A series of metallic blasts rang out, nearly tearing the basement corridor apart. Blinding flashlight beams and ear-splitting metallic screeches mixed together, raging through the darkness like a frenzied storm.
Caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of light and noise, the Abductor let out an agonized shriek, clutching its head as it staggered backward. The red mist that had coiled around it churned wildly and swiftly cloaked the creature's form. In the next instant, it stumbled back and melted into the darkness, disappearing from sight. The red mist lingered only a moment longer, swirling where the creature had been before it too seeped away into the shadows, leaving no trace behind.
In the sudden silence, only the faint remnants of red mist trailing along the floor remained.
Jung Hae-jun slowly released the tension from his shoulders and let out a long breath. His hand holding the flashlight was trembling, the beam wobbling as he gradually lowered it.
Yoon Tae-sik managed to steady himself against the wall on shaky legs. He clutched his stinging neck with a trembling hand; angry red bruises and fresh gouges from the specter's claws marked his skin. He gulped down ragged breaths, terror still stark on his face. Meanwhile, Choi Do-yoon kept his gaze sharp and cold as he scanned their surroundings warily, his shoulders rising and falling with the ebb of adrenaline.
Choi Do-yoon fought to control his breathing and muttered, "If we're going to face that monster, we need to prepare much more thoroughly." His voice was calm as ice, but a faint tremor still ran through the hand holding his gun.
Hae-jun took a moment to catch his breath, then gave a firm nod. His gaze had already drifted back to the heavy iron door in the basement wall. A gut feeling told him that the man who had been dragged off right before their eyes was somewhere behind that door. This fight wasn't over yet—there was no way he could just turn back now.
With much of the red mist now dissipated, a deep hush settled over the corridor. Jung Hae-jun, still panting and damp with sweat, stared at the grimy iron door. He had already tried yanking it open with all his might before their struggle with the specter, but it hadn't budged. Now he tried once more—clang! The rusted metal rattled harshly, yet still the door refused to move. It was firmly locked from the inside, stubbornly barring their entry.
Grinding his teeth, Hae-jun muttered under his breath, "So it's beyond this door... where all the answers lie." He felt sure now that inside, the missing victims—and the source of the red mist—were hidden.
Choi Do-yoon examined the iron door and the area around it with a cool gaze. After checking the gap and the lock for a long moment, he eyed the thin tendrils of red mist still leaking out through the crack. "It'll be difficult to force this door open with our current equipment," he said, composure masking the anger in his voice. "We should pull back for now and return with thorough preparations."
Hae-jun clenched both fists. The thought of retreating now, with such a vital clue in reach, was almost unbearable. But Choi was right—the Abductor was not a foe they could defeat in their current state. Without proper equipment and a solid plan, they would only be inviting another defeat.
Swallowing his frustration, Hae-jun gave a reluctant nod. "...Let's go back. There's no point staying here any longer," he said quietly, struggling to steady his trembling breath. His words were low, laden with anger and regret—but also steeled with resolve.
Finally, the three turned and began to walk away from the door. With a conflicted mix of defeat and relief weighing on their hearts, they left the scene behind.
However, just as they were about to leave, a subtle presence from behind the closed door made Jung Hae-jun stop in his tracks. He whipped back around, eyes locking onto the iron door. Straining his ears, he caught a faint, muffled moan from beyond the thick metal. A moment later, it was followed by a low, eerie chuckle. It sounded as if somewhere inside, a person was sobbing in agony... and some beast-like creature was snickering in cruel delight.
Hae-jun's blood ran cold. Just as I thought—the victims are alive! The realization struck like a bolt of lightning, setting his heart pounding. At the same time, a surge of fury rippled through him at the specter's taunting laughter. Jung Hae-jun's fists tightened instinctively. He didn't know exactly what was happening behind that door, but he vowed then and there that next time, he would stop it.
Fixing his eyes on the door, he spoke in a low, fervent voice: "I will return. Next time, I'll be fully prepared—and I will save them." Quiet as it was, his voice carried an unshakeable resolve.
Jung Hae-jun lingered a moment, glaring into the darkness beyond the door with determined eyes, before finally turning to go. Then he and the two detectives slipped away from the basement in silence.
As their figures disappeared into the shadows, red mist began to slowly seep out once more through the cracks of the closed door. That ominous fog, reeking of rot, billowed like the breath of a predator waiting in the dark for its next hunt.
One thing was certain: another failure was not an option.
In the late-night hush of Seoul's Gangbuk Police Station, the fluorescent lights in the situation room flickered faintly. Jung Hae-jun and his team, fresh from the scene, sat gathered around a table, their clothes damp with sweat and streaked with dirt. Spread across the table were a yellowed map and thick case files strewn in disarray. Bright red marks dotted the map in several places, standing out like drops of blood.
Jung Hae-jun braced one hand on the table's edge as he leaned over the map. His eyes shone with determination as he scrutinized where the red pen marks clustered. All the recent disappearance cases marked on the map pointed to one location.
"The abandoned building's basement..." Hae-jun murmured, running a finger along the line of red marks. Around him, his fellow detectives—and even the precinct chief—watched in silent anticipation as he laid out his thoughts.
Clearing his throat, Hae-jun began in a steady, firm voice, "In the past month, there have been five disappearances in this area." He pointed to each red marker on the map in turn as he continued, "All of the victims vanished around midnight, near this abandoned building. And… each scene had one clue in common."
He picked up a photograph from the scatter on the table and pushed it under the lamp's light. The image showed a dim alleyway shrouded in a faint red mist. "Every crime scene had this red mist present," he said, tapping the photo. "This isn't any ordinary fog… it's a trace of the specter we encountered—the Abductor."
A chill seemed to sweep through the room. A few officers swallowed hard. Yoon Tae-sik, remembering that nightmare confrontation in the basement, felt his shoulders knot up. The ugly red bruise and raw scratches on his neck from the specter's grip were still clearly visible.
Hae-jun lifted his gaze from the photo and looked around at his colleagues. "It appears the Abductor has been hiding in the basement of that abandoned building," he said. "As we saw for ourselves, there's a heavy iron door leading underground. It was locked tight, yes, but..." He set his jaw. "I'm certain there are people in there. The man who was taken right in front of us tonight, and the others who disappeared before him."
A heavy silence greeted his words. Then the precinct chief, standing across the table, asked solemnly, "And you're sure the victims are still alive in there?"
Hae-jun drew in a breath, the memory of the eerie red mist and that faint human groan behind the door flashing through his mind. He replied, his voice ringing with conviction, "I can't say for certain... but based on everything we know, if someone's dragged off by that specter and isn't found within forty-eight hours, their chances of survival plummet. From the traces the victims left and the feel of those scenes, if we wait any longer than that, we may be too late to avoid the worst. We still have time, which means we have to save them."
Someone in the back of the room drew a sharp breath. It was so quiet that even that small gasp sounded loud. The ticking of the second hand on the wall clock echoed unnervingly in the silence.
The chief gave a firm nod. "Alright. Then walk us through the operation," he ordered. At that, every eye in the room turned back to Jung Hae-jun.
Hae-jun closed his eyes for a beat. Images of the victims' desperate last signs and the faces of their families—pleading and tear-streaked when their loved ones vanished—flashed in his mind. The memories stoked a bittersweet anger in his chest, and he bit down hard on his lip. No more victims, he vowed inwardly. They had to put an end to this.
Opening his eyes, Jung Hae-jun tapped a finger on the map over the abandoned building. "We've learned the Abductor is vulnerable to bright light and loud noise," he said. The clash in the basement replayed in his head: bullets had done nothing in that darkness, but the sudden flash of the flashlight and that cacophonous burst of noise had clearly hurt the creature. Hae-jun's eyes gleamed as he continued, "We're going to exploit that weakness. Hit it with illumination rounds and a burst of sound to cripple its movement, then, in that opening, break through the door and get the hostages out."
Choi Do-yoon immediately nodded. "We'll need to prepare the right equipment. With your approval, Chief, I'll put in the request right away." His eyes shifted toward the chief expectantly. The chief hesitated only a second before agreeing. "Do it. Request whatever you need, immediately."
Without wasting a moment, Choi grabbed the phone on the desk and dialed the equipment unit. His voice was brisk and clear: "This is Detective Choi Do-yoon from Major Crimes. We need illumination flares and handheld sirens, ASAP. Also, tools to force open a basement iron door, and additional backup personnel. Yes— as quickly as you can."
Hanging up, he turned back with a nod. Hae-jun stepped forward and addressed the team, "Listen up. Live ammo's useless against that thing. Load your handguns with blank rounds, and make sure each of you has a portable siren. At my signal, we hit it with everything—all at once." His voice was quiet but carried sure authority.
The detectives sprang into action. Magazines were emptied of standard bullets and refilled with special blank cartridges. Each officer secured a portable siren at their belt, ready to be triggered at a moment's notice.
Throughout this flurry of preparations, Yoon Tae-sik stood off to one side without a word. He stared down at the floor, body rigid and unmoving, though his hands quivered slightly.
Clammy sweat pooled in his palms, leaving faint damp prints on the file he held. The terror that had gripped him in that red mist still clung stubbornly to his lungs, making each breath shudder.
Noticing his partner's pallor, Hae-jun halted what he was doing and looked over at Yoon. His heart ached at the sight of the younger detective's dread, but he couldn't find any words that might reassure him.
It was Choi Do-yoon who broke the silence. "Detective Yoon," he said coolly. At the sound of his name, every head turned toward Yoon. Yoon flinched, his shoulders giving a small jerk. Choi's gaze was icy and precise.
"If we keep letting fear hold us back," Choi said, each word cold and sharp, "the victims will be lost forever."
His pronouncement sliced through the room, leaving the air icy. Yoon Tae-sik kept his head bowed, his teeth clenched hard. He could feel all of his colleagues' eyes on him, and his cheeks burned under their gaze.
A mix of shame and fear swelled inside him, rising up to clog his throat. No words came out.
Hae-jun darted a glance at the chief and the others, who looked on with concern. Some of the detectives were eyeing Yoon uneasily.
After a moment's hesitation, Hae-jun stepped over to Yoon's side. He gently placed a hand on Yoon's shoulder. Yoon's entire body was taut with guilt and tension, and under Hae-jun's touch he was trembling ever so slightly.
Speaking softly, Hae-jun said, "We're all scared..." He trailed off, making sure Yoon met his eyes. "But we have to do this. We can't lose anyone else."
Those quiet words broke the tense hush like a pebble dropped in still water. Yoon Tae-sik's eyes flickered, growing shiny with tears. He released a quavering breath, the rigidity in his shoulders ebbing away.
A faint smile crossed Hae-jun's face. He slowly turned to address the rest of the team, resolve shining in his expression. "We have less than a day left. Tonight, we're going to capture the Abductor and save those people." He looked each of them in the eye and nodded. "We can do this. We will do this."
For a moment, the oppressive tension lifted. Yoon Tae-sik hurriedly wiped at his reddened eyes and set his jaw. "I'm sorry... I'm alright now," he said, voice still unsteady but now lined with determination.
Choi Do-yoon let out a small sigh and gave his gear and sidearm one last once-over. In the quiet room, the only sounds were the soft clicks of weapons and equipment being checked.
At last, everything was ready. The detectives donned their bulletproof vests and secured their equipment, then rose to their feet in unison.
Jung Hae-jun folded up the map and mentally ran through the plan one more time. The chief raised a clenched fist and said in a firm voice, "All of you, come back safely."
No one answered with words, but in each of their hearts, that promise blazed like fire.