Chapter 24.2

Seoryeong awoke in the dead of night.

It was the first time she had jolted awake so suddenly, without any prior indication. Even after rousing from her slumber, she found herself gazing at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Had I indulged in ramen too close to bedtime…? Could it be that snacking late and retiring past midnight rendered it excessively salty?

Her throat felt parched, her mouth dry.

Rising from her bed and glancing at the clock, she realized it was time for the team members who had ventured to the border to return.

In truth, despite labeling it a business trip, her life hardly deviated from her routine at headquarters.

Cleaning, cooking, and more cleaning – her days passed in a tedious cycle, and now the day to return to Korea loomed ahead, nearly upon her. With a sigh, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

“…”

Then, for a moment, she sensed something strange.

What… was that?

Once again, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Even though the walls of this old and shabby inn were thin, at night all sorts of noises could be heard.

Conversations in foreign languages, the sound of someone using the bathroom and flushing, the thumping of footsteps, and even the subtle sound of placing a cup on a table. All these various noises existed like one big atmosphere.

Why… can’t I hear any sound at all?

Yeah, by now, the employee in the next room should have been coughing and the noise from the classic movie should have been loud. It should have been like that.

But all the noise was completely gone.

“…”

Seoryeong absentmindedly rubbed her forearm and opened the door.

Creak― The stiff latch sank coolly into the corridor. It was strangely quiet night.

Seoryeong wandered around, taking slow steps down the dimly lit corridor. Her gaze instinctively gravitated towards the driver’s room, which was slightly ajar.

Strangely, her mouth felt dry, and her heart pounded. As she reached out her arm to push the door, Seoryeong froze as if she had been doused in icy water.

“Uh… uh…”

Unconsciously, she pressed her lips tightly together, fearing that a scream might escape.

The once pristine white sheets she had laundered were now all soaked with a sickening red hue.

His  neck and forehead had been cut so deeply that only the handle of the dagger was visible. Blood was still trickling out.

“Ugh…”

She forced her unmoving legs to shift and tentatively reached out her fingers to the employee’s nose.

What in the world… What in the world happened…

He was dead. The driver lay lifeless, soaked in blood, his eyes closed in eternal slumber.

Seoryeong, her face turning pale, stood motionless for a moment before exiting the room and retracing her steps towards the adjacent room she had casually passed by.

Her weakened steps gradually quickened. Without hesitation, she grabbed the latch of the neighboring room.

Her hand trembled slightly, but she clenched her teeth and pushed the door open. As she did, a putrid and horrifying stench assaulted her nostrils.

“No…!”

What is this, what in the world, no…!

The orderly, whose hair had lightened, lay dead on his stomach, a knife embedded in his back.

Blood gushed out uncontrollably, staining his lips and the floor red. There was so much blood that one wouldn’t know where to begin stopping it.

How could nobody have known anything while two people were dying?

Seoryeong wiped her moist hands over her face. She regulated her erratic breathing and scanned the room.

“…”

There was no trace of a struggle in the room.

So they died without a scream. They died instantly, with a fatal stab that didn’t allow them to even make a sound.

But why?

At this critical moment, who made them let their guard down?

Her gaze suddenly fixed on one side of the wall.

Just a moment… then next… the next room…

“Channa…!”

A hot surge of something rose within her.

It was none other than Channa’s room.

As Seoryeong collapsed to her knees and rose back up, the sight of the dead orderly’s ear caught her eye.

There, in his ear, was a black wireless earpiece. The device, no bigger than a thumbnail, was soaked in blood, as if he had tried to do something with it until the end.

Seoryeong took it from the dead man and inserted it into her own ear. But she had no idea how to make it work.

She tried tapping and pressing it as best as she could and then dashed straight to Channa’s room. Please… please…!

As she flung open Channa’s door, she heard a slow and familiar voice.