"Guys… you won't believe this! We actually managed to sneak into the building right under the police's noses."
The young man whispered while sitting beneath a single hanging lamp that swayed gently from side to side. The dim light trembled inside the extremely cramped space that barely fit his body. It was obvious he was hiding inside an old storage room.
Although the room had no ventilation at all, the hanging lamp kept moving left and right—almost as if it were some unwritten law that every lamp in a narrow storage room must sway… even when there was no wind.
"I'm currently inside a storage room on the ninth floor… just a few steps away from the apartment where yesterday's fire happened."
He glanced at his wristwatch.
"It's now a quarter to midnight. According to the residents, the strange noises and screaming started around midnight. You guys can't feel what I'm feeling right now—the temperature here is like the Arctic. What do you mean I'm exaggerating? I'm not exaggerating! It's freezing in here—Ah!"
In his excitement, he suddenly jerked backward and bumped into a metal bucket placed on a shelf above him.
"Ah—! N-nothing! I'm fine."
He forced a stupid grin toward the screen as if responding to concerned viewers, even though the actual comments were far from sympathetic.
[RoosterTail: What a scared little chicken.]
[WhyAreWeHere: For the money, obviously.]
[SaturnIsBack: What a garbage channel. Do you think hiding in a poorly lit storage room makes this scary?]
There weren't many viewers anyway.
The number fluctuated between 91 and 86.
'Damn them… they have no idea how much effort it took me to sneak past the police and reporters downstairs.'
Although that was what he was thinking, he kept the same silly smile on his face and lowered his voice again to entertain his bored viewers.
"Listen… I heard something interesting about this apartment."
"The authorities claim the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit, and no one was injured. But according to residents on the ninth floor… that apartment wasn't even occupied."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"And what's even stranger… no matter how hard they tried to extinguish the fire, it simply wouldn't go out."
"But at the same time… it didn't spread to the other apartments on the floor."
He chuckled nervously.
"That sounds exactly like a ghost story, right guys?"
Suddenly—
Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.
He froze and leaned his ear against the door.
The footsteps stopped.
The young man didn't dare speak again. If someone discovered he had snuck inside, they might report him to the police—and instead of profiting from the story, he would end up paying a fine.
His ear pressed against the cold door.
Then suddenly—
**BANG!**
A violent knock echoed from the apartment next to the storage room.
A wave of terror ran across his skin.
He began whispering again.
"H-hey… did you hear that, guys? Someone's trying to break into the burned apartment. W-why would anyone try to break into a burned apartment that nobody lives in?"
The banging grew louder. Someone outside was trying to force the doorknob open.
"Is the killer trying to hide evidence of his crime… or is it—"
He couldn't finish the sentence. His throat went dry.
[SaturnIsBack: Open the door and film it, idiot.]
"…What if it's a criminal?!"
He almost shouted but stopped himself. Slowly, he pressed his ear harder against the door.
Carefully… he turned the handle and opened a tiny crack to peek outside.
At that exact moment—
He felt a hand touch the back of his neck.
"GAAAH—!"
He exploded out of the cramped storage room, screaming as he fell to the floor, rolling and scratching the back of his neck as if trying to peel his skin off.
Then suddenly he froze.
His eyes fell upon the boots of the person standing in front of him.
He had collapsed right at their feet.
Slowly… he raised his head.
"Of-Officer! I—I can explain!"
"What are you doing here?"
The young man's mouth snapped shut under the burning gaze staring down at him.
"I'm sorry! I was just filming… and—and the spider scared me—I thought it was a ghost! Please let me go this time, I promise I won't do it again!"
The policewoman—short brown hair, a youthful face untouched by blemishes—didn't look convinced.
"Filming?" she said coldly. "You're telling me you're filming? Right now?"
Her eyes dropped to the phone in his raised hand.
"Y-yes… I'm sorry. Wait—I'll turn it off right now!"
[WhyAreWeHere: He got caught by the police. Nice.]
[RoosterTail: Ooooh look at that officer. Please arrest me too.]
[SaturnIsBack: Lucky bastard lol]
'You idiots… I'm in serious trouble here!'
Just as he was about to press the *Stop Stream* button—
A sound came from the door beside them.
It was the door of Apartment No. 1.
Both of them froze.
They exchanged stunned looks, then slowly turned toward the door on their right.
The doorknob moved.
"Did… did that handle just move?"
Before he could finish speaking—
The handle twisted violently.
A loud **slap** echoed from inside the apartment, followed by a woman's scream.
The young man stumbled backward as the doorknob shook violently, the pounding on the door growing louder.
'But how…? That apartment is supposed to be empty!'
He tried to stand—but his body refused to move.
The policewoman lunged forward, grabbing the handle and forcing it shut with both hands.
Then she shouted over her shoulder.
"Why are you still here?! Get out of here now!"
Her voice snapped him out of his paralysis.
The young man scrambled to his feet and bolted down the hallway, nearly tripping over himself in panic.
Meanwhile, the short-haired officer pressed a hand to her ear—where a communication device should have been.
"Sir! I found it! It's on the ninth floor—Apartment One… Understood. I'll try!"
One hand still gripping the handle, her other arm reached behind her back.
There hung something resembling a baton wrapped in black cloth.
She pulled it free.
The cloth slipped away—
Revealing a sword with a dark green blade, emanating a faint, unsettling aura.
She prepared to twist the handle and charge into the apartment—
When suddenly…
A voice came from the other side of the door.
"Please… anyone… I'm trapped in here. Can you open the door?"
It was the voice of a woman...