The Screw Bar stick had split, leaving a sharp point at the end. The short stick was useless, so Haru discarded it and held the longer piece in her right hand.

A man reached out to grab Haru's hair.

Shhk—!

The sharp end of the stick pierced the inside of the man's elbow and was pulled out. Blood sprayed out like a squirt gun.

The man stared blankly at the surreal sight, while the other men chuckled.

“You fucking bitch.”

The man extended the knife he held in his other hand. Its target was Haru’s stomach — the tip of the blade showed not even a trace of hesitation. A man who swings a knife without hesitation to kill a person. A man who has killed many people.

In other words, this was not someone who could be handled gently.

Haru twisted her upper body to avoid the knife, grabbed the man's wrist, and stabbed his elbow and neck with the stick.

Stab, stab, shkk—

Blood spurted like a fountain from the man’s throat as his carotid artery was cleanly severed. The other men, who had been watching casually until now, shifted their stances.

The end of the stick had dulled, making it useless. Haru bent the bleeding man’s finger, pried the knife from his hand, and took it.

Crack.

The other three men drew their knives and charged at her all at once.

Haru kicked the disabled man’s stomach, sending him crashing into one of the attackers, and crouched low.

Shkkk—

The blade of a knife sliced past her head, cutting off a few strands of hair. Haru, on one knee, sliced through the Achilles tendon and the back of the knee of the man who had swung at her.

Slash, slash—

“Kkkk…!”

As she passed him, another knife shot straight toward her neck. Haru stepped back and thrust her knife forward in response.

Stab—

The man's knife stopped just before Haru's collarbone. His elbow had been pierced clean through by Haru’s knife.

Crunch.

Haru tried to pull it out, but when it didn’t come loose easily, she immediately gave up and bent the man’s fingers, taking his knife from his hand.

Then, rolling forward to avoid an attack from behind, she stabbed her knife into the side of the man whose elbow had been pierced, climbed up, stabbed him in the throat, and kicked his back to pull the knife out and create some distance.

Stab, splurt—

The room was painted red with blood. The only remaining man, unscathed so far, roared like a beast and charged at her.

“Aaaaaah!!”

Haru lowered her body again to dodge the man’s knife and drove her knife into the top of his foot.

“Urk!”

While the man was frozen in pain, Haru drove the knife deeper into his groin.

“Ghaaaah!!”

As the man screamed in indescribable pain, Haru stood and smashed his hand with her knee, making him drop the knife.

Clink—

As the knife floated in the air, Haru snatched it and spun once in midair.

Shkk—

A sharp red line appeared on the screaming man's throat.

Haru grabbed the man’s jaw and lifted it, causing his throat to split open like gills and blood to pour out like a waterfall. The man collapsed on the spot.

“Ugh… ugh…”

The man whose ankle and back of the knee had been cut tried to attack Haru but stopped, trembling uncontrollably.

Squish, squish.

As she approached, stepping through the blood, the man stumbled backward and tripped over the body of his fallen comrade. Haru pounced like a predator and pressed her knife against his throat.

Thud—

The tip of the knife touched the man's throat but did not press deeply. A thin line of blood ran down his neck, but it was not a fatal wound.

‘He’s in a state of combat incapacity. I can subdue him without killing him. I can… without killing him…’

As Haru’s expression grew troubled, the man’s hand twitched slightly. At that moment, the knife pressed into the back of his hand.

Stab—

“Khh!”

Haru glared at him with cold, icy eyes and spoke in a chilling tone.

“If you move, you die. If you stay still, you live.”

Haru wiped the blood from her hand on a corpse’s clothes, then pulled out cable ties from the crossbody bag that Haesu had bought for her and bound the last survivor's hands and feet.

Then, standing alone in the middle of the blood-soaked room, she slowly looked around.

The room that had once been so warm had turned into a reflection of the cruel world she once lived in — all because of her own hands.

Drip, drip, drop—

The drops of blood on her pale face seemed even redder. Tears mixed with the blood, turning crimson as they fell to the floor.

There was no turning back. She had returned to this terrible world. Even her pretty dress was stained red.

Would the landlord look at her with disgust now? Would he abandon her?

She thought of him bringing her barbecue chicken, making ramen for her, placing side dishes on top of her rice.

She couldn’t be sure. But just the thought gave her courage.

With bloodied hands, Haru pulled out her phone, found the contact labeled “Landlord,” and pressed the call button.

Ring— ring—

— “Yeah.”

He answered before the second ring had even finished. Just hearing his voice made her heart sink.

Haru forced out the words, struggling to speak.

“I… killed someone.”

— “It’s okay. Where are you? I’ll be there right now.”

“It’s okay” — words born of trust. Haru felt warmth surge within her chest.

Shin Haesu wrinkled his brow as soon as he stepped into the house, hit by the sharp scent of blood. The floor, the furniture, even the wallpaper — everything was drenched in blood.

In the middle of that sea of blood, Haru stood silently, her head hanging low. In the corner, the sole survivor, hands and feet bound, squirmed weakly.

Step—

Haesu silently grabbed Haru’s wrist and led her to the bathroom, handing her a set of training clothes.

“Wash up first.”

“…Okay.”

After closing the bathroom door, Haesu approached the surviving man, who was bleeding from his ankle, back of the knee, and hand.

Haesu grabbed the man’s throat and forced him upright.

“Speak. Why did you come here?”

“F-For revenge… for Brother Mo Chang…”

“I see…”

Three were dead, and one was left crippled. Four armed men had been handled single-handedly, without sustaining a single injury.

If this fact got out, the case would become complicated. The detectives would dig relentlessly into how Haru possessed such skills and what her past might be.

Haesu was curious about that too, but he didn’t want it to come out this way.

“Then you must know that if I kill you right now, it’ll count as self-defense.”

“P-please spare me. I-I’ll do anything.”

Haesu gave a faint smirk and pressed his thumb against the man’s collarbone.

Crunch

“Ghhhhh!!”

“Funny how someone who treats others’ lives like ants suddenly finds his own life precious.”

The man, trembling from the pain that felt like his collarbone was about to shatter, pressed himself against the wall. Haesu leaned in close to his face and spoke in a chilling tone.

“I killed everyone here. Got that?”

“Y-yes, yes, yes!”

The man didn’t have the capacity to doubt it. He just nodded desperately, trying to survive.

Haesu seriously considered killing him but eventually pulled out his phone.

“-You suddenly ran out. What happened?”

“It’s a murder case.”

“-Seriously? You’re always dragging trouble with you. Where are you?”

“My place.”

“-…Huh?”

Not long after, the Major Crimes Unit arrived at Haesu’s house. They couldn’t hide their shock at the state of the blood-soaked room.

“Hello…”

They were even more shocked when they saw Haru standing there.

Since the CCTV would eventually reveal that Haru had entered first, they couldn’t have her leave the scene.

“H-Hello??”

Haesu stepped in between the startled team members and Haru, giving a brief explanation.

“She’s staying at my place for now. That’s all.”

“Ah, so this is the girl your wife mentioned?”

“Anyway… what a mess.”

The team leader clicked his tongue as he surveyed the corpses.

“They threatened Haru to lure me here, and I handled it.”

“These crazy bastards…”

“At least you didn’t get hurt. It’s always reassuring knowing you’ll be fine. Makes me feel better.”

The team leader’s sincerity showed in his expression.

“Haru… are you okay?”

Haru gave a silent nod.

Ogeng squatted down in the corner, closely examining the wounds on the bodies.

“Hey, stop looking so closely. It’s gross. Just wrap it up.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Of course, Haesu was cleared for self-defense. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the attackers were loyal henchmen of Mo Chang-gwi, notorious ethnic Korean gangsters from China.

They had already been involved in numerous crimes, with at least four murder cases finally coming to light.

This incident also made the news:

[Attempted Revenge Against the Detective Who Arrested Their Boss Ends in Failure]

-Four gangsters tried to kill the detective who arrested their boss, but the attack backfired. Three died, and one was seriously injured. Detective Shin ** of Gangjin Station reportedly came out completely unscathed.

┗Isn’t that the same Detective Shin from a year ago? The one who took down that serial killer disguised as a chauffeur?

┗Wow, you’ve got a crazy memory. Do you just follow police news?

┗Four this time? Is he a professional at reverse takedowns?

┗I just looked it up—he got promoted from Sergeant to Senior Sergeant.

┗Is this real-life Conan? He’s like a magnet for cases. What kind of cop single-handedly takes down four armed gangsters? This is superhero level.

┗I want to meet him too. Someone find him and get an interview!

┗Sign up for Detective Shin’s interview. First come, first served.

┗Sign up #2

┗…Sign up #1088

Although only a few articles were published, the unusual nature of the story caused it to spread rapidly across social media.

Haesu’s name and age had already been revealed on the Gangjin Station homepage, but he wasn’t particularly concerned.

Sssshhh

Haesu sat on the rooftop of the police station, drinking coffee and lost in thought.

When he heard about the family of Ogeng’s colleague being attacked, it had felt like someone else’s problem. But when Haru was nearly killed, it became painfully real.

He needed to help Haru become independent as soon as possible. As long as he remained a detective, something like this could happen again at any time.

What if someone Haru couldn’t handle came next time? What if Mo Chang-gwi himself came? Just thinking about it was terrifying.

Even if he moved out, he worried that the next tenant would suffer the consequences.

Creak

Ogeng opened the rooftop door, stepped out, and lit a cigarette.

“You should quit smoking.”

“Nagging again.”

Ogeng took a drag from his cigarette and then spoke.

“You didn’t kill them, did you?”

Haesu didn’t answer. Even if the rookie didn’t realize it, Ogeng and the team leader were seasoned detectives. They could tell just by looking at the scene.

The team leader’s casual remark about wrapping up the case spoke volumes.

“You don’t use knives. Even if you walked into a den of knives, you’d still beat them down barehanded. The cuts were shallow too. Someone with less strength did it… Like that girl we saw.”

Haesu remained silent for a moment before giving a small nod.

“Yeah.”

“Huh? That was easier to admit than I expected.”

“It happened because of me. I didn’t want to make it harder for her.”

“…Didn’t she say she had no memories?”

Who else but a seasoned detective would remember that detail?

“Yeah.”

“This isn’t a light case. Three people died. If it wasn’t self-defense, we wouldn’t have let it slide.”

That meant they had decided to let it slide.

Haesu nodded his head in gratitude.

“I would’ve done the same.”

Ogeng exhaled a long plume of smoke and continued.

“But that girl… she’s seriously skilled. Taking down those monsters without a single scratch?”

“Yeah. Luckily.”

“She’s good enough to be a cop, you know?”

Haesu suddenly pictured Haru drenched in blood, surrounded by bodies. He shook his head firmly.

“No way.”

After work, Haesu returned home and opened the door. Even though the place had been cleaned, the metallic smell of blood still lingered. But Haru was nowhere to be seen.

A pink Post-it stuck to the freezer door caught his eye.

[I’m a murderer. I made you take the blame. I’m a burden. Please don’t look for me. ^-^]

The handwriting was childish and uneven, but the spelling was correct. The smiley face at the end was so typically Haru.

Haesu pulled the Post-it down and stared at it for a moment, then lifted his head.

Haru had run away.