# Chapter 1 – Act 1
Dawn was still far away. When I checked my phone, it was just past 1:10 AM. The surroundings were dark and quiet, almost desolate. Apart from the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, everything was silent.
When I was young, I heard that ghosts roam around the most at 2 AM, so I always made sure to close my eyes before then.
But Seowoo was no longer a child. He had grown to fear humans more than ghosts.
Moreover, as a native who was born and raised in this neighborhood, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he knew the mountain paths better than any ghost. He had been going back and forth so much since childhood that he knew every shortcut, path, and dead end.
When he glanced up, a familiar rock indicated his location. It meant there were about 10 minutes left until he reached the top.
‘It’s about 40 minutes from the top to home, so I should be able to sleep by 2:30 at the latest.’
Since the second script reading was scheduled for noon tomorrow, there wouldn’t be any issues with his schedule. Seowoo pulled his hood deeper and swung his arms back and forth quickly.
With each step, he put strength into his waist. Even though this was his regular dawn exercise, it was still tiring. To make matters worse, the role he’d taken was of a sharp, thin prosecutor, so he had to lose 6kg in a short time. However, as tired as he was from dieting, he couldn’t turn down the role because the director Kang’s previous work had swept all kinds of awards, and as an actor, he was genuinely interested.
After working on stage, TV, and the big screen, Seowoo’s instincts were screaming. This is going to be a successful project. As long as some strange, uncontrollable variable doesn’t appear…
That’s when he heard a faint groan from somewhere.
“Huk, urgh…!”
It sounded like a suffering animal, or maybe the breathing of an excited man. The mountain path at 2 AM was too quiet to simply ignore it.
What are they doing at this hour?
Seowoo never thought of himself as particularly kind or gentle, but at the very least, he didn’t consider himself an inhumane or immoral person. Whether someone was hurt or doing something inappropriate in a public place, he was the type who would at least report it as a civic duty.
“Urk, ugh… kuk.”
Mixed with the groans were occasional gasps of terror. Seowoo realized it wasn’t excitement when he finally found the source of the groans by pushing through the bushes.
It was an area that didn’t have a proper path, on the outskirts of the mountain. It wasn’t a good place for people to pass through in the dark dawn without any light. Seowoo pushed aside the protruding branches with his hand and took a big step forward.
As he got closer, he could hear a person’s voice overlapping the metallic choking sounds.
“Boss, we were good, weren’t we?”
There was just enough space between the thick bushes to peek through. When he turned his head to look, the voice became clearer.
“Why the f**k, at this dawn, do I have to go hiking and deal with this sh*t because of you, Boss?”
“…uh.”
He seemed to have been running, as his breathing was quite rough, but there was something captivating about the voice heard between the tangled breaths. It was deeper and gentler than most actors’, making it seem unforgettable even after hearing it just once.
“What is this, the 80s? Are we, whew, are we some 80s gangsters? What the hell is this? If you’re going to run, at least take a boat or something. So I can’t catch you. This isn’t ‘come and eat me’…”
“…uh.”
Seowoo instinctively leaned in to listen. There wasn’t just one person there. There was the man speaking, and another man who was continuously writhing in pain. One standing, one kneeling, ragged breathing, the sound of being kicked, and choking noises.
It was easy to realize that something was wrong with the situation. Facing a scene he’d only occasionally seen in movie scripts, and even then rarely such a cruel one, right in front of him made it feel twice as unreal.
Was this a drama or movie filming? If there had been just a few staff around, or even one or two lights on, he would have thought so. But there was no light here at all.
‘What, what is this…’
His mind, which had been refusing to understand, slowly began to accept the situation. His fingertips trembled honestly each time he heard the man’s voice.
The other person didn’t seem to have noticed his presence yet. That made sense in the dark dawn. Seowoo backed away one step at a time with stiff, tense movements. He tried his hardest to stay quiet and not make a sound.
Yes. Call the police. Call the police, and then quietly go back the way he came. It wasn’t difficult. It was a structure he knew well, a familiar mountain path.
Seowoo realized the man’s voice had suddenly stopped when he had backed up about six steps. When he looked up, a faint figure loomed in the darkness.
“…”
Seowoo felt a chill run down his spine. It was close to human instinct. The man’s rough breathing had suddenly become quiet.
The man who had been standing there, who until just now hadn’t even glanced in his direction, was now quietly staring at Seowoo from right in front. Even though there was no light, the man’s eyes glowed like those of a beast.
Seowoo’s ankles froze as if bound to that spot. He couldn’t tell the color of the eyes, but they definitely didn’t seem like those of an ordinary person. The man smiled, forcefully wrinkling his long, firm lips.
No, only his mouth was smiling, not his eyes.
Seowoo’s mind went blank for a moment as he met the intense gaze head-on. The man gently whispered without taking his eyes off Seowoo.
“Manager Gu.”
“Yes?”
“Keep an eye on President Park.”
Seowoo froze for a moment, and only after belatedly understanding what the man meant did he suddenly come to his senses.
This is bad. No, it’s worse than bad, I might die.
He couldn’t be sure if his body was moving properly, but anyway, Seowoo succeeded in springing from his spot like a coil.
But that was as far as he got.
“Kuk…!”
His throat tightened, making him cough repeatedly. It felt like someone had mistaken his neck for an animal’s. His feet, which were trying to kick off the ground and run, failed. His long legs flailed in the air as he staggered.
“Urk, this, let go, ah… heok!”
The man grabbed Seowoo’s hood and pulled it hard like a dog leash. He couldn’t even scream properly because he couldn’t breathe.
“Stay still.”
The voice dug heavily into his ears. He didn’t want to hear it. Seowoo twisted his limbs and opened his eyes wide.
“You, crazy, bas… uh… heu, ak!”
After trying to resist the rough handling, Seowoo eventually slipped to the floor, unable to stand on his two legs. His buttocks ached from hitting the stone floor. The hair and face he had covered with his hood had been exposed for a while.
The man who had been gripping Seowoo’s windpipe lowered his body as well and was right in Seowoo’s face. It was a difficult posture to describe. It seemed like their bodies had tangled as the man chased Seowoo who was trying to escape.
“Let me see your face…”
“Heu, f**k, urk…”
“Running straight away instead of sneaking? Hey, you saw my face. We should be fair.”
Without hesitation, the man grabbed Seowoo’s face from his cheek to his jaw in one hand. His hand was so big that Seowoo’s entire jaw fit inside. It was rough and coarse skin. The brutish strength crushed his cheek and pressed against his lips, making him cough reflexively.
The beast-like man’s eyes now flickered right in front of him. The man seemed to be properly checking Seowoo’s face, his leisurely gaze sweeping over his entire face. His sharp gaze touched every corner from the forehead messed up by disheveled hair, to the neat eyebrows, cheeks, nose bridge, and tightly closed lips. The man who met Seowoo’s wide-open eyes then let out a laugh.
“Huh? Look at this.”
Seowoo, who had been breathing heavily and raggedly, twisted his head a couple of times. He momentarily felt the man’s grip loosen a little. Instead of releasing the jaw he had been holding like catching a beast, the man was now turning Seowoo’s face around as if examining an object.
“Are you possibly…”
Whether the emotion in his voice was confusion, interest, or something else, Seowoo didn’t care. If there was a chance to escape, it was now, when the strength in the man’s hands had weakened. Seowoo closed his eyes tightly and opened them again.
“Kuk, this, f**k…!!”
There was a loud thudding sound. Then, several rough coughs erupted.
F**k, it worked! For a very brief moment, the man leaned back, and in that interval, Seowoo escaped from his grasp, crawling on all fours. The elbow that had struck the solid chest ached, but it wasn’t more important than his life. No, it would be fine even if it bruised or bled.
Though his legs felt weak and it wasn’t a good situation for running, Seowoo moved his legs like crazy. His mind was working faster than ever. The way he came, no. A shortcut, the least noticeable path, a path that bastard wouldn’t know… His cheek stung from where he had been grabbed.
Manager Gu immediately chased after Seowoo who had escaped, but it was too much for him. Although it was just a hill behind them, the paths were quite complicated, making it difficult for non-residents to follow quickly.
The manager, who returned after not getting far, bowed and said, “I’m sorry, sir,” but the man didn’t seem to mind. Rather, his expression was closest to interest if categorized by emotion. While striking the dirt floor a couple of times with a shovel, the man asked.
“Manager Gu.”
“Yes?”
“As soon as it’s dawn tomorrow, let’s assign someone.”
“To whom, sir?”
“Who else? The person who just escaped before our eyes.”
“Do you know each other?”
At the manager’s question, the man burst into laughter, wrinkling his entire face.
“You know him too.”
“Pardon?”
“And from now on, well, you’ll get to know him very specifically.”
The man pressed his blood-stained hand against his pants a couple of times to wipe it off. Beside him, the manager just blinked and then bowed, saying, “Yes.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
