Mr choi pov
The panic in my mind was a screeching alarm I couldn't ignore. Her hand-that image is burned into my memory-all blood and pale skin, the injury worse than she let on.
"This won't do..." I insisted, gently taking her arm. "Ajin, let's take you to the hospital first. We need to do something about your hand. Besides, it's too dangerous to stay here..."
The area wasn't safe, not with the trouble she attracted. I knew it, and she knew it. The only solution was the one I always fell back on. I looked at the doorway, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"Come stay with me at my place."

the responsibility for her crushing down on me. I'm not even sure anymore what I can do to help her. It's a vicious cycle-her requests, my willingness to help, and then the inevitable fallout.
I stood there, hesitant, debating my own compliance. I'm not sure if I should keep turning down her requests like this... or... do what I've always done and... just give in, just keep protecting her.
But then, the outside world started closing in on me too. A formal envelope lay on the counter, a summons I couldn't ignore: the Military Conscription Physical Examination Notice. It was just one more thing I had to deal with while trying to hold her life together. My mind made a quick decision, an easy one in the face of so much complicated drama: I'll just GO ALONG WITH IT WHILE PLAYING DUMB.
As I focused on my own problems, I didn't see the woman-the one watching, the one who saw the signs I missed.
She was thinking about the strange beanie she found.
I have a bad feeling about this. I can't shake the feeling that... it's the beanie the stalker was wearing. I took it last night.
From her perspective, the signs were all there, and she saw the tragic conclusion I was blindly walking toward.
...AJIN IS SLOWLY CRUMBLING.
I kept walking, kept worrying about how to protect her, unaware that my entire world was about to shatter and that she was a disease, not a victim. Nowadays, I'm not even sure... what I can do to help her anymore. But still, I kept going back. I always did.

I lay back against the pillows in his apartment, the unfamiliar shirt they gave me soft against my skin. They had been fussing over me ever since the injury.
"Sorry, these are the only clothes I have for you. Are these okay?" one of them, the one who runs the café, asked.
I gave him a reassuring smile, which always worked. "It's okay. They're quite comfy. I like them."
He sat beside the bed, a tray of food, including a neatly cut apple, in his hands. "You heard what the doctor said, right? You've got to be careful not to get water on it for the next while." He gently put the tray down. "Don't worry about coming into work until your stitches are out. Just stay here and rest up."
I listened, a comfortable weariness settling over me. I needed this respite.
The conversation drifted to the future. "Hey, Ajin, you know how you mentioned you were moving out soon...?" The serious one, the one with the quiet, intense gaze, spoke up. "Is there any way to move out any earlier?"
I hesitated. "M-move? Oh... it's still a bit..."
He immediately pressed his advantage, a man who truly believed he was helping. "If it's about money, I can lend you some. You can think of it as a prepayment of your wages. What do you think?"
"Do you think that's really... necessary...?" I asked, feigning concern.
"What are you talking about? Of course it is, Ajin," he insisted, his voice heavy with sincerity. "I don't want to scare you, but this is a very serious situation. How could you or I rest easy when things are the way they are right now? To be honest, we should have called the police right away. Ajin keeps begging me not to, but this isn't something the two of us can handle."
He was right, of course, but for all the wrong reasons. He saw a victim; I saw an opportunity.
He needed to leave, though. "Our game was cancelled because of the typhoon anyways, so it's all good."
"Are you sure...?" I asked, looking him in the eye. "You have your baseball club meeting tomorrow... and Yusik will be alone at the cafe."
"Oh, I'll be at the cafe. I'm the club president so I can't exactly skip, but... I'll stop by and see them for dinner tomorrow instead." He asked me, "Where will you guys be having dinner?" and I gave him the details: "It'll be at that craft brewery near the big intersection. It's actually pretty close to our cafe."
Finally, he rose to leave me to rest. "Get some rest for now... We'll talk about this later."
I glanced at the third person in the room, the other man helping me. "WHERE WILL YOU SLEEP, MR. CHOI?"
"On the sofa in the living room," Mr. Choi replied.
I closed my eyes, listening to the soft sounds of them settling in. Everything was proceeding according to plan. I had a warm bed, food, two loyal pawns, and complete control over the narrative of my own victimhood. This was going to be a productive few days of recovery.
I watched Mr. Choi, his face an open book of sincere, honest intentions, the kind of intentions I specialized in exploiting. He was a puzzle of virtue I couldn't comprehend, yet one I could easily control.
I leaned in, my voice soft, laced with a pity I didn't truly feel. "Mr. Choi... Do you regret it at all...?"
He looked back at me, genuinely confused. "Regret what?"
I clarified, testing the depth of his nature. "You're stepping in to help someone who has nothing to do with you. Sacrificing yourself for someone else's sake." I paused, watching for any flicker of doubt. "Did you ever think about how you could be put in harm's way... while trying to help others?"
He simply smiled, a kind of simple, unaffected smile that made me briefly pause my internal scheming.
"Hmm... I wouldn't call this sacrifice. I've never regretted it, and I think this is just the way I am." He even gave a practical reason, "Also, you're my employee, Ajin. I want to help you."
He continued, musing to himself. "HMMM... I'm the type to move first and think later, so it's easier for me to just follow my moral code."
It was too easy. I pressed one last time, my eyes wide and innocent. "If I'm put in harm's way because of my choices... there's nothing I can do but to accept that. Right?"
He nodded, confirming his own fatal flaw. I let a genuine, chilling wish escape my lips, knowing he would take it as a blessing. "I hope that never changes... And I hope you never regret the choices you make. It'll probably be better for you that way." He truly was an ideal person.
Later, lying in the bed while he and Junseo slept somewhere else in the apartment, I reflected on it all.
If there ever was such a thing as Heaven... Mr. Choi would belong there.
And me? I thought, closing my eyes. Does that mean I belong in Hell?
It didn't matter. What mattered was the control I had established. I had manipulated the situation perfectly, and the pieces were now moving. I have everything I need to get the ball rolling on my plan.
I smiled in the darkness. Mr. Choi was my most useful asset precisely because he was so good.
"Jeongho Choi strongly believes there is a stalker that is harassing me."
He was so trusting, so guileless. "He doesn't doubt a thing I tell him." And that was the only truth I needed.
I lay in the dim light of the bedroom, a smile playing on my lips. My conscience, if I still possessed such a thing, remained silent. I knew the good heart of the man who offered me this place. I wished him well in my own twisted way. "I hope that never changes... And I hope you never regret the choices you make. It'll probably be better for you that way."
A virtuous man like Mr. Choi doesn't belong in my world. I let my thoughts drift to the nature of their sacrifice and my sin. If there ever was such a thing as Heaven... Mr. Choi would belong there. And me? Does that mean I belong in Hell? It was a rhetorical question. I knew the answer, and it didn't slow me down.
The current stage of the plan was secure. I have everything I need to get the ball rolling on my plan. My greatest asset was my own supposed peril. Jeongho Choi strongly believes there is a stalker that is harassing me. He doesn't doubt a thing I tell him. He's so utterly reliable; if he believes I'm in danger... he's ready to run over to save me in a heartbeat. My final preparation for the night was confirming: I've made sure that everything will be in place for tomorrow.
Now, all my focus narrowed to the final, most satisfying target. Now, all that's left is that bastard... Seongyu Baek. There were chains that needed breaking, and this was the last one. I typed out the bait on my phone: "I have your money. Come wait for me at my place tomorrow evenin..."
The thought crystallized, harsh and clear. It only makes sense that I'll need to see blood if I want to cut my blood ties to him. Yet, I clung to the technicality, the performance of my own purity. UNLIKE SOMEBODY, I'LL DO IT WITHOUT GETTING BLOOD ON MY HANDS. Let others commit the violence; my hands would stay clean. I WILL BREAK THESE CHAINS THAT BIND ME, NO MATTER WHAT.
The hours passed. The rain started, a fierce, driving sound outside that drowned out everything else. SWAAAAA.
Then, much sooner than I expected, a shift in the atmosphere. A bell jangled. JINGLE. WELCOME!
Someone had entered the cafe. I wasn't there, but the ripple reached me. The final piece of the puzzle, a figure under an umbrella, stood in the doorway. He was a new player, an unknown variable, and his first words were a direct threat to my delicate
world.
"EXCUSE ME... IS THERE AN EMPLOYEE NAMED... AJIN BAEK HERE?"
A predator had arrived. It was time to find out if he was hunting me, or if he was simply my next piece.
The Call That Changed Everything
The phone vibrated sharply on the bedside table: BZZZZ BZZZZ. I reached for it, wincing slightly as I gripped it with my bandaged hand. I knew my employees were at the cafe, and my cover story had to hold firm.
"Hey, Ajin, are you okay to talk?" Yusik's voice was nervous on the other end.
"Hey, Yusik. Yeah. Is everything okay at the cafe?"
He stumbled over his words. "Oh, it's nothing like that. Me? Um... there's a customer here looking for you..."
My interest instantly piqued. I sat up. "Uh-huh. Do you know a company called Longstar Entertainment?" Yusik asked. "Their CEO, Miri Seo, says she'd like to speak with you. Would you like to talk to her on the phone?"
My heart skipped a beat. This was not part of the plan, but it was a much bigger opportunity than anything I had schemed up. I quickly agreed.
A mature, powerful female voice came onto the line. "Do you remember me? I'm the CEO of Longstar Entertainment." She spoke with sharp, efficient confidence. "I would have loved to come see you in person, but... your boss won't tell me where you are. I'll wait for you at Cafe Xanadu."
I glanced outside at the torrential rain: SWAAAAA. This was a ridiculous risk for a CEO to take. "WHO GETS ON A PLANE IN THIS KIND OF WEATHER...?"
But her urgency was real. "I have to be on a flight tonight, so I can't wait long. If you're interested, please meet me here."
The offer was impossible to ignore. An invitation back to the life I truly wanted, an escape route far grander than anything Junseo or Mr. Choi could provide. I would have to delay my current plan, but this was a necessary detour.
The Collateral Damage
While I was plotting my sudden ascent, my other trap sprung far away at my old apartment. I could almost picture the scene as Seongyu Baek forced his way in: SQUEAK SQUEAK THUD.
My blood relative, the one I sent a deceptive message to, found the place completely ransacked. He saw the overturned furniture and the signs of struggle I'd engineered. His rage was palpable, even if I couldn't hear it.
He must have been expecting me, the promised money clutched in his hand.
"What the hell...? What happened here?" he must have muttered, looking around at the mess. He quickly jumped to the most selfish conclusion: "Did this b*tch tell me she was going to give me money... and run away?"
He still didn't understand. The scene wasn't about the money; it was the final, bloody backdrop I'd planned for him. Now, however, the target of my bloodiest scheme had just become collateral in a larger game. I had a new future to seize, and no small obstacle-not even him-would stop me. My grand escape was being handed to me on a silver platter, all I had to do was get there.
I watched the rain fall, already planning my exit from this temporary sanctuary, knowing that the pure-hearted Mr. Choi and the obsessed Junseo were simply resources to be managed. My final move required a clear head and a steady nerve. I looked into the distant light, my own eyes dark and sharp. The game was mine to command