Nightfall. A Private Estate on the Outskirts of Seoul.
Soo Ah stood silently on the rooftop of a secluded mansion-one of Mi Ran's lesser-known properties, protected by private guards. A USB drive containing encrypted files was hidden somewhere inside. Files that might finally give her the proof she needed.
"In and out," she whispered to herself, adjusting the black gloves over her hands. "No witnesses."
Three guards patrolled the courtyard below.
Soo Ah dropped from the roof without a sound.
The first man didn't even see her coming-she snapped his neck before he could exhale.
The second raised a gun.
Too slow.
She ducked, lunged, drove a knife straight into his chest with expert precision.
By the time the third opened his mouth to scream, she slit his throat cleanly.
No wasted movements. No hesitation.
Blood sprayed across her shirt and jacket as she moved through the house like a ghost of death.
By the time she reached the underground study, six more bodies littered the floor.
She grabbed the USB from the hidden compartment behind the bookshelf, slid it into her pocket, and vanished into the night.
Later That Night - Ethan's Residence
The door slammed open.
Ethan stood from his chair instantly, his eyes widening as Soo Ah stumbled into the foyer-clothes soaked in blood, hair a wild mess, face pale.
"Soo Ah!" he rushed to her, alarm in his voice. "Are you hurt? Where's the wound?"
She swayed dramatically, clutching her stomach.
"It was... so brutal," she gasped.
He caught her before she fell, quickly scanning her body.
"Where? Let me see."
"So much blood... so much violence..."
"Where are you bleeding from?" His voice rose in panic. "Tell me now!"
"Right... here," she said, pointing vaguely to her side.
He moved to lift her shirt-only to find flawless, uninjured skin.
He frowned. "There's no wound."
She burst into laughter.
Loud, unapologetic, absolutely delighted laughter.
"You should've seen your face!" she wheezed. "You looked like you were about to cry-oh my god, Ethan!"
Ethan straightened, jaw tight, completely unamused.
"You're covered in blood. That's not funny."
"It is when it's not mine!" she grinned. "What, you think I'm so weak I'd get caught?"
"I thought you were dead," he snapped.
Her smile faltered for a second.
"Aw, Ethan..." she cooed, stepping closer. "You were worried."
"You're insane."
"You care."
He turned his back. "Go take a shower."
"Say it."
"What?"
"Say you care."
He faced her again, eyes colder now. "You're not invincible, Soo Ah. You can act fearless all you want, but one mistake is enough to get you killed."
She stepped closer, eyes locked with his.
"And if that happens?" she whispered.
"Then it happens."
A beat.
She smiled anyway.
"Liar."
He didn't answer. Just walked away again.
As he turned the corner, his voice drifted back:
"Burn those clothes. You're getting blood all over the floor."
And though he couldn't see her, she beamed.
He does care.
_________________
Late Night - Ethan's Private Study
The house was quiet.
Soo Ah had finally gone to bed, still humming to herself as if killing eight men and teasing her husband were just part of a regular Tuesday.
Ethan sat alone in his study, the glow from his laptop screen illuminating his stern face. The USB drive lay untouched on his desk.
He stared at it.
Then, finally, plugged it in.
"Let's see what you risked your life for..."
The files were encrypted. He expected that.
With a few practiced keystrokes, he bypassed the first layer of security. Not military grade-but professional enough.
Folders opened slowly: one labeled "Patient Histories," another "Surveillance Logs."
But it was the third that made him stop.
"PsychEval_M.R."
He clicked.
Hundreds of documents. Reports from private doctors. Video logs. Scans of therapy sessions.
The subject: Choi Mi Ran.
Ethan's brows furrowed.
As he skimmed through files, a disturbing picture began to form.
One report described Mi Ran's increasing obsession with psychological control and moral cleansing-her belief that "sacrifices are necessary to rid corruption." Another detailed how she manipulated her husband's business rivals into ruin. There were even notes from an anonymous psychiatrist warning that she was "delusional, with extreme sociopathic tendencies."
Then he found a file labeled: "Hwan Kim Incident."
His hands froze.
He clicked it open.
Photos of the playground.
The alley.
The blood.
Handwritten notes from someone describing Mi Ran's presence near the scene. Unverified. Dismissed. Buried.
Ethan stared at the screen. His heart pounded.
Then the final blow:
A short video clip, timestamped fifteen years ago. Surveillance footage. Blurry. But the woman in it-walking briskly out of an alley near where his younger brother was found dead-was unmistakably Mi Ran.
She had always denied being anywhere near the scene.
His chest tightened.
"She was there..."
A memory stabbed through him: Soo Ah's voice, trembling as she tried to convince him.
"I know it's not enough proof, but it's her. I know it's her..."
He had dismissed her.
Shut her down.
Refused to believe.
Now...
He sat back in his chair, fists clenched.
Guilt twisted in his stomach. Guilt and something else.
Something raw.
Something like grief all over again.
He leaned forward and exhaled slowly.
"You were right, Soo Ah."
And for the first time in years, the name of his little brother escaped from his lips, barely a whisper.
"I swear I'll make her pay... for what she did to you."