's place," Jongsuk suggests.
They head out, but halfway down the road the car rattles violently and stops.
"Injin problem," Jaeahn mutters, stepping out.
"Okay big sis," Eunwoo says, "call the mechanic. We'll grab a taxi."
They leave the car and stand by the roadside.
"I'll check ahead," Jaeahn says.
"You two wait here."
She walks further, searching for a taxi. After a minute, she finds one and turns back—
But the place where Eunwoo and Jongsuk were standing is completely empty.
"What…? Where did they go?"
She spins around.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Just silence.
She tries calling them—
No answer.
"It was only a few minutes… where did you two go?"
Her heartbeat rises.
Panic spreads like fire.
She searches the roadside, the alleys, the corners she knows—
Nothing.
Then her phone rings.
Unknown number.
She answers with shaking hands.
A cold voice says:
"Bring me every piece of evidence about the bone marrow experiments.
If you don't…
Jihu.
Do Hwan.
Eunwoo.
Jongsuk.
Their bodies will arrive at your doorstep."
The call cuts.
Jaeahn stops breathing for a second—
then runs.
Runs to her home like she's losing her mind.
---
The Trade
Inside her house, she gathers everything:
Files.
Documents.
Her laptop.
The victim's phone.
Every clue she collected.
She calls the number back.
"Where do I come?"
The voice responds:
"Go to Nyeung Lake.
A big tree with a cross mark.
Leave everything there."
She obeys.
At the lake, under the moonlight, she places all the evidence at the base of the marked tree.
She calls again.
"Now what?"
"Leave," the voice says.
"Go home."
---
2:30 AM — The Breaking
At home, time crawls to 2:30 a.m.
She calls again and again, until finally—
The person picks up.
"I left everything there," she pleads.
"Please… please give them back to me."
Silence.
Then:
"Why? I never said I'd let them go.
I only said I wouldn't kill them yet."
The call ends.
Jaeahn tries calling again—
but the number is dead.
Out of service.
Something inside her snaps.
She screams.
A raw, broken scream that shakes the walls.
She throws every glass she can reach.
Shatters the table.
Smashes the mirror.
The house becomes a storm of broken pieces.
Blood runs down her arm from a deep cut.
Her hands are soaked red.
But she doesn't notice.
Or care.
Her phone buzzes.
Another message:
"Forget them.
I told you to stop looking.
Now look—
you've lost everything."
Jaeahn's rage erupts again.
She smashes her phone against the floor until it shatters.
Her fist hits the ground over and over—
skin splitting, blood dripping.
She doesn't feel the pain.
She stands, trembling, and leaves the destroyed house.
---
The Last Walk
She walks toward the lake again, her mind repeating:
There must be something.
A camera. A witness. A clue.
I will find you all. I will save you.
Her blood leaves a trail behind her.
Her steps are uneven.
She sways.
But she pushes forward through the dark road.
Just as she steps onto the crossing—
A blinding light.
A sudden honk.
A car rushes toward her—
and hits her full force.
Her body collapses onto the road, blood pooling around her.
Chapter ends.
---