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At the hospital, while Jinyoung admitted Gyusang for treatment, Uwan received a call from HQ in the car.
“Yeah. Got it. Text me the details right away.”
When the call ended, Jinyoung came back, handing him a drink she’d picked up at a nearby convenience store. She noticed his grim expression.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
“No… the identities of the other victims just came in.”
“All three of them?”
“No, just the Beast-Blooded.”
Uwan showed her the text message he’d just received:
[Snake Beast-Blooded victim: Moon Sajun. Male. Age 47. Address… Sheep Beast-Blooded victim: Lee Hyunjeong. Female. Age 44. Address… Horse Beast-Blooded victim: Jung Nain. Female. Age 51. Address… Civilian victim: unconfirmed.]
“Did you tell the Tiger yet?”
“Not yet. I only just got it. What about that guy… Gyusang, was it? How’s he doing? Did he wake up?”
Jinyoung shook her head. “Not yet. But his life’s not in danger. They said they’d call me if anything changes.”
“Good work.”
Jinyoung downed her drink and stretched. It was already past 3 p.m.—she realized she’d skipped lunch.
“So what now? Do we wait here?”
“No, we should head out and investigate.”
“Alright. Hold on—Tiger’s calling… What do you want?”
Her cold tone made Uwan wince.
“What do you mean, what do I want? What do you mean….?”
Beomjin left Haetsal Capital and caught a taxi. After a brief call with Jinyoung, he received Uwan’s message. He stopped the car and checked if the other victims had borrowed money from Sajun.
Neither of the two had. But something else jumped out at him.
Wait. Lee Hyunjeong’s address—Mokdong. Same apartment building as Choi Huiseon.
Same building, same floor. A shiver ran down Beomjin’s spine. He knew he’d found the right trail.
Closing his eyes, he sat calmly as the taxi carried him to the destination.
The apartment complex was as quiet as farmland during the off-season. The sight of an empty playground only deepened the silence.
The buildings looked old, built decades ago. No security door blocked the entrance.
- Walking down the long hallway, Beomjin raised his head. The corners of his mouth curled. He smelled Rabbit. He was sure he’d found the place.
A child’s bicycle leaned beside the door. The window facing the hallway was cracked open. Through the screen, he could see inside—dark, no lights, no sound, no presence. But the Rabbit scent was undeniable.
He rang the bell. Again, and again. No one answered.
If it was really the killer, of course they wouldn’t be home.
He dialed Choi Huiseon’s phone. Power off.
No way in for now.
So he crossed the hall to 807—the address of Sheep victim Lee Hyunjeong. But that apartment, too, was empty.
Didn’t expect that.
Getting nothing, he called Jinyoung as he waited for the elevator. He asked her to swing by after she finished checking the Horse victim Jung Nain’s address.
The elevator arrived and stopped at the 8th floor.
“What do you want?” Jinyoung picked up.
As the doors opened, a middle-aged man and a girl about middle-school age stepped out. They froze when they saw Beomjin. Feeling awkward, he stepped back to let them pass.
“You call me, then don’t say anything?”
“Where are you now? I’m done here.”
After the father and daughter left, Beomjin stepped inside the elevator.
“Already? We were just about to head out. Where are you?”
“I’m at Mokdong, at an apar—”
He stopped mid-sentence. Staring into the mirrored wall of the elevator, he realized it—the scent. He’d been too focused on the call, but now he caught it.
The earthy tang of sheep, tinged with raw grass. He remembered—he’d smelled the same thing from the pair who just got off.
“No. I’ve still got something left to do. I’ll call back.”
He hung up without waiting for an answer and hit the 8th-floor button again.
Back on the 8th, he followed the trail. As he expected, it led straight to 807. He pressed the bell.
Footsteps, then a young voice.
“Who is it?”
“Excuse me. I’m with the Special Beast Investigation Unit. Could we talk for a moment?”
No reply. After a pause, a deeper, heavier voice answered.
“Yes, sorry. Who did you say you were?”
“I’m Baek Beomjin, consultant to the Unit. I have a few questions. Could we speak for a moment?”
The door opened slowly, just wide enough for one arm. The man he’d seen earlier stood there.
“You said you’re from the Unit? What’s this about?”
A broad-faced, stocky man in his fifties. He trembled visibly, tension obvious in every movement.
“I’d like to ask about the residents of 802. Do you know them?”
“802? What about them?”
“No one was home when I checked. Do you happen to know anything?”
“No. We don’t really talk. I don’t know them well.”
“I see.”
During their conversation, the man’s eyes flicked constantly between Beomjin and the hallway. Noticing even such small details, Beomjin acknowledged the girl peeking out from behind him.
“Your daughter?”
The man spun around, realizing Beomjin had seen her. With a desperate gesture, he waved her back. She retreated into the room.
“She won’t know anything. Don’t bother asking her.”
“I see. Then just one last question, if I may.”
“What is it?”
At the word “last,” relief flashed across the man’s face. But the girl poked her head out again.
“Do you know where your wife is right now?”
Beomjin’s sharp eyes narrowed. As expected, the man’s pupils shook. His jaw trembled, his grip on the door twitched. Finally, he exhaled a long, uneasy sigh.
“My wife’s been gone since the morning before yesterday. Not at her parents’ place, not with friends. I called everyone I could, but nothing. I don’t know who’s lying, or what happened. We were fine… no fights recently….”
“Do you know anything about the family in 802?”
The man stared across the hall, then shook his head.
“I only know my wife was friendly with them. I never spoke much with them myself. Just that the woman there raised a child alone.”
Beomjin jotted down notes.
“Nothing happened to my wife… has it?”
The man’s knees quivered as he asked. Just then, the girl opened the door and stepped out, her face downcast.
“Dad, Mom told me she was going out with the lady next door.”
“Next door? 802?”
“Yeah. She called me, said she’d be having dinner with her.”
“When was this?”
“Two nights ago.”
The picture was forming. Two neighbors in the same apartment, one likely victim, one likely culprit. Now he needed the reason.
“Does your wife have anyone she keeps in touch with often?”
“Her phone’s with her. All I know are a few of her friends’ names.”
Beomjin took his number and those of the wife’s friends, leaving his own contact in return.
“If you learn anything, call me. If I find her, I’ll let you know too.”
“Thank you.”
As he turned to leave, Beomjin asked:
“Could I get a photo and name of your wife?”
The man handed him her picture from his phone. Beomjin scribbled down the name—Lee Hyunjeong—and clicked his tongue softly. He called Jinyoung as he stepped into the elevator.
Later, the three regrouped in Mokdong at a café, taking a moment to drink and eat.
“So you didn’t tell him she’s dead?” Jinyoung asked darkly.
“How could I? The kid was listening. I can’t do that.”
Beomjin sipped his Americano, then laid out his notes.
“Top suspects: Kim Sanghyun and Choi Huiseon from 802. Both borrowed multiple times from Snake victim Moon Sajun. And Huiseon was close with Sheep victim Lee Hyunjeong—close enough to tell her daughter she had dinner plans with her. The circumstances suggest that two nights ago, they met with Sajun and Hyunjeong… and killed them.”
He thought of Hyunjeong’s daughter and slammed his pen down. The thought of her learning her mother was dead weighed on him like stone.
“HQ will notify the victims’ families, right?”
“Of course. Can’t hide it forever.”
It was a selfish thought, but Beomjin felt relief that he wouldn’t be present when the husband and daughter heard the news. He didn’t want to watch them break.
Draining the rest of his coffee, he stood.
“Where are you going?”
“To check the third victim’s address.”
“Now? That’s in Suwon!” Uwan protested.
But Beomjin was already out the café door.
Like that little girl—someone out there still didn’t know. And if he was too late, they could be next.
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