Inside the elevator.

Kim Sang-tae frowned, tilting his head as if he had misheard.

“What did you say?”

“You really don’t understand human speech in one go, huh? Must be because you're a son of a bitch.”

“Ha, haha, this guy’s insane. Kill him.”

At Kim Sang-tae’s command, the burly bodyguards reached for Shin Haesu. Haesu moved half a beat ahead and struck their jaws upward.

Bang! Bang! Crack!

A fight in an enclosed space, where they had no chance to gauge who Haesu was or what kind of skills he possessed. The bodyguards collapsed without even managing to throw a proper punch.

Ding-dong—

- Basement Level 1.

In the short span from the first floor to the basement level, four men had fallen. The remaining two stood frozen, eyes wide. Kim Sang-tae stumbled backward, shouting.

“W-what are you guys doing?! Get him!”

“Kim Sang-tae, the honorable assemblyman. Nice to meet you.”

As the doors opened, Team Leader and Oh Kang-seok, waiting in the basement parking lot, greeted him. The youngest member was stationed at the first-floor entrance just in case.

Haesu ignored the two dazed bodyguards and dragged Kim Sang-tae out by the collar.

“W-wait, what the hell are you doing?! Are you cops? Do you even know who I am? I’m Kim Sang-tae—”

Smack!

One slap from Haesu sent Kim Sang-tae’s head spinning 180 degrees in the opposite direction. One of his eyes became bloodshot from burst capillaries, and blood dripped from his torn lips.

“Y-you son of a—”

Whack!

His head snapped back the other way. This time, two white teeth popped out. Kim Sang-tae had never realized a slap could carry such explosive power. The pain was unbearable, and his mind reeled.

And yet, the man with the terrifying face in front of him was raising his hand once more.

“Hey, hey, Haesu, he’s going to die if you keep that up. Hold back, hold back.”

At the Team Leader’s intervention, Kim Sang-tae barely regained his senses and pointed a trembling finger at Haesu.

“Y-you! I’ll make sure you lose your badge—”

Thud!

Before he could finish, the Team Leader’s fist crashed into his face. Looking down at the fallen man, the Team Leader muttered.

“I should be the one to kill this bastard.”

Gangjin Police Station, Violent Crimes Division, Interrogation Room.

Still reeling from the shock of the slaps, Kim Sang-tae now faced his greatest fear—an interrogation by Shin Haesu.

“I really didn’t know! I had nothing to do with it! I was blackmailed by that bitch too… Hic.”

“Blackmailed? By Shin Ira?”

As soon as he shut his mouth, Haesu stopped typing and stood up. Kim Sang-tae flinched, pushing his chair back.

“D-don’t do this, you’re a cop! A cop…”

Haesu leaned in closer, his voice lowering dangerously.

“Think carefully. If what she has on you is worse than murder solicitation, then keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, you’ll take the fall. Hiring a hitman for a celebrity and bribing the police? That’s life imprisonment. Even as a model inmate, you’ll be in for at least twenty years.”

Kim Sang-tae’s eyes darted rapidly. Haesu’s voice softened, coaxing.

“Without that charge, your crimes aren’t as severe. Bribing the police makes you a bastard, but at least the cop turned himself in. All you did was introduce that woman. You didn’t know she’d get Kang-min addicted to drugs, right?”

“R-right? I really didn’t know about that…”

“Where is Shin Ira?”

“I-I don’t know…”

Still, he handed over her phone number and address.

As Haesu exited the interrogation room, the Team Leader patted his shoulder and signaled to Oh Kang-seok.

“Oh Kang-seok, take the rookie and go pick up Shin Ira.”

“No. I’ll go.”

“Haesu? Well, whatever. It’s a minor difference, but women are usually less scared of you.”

As Haesu walked toward the parking lot, the rookie followed.

“I’ll be going separately. You know the address, right?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good.”

With a nod, Haesu mounted his motorcycle and rode off first. The muscle-bound rookie watched his retreating figure for a moment before getting into the car to follow.

Beep-beep-beep, click.

A tall woman in a red dress entered her home. The dress had a plunging neckline and a long slit on the side, revealing her pale, slender legs.

Exuding a sultry aura, she collapsed onto the sofa without even turning on the lights, clearly exhausted.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she soon furrowed her brows and sat up.

“Jin?”

Rustle—

At her call, a man emerged from behind the living room curtains, wearing a cap pulled low.

“I told you not to sneak into my house.”

“You wouldn’t meet me otherwise.”

She punched his chest.

“You crazy bastard! Why the hell did you kill him?”

“He was making your life difficult.”

“And who the hell are you to decide that? What if the company finds out? Do you even know how ruthless and meticulous they are? You think you can cover this up behind their backs? What about me?”

Bang!

Suddenly, Jin slammed her against the wall.

“I did it for you, Shin Ira! For you!”

He shouted, forcing a kiss on her and tearing at her clothes.

Shin Ira shoved him away in a panic.

“What the hell are you doing?! You psycho!”

“Why not me? Is it because of that old assemblyman? I’ll kill every last one of them for you. You know I’m good at that.”

“Shut up and get out of my sight. Forever. Please.”

At her near-hysterical plea, Jin’s voice turned ice cold.

“You… never considered that I might kill you instead?”

A chilling aura filled the room. A murderous glint flickered in his eyes. Shin Ira instinctively stepped back.

Just then—

Ding-dong—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

- This is the police. Shin Ira, we know you’re inside. Open the door.

Both their eyes widened in shock. She hurriedly shoved Jin into the closet.

“Stay here. Don’t make a sound.”

Jin nodded silently.

Click.

As she opened the door, Shin Haesu flashed his police badge and stepped inside.

“Shin Ira? Sergeant Shin Haesu from Gangjin Police Violent Crimes Division. May we have your cooperation?”

“Detective… Aren’t you supposed to be in pairs?”

Seeing the murderous intent in Jin’s eyes, she quickly weighed her options. There was no way a single detective could subdue him. She had no choice but to leave with them.

“They’ll be here soon…”

Haesu let his gaze drift over her—smudged lipstick, disheveled clothing. Ignoring her words, he looked around the room before stopping beside the closet.

“Shin Ira, don’t you need help?”

“…What?”

“You were supposed to die just now.”

A chill ran down her spine.

At that moment, Haesu drove his fist into the closet.

BANG!

The wooden door shattered, revealing Jin, bloodied and clutching a knife.

Haesu seized the blade, cuffing him.

“Nice to meet you. Murderer.”

Another life, saved by Reset.

Gangjin Police Station, Violent Crimes Division.

Thanks to the rookie’s sharp eye, analyzing the CCTV footage from Kang-min’s case, they identified Jin as the real killer.

However, other than the evidence that Jin was a murderer, there was no way to know anything else about him.

“Hey, look at this. There are no fingerprints on his hands at all. It looks like they were burned off. They’re completely smooth.”

“Yeah, and he doesn’t even know his own name. Jin sounds like an alias. He really might not know his real name. It’s like he just dropped out of the sky or something.”

“He seems to be closely connected to Shin Ira. We’ll get something out of him during interrogation.”

However, the only thing the interrogation revealed was that Congressman Kim Sang-tae was Shin Ira’s sponsor.

What was certain was that Jin had admired Shin Ira and killed Kang Min because of that. With that, the Kang Min murder case was resolved.

Beyond the interrogation, they traced Kim Sang-tae and Shin Ira’s movements to uncover how the sponsorship had started.

It turned out they had met at Red Moon, an upscale bar where Shin Ira was affiliated.

Red Moon…?

Haesu furrowed his brows, digging through his memory. It was a term he had seen in an old notebook.

Father…

It was a word he had come across in his father’s case files. Back then, he hadn’t understood its significance and had glossed over it. But now, he finally realized.

Red Moon… That guy Jin, too… There’s a lot of suspicious things. I’ll have to look into this again on my day off.

Haesu thought about his father’s case as he prepared to leave work.

“Huh? What? You’re heading home, Haesu? We were all going to the sauna together today.”

“I need to sleep at home.”

“Tch, you’re acting suspicious… Fine, see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’ll be going now.”

As Haesu turned to leave, the youngest team member sprang up and bowed deeply.

“Senior, please get home safely!!”

“Hey, lower your voice. Can’t you see you’re startling the other teams?”

It was just about the time when Shin Haesu arrived at work.

The door closed, and once Haesu’s footsteps completely disappeared, silence settled over the room. Only then did Haru fully realize she was alone.

Her eyes grew even wider with curiosity. Now that she no longer had to be cautious of Haesu’s gaze, she started to properly look around the room.

It was only a ten-pyeong studio apartment, but to Haru, everything—the wallpaper, the molding, the bathroom, the flooring—was new and fascinating.

She truly loved this space. The more she looked, the more she liked it. And she also liked Haesu, the one who had pulled her out of the darkness and into the light.

—You can’t live with me forever, so you have to learn how to live on your own whenever you get the chance. Remember that well.

But Haesu’s words pierced her heart like a dagger. She had anticipated that this uncertain happiness would end someday, but this was different from the time when she had been merely waiting for death, unable to die.

Now, she wanted to live. She wanted to eat delicious food.

For a long while, Haru went back and forth between being happy and feeling anxious, torn in her thoughts, before she finally made a decision.

I won’t lose this.

She was going to do whatever it took to change her fate.

Clenching her small fists tightly, Haru grabbed two wet wipes and started cleaning the house.

The place was already spotless, not even a single strand of hair in the bathroom, but she wiped it down again and again.

Time passed like that.

Why isn’t he coming back…?

It was well past his usual time to return. As the thick darkness settled over the world, unease began creeping up inside her.

Beep-beep-beep, click—

Haru, who had been dozing against the wall with a wet wipe still in her hand, shot up at the sound of the door lock opening and rushed toward the entrance.

“Uh!”

“Ah—”

Thud—

She came to such a sudden stop at the sight of Haesu’s face that her upper body tilted forward, and Haesu naturally caught her.

“You’re greeting me quite dramatically.”

“S-sorry.”

“It’s fine, now get up.”

“Y-yes…”

As she awkwardly stepped back, Haesu handed her a paper bag.

“Returned the company’s stuff. This is for you.”

Inside were a smartwatch and a phone, both purchased under Haesu’s name.

Haru silently bowed her head, expressing the deepest gratitude she could.

“Wash up first, then I’ll teach you how to use it.”

“Yes…”

Haesu took off his jacket and headed to the bathroom. But something seemed off. The slippers, which had started to get grimy, were now spotless. The grout between the tiles was clean, too.

Suspicious, he checked the sink. It was gleaming. The toilet was just as pristine.

Since he hadn’t done it, there was only one possible culprit. A small smile formed on Haesu’s face.

…She’s a good kid.

After his shower, Haesu stayed up past midnight teaching Haru how to use the smartphone.

Before bed, as he lay down first, Haru instinctively reached out for his sleeve but hesitated when she realized he was watching. Haesu, noticing her hand in the moonlight, furrowed his brows.

Swish.

He pulled her wrist toward him. At first, she trembled slightly, but the shaking soon stopped.

Her hands were rough, cracked in places—unbelievable for a woman in her early twenties.

But what was strangest was that, just like that man Jin, her fingertips were smooth and devoid of fingerprints.

What are you…? What kind of life have you lived…?

For the first time, Haesu worried again about whether he could truly take responsibility for this woman.

Nineteen years ago, Haru had been sold from an orphanage to a mysterious organization, living in complete isolation from the outside world, with an imbalanced grasp of culture and language.

Still, perhaps because of her youth, she quickly learned how to use the smartphone.

And she soon discovered a website where she could ask questions and get real-time responses.

She used it frequently.

[What do you say when something tastes really good? What do you say when something feels really great?]

┗ Who is this person? Are you a foreigner?

┗ Illegal immigrant, go back to your country!!

┗ Hey, let’s all get along. It’s simple. In our country, you just add one of these four prefixes—[Ani/Geunde/…

Haru felt regretful that she hadn’t been able to fully express the deliciousness and gratitude she had felt when Haesu cooked for her.

She eagerly absorbed new expressions through the website.

It’s a good place.

That night, when Haesu got home, he made spicy ramen with an egg added in.

Cold rice was included as a bonus.

“Let’s eat.”

Slurp—

Tonight, he said “let’s eat” instead of just “eat.” Haru didn’t miss that subtle change.

Feeling warmth in her chest, she picked up her chopsticks, now familiar in her hands, and took a big bite of the ramen.

“Hnngh—”

The spicy, sweet, and salty flavors filled her mouth, leaving her speechless.

She had eaten a few dishes in this house, but nothing was as delicious as this ramen.

Before the emotion faded, she wanted to properly express her gratitude.

She proudly raised her thumb and exclaimed:

“Damn… it’s delicious!”

She had learned that this was the highest form of praise. She was sure she had heard the people in the underworld use it in that way often.

Feeling satisfied with her correct usage, she beamed.

But Haesu’s chopsticks halted, and his brow twitched slightly.

“What?”

Haru’s face grew just as serious. Something was wrong. She had done exactly as she was taught. If she upset him now, that would be a disaster.

Panicking, she quickly lowered her hand, shot to her feet, and bowed deeply.

“I—I’m fucking sorry!”