Woo Joon side-eyed the nearly empty pizza box.
"You're not gonna give me any?" he asked.
Hae In scoffed, licking her fingers. "Nope. It's all mine."
Woo Joon raised an eyebrow and casually slid a soda toward her. "Here, at least wash that cheesy crime down."
"Thanks," she muttered, taking a sip.
The moment she tilted the can back, Woo Joon snatched a slice of pizza with lightning speed and bolted from the couch.
"HEY!" Hae In shouted, nearly choking. "GIVE IT BACK!"
She jumped up and chased him down the hallway, barefoot, hair flying wildly. Woo Joon laughed as he sprinted toward his bedroom.
But then—he had an idea. A dark, twisted idea.
Mid-run, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, live-faced bug he had saved from a prank kit. With a devious grin, he tossed it straight into her open mouth.
Hae In stopped dead in her tracks, her face contorting in slow-motion horror.
She yanked the bug out with a scream that could shake hell itself.
"WOO JOON!!!"
But he was already slamming his luxury bedroom door shut behind him, laughing hysterically.
Hae In pounded the door like a demon.
"You evil thing! I'LL KILL YOU! Just open the darn door!"
From the other side, Woo Joon smirked, still chewing on the stolen slice.
"Totally worth it," he whispered to himself.
Woo Joon sat on the edge of his bed, the stolen slice of pizza forgotten in his hand. His gaze drifted to the small photo frame resting on the side table.
It was an old, slightly faded photograph—his parents standing proudly, his mother's hand gently resting over her swollen belly where Hae In was still growing.
He smiled faintly, running a thumb across their faces. But as he stared, memories he tried so hard to bury began to claw their way back.
Flashback — Many Years Ago
He was seven, little Hae In only four.
The house was cold, unusually silent. Woo Joon remembered how he had rushed in, excited to show his parents his report card, only to stop dead in his tracks.
His parents lay there—a pool of blood spreading under them like a dark, endless ocean. His mother, barely conscious, had grabbed his hand with her trembling fingers.
Her voice, hoarse and desperate, whispered the words he could never forget:
"Run... run, Hae In... run..."
Tears streamed down his small face as he scooped up his baby sister and ran blindly into the night.
He had never truly understood what had happened that day. No leads. No answers. Only nightmares.
Flashback to Present
Woo Joon snapped back to reality, his chest tight.
He sighed heavily and reached for a thick, worn file tucked under the table. Case Files.
Victims with their hearts ripped out—half-eaten, as if by some savage animal. Photos clipped to pages, police notes scribbled in the margins.
He flipped through the gruesome images, each worse than the last. His jaw tightened.
"A lot of things have been happening... and this... this is just beyond explanation," he muttered to himself.
Shoving the file aside, he rubbed his eyes.
"I should sleep now," he whispered, though deep down, he knew there would be no rest for him tonight.