Dohyun couldn't take it anymore. His head throbbed, stomach grumbled, and a restless heat crawled through his veins.
"Oh…"
Hunger hit him, and he got up, pacing his cramped apartment. Clues, files, and random objects were scattered everywhere, a physical map of his obsession.
He grabbed the leftover fried chicken from last night, washed it down with two cans of beer, all the while replaying his memories of Kil—every detail burned into his mind.
Eventually, he wandered to the window, a can of beer in hand, peering down at the dim street leading to Bloom Flower Shop. It was past six; the shop was closed, the faint glass reflection mocking him.
Should I check again? A thief's urge flickered in his mind, but he suppressed it.
"I'll use it as a last resort," he muttered under his breath.
Then he saw it—a shadow moving around the shop. Dropping the chicken in surprise, he fumbled for his binoculars, slippery from grease, gripping it anyway. One eye watered from the seasoning, but he couldn't afford to blink.
The figure prowling around the shop wasn't Sof. Nor was it Kil. It was someone else entirely.
Before he could form another thought, Kil stepped out of his house.
He dragged a chain behind him, a knife fixed at its end, scraping softly against the pavement. His straight bangs shadowed his eyes, but not enough to hide the sharp, predatory focus burning beneath.
Hostile. Dangerous.
The man near the shop raised a gun, fitted with a silencer.
Kil advanced anyway.
The shot came.
Kil barely shifted. That was all it took. The chain answered.
Dohyun could have sworn he heard it then. A sharp ping inside his skull, bright and metallic, like a coin dropped onto stone. The street was quiet. The distance was too far. It shouldn't have made a sound.
Still, it rang anyway.
Two more men emerged from hiding, visibly shaken.
They fired.
Kil dodged with the same subtle control. No wasted motion. No panic. Just control. His large frame moved with unsettling grace, agile in a way that made Dohyun's breath hitch.
Like a cat.
The resemblance struck him sharply then. Not just physically, but in the way Kil hunted. Controlled. Silent. Calculated. Sof bloomed. Kil hunted. Nothing like Sof.
The chain spun. The knife buried itself into the nearest man. Kil closed the distance instantly, kicking another hard enough to send him collapsing.
The last man ran. He didn't get far.
Only then did Dohyun notice he'd stopped breathing.
Kil stood at the center of it all. One unconscious. One bleeding. One dead. Calm. Unrattled. He reached into the pocket of his black hoodie and pulled out his phone.
That was when it happened.
Kil's gaze shifted. Straight toward Dohyun's window.
Instinct hit first.
Dohyun dropped to the floor. The plate of chicken slipped from the table, clattering loudly. The beer can rolled away, spilling. Papers scattered. He lay there, heart hammering, cold sweat soaking his back.
And then he laughed. Soft at first. Then breathless. Unhinged.
He pushed himself upright, hair damp, sticky with beer and grease, chest heaving with exhilaration. He grabbed the dented can, finished what remained, and hurled it at the board of pinned photos and red string. The impact rattled the wall. Something in his head cracked with it.
His eyes traced the chaos.
Sof and Kil. The stick figures. The missing two.
Whatever this was, it had just cracked wide open.
"Fuck…"