"Jake!"
The shout made Jake look toward his friends, who were staring at him with worried expressions.
Sunghoon was the first to approach. He picked up Jake's phone that had fallen to the floor.
"J–Jungwon?!" His eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw on the screen. The others immediately gathered around. With trembling hands, the pale young man showed the image to his friends.
"No! No way. That's not my little brother!" Jay staggered backward in disbelief.
"Calm down, Jay," Heeseung reflexively pulled his friend into a hug.
"That has to be edited… or AI-generated. Right?" Jay looked at his friends one by one, all of them lowering their heads in disbelief.
"We'll know for sure if we report this to the police," Niki said, holding up his phone. On the screen was a report he had just submitted to the authorities regarding the threatening messages and possible murder.
They all walked back together into the main room.
Jake, still shaken, was being comforted by Sunghoon, while Jay had been crying nonstop, filling the quiet night with confusion and deep despair. Heeseung and Niki could only stay silent, sharing the same worry as they waited in anxious hope.
**********
Sunoo glanced at the gate of the residential complex ahead of him. He was getting closer to the boarding house where he lived with his friends.
"I wonder what's going on at home… Why did Jake call me so angrily, but his tone sounded more scared than mad? Now my heart's racing too."
With hurried steps, he walked toward the boarding house. As soon as he arrived, he took out his keys, but his attention was quickly drawn to a police car parked right in front of the building.
"Are they coming here?"
Sure enough, not long after that, the police officers stepped out and approached him.
"Good evening. Is this the Knife boarding house?" the first officer asked.
Sunoo nodded stiffly, still confused about why the police were here. "Yes, sir. I'm one of the resi—"
His words were cut off when the sound of a door unlocking came from inside. Sunghoon appeared from behind the door.
"Thank goodness you're home too, No," Sunghoon said.
"What's going on, Hoon? Did you guys call the police?" Sunoo whispered nervously.
"Yes. We'll talk inside."
Sunghoon then invited the two officers in, pulling Sunoo along, who was clearly still stunned.
Once everyone had gathered in the main room, Jake immediately explained everything—from the mysterious messages, the café photo, to the horrifying image he received last.
Based on their brief examination, the officers concluded that the photo Jake received showed no signs of manipulation. However, they would still take it as evidence for further investigation.
"Mr. Shim Jake, in the messages you received, it appears you know something about the death of Yang Jeongin," one officer said.
"I don't know anyone named Jeongin, sir. I don't know anything about him," Jake replied.
"Perhaps a friend or another family member of yours?" the officer asked.
"No, sir. As far as I know, none of the people close to me know the victim either," Jake answered.
"At the moment, the case is still classified as a suicide. If you or any of you learn anything related, please inform us immediately," the first officer said.
"As for you, Mr. Jake, we would like to take your phone as additional evidence. Do you object?" the officer added.
Jake hesitated as he looked at the two officers. He used his phone every day—almost all the time. Having it taken would surely disrupt his activities.
"It's okay, Jake. I promise I'll buy you a new one," Jay said.
"That's not the problem, Jay. It's the data," Jake replied quietly, glancing at his friend. Jay's pale face only made Jake more worried—he was clearly desperate for any help to find his brother.
"A–Alright, sir. You can take it," Jake said reluctantly.
"Hang in there, bro," Sunghoon said, rubbing Jake's shoulder.
"Alright. We apologize for taking up your time. Good night," the officers said.
They then left, escorted outside by Niki.
After the police were gone, silence fell once again.
"So… J–Jungwon?" Sunoo asked shakily.
"No, No. There's still no confirmation that my brother is dead," Jay replied.
"That's right. Let's just pray that Jungwon is found soon," Heeseung said.
In the tense atmosphere, Jake glanced at the friend sitting across from him—and caught him staring back.
"W–Why are you looking at me like that, Jake?" Sunoo stammered, clearly unsettled by the intense gaze.
"You were the one looking at me first," Jake replied.
"I—I was just shocked that you suddenly got threatening messages," Sunoo said, quickly averting his eyes.
"Are you suspecting me?" Jake asked.
Sunoo immediately shook his head. "N–No, of course not."
Jake fell silent for a moment, exhaling harshly.
"On your way home earlier… did you feel like you were being followed?" he asked.
"The road was quiet, but I didn't feel like anyone was following me," Sunoo answered.
"The unknown sender sent a photo of the café where you and Jungwon were hanging out earlier. There's a chance he had already targeted you back then," Jake said.
"And it turns out Jungwon was the victim," Niki added softly, lowering his head.
Silence followed, until the ringing of Jay's phone filled the room.
Jay steadied his breathing before answering the call.
"Hello, Dad."
"What do you mean, Jay? Don't joke around with me!"
"Do you think Jungwon going missing is something to joke about?!"
An irritated sigh came from the other end of the line. "How could that kid disappear and leave so much unfinished work behind?"
"Are you insane?!" Jay shouted, tears finally spilling over. "Your son is missing and probably already dead, and you're still thinking about work?!"
"I don't care that much about that child. You're more important."
"No! Jungwon and I are the same. You shouldn't keep treating us differently," Jay said.
"You're my successor. Of course you're different from him."
"Dad, I've told you from the start that I don't want to inherit your company. And one more thing—don't ever look for me or Jungwon again. We don't want anything to do with you anymore!"
Jay threw his phone away, barely caught by Heeseung just in time. It would have been a shame to let such an expensive phone shatter.
"Calm down," Heeseung said.
"My dad's lost it. He cares more about work than his own child who's missing," Jay said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I think things are already bad enough. We should all try to calm down for now," Sunghoon said.
"Come on, my head hurts listening to all this, and my body's already sore," Sunoo said while stretching.
"Alright, everyone go back. It's time to rest," Jake said.
One by one, they headed to their respective rooms.
Niki, who walked last, watched his friends' backs as they disappeared down the hallway.
"I don't remember Sunoo having a strange birthmark like that," he muttered, before standing up and heading to his own room.