The atmosphere in the main room grew tense once again. No one spoke, yet deep down they all hoped the police would bring good news.
"Do you have any information about my brother?" Jay asked.
"Well," the officer began, "last night a resident reported a fire at an abandoned warehouse near the district border. When we arrived, the building itself wasn't burned down—only the old items inside were consumed by the flames. Unfortunately, we found a body that had been caught in the fire."
The officer then took out an envelope containing photos from the crime scene. The others looked at the images with dread. It was hard not to—the body in the photos was burned so badly that it was almost unrecognizable.
"The remains were severely burned, making identification extremely difficult," the officer continued. "However, we found several items near the body that appear to belong to the victim."
He then opened a box they had brought along, containing personal belongings: a school uniform, a backpack, books, and an identification card.
Jay immediately grabbed the ID card. He shook his head in disbelief—the card in his hands clearly belonged to his younger brother.
"T-This can't be real… this has to be fake," he cried, no longer able to hold back his tears.
The others could only try to comfort Jay. They didn't want to believe it either. But the uniform, the bag, the books—they all remembered them clearly. Those were Jungwon's belongings, things he used almost every day.
*********
Jake sat alone in the park, still lost in thought, when the speakers announced the news of his friend's death.
Deep inside, Jake felt guilty. He never imagined things would turn out this badly.
"Who exactly is this unknown person?" he muttered. "How much do they hate me to do something this cruel?"
Jake leaned back against the park bench, lifting his gaze toward the sky.
"Is this revenge because I didn't say anything about Jeongin's death? Who are they? And how much do they know about what really happened to Jeongin that they'd go this far?"
He let out a slow breath.
"Will they keep terrorizing me? Killing the people around me?"
Ding!
The sound made Jake lazily check his phone. His mind felt exhausted—but the moment he saw the name Unknown on the notification, his body stiffened. Worse, the message included a video.
Despite his trembling hands, he forced himself to open it.
The video angle was flat and slightly shaky, convincing Jake it had been recorded personally. At first, it didn't seem strange at all—it only showed the front of a café.
But a few seconds later, Jungwon appeared, walking out while constantly looking around, visibly anxious, as if afraid of being noticed. His hand slowly opened his backpack, taking something out.
That was all. The video ended abruptly.
Jake froze, trying to process what he had just seen.
"J-Jungwon took a taser from his bag… Why was he carrying that?"
His thoughts drifted back to the breakfast conversation earlier, when Niki mentioned the strange mark on Sunoo's neck.
"H-How is this possible? If Sunoo really was attacked, then why is Jungwon the one who's gone? This doesn't make any sense…"
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. In the middle of his unease, another message from the unknown sender arrived, making Jake stare at his phone in horror.
— You better watch out —
Attached was a photo of Jake sitting alone in the park.
Instinctively, Jake looked around, scanning the students nearby for anyone suspicious. His sudden movement only earned him strange looks from others.
Clicking his tongue in irritation, he replied.
"Stop being a coward. Come out and face me!"
Not long after, another reply appeared.
— I'm still having fun with you. Relax–Jungwon isn't my only victim. —
Furious, Jake threw his phone aside.
"Jake?"
Sunghoon arrived with Heeseung. Sunghoon immediately sat beside Jake, while Heeseung reflexively picked up the phone lying in the grass.
"What happened now?" Sunghoon asked.
"The unknown," Jake replied shortly.
Hearing that, Heeseung unlocked the phone. He and Sunghoon read through the conversation.
"We can't just sit still," Sunghoon said firmly, looking at both of them. "We need to investigate this bastard again."
"We need to find out who this is as soon as possible," Jake agreed.
"Relax. We'll help you too," Sunghoon said reassuringly.
"Hm. We, huh?" Heeseung said, sounding half-mocking, half-sarcastic.
"Doesn't matter—as long as you don't mind your secrets getting exposed," Sunghoon replied coldly.
"…Yeah, fine. I'm in," Heeseung said reluctantly, wondering why he had to get dragged into this mess.
Sunghoon glanced around. "That photo was sent in real time, wasn't it?"
"Most likely. That means he's somewhere around us. We need to be more careful," Jake said.
Jake's phone rang again, making him freeze for a moment. Thankfully, it was Jay—informing him that Jungwon's funeral would be held later that afternoon.
The three of them left the park together—unaware that the unknown sender was watching them from a distance, calmly chewing on a snack.