"Take off your shoes..."

Shin Haesu stopped mid-sentence. He just realized—she didn’t even have shoes. What she was wearing now were hospital slippers.

He stood still in the entryway, staring at her feet, momentarily lost in thought.

Sniff sniff

Just then, a strange smell crept up. A nauseating mix of thick blood, musty mold, and ingrained dust numbed his nose.

Haesu turned his head and pointed toward the bathroom with his index finger.

"Wash up first."

The woman gave a faint nod and hurried to the bathroom. With each step she took, a trail of dirt smudged the clean white floor.

Haesu squeezed his eyes shut at the dreadful sight.

Once she was inside, he turned his attention to the rice, adding an extra portion.

Shhhhhh—

She turned on the shower and slowly looked around the bathroom.

The spotless floor, the perfectly white walls clean enough to lick—everything was so unfamiliar.

Swoosh—

"Gasp!"

As she spun around, scanning the space, the shower water touched her skin.

But the water was warm.

She had only ever washed in ice-cold water that chilled her bones. It had been so long that she had forgotten water could be warm. The realization was shocking.

She gingerly touched the water with the tip of her finger and held it there for a long moment. Then, slowly, she let more of her body come into contact with the warmth.

'It's warm...'

It wrapped around her like a mother's womb, embracing her in comforting heat.

She wanted to stay like this for hours. But when she noticed her fingers wrinkling, she feared Haesu might scold her, so she reluctantly finished her shower and stepped out.

"If you're done washing..."

Haesu started to speak but abruptly stopped again. She was only wearing the tank top and underwear she had on before—still wet from rinsing them out.

In her outstretched hands lay Haesu’s neatly folded jumper.

Her body was thin, but unlike an average woman’s, she had well-defined muscles here and there. More than that, the scars covering her skin stood out—some fresh, some old.

He couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of life she had lived.

"Throw that away and wear this."

Haesu pulled out the smallest training set he had and handed it to her.

The moment she received the clothes, she stripped on the spot to change.

Haesu consciously turned his gaze away.

"Change clothes where no one can see."

"Okay..."

She discarded her tattered tank top and underwear in the trash without hesitation.

Despite her height—around 170 cm—making her quite tall for someone who had been malnourished, the clothes he gave her were still oversized and made her look scruffy.

Without looking at her, Haesu set the table.

"Sit."

With only a two-person dining table, the only available seat was across from him. She sat down and stared at the food before her.

A steaming bowl of pristine white rice, ham coated in egg, ketchup drizzled on top, crispy roasted seaweed, and a red kimchi stew with pork.

She felt so out of place at this kind of meal that she hesitated to touch anything.

Then, Haesu picked up his spoon and started eating.

Where she came from, they were never given utensils. They were fed ground-up food waste in bowls—just something to drink down.

It had been over ten years since she last held chopsticks or a spoon.

Carefully, she picked up the chopsticks and observed Haesu closely before mimicking his movements to pick up a piece of ham.

Plop.

As she lifted it toward her mouth, it slipped and landed on the table, smearing ketchup.

Haesu’s brow furrowed slightly, and her heart shrank.

Swoosh—

She braced for curses or a slap. But instead, Haesu silently placed another piece of ham on her spoon.

Thrown off by the unexpected gesture, she stared blankly before finally bringing the food to her mouth.

"Hngh... hff."

A strange sound slipped out before she could stop herself. She hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.

It was delicious. Overwhelmingly delicious. So much so that tears welled up in her eyes.

Even stepping onto a warm floor, even washing in hot water—none of those things had moved her as much as this first bite of food.

Fearing that Haesu would dislike seeing her cry, she fought back the tears and chewed.

At first, Haesu thought she didn’t like his cooking.

But when he saw the tears well up after her first bite, he began to understand just a little of what she had endured.

At first, she had just been a nuisance. But now, a bit of sympathy crept in.

"What should I call you?"

At his first question, she hesitated, setting down both her chopsticks and spoon.

"I can't keep calling you 'hey' or 'you.'"

For ten years, they had called her nothing but that. But this man was different. A tiny crack formed in the wall around her heart.

She opened her mouth and whispered so softly that one would have to lean in close to hear.

"...Haru."

A memory of Arin whispering in her ear surfaced.

- From now on, your name is Haru. You and I... we just need to survive one more day...

Arin had always held onto hope that one day they would escape.

And in the end, that hope had come true.

Since the name carried a happy ending, Haru liked it.

"Alright."

After finishing their meal, the awkward silence stretched again as bedtime approached.

Haesu paced back and forth, deep in thought, before finally approaching the woman curled up in the corner.

"Sleep over there."

He pointed to the bed. Haru stared at it for a moment, then slightly shook her head.

"Suit yourself."

Haesu shrugged and lay down on the bed, switching off the light.

Haru remained curled up, slowly surveying the darkened room.

She couldn’t believe this situation was real. It didn’t feel real.

At the hospital, she had envied Arin for reuniting with her parents. But now, she didn’t feel jealous anymore.

The warmth from the food lingered in her mind. She remembered the comfort of hot water, the softness of the new clothes, the pleasant scent.

Swipe, swipe.

Haru rubbed the floor with her hand. The floor here wasn't hard; it was warm.

There wasn’t a single thing she didn’t like. It was so good that she was afraid someone might take it away.

‘Oh…’

Her gaze landed on the window.

Beyond the glass, a crescent moon shone gently. Being able to look outside from the window, seeing the moon—everything about it was moving.

‘If only I could have another day like this… just one more day tomorrow.’

Even if she was dragged back to that hell, she wanted to hold onto today and endure.

In the deepening darkness of dawn, Haru suddenly got up and approached Haesu.

Haesu pretended to be calm, but with a woman capable of such a fierce gaze in the house, sleep didn’t come easily. He was awake and on alert, and when she approached, he was startled inside.

‘An assassination attempt…?’

As Haesu squinted his eyes and prepared to counter, Haru crawled on her knees, moving even closer, and stared down at him.

Then, she turned around, leaned against the bed, and reached out to grab the end of his sleeve.

Soon after, her breathing became steady.

Softly, softly.

Like a child clinging to a favorite plush toy, holding onto Haesu’s sleeve brought her peace of mind.

When she first saw Haesu, his words and actions had etched deeply into her memory.

- Hold on.

- Don’t let go.

The world she followed by holding onto that sleeve had been her salvation.

Haesu considered shaking off her hand but instead endured it and silently tried to sleep.

The next day.

Haru had fallen asleep crouched beside Haesu’s bed. She cracked her eyes open slightly, then slowly widened them.

She must have slept for quite a while. The crescent moon outside the window was gone, and warm sunlight was streaming in.

She was afraid to open her eyes, fearing she would wake up in that other room again—that everything she experienced yesterday would scatter like sand and disappear.

But warmth that hadn't existed there greeted her.

The man standing with his back turned, cooking, reassured her that this wasn’t a dream.

“If you’re awake, sit down.”

Haru nodded eagerly, sat at the table, and ate another precious breakfast.

Chomp, munch.

Haesu, getting ready for work, put on his shoes and instructed her,

“Don’t go out, just stay inside…”

He hesitated. Telling someone who had been locked up for ten years to stay confined at home again wasn’t easy.

“Hah…”

Frowning, Haesu studied her for a moment before taking off his shoes again and handing her the remote control.

She looked at him in confusion, holding the remote upside down.

“You don’t… know how to use it, do you?”

Haesu turned on the TV and showed her how to change channels and adjust the volume.

“Stay here until I come back. Don’t go anywhere.”

He worried about how she would take this command, but she nodded with an innocence unbefitting her age.

“Yes…”

Haesu watched her for a moment, then turned around.

Beep, click—

Haesu left. The door closed. A few seconds later, Haru carefully stepped toward the TV and sat in front of it.

Shin Haesu couldn’t focus on work.

‘What should I do? Get her a studio apartment and let her live alone? Find her a job and leave her to someone else?’

There were too many risks. She might take her own life. She might hurt someone. But he couldn’t keep her at home forever, either. Right now, though, he had no choice, and it was frustrating.

“What are you thinking about so seriously? You heard the newbie is finally arriving today, right?”

At the team leader’s words, Oh Gaeng massaged Haesu’s shoulders.

“Detective Shin, you’re finally not the youngest anymore.”

“Haha…”

Haesu laughed awkwardly. Because of his past in the precinct, Oh Gaeng had never called him "the youngest."

The team leader scratched his philtrum with a finger and asked,

“What did they call you in your last station?”

“Shin-Ddol.”

“Shin-Ddol? Like… short for ‘Shin’ and ‘crazy’?”

Haesu nodded.

“Detectives really are good at making nicknames, but ‘Ddol’ is a bit much for our charge leader…”

“Shin-Dol works. Shin-Dol.”

At Oh Gaeng’s suggestion, the team leader snapped his fingers.

“Oh Gaeng, you’ve finally had an epiphany. Alright, from now on, it’s Shin-Dol.”

Just as they settled on the new nickname, a detective from Team 3 walked in with some documents.

“Here’s your new rookie, Team 1~!”

“Oh, the newbie’s finally here!”

“The rookie!!”

Thud, thud, thud.

A massive, muscular figure followed the Team 3 detective inside.

“…The rookie?”

They thought he was a gangster, but he was wearing a uniform. He was slightly taller than Haesu and looked like his brain was made of muscle, too.

“Officer Woo Kang-cheol! Reporting for transfer to the Violent Crimes Unit, Gangjin Police Station!”

The team leader slowly gave a thumbs-up. Oh Gaeng stood up and welcomed him with enthusiasm.

“Oh… We’re not just a violent crimes unit anymore, we’re an assault squad.”

“Sir, let’s have a team dinner!”

[One Round of Meat]

Early evening, a restaurant specializing in pork belly.

Dongdongpa was a newly established criminal organization. Their leader, Kim Dongdong, was holding a dinner gathering to boost morale. The group still had fewer than ten members.

“Listen, we don’t have a single business under our name yet, but these fists of ours can…”

Just then, a loud voice came from the next table.

“To the rookie!”

“Cheers!”

“Hyung, isn’t the first drink supposed to be downed in one shot?”

“Ugh, shut up. Try getting older and see.”

Kim Dongdong frowned and turned toward the voices. The people at the other table were all quite large.

His gang members also took notice.

“Which crew are they from?”

“We can’t lose, guys, raise your glasses!”

Kim Dongdong lifted his glass, and his men followed suit.

“For Goam-dong!”

At his lead, the gang members roared,

“Let’s turn it into a sea of blood!!!”

Such bold words suited a rookie gang, but at the same moment, the four men at the other table shot to their feet.