SHADOW

EP • 1 Stalker (1)

전웅

hmm?

김동현

.....

이대휘

Are you here?

Donghyun, Woojin, and even Daehwi all stared intently at Woong, who was entering. Seeing Donghyun, Woojin, and Daehwi, Woong cutely tilted his head 45 degrees.

전웅

yes?

Somewhere between "yeung" and "woong." Woong's appearance, making that sound, was quite cute, but Woojin felt a chill when he saw the blood clearly staining his cheek.

박우진

Are you wiping the blood off your face and talking?

전웅

Huh? What is it?

전웅

Is there blood on it?

Woong muttered, "I thought you cleaned it all up," and then nodded, remembering that it had been dark in that place earlier and he couldn't see well.

김동현

Did you hold it this time too?

전웅

little?

김동현

Please, if you caught it, tell me you caught it.

전웅

I'll try

Woong gave a faint smile. Woojin and Donghyun, seeing that, shook their heads simultaneously. "You said that last time, and you said it again this time."

박우진

So who is the target this time?

Dae-hwi took out a mugshot of a man with a good impression from his bosom.

전웅

Mugshot?

In response to Woong's question, Dae-hwi nodded slightly and showed a CCTV photo of himself with his hat pulled down low, as if looking for someone.

이대휘

My name is Park Jae-hong. I'm 34 years old. I'm currently serving a six-year sentence for stalking, sexual harassment, and attempted murder.

이대휘

This is a photo from an hour ago.

김동현

Since it's probably around Irin-ro, let's take a look around Irin-ro.

At Dong-hyeon's words, Woong, Woo-jin, and Dae-hwi nodded and went to get ready.

김동현

We catch the assholes who chase women because they target women who live alone.

이대휘

What if you find that person?

전웅

Our Daehwi is new to this, so he doesn't know much?

At Woong's question, Daehwi got angry and said, "That could be true."

김동현

If you see it, shoot it immediately.

곽아론

Okay, guys

I looked up from my math problem at the teacher's words and looked at him.

곽아론

Thank you for your hard work today. See you tomorrow.

The teacher smiled and told the children to hurry home before leaving the classroom to get ready for work.

하여주

Is it that late already?

The other kids began busily preparing to go home. They were hungry, so they were telling me to eat before they left. They were calling me to come pick them up because they were done. They were asking me to walk home with them.

I ignored the sound, lowered my head again, and started working on the math problem I was working on.

My name is Hae-joo. I am a 19-year-old high school senior preparing for the college entrance exam.

I have no friends or family left, so I have no friends to play with like those kids, and no parents to ask to come pick me up.

하여주

'I need to hurry up and get home.'

I kept thinking to myself, "Please, let it go slowly," and held onto the problem until all the kids left.

Unfortunately, contrary to my wishes, the problem was resolved rather abruptly. I slowly began to pack my things, turned off the lights, and left the classroom.

I took heavy steps, one after another. Perhaps it was because I had entered an alley from a crowded street, or perhaps it was because I felt like someone was watching me these days.

I felt like someone was following me, perhaps because I was walking down a quiet alleyway and all I could hear was the sound of someone's footsteps following me.

하여주

'I guess it's my...feeling?'

I tried to console myself by telling myself it was just my imagination, but the faster I walked, the more I felt the sound of my footsteps, each with a shorter beat, making my heart beat with anxiety rather than blood.

I took a detour to check, but walked toward the alleyway mirror. A quick glance revealed a man, wearing a hat pulled down low and dressed in black from head to toe.

To be a little more certain, I take out the small hand mirror I always carry with me from my bag and fix my bag again.

하여주

after....

I took a deep breath and looked through the mirror at the man behind me. He met my gaze with a creepy smile.

하여주

!

I grabbed both of my bag straps and started running home. I glanced back and saw the person following me running toward me, speaking.

"Honey, is this tag?"

The sound sent goosebumps down my spine. My breath hitched, but I ran and ran to survive.

하여주

Gasp... gasp... gasp...

I've never had any stamina, having spent all my time sitting and studying. If I'd known this was coming, I should've at least started exercising. The thought of what could go wrong brought tears to my eyes, but now was not the time to cry.

하여주

"Come to your senses. You have to live."

As I was running, I caught sight of a silhouette. Of course, I paused, thinking he might be part of the group following me. But when I saw the man in the mirror, looking slightly flustered, I ran toward him.

Upon closer inspection, he was wearing a military uniform. A soldier. A soldier. Anyone could tell he was on leave.

I shouted at the soldier

하여주

Mr. Soldier!!

하여주

Please save me!

I grabbed the soldier's wrist and began to catch my breath. He patted my hand, looked ahead, and then cautiously opened his mouth.

박우진

I think it's gone.

하여주

ah....

I turned around to see that the man was gone, and my legs gave out with tension, and I collapsed to the ground.

하여주

Ah... I'm sorry... My legs gave out...

박우진

It's okay. You can never chase that guy again.

I don't know where that confidence came from, but those words, "It's okay," brought tears to my eyes.

하여주

Oh...huh? Oh...I'm sorry...I'm not usually like this...

At that moment, the body of the man who had been following the female protagonist was so badly damaged that it was unrecognizable.

전웅

Wow... This is the team leader's work...

Woong kicked some of the corpses with his feet, exclaiming in admiration. Donghyun glanced at Woong and then began wiping his bloody hands again. Soon, Woong's shoes were stained red with blood, and Daehwi handed him a handkerchief.

이대휘

It hasn't even been five minutes since we received the signal and rushed here. Did you kill him in that short amount of time?

Dae-hwi felt that the handkerchief he had handed to Woong-i, who was covered in blood, was not enough to wipe away all the blood, so he tried to hand him another handkerchief, but Woong-i had already snatched it away.

전웅

thank you

Dae-hwi looked at the corpse again and let out a disapproving "Ugh." Only Dong-hyeon, who had been killed, seemed unfazed. It seemed like someone had stabbed him in the right spot, but there was only blood on his hands. Not much, just a little.

이대휘

I think quite a few people will be surprised to discover this.

Dong-hyeon looked at Dae-hwi and Woong with a look of indifference and sent a radio message to Woo-jin.

김동현

-Park Woojin, I'll bring that woman over, so sort things out.

전웅

-Park Woojin, the situation is over. The team leader has taken care of everything. Come clean up.

Dong-hyeon shook off his clothes and walked leisurely toward Woo-jin. His calm demeanor made him seem like someone who had just killed someone. Perhaps that's only natural. They don't see their targets as people; they're just prey.

박우진

Here it comes

At the end of the soldier's pointer, a handsome man in uniform walked toward me. He seemed expressionless, as if he were icy cold, but the impression of his good looks was so strong that I forgot about it.

박우진

I'm busy, so I'll leave first.

하여주

You called the police?

The soldier nodded, gave me a brief greeting, and disappeared into the darkness.

김동현

Where is the house?

하여주

hey...

I pointed with my hand in the direction of my house, and the officer put one hand in his pocket, glanced at the time with his watch on the other hand, then nodded in the direction I pointed and said

김동현

Guide me quickly

하여주

Yes, sir

To be honest, the cop looked more like an older brother than an old man, but I called him "old man" because of his rude tone. I hoped he was as angry as I was right now.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. He's been staring at me expressionlessly since earlier. Judging by the lack of change in his expression, being called "mister" probably doesn't really hurt him.

하여주

Are you really an old man?

The man quirked an eyebrow at my words. "Oh, he's angry, after all!" I was secretly glad I'd gotten him halfway through, but I guess he wasn't angry at me calling him "mister."

김동현

What are you doing without giving me the instructions quickly?

Yeah... being a cop is exhausting.... Well, well.... I quickened my pace and walked home, willing myself to yield a hundred, a thousand times. Of course, I didn't say a word to express my anger.