The image was not completely clear…
Its blurry details were enough for doubt to slowly creep in and consume everyone.
That night, anticipation controlled everything.
Silence was no longer just the absence of sound—it was a suffocating weight pressing down on Detective Kim's team. None of them could force themselves to go home, as if leaving would be a betrayal of a truth that was either approaching… or drifting further away.
The "zero hour" arrived…
But nothing happened.
Hours passed painfully slowly until the faint light of dawn began to seep into the room.
Morning came… bringing with it something even more terrifying than the night.
And So Hwa… did not return.
She did not go back to the place she shared with her group.
She left no trace.
No explanation.
Questions began multiplying again:
Was So Hwa the intended target?
Was she the next victim?
Was she the owner of the mysterious fingernail?
Confusion…
Distant stares…
Minds lost in endless possibilities.
But there was no choice except moving forward.
Detective Kim could no longer wait.
At exactly 10 a.m., he stood in front of Novax Entertainment. His eyes were fixed, his determination unmistakable.
The guards tried to stop him, but a single glance at the search warrant was enough to silence them.
He entered with firm steps.
Inside the CEO's office, tension filled the air.
The CEO tried to hide his nervousness, but his eyes betrayed him.
Kim sat calmly, leaning back in his chair before letting out a slow breath.
"Relax, Mr. President…
I'm not here for an inspection. I'm here to talk.
If I had requested a formal meeting, you would have immediately sent me to your legal team."
The CEO remained silent, visibly unsettled.
Kim straightened, leaning slightly forward, resting his head on his hands for a moment.
Then he said, in a calm but chilling tone:
"So Hwa… is missing."
The CEO stuttered:
"W-what? So… So Hwa?"
Kim looked straight at him.
"How long has she been missing?"
The CEO swallowed hard, trying to steady himself.
"About… two weeks."
Kim froze.
"Two weeks?
And no missing report?"
The CEO quickly replied:
"This is normal for her… she disappears often without explanation. I even threatened to terminate her contract, but she doesn't listen."
A brief silence.
Then a sharp question:
"When was she last seen?"
The CEO thought for a moment.
"Specifically… December 9th."
At that moment, Kim suddenly stood up, as if something inside him had snapped.
He rushed out, already pulling out his phone:
"So Hwa disappeared on the same day Woo Jin went missing…
Reconstruct the entire scenario!"
Inside the Major Crimes Unit briefing room, tension reached its peak.
Detective Kim paced back and forth, his pen endlessly spinning between his fingers.
"We have two scenarios… maybe more."
He raised his eyes toward the team.
"First:
A conflict between Woo Jin and So Hwa.
Maybe she wanted to break up… and he refused.
Because she… was the only one who satisfied his twisted desires."
He paused… then continued:
"The second:
What witnesses said at the studio… she told him:
'You can't get rid of me like the others.'"
His voice sharpened:
"This opens even more dangerous possibilities."
He began walking slowly.
"Maybe she tried to leave… and he threatened her.
Or the opposite… he tried to end it, and she refused."
He stopped suddenly.
"But the most important question…
How were both of them abducted at the same time?"
Heavy silence.
"No one walks willingly toward their killer…
Unless they trust them."
He raised his eyes sharply:
"The killer… knows them."
He stepped forward.
"A middleman.
Someone both sides trust."
He lowered his voice:
"Did one of them ask this person to intervene… to fix their relationship?"
He turned to Assistant Lee and asked firmly:
"Any results?"
The assistant replied seriously:
"Nothing yet.
Search teams are covering forests… dumpsters… rivers… even public restrooms.
No body found."
Kim exhaled slowly.
"As long as there's no body… there's still hope."
But time… was slipping away in a deadly silence.
Suddenly, Assistant Lee's phone rang.
"Yes? … What?!"
His expression changed instantly.
He ended the call and rushed toward Kim.
"Sir…
A body has been found."
Everything froze.
"Where?"
"In a drainage canal… near Novax Entertainment."
They arrived at the scene.
Yellow police tape surrounded the area.
The forensic examiner worked in heavy silence.
Detective Kim stepped forward slowly… heavily… as if each step punished him.
A voice inside him whispered:
I should have searched for the killer… not the victim…
He fooled us… fooled all of us…
How did I trust him…? How?
He moved closer.
The body was covered.
He paused for a moment… then slowly reached out his hand.
Carefully, he lifted the cover…
revealing the face first.
And the moment the features appeared…
his breath stopped.
The shock… was not just surprise.
It was… the collapse of everything he believed to be true.