Then she tightly shut her room door, feeling a slight sense of relief creeping into her chest. Within moments, she fell into a deep sleep, as if escaping everything happening around her.
But suddenly, she woke up feeling extremely thirsty. She slowly opened her eyes and reached for the clock to check the time... it was three in the morning.
She froze in place as she remembered Jungkook's warning: "Don't come out after midnight... or you won't like what you might see."
She swallowed nervously and decided to ignore it and go back to sleep, trying to convince herself that everything was fine.
But...
A loud scream tore through the silence of the night from outside her room.
Her body jolted, and her eyes widened in shock. She tried to ignore it, but curiosity began to gnaw at her. His words echoed again in her mind: "If you hear any sound, don't come out..."
She hesitated, her heart pounding violently, but her curiosity was stronger than her fear.
Slowly, she approached the door, opened it just a little, and looked out carefully...
Only to freeze in place.
A man was standing in front of Jungkook, begging him in a trembling voice not to hurt him. But Jungkook stood there with a terrifying coldness, as if the pleas meant nothing to him. After overpowering him, he raised his weapon... and fired without hesitation.
IU gasped silently, her body trembling violently. Tears streamed down her face as she tried with all her strength to hold back her scream, afraid of making a sound.
She slowly stepped back toward her bed, but in a split second...
The floor beneath her let out a faint creak.
Her blood ran cold.
Outside, Jungkook suddenly stopped, as if he sensed something. He turned toward her door, then walked quickly... and began knocking on it forcefully.
IU nearly collapsed, but she forced herself to stay together. She quickly wiped her tears, calmed herself, and opened the door.
Jungkook stood in front of her, his eyes burning with anger.
He said in a low but terrifying voice:
"Did you see what happened?"
IU pretended to be sleepy, rubbing her eyes as she said nervously:
"What are you talking about? This place is full of noisy neighbors... maybe you heard them."
He stared at her for a few moments, as if trying to read what lay behind her eyes.
Then he said coldly:
"I'll assume I believe you this time... but if you ever see anything again... that will be your end."
A chill ran through her body as he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone... with a fear that was no longer easy to ignore.