It was late. The dreary, dark sky outside matched the heavy atmosphere in the room. I sat across from my mother, a lukewarm cup of coffee on the table beside me.
"I'm just asking you to return what is rightfully mine," I stated, my voice low but firm.
My father had left those shares to me. "I'm only asking you to give me half of them... because you bothered to raise me."
My mother clicked her tongue. "Tsk Tsk. It's not something I can just hand over to you." She took a slow sip of her drink.
"There are rules and regulations I have to follow!" she declared. Her attempts to sound authoritative were wearing thin.
"You've been giving me those excuses and pushing it off," I countered, looking down. "But I can't let you do that any longer..." I lifted my head, meeting her gaze. "Please liquidate my half of the shares immediately and..."
She cut me off, her eyes wide with shock and fury. "HOW DARE YOU speak to me like that...!" Her grip tightened around her cup. "YOU'RE NOT thinking of settling down with that B*TCH, are you?!"
"...and don't disappoint me any more than you already have," I finished, ignoring her outburst.
"IS THAT WHY YOU NEED MONEY?! HOW long do you expect me to put up with you protecting that little snake?!" she shrieked, splashing the contents of her cup.
I stood up, my own anger bubbling to the surface. "I warned you, Mother... that I'd turn my back on you the moment you turned yours on Ajin."
I stepped closer, practically towering over her. "Why did you have to throw her out... as soon as she graduated middle school?" I demanded. Then, my voice rose to a yell. "YOU KICKED HER OUT OF THE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!! SHE HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO!!!"
My mother jumped up, throwing her hands up defensively. "WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?! SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME!! DO YOU THINK I RUN SOME KIND OF BOARDING HOUSE?!" She sneered. "SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THANKFUL I WAS KIND ENOUGH TO LET HER STAY FOR AS LONG AS SHE DID!! I could have kicked her out the day I broke up with SEONGYU that bastard!"
She shuddered, her face contorted in disgust. "THAT LITTLE MONSTER...!!" she spat. Her hand flew to her forehead in distress. "IF ONLY SEONGYU HADN'T HELD ME WE COULD MAKE MONEY OFF OF HER—!"
"MOTHER!!" I roared, utterly appalled by her greed and cruelty.
She looked up at me, her eyes darting nervously. "You have no idea how messed up she really is..." she mumbled, trying to justify her actions, but I was already walking away. There was nothing more to say to her.
I stood outside, the night air cool against my face, still reeling from the confrontation with my mother. How could she say such things to her own son? I couldn't even come up with a retort. The truth of her words—that I was just a disposable thing to her—cut deeper than any insult.
Have you ever seen people mourn the death of a rat on the street? I thought back to the dead rat lying near my feet. No one cares. They forget what they saw and just go about their day.
My phone began to BRRRRING BRRRRING. I pulled it out, bringing it to my ear.
"That's exactly what you are to Ajin, that b*tch," I heard my mother's spiteful voice echoing in my mind.
I stared down at the dead rat. The words were a bitter pill to swallow. "THAT'S ALL YOU ARE TO AJIN, THAT B*TCH." My own self-loathing voice rang out. "SO WAKE UP, JUNSEO."
I shook my head, trying to clear the darkness. "You know what? I should just forget about it. I should just put it out of my mind."
The phone kept ringing. I wonder why Ajin isn't picking up... She should be off work by now...
I looked down at the street. The ringing was persistent, a frantic, annoying song. 🎶...🎶...🎶
My eyes widened. On the ground, near my foot, I saw a familiar, scuffed shoe.
A wave of dread washed over me. I looked up. I was no longer outside. I was in a confined space—a dingy, yellow-lit room with bare walls and a small barred window. POW. POW. POW. The sounds of impact were muffled yet deafening.
I saw myself, standing over a figure on the floor. I watched as the figure, Ajin, struggled. POW. POW.
I saw her lying on the ground, blood splattering the dull concrete. She was trying to reach for something—her phone, perhaps.
Then, she looked up, her white shirt stained with blood. Her face was a mask of pain, but her eyes... they were empty. She was defeated. She lay there, silent.
I realized I was in a memory, or a vision—a brutal scene I was witnessing with terror. I was Junseo, and the person I was watching was Ajin.
The last image burned into my mind was her, covered in blood, but alive. A bloody rag was clutched in her hand.
What was that? I gasped, breathing heavily. The phone was still vibrating in my hand, bringing me back to the present. Was she truly in danger, or was the stress making me see things? I had to find her
My frantic footsteps carried me to the abandoned building. Shaking with a mix of fear and adrenaline, I threw open the door. The dim, dirty light of the room confirmed my worst fears: Ajin was there, injured, and something terrible had happened.
"AJIN...! W-WHAT happened...?!" I stammered, rushing toward her. She was sitting on the grimy floor, blood smeared on her face and clothes.
She looked up at me, her eyes sharp and accusing. "Where were you? Do you know what almost happened to me?" She glanced at the unconscious figures lying on the floor, their faces bruised. "D-Did you do this...?"
"ARE YOU OKAY?! ARE YOU HURT?!" I cried out, reaching for her arms, fear overriding everything else. She didn't answer, her gaze distant for a moment.
"Sigh. Just pass me my bag..." she finally said, sounding exhausted, pointing to a bag lying near me.
I picked it up, feeling the weight of the moment, the terrifying reality of what I was seeing. As I was about to hand it over, her phone—which was in the bag—chimed with a DING. An incoming message.
She stared at the phone screen in my hand, then looked back up at me with an intense, bloody-streaked stare.
"How far are you willing to go for me, Junseo...?" she whispered, her voice dangerously soft.
"What...?" I asked, completely taken aback.
She turned her head slightly, blood running down her temple. "...And of course, to do that... you need a trustworthy assistant."
I bent down, meeting her gaze. I didn't hesitate. "As... far as you need me to go. As long as it's not murder..." I confessed, my commitment to her firm, but my limits still in place. "I'm willing to do whatever you ask of me."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so...?" she challenged. "I see you have conditions for helping me now..."
"I-It's not like that..." I started to protest.
She reached out, her fingers just brushing the air near my hand. "Don't worry. I wasn't going to ask you to kill anyone. I know how you are."
She took her phone from the bag, looking at the message. The screen read: "ARE YOU FREE TOMORROW, AJIN? COULD WE PLEASE TALK?"
She didn't react to the message, but spoke to me instead, her voice now cold and calculating. "Every moment has its purpose. No matter how insignificant something seems, it can become a useful tool... depending on how you use it."
She was going to use me. She was going to use everyone. And I was giving her permission.
What could she possibly be planning after a night like this?
My hands were shaking as I pulled the door open to my apartment. I looked completely disheveled, my clothes rumpled and my mind still reeling from the violent scene with Ajin. I needed a moment to process her request: to be her trusted assistant, to help her go "as far as you need me to go."
I see you have conditions for helping me now... I wasn't going to ask you to kill anyone. I know how you are.
But then she got closer, touching my face with her bloody fingers. "If I knew you could go that far... I would have asked you to kill my dad a long time ago..." she murmured. My blood ran cold.
Then, with an unnervingly innocent expression, she continued, "But Junseo... CAN I ask you to kill something else...?"
I didn't have time to dwell on her chilling question.
As I walked into the apartment, a man's voice greeted me. "OH, YOU'RE BACK. Boy, look at your face. You look like you've been out having fun. Did you get into a fight or something? WHAT A SIGHT!"
He seemed oblivious to my distress, holding a book and smiling with a creepy confidence.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE...?" I mumbled, looking at his feet, then back up at him.
Before he could answer, another voice cut in.
Ajin had followed me back, her white t-shirt and jeans still slightly stained, but her composure completely regained. She stood there, beautiful and intimidating.
"I thought I told you not to pick my lock. Are you trying to advertise to my neighbors that you're a criminal?" she snapped at the man.
The man simply smiled, entirely unfazed. "DON'T BE A B*TCH. I just wanted to check in on my daughter to make sure she was doing okay."
I watched as he casually walked toward her bookshelf. "HA! WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT? I WAS wondering what she was doing with all these books..." He trailed his hand over the spines, pulling one out: a book titled, "THE MECHANISM OF EMOTION IN MA."
He gave a dry chuckle. "If she has this much trouble acting like a normal human being, she should just go to an acting school or something."
I realized then what I was stepping into: not a simple conflict, but a twisted family drama where everyone was a predator and Ajin was an extremely dangerous force, one I had just sworn my allegiance to.
I had told her I wouldn't commit murder, but she countered that with a request to kill "something else." What was she referring to? And who was this brazen man picking her lock?

I thought I told you not to pick my lock. Are you trying to advertise to my neighbors that you're a criminal?" I demanded as I walked through the door.
My father just smiled that sickening, self-satisfied smirk. "Don't be a b*tch. I just wanted to check in on my daughter to make sure she was doing okay."
I turned, my face stony, though the blood on my temple hadn't even dried. "YOU'RE JUST HERE SO YOU CAN TAKE MY MONEY. So? How much do you need this time? Huh?"
"Aww, look at that. She cares so much about her daddy!" he said, mocking me. Then, his tone became greedy. "I don't need much. I just need a thousand or so."
"Are you sure that's enough?" I challenged him, my eyes narrowed. "I heard money goes quick in a gambling den."
He paused, a look of suspicion creeping onto his face. I continued, my voice smooth and deliberate. "If you win big, you won't need me, right? I have some money coming in soon."
His eyes widened, calculating. "WAIT... ARE YOU SAYING YOU'LL GIVE ME MORE THAN THAT?" he asked, greed clouding his judgment.
I looked down at the floor, then back at him. My commitment was absolute. "I'LL GIVE IT ALL TO YOU, SO DON'T COME BY ANYMORE until I text you to come pick it up." I looked him directly in the eye. "I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH MONEY I HAVE TO GIVE HIM."
He seemed stunned into silence for a moment. I watched him carefully.
"I'll text you when it's ready, okay? If I don't have the money by then, you can do whatever you want to me." I gave him an out, a promise that sealed the deal.
He burst into laughter, a sneering, triumphant sound. "YOU'VE REALLY GROWN UP, HAVEN'T YOU...?! HAHA!!" He gave a final, triumphant smirk.
I watched him go, every word of our exchange echoing in my mind.
He asked if I would give him more than a thousand. My answer to myself was a cold, hard yes. I looked out the window, past the reflection of my bloodied face.
"YES... I DON'T CARE HOWEVER MUCH MONEY IT TAKES... to get him out of my life..."
My gaze hardened with venom. This wasn't about an inheritance or shares anymore. This was about permanent removal.
"...especially if that money is to buy him a ticket to hell."
The man who had picked my lock, the man who called himself my father, would soon find out how far I was truly willing to go. And Junseo had just promised to be my assistant.