Suparuj narrowed his eyes, searching deep within the young woman’s gaze as he moved closer. Suddenly, his heart lurched, a violent constriction tightening in his chest unlike anything he had ever felt. It was a suffocating pressure, as if he were trapped in a windowless room with no air to breathe.

"How did you know I own this place? I've never told a soul," he demanded in a low, guarded whisper.

"I..." She blinked rapidly, her breath hitching. She took a step back, her composure wavering. "I can’t explain it to you right now, but we’re running out of time. Please, you have to let me inside!"

She gestured toward the massive entrance of the building as the shutters began to descend. Suparuj didn't break eye contact with her clear, innocent face. "And why should I do as you say?"

"My friend! She's trapped up there," she pleaded, clutching her chest. Her eyes shimmered with a sincerity so raw that Suparuj found himself unable to refuse.

He let out a slow, heavy breath before turning to the security guard awaiting his signal. "Open the doors for her... and I'm going up with her."

The luxury car roared up to the fourth-floor parking lot. As they stepped into the building, the neon lights hummed to life, one by one, following the owner’s command. The girl sprinted down the corridor in a frantic blur. Watching her confusion, Suparuj quickened his pace to close the distance.

"Please let us be in time... please," she muttered to herself, her hands shaking uncontrollably. Without thinking, he reached out and caught her slender hand in his. A strange, electric sensation surged through his body. The way their fingers interlaced felt startlingly natural—as if they had done this a thousand times before. She looked up at him in shock but did not pull away.

"Let’s check that way," he said, his voice softening instinctively.

A group of female employees ran toward them. "Mr. Ruj! Security informed us about the person trapped inside. It’s a relief you ordered the lights back on in time!"

"Thank you for staying. Please, search every corner," Suparuj commanded before leading the mysterious girl toward a silent, secluded wing of the floor.

There, at the center of a three-way intersection, stood a middle-aged man. His clothes were tattered and grime-stained, like those of a wanderer. His hair was stark white, paired with a wild, unkempt beard.

The man lowered his gaze to the tightly entwined hands of Suparuj and the girl. Then, he looked up with a broad, knowing grin.

"So... you finally found each other."

The words made them both freeze. They glanced at one another, bewildered. "What do you mean by that?" Suparuj asked.

"Everything is beginning... from this moment onward," the stranger replied in a flat, chilling tone.

Still fixated on her mission, the girl cut in. "Are you trapped here too? Did you see my friend? She disappeared somewhere in this zone."

The mysterious man looked deep into her eyes, uttering words that turned the surrounding air into ice.

"Your friend... is about to die."

As the sentence hung in the air, both Suparuj and the girl stared in stunned silence. This sequence of events... whose hand was pulling the strings?