The wildfire that started in the west devoured the mansion in an instant. Amidst the chaos, we barely managed to escape, running after the attendants toward a place untouched by the scorching heat.
Only when we safely reached the edge of the garden did I finally turn back. The flames, now spreading uncontrollably to the annex, were consuming everything in their path with insatiable hunger.
As I watched the raging fire, buried memories began surfacing in my mind. Strangely, this nightmare-like scene felt eerily familiar—almost as if I had seen it somewhere before.
‘That can’t be.’
Flames so intense they dyed the night sky red, a mansion burned beyond recognition, people screaming in terror. As I replayed each image in my mind, I finally understood the source of this déjà vu.
“Hyung?”
Just as I was about to let go of Se-yul’s hand—gripping it like a lifeline—and take a step toward the mansion, a sharp gunshot rang out from somewhere. It was like a signal flare announcing that this was only the beginning.
“KYAAAAH!!”
“R-Run!!”
Hunters hidden in the darkness began to emerge one by one. Their faces concealed beneath masks, they aimed their guns at the attendants gathered in the garden, seeking refuge from the heat, and pulled the triggers.
There was no time to wonder where they had come from or why they had suddenly appeared. Amidst the pandemonium, the gunfire continued relentlessly, people fell lifelessly to the ground, and those still breathing screamed as they ran for their lives.
This place had become a perfect hell.
“Hyung! Get down!”
Se-yul shouted urgently, throwing his arms around me as we tumbled to the ground. We rolled across the soft grass several times before finally coming to a stop, hurriedly hiding behind a tree to evade the hunters’ sight.
“Are you okay, hyung?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Thank god… Ugh!”
Se-yul, who had been checking on my condition, suddenly let out a pained groan he had been suppressing. I had thought the soft grass had cushioned our fall enough to prevent any injuries, but Se-yul’s case was different.
“You’re bleeding…!”
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
Even though his right shoulder was soaked in fresh, crimson blood, Se-yul stubbornly pushed away my hands as I tried to support him. But despite his words, his face had gone pale, drained of all color, and his breathing was growing increasingly labored.
I tore the damp, blood-soaked shirt to check the wound. The bullet hadn’t lodged itself inside, but the grazing wound was bleeding profusely. In a hurry, I ripped more fabric to wrap around the wound, but Se-yul had already lost a significant amount of blood.
“Can you stand?”
Se-yul nodded and staggered to his feet. Hiding behind the tree was only a temporary measure at best. As the encroaching hunters closed in, we attempted to move, but Se-yul barely made it a few steps before collapsing to his knees.
“Se-yul—”
“Don’t come any closer!”
My foot, instinctively moving toward him, froze in place. Se-yul stole a quick glance at the direction of the gunfire behind us, steadied his ragged breathing, and spoke.
“Hyung, listen to me carefully. We still have a bit of time before those bastards get here, so run straight into the western forest. Keep going until you hit the wall—there’s a side gate there. If you get through, you can catch a city bus. Once you’re there—”
Summarized, his rambling instructions meant one thing: I was nothing but dead weight, so I should abandon him and run like a coward. Swallowing the surge of anger rising in my throat, I clenched my jaw and walked the remaining distance toward Se-yul, who was now gasping for breath.
“Did you not hear me, hyung? I told you to leave! Now!”
Ignoring his desperate pleas, I draped his limp arm over my shoulder. He was much taller and more built than me, making carrying him impossible, but at the very least, I could help him walk.
“Hurry up! Please, hyung, just go!”
Se-yul weakly pushed at me, pleading. But I pretended not to hear anything, staring straight ahead as I trudged forward. It was excruciatingly difficult, but I couldn’t—no, I wouldn’t—leave him behind after he had gotten hurt trying to save me.
“Why won’t you listen to me?!”
“When have you ever listened to me? Shut up and move your damn legs—I feel like I’m gonna die here.”
Gritting my teeth, I steadied my trembling body and pressed on. Maybe realizing that I wouldn’t change my mind, Se-yul stopped his useless protests and struggled to match my pace, each step a grueling effort.
Lifting my sweat-drenched face, I finally saw it—the entrance to the western forest, just ahead. If we could make it inside, the dense foliage would conceal us.
As the gunfire behind us grew fainter, hope surged within me. But just as we were about to step into the forest, I saw it—cold, gleaming gun barrels emerging from the pitch-black darkness.
Not just one.
Countless.
We had run as hard as we could, but in the end, we were nothing more than prey caught in the hunter’s trap. They had known all along that we would flee to the western forest.
“Aim!”
Dozens of hunters stood poised, ready to pull the trigger at any moment. No longer needing to hide, they stepped forward, their weapons trained on us. The cold muzzle of a gun pressed against my forehead.
The icy steel sent a dizzying shiver through me, but I forced myself not to react. From behind his mask, one of the hunters silently gestured to the others.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
They moved in to separate me from Se-yul. I thrashed and struggled with everything I had, but against three grown men, I was powerless.
“Se-yul!!”
Se-yul, delirious from the excessive blood loss, couldn’t even muster the strength to resist as he was dragged away by the men. Unable to stand on his own, he was roughly thrown into a corner before the men once again aimed their guns at us.
“Lower your weapons.”
At the command of a man emerging from the western forest, the masked hunters simultaneously lowered their guns, which had been trained on both Se-yul and me.
As his face was illuminated by the pale moonlight, I let out a bitter laugh, unable to contain my disbelief.
Vincent Shining—the investigator from Sector 1, the one who had disappeared without a word—bowed his head slightly toward me.
And just like that, all the pieces started falling into place—pieces I had dismissed as mere paranoia fueled by my own anxieties.
So it was him.
He was the one who set fire to the mansion. The one who mercilessly hunted down the fleeing attendants. The one responsible for leaving Se-yul in this state.
How could he do this?
“Han Seo-yul-nim, I’m afraid you’ll have to come with us.”
Vincent spoke with practiced politeness, but his words carried an unmistakable tone of coercion. The moment I refused, his men would drag me off regardless of my will.
“Ugh….”
“Se-yul!”
As if to hasten my response, the men roughly hauled Se-yul to his feet. He groaned in pain, his body too weak to even resist. I tried to rush to his side, but the men blocking my path refused to budge.
Then, without warning, two men grabbed my arms and dragged me toward Vincent, ignoring my struggles.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“We’re simply ensuring that we escort you safely, Seo-yul-nim.”
Vincent shrugged nonchalantly before giving his men a curt order to take me away.
I watched carefully, waiting for the moment when the grip on my arms loosened. The second I felt the hands slacken, I wrenched myself free and bolted.
The abrupt escape threw them into disarray, and amidst their confusion, I charged at a man roughly my size, snatching the gun from his hands before he could react.
“Let Se-yul go!”
I shouted as I raised the weapon, but I hesitated—who should I aim at? The men holding Se-yul? Vincent? Uncertain, my aim wavered between them.
Vincent let out a long sigh as he observed my indecision.
“It would be best for everyone if you stopped resisting and just came quietly.”
At his command, all the guns in the area immediately swung toward me. One was even pressed against Se-yul’s forehead, as if to make their threat crystal clear.
I felt trapped. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t see a way out.
Then, a reckless but effective idea struck me.
‘I can do this.’
Steeling myself, I shifted the gun’s barrel and pressed the cold metal beneath my chin. My finger curled around the trigger.
A crack appeared in Vincent’s composed expression.
I knew it. This was the way.
“If you don’t put your guns down right now, I’ll shoot.”
Now holding the ultimate hostage—myself—I boldly issued my threat.
At first, the men remained motionless. But when I deliberately flicked off the safety and feigned pressing the trigger, I saw visible panic ripple through them.
Even Vincent, who had been trying to maintain a facade of calm, couldn’t ignore the situation.
Letting out a heavy sigh, he gave his men a reluctant order.
“Lower your weapons.”
