The moonlight was obscured by clouds, casting a deep darkness over the night.

In the yard of the hillside village, about a dozen sturdy men held their breath, listening intently to the conversation.

“…And the truly eerie thing was, there was this yellow-striped cat in our unit called ‘Jjam Tiger.’ One day, it turned up dead, and all its front paw toes were severed. No one knew who killed it. But later, after Im Gi-seong was discharged and we were clearing out his locker, we found them inside one of those transparent capsule toy containers…”

At Jeong Seong-cheol’s detailed explanation, the detectives’ expressions twisted in discomfort.

Killing an animal and collecting its severed toes—it couldn’t be a coincidence.

The detectives were likely thinking the same thing as Shin Haesu. Haesu asked,

“Where did you serve your military duty?”

Jeong Seong-cheol lifted his eyes, recalling his memory.

“Uh… at the Eastern District Police Station, Kyungjin Eastern Police Mobile Unit 1.”

Upon hearing this, Oh Gaeng stepped back and radioed in.

“This is Cheon-Three, requesting an identity check. Im Gi-seong, 141st Class, Kyungjin Eastern Police Mobile Unit 1. Suspect.”

- Suspect? Songpal.

Haesu took out a business card and handed it to him.

“Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll reach out if we need more assistance.”

“Oh, uh? So… so, you’re letting me off? You support me and Miku-chan?”

Haesu glanced at the golf bag before patting Jeong Seong-cheol on the shoulder and turning away.

The next day, at the investigation headquarters.

• Name: Im Gi-seong
• Occupation: Office worker
• Address: 303, 30 Gongi-ro 22beon-gil, Seongjeong City, Gyeonggi Province

…

Im Gi-seong’s personal information was neatly arranged on the whiteboard.

The Violent Crimes Unit chief stood before the detectives and barked,

“Team 1, go to Im Gi-seong’s parents’ house. Team 2, investigate his workplace. Team 3, head to his residence. Move out now!”

“Huh? Wait, Chief, that’s not right.”

“Why is Team 3 assigned to his residence?”

Team 3 referred to Haesu’s team. Since they were being sent to the suspect’s residence, where they were most likely to encounter him, protests arose.

Haesu’s team leader had won against the Violent Crimes Unit leader in a game of rock-paper-scissors to secure the assignment.

Ignoring the complaints, Haesu grabbed the car keys and headed outside with the rookie.

Just then, Oh Gaeng stopped in front of the car and said,

“Haesu, I’ll go with Team 2. It’s better that way.”

“Understood.”

“Yeah, stay safe.”

The original Violent Crimes Unit was wary of sharing information properly, thinking that they, not the Kangjin Police Unit, had to be the ones to catch the culprit.

Haesu and the rookie arrived at Im Gi-seong’s residence. It was an old red-brick one-room building.

Knock, knock, knock.

They knocked at intervals of a few minutes, but there was no sign of movement inside.

Then, Team 2’s radio came through.

- This is Cheon-Two. Im Gi-seong is not at work today. He took a personal day off.

He took a personal day off and went somewhere. This wasn’t a good sign. If he wasn’t the culprit, breaking in would be illegal, but sometimes procedures had to be ignored.

“Rookie, close your eyes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Without question, the rookie shut his eyes tightly, and Haesu raised his foot, kicking the doorknob.

Thud! Crack!

With just two kicks, the doorknob broke, and they stepped inside. The house was incredibly tidy. Everything was aligned with the corners, and even the towels were neatly folded.

Looking around, Haesu said,

“Check the computer.”

“Yes, senior.”

The rookie examined the USB drives scattered around the desk and the internet browsing history.

It showed frequent visits to a site called Mango Market, used for local secondhand trading. The login session was still active, allowing them to check past transactions.

“Senior, this is a bit odd.”

“Show me.”

The history revealed that Im Gi-seong primarily sold women’s clothing. There were quite a few comments from people saying they had been stood up.

Frowning, Haesu grabbed the radio.

“Team 2, check Im Gi-seong’s leave records from last September to now. Quickly.”

- Songpal.

As Haesu noted the usernames of his buyers, the radio crackled again.

- Listing leave records. September 11, December 28, this year’s April 17…

Oh Gaeng, who was reading the dates, suddenly realized something. As they listened, a chill ran up Haesu’s arm.

Oh Gaeng whispered,

- Shit… the dates match.

They coincided exactly with the dates of the serial murders. The missing dates fell on weekends.

Checking Mango Market’s transaction history, they noticed that one person had always interacted with him about a week before each incident. It seemed that he was selecting targets through Mango Market.

He would post ads selling cheap, high-quality women’s clothing, arrange in-person trades, and then stalk his victims.

- So today’s personal leave means…

- Fuck, we need to find this bastard fast!

- Haesu! Did you find anything else?

There was one more lead. Three days ago, someone had commented, expressing interest in a purchase. This message wasn’t visible on the website but only accessible through the mobile app.

Even if they checked the mobile messages, they would likely only find a meeting location, not an exact address.

“It’s likely he identified his target through Mango Market. Three days ago, there was an inquiry. The transaction category is listed under Yong-su-dong, Kangjin City. I’ll text the ID to the chief. Please get the user’s registration information—home address, phone number, and track the phone’s location.”

- Got it. I’ll forward it to the intelligence team. Everyone, head to Yong-su-dong!

“Songpal, let’s go.”

On the way to Yong-su-dong, the team leader’s voice came over the radio.

- Damn it, this bastard turned off his phone. We can’t track Im Gi-seong. The last known location was his house.

It was becoming increasingly evident that Im Gi-seong had planned to commit murder today. The detectives’ urgency intensified.

- Damn it, Chief, what about the address for that ID?

- Shit, no response yet. I’ll ask them again—

At that moment, Haesu noticed something odd. The chief’s voice stretched unnaturally over the radio.

Simultaneously, an overwhelming darkness swallowed his vision.

The moonlight veiled by clouds in the dark night

Vision wavers uneasily. Long hair obscures the view, making it difficult to see properly.

There is a tingling pain in the hands, and the mouth feels stifled. It seems a gag has been placed. A person wearing a black windbreaker is visible in front. The owner of the gaze is so filled with fear that they cannot bring themselves to lift their eyes and look at the face.

A chilling voice whispered into the ear.

- That was fun. But now~ it’s time~ for us to part ways. There won’t be… a next time.

The man chuckled. As he cackled uncontrollably, as if about to choke from laughter, the gaze slowly lifted.

Eyes met with the crazed gaze of a man whose head hung limply. A wave of unbearable terror surged forth.

- Mmff!

The moment their eyes met, he raised the crowbar in his hand high.

Thud. Thud. Thunk—

“Gah—! Hahh! Hahh!”

Shin Haesu, who had been quietly watching the road from the car, suddenly gasped as if revived from the dead. His breath came in ragged pants, causing the junior beside him to startle.

“Senior! Are you all right?”

With wide eyes, Haesu ran his hand through his hair, glanced between his junior and the road ahead, and then spoke.

“Let’s go. Quickly.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Haesu recalled the vision he had just seen. It could hardly be called a vision.

The unbearable fear, the vivid pain in his hands, the nauseating stench of blood, the eerie voice—these were not the detached observations of a third party but an experience akin to possession.

A future sight through possession. After fully experiencing the victim’s circumstances, Haesu’s rage and urgency always doubled.

This time, aside from knowing the victim would die in an hour, there were no other useful clues.

He picked up his phone and called Jung Yeong-su.

- Shin Hyung? What’s going o—

“Can you hack Mango Market?”

Before Yeong-su could finish speaking, Haesu got straight to the point. Sensing the urgency in his voice, Yeong-su responded without hesitation.

- I’ll try.

“I’ll send you an ID. Find out the person's information and address.”

- Got it. How much time do I have?

“Immediately.”

- Yes, sir.

Less than ten minutes had passed when Yeong-su called back. Haesu picked up before the ringtone could even finish once.

“Yeah.”

- Name: Kim Seo-young, 25-year-old female. That right?

He didn’t know. But the age and gender fit within Im Gi-seong’s target range.

“Address?”

- Jijeong-dong, Jujang-ro 22-gil 30, Areum One-Room #401.

As his junior reset the car’s navigation while driving, Haesu nodded and replied.

“Got it.”

As soon as he ended the call, he grabbed his radio.

“Change of location. It wasn’t Yongsu-dong. The person is from Jijeong-dong but received a trade request in Yongsu-dong. Repeating the new address: Jijeong-dong, Jujang-ro…”

- Okay, but how did you find that out?

- Team 1, moving out.

- Shouldn’t we check Yongsu-dong just in case? Any update from the intelligence team?

- Still no cooperation. Damn, they’re useless.

Lowering the radio, Haesu placed an emergency siren atop the car.

“Step on it, junior.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a firm shout, his junior floored the accelerator.

Vroooom!

A small, neatly decorated one-room apartment.

Kim Seo-young, a young woman just starting her career, never imagined that the place where she pursued her dreams would turn into a living nightmare.

“Hng, hnnng…”

The floor was drenched in blood. All of it was hers.

“Come on, try again. You can do it. Hold it like this. Why are you shaking so much? If you shake, you’ll fail. Never played a nail-hammering game at a university festival?”

The man gently placed the crowbar in Seo-young’s right hand. Her left hand lay on the low dining table, a knife embedded in the back of it.

Three stab wounds already marred the back of her hand.

“If you hammer it in all the way in one go, you live. If you fail… you have one last chance.”

“Hnnng, hnn…”

A gag stuffed her mouth, preventing her from even crying out properly. Seo-young sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she weakly shook her head.

The man, who had been watching with amusement, suddenly let his expression go cold. His voice dropped.

“Hurry up. Do I look like I have all day?”

More terrified of him than of smashing her own hand, Seo-young swallowed her cries and positioned her hand to strike.

Only then did the man smile again.

“Good, good. Be careful of your fingers now. And… fire!”

Thwack!

“Aaaaaahhh!!”

The crowbar missed, crushing her thumb instead. Her nail cracked, and blood gushed out.

“I told you to watch your fingers. Damn, this is frustrating. Alright, one last chance.”

Shwick—

Without hesitation, the man yanked the knife out of her hand. Blood spurted like a fountain.

Seo-young clutched her hand, writhing in agony.

“Mmmmph! Mmmghh!”

The man smirked at her suffering, holding the knife firmly while gripping her wrist.

“Don’t move. If I miss the center, we’ll have to do it again.”

“Hnnng, hnnng…”

“That’s right. Now—”

As he raised the knife high, preparing to drive it down onto the back of her hand once more—

Crash!

The apartment window shattered, the floral-patterned curtain ripping away as a massive figure rolled into the room.

Shin Haesu took in the scene—the knife-wielding Im Gi-seong staring at him in shock and the blood-soaked woman clutching her hand.

Without a word, Haesu strode forward, swatting aside the knife Im Gi-seong swung at him. Seizing him by the collar and shoulder, he hoisted him up and slammed his head into the ceiling.

Crash!!

The ceiling cracked, debris raining down. Haesu yanked him back down. Blood dripped from the torn skin on his face, his eyes rolling back.

“Don’t pass out. If you do, I’ll keep hitting you until you wake up.”

Grabbing Im Gi-seong by the face, Haesu dragged him toward the bathroom.