Yeo Jun, just like every year, blew out the candles with his friends and made a wish — the same quiet wish he made every year:"I wish I had a family who understood me, just like all of them do."
It was the same scene every year... the same pain every time.Even today, every child around him was celebrating with their parents.Some were taking photos with their moms, others were sharing pieces of cake with their dads.
But Yeo Jun... he was in the middle — present, yet completely alone.
A wave of pain rose in his chest, so deep that tears began to fall from his eyes on their own.He quietly stood in a corner, watching everyone celebrate, thinking just one thing:
"If only... if only my dad would show up right now, celebrate my birthday with me, cut the cake, hug me, wish me happy birthday..."
He quickly looked away, bent down, and wiped his tears.Then, taking a deep breath, he once again locked away all those feelings inside.He put on a small, fake smile and walked back toward his friends, rejoining the party.Everyone was enjoying themselves, laughing, cheering — and for a moment, life felt like a sweet lie.
Night had fallen, and one by one, everyone began heading home.Yeo Jun started helping to wind up the party. He turned to the driver uncle and said:"Please load all these gifts into the car."Then he got ready to leave as well.
Sang had already left with his parents.Yeo Jun exited the restaurant hall and got into the car.It had been a while since they'd left the city's residential areas — now their car was on a deserted, empty road.In the car, it was just Yeo Jun… and his loyal driver uncle.
Everything was going fine — until...
Two black cars suddenly blocked their way.
Driver uncle hit the brakes instantly. His eyes held a strange uneasiness, as if he sensed danger.He immediately looked at Yeo Jun and said:"Son, stay in the car… and lock the doors."
He slipped a pistol into his jacket pocket and walked up to the black car, knocking on its window.Yeo Jun, now anxious, tightened his seatbelt. His heart was pounding in his chest.He couldn't blink — he just kept staring at driver uncle outside the windshield. Every second felt stretched.
Driver uncle knocked a few times on the dark window.Suddenly, the window rolled down a little... and a hand emerged.
Then — a loud bang.
The sound of a gunshot froze Yeo Jun's soul.He jolted, staring through the windshield...
Driver uncle's body had fallen to the ground.Blood was spreading across the road — like the darkness was now creeping inside him too.
"Driver uncle!!"He screamed out, calling for him."Driver uncle…!"But there was no movement in the body.Yeo Jun's heart stopped...He tried calling out to him again...
But no sound came from his throat.Everything happening before his eyes — he was seeing something like this for the very first time.Men stepped out from the other cars and started walking toward his vehicle.They tried opening the doors, but Yeo Jun had already locked them — just as driver uncle had told him to.
When they saw the doors wouldn't open, one of them picked up a metal rod to smash the glass.With the very first hit, the window shook violently — Yeo Jun's whole body was trembling.
His phone slipped from his hand, and he pressed himself tightly into the corner of the car.
"What's happening... why is this happening..."His mind began to spin. Why were they doing this to him?
Just then, one of them shattered the window — broken glass fell into his lap.They reached in and unlocked the door — it swung open.The next moment, someone grabbed his arm tightly and yanked him out of the car.
That night… became the darkest night of his life.
As they pulled him from the car, Yeo Jun fought with everything he had to free himself."Let me go! Please, help! Is anyone there?! Can someone hear me?!"But on that deserted, silent road, only the darkness of night replied to his screams.No sound. No lights. Only the deafening silence that seemed to choke the air.
Suddenly, someone grabbed him tightly from behind — pinning his arms — and held him so firmly that it became hard for him to breathe.The next moment, a cold, sharp sting pierced his neck.
It was a heavy drug — injected through a needle.
Instantly, a burning sensation spread through his neck, and the pain seemed to awaken every nerve in his body.His body shook… then slowly began to give up on him...
And then…
Silence.
When Yeo Jun's eyes slowly started to open in a faint, blurry light,The first thing he felt was a sharp pain in his wrists.He was tied tightly to a chair — so tightly that blood had stopped flowing to his hands.The ropes had sunk into his skin, almost becoming part of it.
His feet were bare... and the floor was so cold, it felt like he was standing on a block of ice.
The first smell that hit his nose was…
The stench of damp, rotten clothes — and something that resembled blood.
He tried to open his eyes gently, but the drug was still affecting him.His head was heavy, the pain spreading to his eyes.
Slowly, he looked around — it was a dark room,Eerily silent, cold, and filled with a kind of terror he had never known.The walls were stained with water damage, the air reeked with a moldy, nauseating smell, and there were scattered objects on the floor…
It didn't feel like a place meant for human beings.
Suddenly, the rusty creak of an old door startled his heart into panic.The door opened…
And 5–6 men entered the darkness.
Then, a weak, zero-watt bulb was switched on, hanging directly above his head — the bulb was so small that its light fell only on Yeo Jun.
A tall man dressed in black, with deep, cold, lifeless eyes, stepped forward.He stared at Yeo Jun with his dark, terrifying eyes and spoke to another man standing in the shadows behind him,"Is this the boy?"
A cold, emotionless voice echoed.
Then, from a corner of the room came another voice — heavier, belonging to an older man.He was in the darkness, but his presence was strongly felt.
"Yes… this is him," said the older man."Do whatever you want with him… but remember — he must not die."
The older man standing to the side spoke.
Because of the darkness, Yeo Jun couldn't clearly see their faces.
"You know… whoever comes here doesn't leave alive…"
A bitter, cold voice echoed in the dark — devoid of pain or any human emotion.
"But still, you want to keep him alive?"
Two men standing in the corner of the dark room were talking as if the boy tied to the chair — Yeo Jun — was nothing but an object, not a human.
"Yes… I need him alive to get to his father. As soon as his father agrees to our demands… we will return him to his father."
Every word was piercing Yeo Jun's heart like sharp knives. He tried to understand, but fear, drugs, and darkness were swallowing his senses.
He could only feel that someone was staring at him... glaring at him...In their eyes was a strange wet, murderous pleasure.
"Hmmm… young age, innocent face… those beautiful eyes...""You look very good…"
The man leaned closer to Yeo Jun's face, looked into his eyes —and then…a sinister smile appeared on his lips.
A smile that only wild, cruel people filled with animalistic desire wear —people who break innocence and take pleasure in it.
Yeo Jun was still scared, trembling on the chair, feeling the cold that filled the room.He knew something very wrong was about to happen to him.
"This will be my most beautiful creation yet,"he said softly —as if looking at a piece of art.
With eyes full of madness, he stared at Yeo Jun.