Episode 39 – Face the Zero
Rain blurred Seoul's skyline to a smear of steel and glass. But in CHIPER's HQ, no one looked out the window.
They stared at the screen — a single blinking dot on a back-alley map.
"Here," Alex whispered. "Signal triangulated to a drainage warehouse. East docks."
Dohee swallowed. "How sure?"
Alex's voice cracked. "Ninety-seven percent."
Kevin looked up, eyes cold steel. "Then we go now."
---
Guen packed the med kit, hands shaking so hard pills clattered to the floor.
Dohee grabbed her wrist. "Hey. Breathe. We'll get her."
Guen's eyes glistened. "And if we're too late?"
"We won't be," Dohee forced out, though her voice broke around the words.
---
Minjae didn't speak.
He stood apart, black hoodie dripping water onto concrete. Head down, shoulders tense, fists clenched until bone pushed white through skin.
Alex stepped closer. "Minjae… when we find him—"
Minjae's voice cut like glass. "He won't leave alive."
Kevin's jaw tightened. "No. We bring him in. We get answers."
Minjae lifted his head slowly, eyes hollow and dead. "No, Kevin. You don't understand. She's mine."
Kevin's breath caught. "Minjae—"
"She's the only thing that made me stop," Minjae whispered. "If he breaks her… there's nothing left to stop me."
---
Underground.
Miran's wrists burned from ropes digging into raw skin. Her mouth was dry, throat cracked from crying, from whispering prayers into darkness.
ZeroFace's plastic mask hovered just beyond her blurred vision.
"You're trembling," the voice teased, calm as silk. "Why? You know they won't come."
"They will," she rasped. "They always come."
A slow laugh. "But what if they come too late?"
---
Outside the warehouse, night dripped cold on rusted metal and broken glass.
Kevin crouched beside Minjae. "One chance. We move quiet. We move smart."
Minjae didn't answer. His gaze burned holes through the steel door.
Alex's hands shook around the jammer. "One, two, three—"
The lock clicked.
Minjae didn't wait. He moved first, shadows swallowing him.
---
Inside smelled of mold and rot. Flickering bulbs lit narrow halls painted with peeling white.
Kevin signaled. Guen and Dohee flanked left. Alex stayed at the rear, sweat pouring down his neck.
Minjae stalked forward, head low, shoulders tight.
Every breath, every heartbeat, was a countdown.
---
Miran, bound to a rusted chair, lifted her head at faint footsteps.
Tears spilled fresh. "Kevin…?"
The voice came first. "Not quite."
ZeroFace stepped from the dark, plastic mask reflecting flickers of dying light.
"Your team is close," he whispered. "But not close enough."
Miran shook her head weakly. "They'll stop you."
"Will they?" His hand caressed her cheek — a lover's touch twisted by madness. "Or will they watch you break?"
---
Down the hall, Guen's foot brushed something.
A bell. A tripwire.
"Wait!" she hissed — too late.
The trap sprang, chains rattling. A silent alarm.
---
Minjae froze. His eyes flicked wide, wild.
"He knows," Kevin rasped. "Move now!"
They burst into a run, boots slamming concrete.
---
ZeroFace tilted his head, listening to echoing footsteps.
"Here they come," he whispered.
Then he drew a thin blade, pressing it to Miran's neck.
She sobbed. "Please… don't—"
His mask leaned close. "I only need to spill enough blood to break them."
---
Minjae reached the door first.
He didn't hesitate.
His foot crashed through rotted wood, splinters spraying.
And then: there she was.
Miran — bound, shaking, tears streaking her face. And behind her, the mask.
---
ZeroFace's blade flashed.
Minjae lunged, faster than thought.
Metal clanged, blade skittered across concrete.
Miran screamed.
---
Kevin, Guen, Dohee, Alex poured in after.
"Don't kill him!" Kevin shouted.
Minjae didn't hear. Or didn't care.
His fists crashed into ZeroFace, again, again, bones splitting under raw fury.
Blood sprayed across rusted walls.
---
ZeroFace gasped, mask cracking.
Minjae grabbed him by the throat, dragging him up so their faces met.
Through shattered plastic, wild eyes gleamed back.
"You touched what's mine," Minjae snarled.
ZeroFace gurgled, fingers clawing uselessly.
---
Miran sobbed, voice hoarse. "Minjae… stop…"
Her cry sliced through him.
Minjae froze, chest heaving. Rage trembled on a razor's edge.
Kevin stepped closer, voice low, terrified. "If you kill him, it ends everything. Everything, Minjae."
Minjae's hand shook. Veins stood out, dark and swollen.
---
Then he threw ZeroFace down, turning away, breath ragged.
Kevin cuffed the man, who coughed blood, half-unconscious.
Guen ran to Miran, blade flashing to cut ropes.
"Shh, it's over," she whispered, voice breaking.
---
Miran fell into Guen's arms, sobbing so hard her body shook.
Dohee stroked her hair, tears slipping silent.
Alex dropped to his knees beside them, guilt crawling up his throat like acid. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
---
Minjae stood apart, hands slicked with blood, chest heaving.
His eyes locked on Miran — wide, terrified, but alive.
For a heartbeat, something like relief crossed his face.
Then darkness swallowed it again.
---
Outside, sirens howled closer.
Kevin barked, "We move. Now."
Alex dragged ZeroFace to his feet. Guen and Dohee supported Miran, who stumbled, legs barely holding.
Minjae trailed last, silent, shadowed, the monster still breathing inside his ribs.
---
Later, at HQ.
Miran lay wrapped in blankets, IV in her arm, bruises blooming on pale skin.
Dohee and Guen hovered near, refusing to leave her side.
Kevin watched from the doorway, exhaustion carving deep lines in his face.
Minjae stood in the darkest corner, gaze fixed on Miran.
---
She opened her eyes, slow, tears brimming again.
Their gazes met.
Miran's lips parted. "Minjae…"
His mask slipped, for a breath — raw, broken.
Then it locked back in place.
"You're safe," he rasped. "Don't… don't do that again."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I warned you," he said, softer, almost begging.
---
She swallowed hard. "You scared me…"
Minjae looked away, voice like gravel. "Good. Maybe next time you'll listen."
But behind the words, something broke — something Miran saw, even if he'd never say.
---
At the side, Alex leaned against the wall, guilt digging trenches through his chest.
Dohee approached, eyes wary. "If you'd told us sooner—"
"I know," Alex whispered, voice hoarse. "It's on me."
Guen turned from Miran's bedside, voice brittle. "Don't let it happen again. Ever."
Alex nodded, throat too tight to speak.
---
Hours later, Kevin gathered them in the briefing room.
ZeroFace lay unconscious in a holding cell, bloodied but alive.
Kevin's voice was low, grave. "This isn't over. He was just the hand. We need the mind."
Dohee shivered. "Who hired him?"
Kevin's gaze was dark. "We find out. And we end it."
---
Minjae stayed silent, gaze still locked on Miran's closed door.
In his chest, darkness twisted tighter.
He nearly killed for her.
And the worst part: a piece of him wanted to do it again.
---