The murmurs of medical students filled Ahyeon Hall at Seoul University during orientation week. Local and international students gathered together, waiting for the dean to give them a welcome speech.

Among the sea of Korean students was a first-year student from Malaysia.

Nafi Arbaie.

He sat quietly in his seat, looking around the hall.

This was his first time studying abroad.

He still couldn't believe that he had made it this far.

“JPA sponsorship must've really benefited me to study here,” he muttered to himself.

Nafi leaned back against his chair.

Seoul.

A new country.
A new university.
A new life.

He had spent years studying to get here.

Now, the real journey was about to begin.

He remembered the news from the previous night about the death of a prominent businessman under horrific circumstances.

The South Korean police were still searching for the murderer.

Some people claimed it was a phantom.

Others believed an assassin was responsible.

Nafi, however, was more interested in the autopsy report.

“Third-degree burns... lower half of the body completely charred...” he muttered as he recalled the details.

“What a nightmare.”

He overheard some of his classmates talking about the death of Kim Jo-ri, the heir to the Purrito Group.

“I heard he was corrupted.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know. That's what people are saying.”

“Corrupted?”

“Yeah. Apparently, his body was found like that.”

Nafi turned his attention toward them.

His curiosity grew.

A body with severe burns was one thing.

But the way everyone was describing the incident made it sound like something else.

Somewhere in Korea, a short-haired woman was delivering food on her motorbike.

To most people, this was just her job.

But delivering food was only her front.

Her real job at night was far more promising.

Every delivery gave her an opportunity to gather information about the people in the area. Addresses, names, routines—anything that could be useful for her next target.

“Thank you, Miss Anna.”

An old lady accepted a box of kimchi.

“You're welcome, ma'am.”

Anna tapped her phone and checked the address for her next delivery.

She started her motorbike and headed to the next location.

When she arrived, she took off her helmet and approached the house.

“I am sorry, ma'am. I want to ask you something.”

The old lady opened the door.

“Go on, young lady.”

“Does Jeong Kyuhyun live here?”

The old lady's expression immediately changed.

She squinted at Anna.

“Why are you looking for him?”

Anna noticed the sudden change in her expression.

“Is there a problem?”

The old lady lowered her voice.

“Are you working for him?”

Anna remained silent.

The name Jeong Kyuhyun meant trouble in this neighbourhood.

He was known as the local debt collector.

And people who owed him money rarely wanted to see him.

“Grandma, wait.”

Anna held the door before the old lady could close it.

“If you tell me about him, I promise you'll live in peace.”

The old lady froze.

Anna's voice remained calm, almost polite.

But there was something behind her words that made the old lady hesitate.

“You're not one of his people, are you?”

“No.”

“Then who are you?”

Anna smiled faintly.

“Someone who wants to make sure he doesn't bother you anymore.”

Back at Seoul University, Nafi and his classmates entered the anatomy museum.

The room was filled with donated human bodies preserved for medical education.

It was their first Introduction to Anatomy class, taught by Dr Hyun Jung-ah.

“Today, we'll begin with the largest organ of the human body—the skin,” Dr Hyun explained.

She pointed toward the displayed cadaver.

“The skin consists of three main layers: the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis.”

Nafi listened carefully as Dr Hyun continued explaining the functions of each layer.

“The epidermis acts as the body's outer barrier. Beneath it is the dermis, which contains blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, and glands.”

Nafi stared at the cadaver.

Then—

His vision suddenly changed.

He was no longer standing in the anatomy museum.

He was sitting at a small wooden table.

His hands were younger.

There was a bowl of steaming soup in front of him.

A woman's voice came from across the table.

“Eat before it gets cold.”

He looked up.

A young woman was smiling at him.

“I'm going to be late,” he heard himself say.

“You always say that.”

The woman laughed.

Then the scene changed.

He was walking through a crowded street.

Rain fell against his face.

He could feel every drop.

He could hear car horns, footsteps, and the distant sound of a train.

Someone grabbed his shoulder.

He turned around.

A man stood behind him.

His face was blurry.

“Don't trust—”

The words suddenly distorted.

The man's face disappeared.

Everything became dark.

Nafi saw one final image.

His own hands—

covered in blood.

Then—

Nafi gasped.

He was back in the anatomy museum.

His heart was pounding.

He looked down at his hands.

They were clean.

He slowly looked toward the cadaver.

For a brief moment, he could have sworn the dead man's eyes were looking directly at him.

Nafi blinked.

They were closed.

“...What the hell was that?”

At a run-down apartment somewhere in Korea, Annadare opened her laptop.

She searched for information about the loan shark, Jeong Kyuhyun.

Names.

Addresses.

Financial records.

Known associates.

She compared the information with the details given by the old lady.

“It matched Grandma's information.”

Annadare leaned back in her chair.

“So you're the one causing trouble in the neighbourhood.”

She closed the laptop and walked toward an old cabinet.

With a twist of the lock, she opened it.

Inside was an assortment of equipment arranged neatly on several shelves.

It looked less like a storage cabinet and more like a private armoury.

Annadare examined the contents.

“Let's see…”

She picked up a small container and checked its label.

“Emetic drugs.”

She placed it back.

“Silenced pistols.”

Two compact handguns rested inside their cases.

“Knives.”

Several blades were arranged beside them.

“Disguises.”

A collection of wigs, glasses, uniforms and other clothing filled another compartment.

Annadare looked through everything one more time.

She wasn't carrying an arsenal because she liked weapons.

She carried them because she liked having options.

“Alright.”

She closed the cabinet.

“Time to meet Mr Kyuhyun.”

That night, Nafi sat at his desk in his small apartment.

His anatomy textbook was open in front of him, but he had stopped reading several minutes ago.

His mind kept returning to what happened at the museum.

The vision.

The soup.

The woman.

The rain.

The stranger whose face he couldn't remember.

And those blood-covered hands.

Nafi opened his notebook and began writing.

Possible causes:

1. Fatigue.

2. Stress.

3. False memory.

He paused.

Then added another possibility.

4. Hallucination.

Nafi stared at the word.

“No…”

He crossed it out.

He wasn't hallucinating.

At least, he didn't think he was.

He turned to a blank page and drew the face of the woman from his vision.

The details were already becoming blurry.

Her eyes.

Her hairstyle.

Even her voice.

Everything was fading.

Nafi sighed and closed his notebook.

“Maybe I just need sleep.”

He switched off the light and lay down.

Outside his window, Seoul continued to glow beneath the night sky.

Nafi slowly closed his eyes.

Several kilometres away, Annadare stood on the rooftop of an apartment building.

She wore dark clothes and carried a small bag over her shoulder.

Her target's location was displayed on her phone.

JEONG KYUHYUN

CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN

Annadare looked across the city.

“Let's find you.”

She put her phone away.

Then she disappeared into the darkness.

Nafi was falling asleep.

Annadare had begun her hunt.

Two people.

Two lives.

Two completely different paths.

Neither of them knew that their paths were about to cross.

And neither knew what was waiting for them in their dreams.