The hallway of the old villa always smelled of dampness.

The wallpaper was yellowed with age, and the fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered, half-burnt out. At night, this place became even quieter. It was a building where you couldn't tell if people lived there or if it had been abandoned.

The room at the very end of that villa.

Inside a small studio where the door number had almost faded away, Pi Ui-yeon sat on a thin mat he used instead of a bed.

On a small table used as a desk,
sat a laptop, two cans of coffee, and a folding knife.

Faint music flowed from the radio.

It was an old pop song mixed with static.

Ui-yeon was checking something on the screen when he picked up a can of coffee.

That was when it happened.

Knock, knock.

The sound of someone knocking on the door.

Ui-yeon’s hand froze.

The sound of the radio suddenly felt loud.

A moment of silence.

He slowly set the can down.

There was no one who would visit this house at this hour.

He had no friends, and almost no one knew this address.

The first thing that came to mind was a loan shark.

Ui-yeon stood up quietly.

He gripped the folding knife that had been on the table.

Then, killing his footsteps, he approached the door.

He held his breath in front of the door, but not a word could be heard from the hallway.

After a moment, he slowly grabbed the doorknob and opened the door just a crack, keeping the security chain engaged.

“…Who is it?"