It was already late afternoon, nearing evening, when Niki was back at the boarding house after returning from Jungwon's funeral. He sat quietly, focused on finishing his school assignments on his laptop, when a voice made him look up.
"Ki."
"What is it, Jay?"
Niki glanced at his friend, who seemed to be looking for something.
"Have you seen my charger?"
Niki looked around the room.
"There, Jay—on top of the book."
"Oh, right."
Jay picked up the charger and went back to his room.
"Charger…"
Niki suddenly remembered something that had happened a few days earlier.
Back then, he had been playing games on his phone with Jungwon in his room when Jungwon's phone suddenly ran out of battery.
"Damn, our phones use different chargers, Won. Is yours still broken?" Niki asked.
"Yeah. I ordered a new one online—probably still on the way," Jungwon replied.
"So what are you gonna do now?" Niki asked.
"I usually borrow my brother's charger. He should be home soon," Jungwon said.
"As far as I remember, Sunoo's phone is the same type as yours. Why don't you borrow one from him?" Niki suggested.
"Oh yeah?"
Niki nodded.
"Alright then. I'll go check on Sunoo first."
Jungwon left Niki, who continued playing his game. Some time passed, and after Niki finished his match, he looked around. Jungwon still hadn't returned, even though it had been quite a while.
"Where did he go? Back to his room? He said we'd talk about the case after playing," Niki muttered.
He stepped out of his room. Not far away, he saw Jungwon standing pale-faced in front of Sunoo's room door.
"Won."
Jungwon flinched when Niki called him.
"What are you doing, zoning out like that?" Niki asked.
"N-No… nothing," Jungwon replied.
"Did you get the charger?" Niki asked.
"Y-Yeah," Jungwon answered.
"I just remembered—Sunoo said he had extra classes today, so he'll be home late," Niki said.
"He's not home yet. His room's empty," Jungwon replied.
"Huh, that's weird. He never forgets to lock his room properly when he's out. It's like he's hiding treasure or something," Niki joked.
"M-Maybe this time he just forgot. Let's not think too much about it," Jungwon said.
"Yeah. At least you can charge your phone now. And by the way, are we still talking about Jeongin's case?" Niki asked.
"Yeah. Let's talk about it now," Jungwon replied.
The two of them went back to Niki's room.
That brief memory made Niki's chest feel tight. If they hadn't been curious—if they hadn't tried to investigate that case—would all of this have happened?
"I'm sorry, Jungwon."
*************
"This whole thing started with me. I think we should come clean about our connections," Jake said to the two friends gathered in his room.
"No. No one can know about our work," Sunghoon said firmly.
Heeseung, who was leaning against the wall, looked at them flatly. "Don't joke around. None of our jobs are clean."
"The point is, don't panic. The unknown person is around us—or maybe even living here with us," Sunghoon said.
"So we're supposed to suspect each other now?" Jake asked.
"Honestly, I trust you, Jake," Sunghoon said.
"Same here. But I don't know about this guy," Jake said, glancing at Heeseung.
Sunghoon followed Jake's gaze, scanning Heeseung from head to toe. "Easy. Sell him on the black market—he'd sell fast."
"Dark joke, damn it," Heeseung snorted, which only made the other two laugh.
"Alright, boys, playtime's over. Back to your rooms," Jake said.
Without another word, the two of them left Jake's room.
"I'm alone again."
Jake leaned back for a moment after watching Sunghoon close the door.
While the room was quiet, he grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and began writing.
Suspect 1 – Sunoo: That night he came home late didn't seem strange at first, but it became suspicious after Niki noticed the strange mark on Sunoo's neck.
Suspect 2 – Niki: He's quite observant and analytical. It makes me wonder if he could be the one who attacked Sunoo, then pretended to notice the mark on Sunoo's neck.
Suspect 3 – Heeseung: It's possible he hates me and is behind this terror because I know his secret.
Suspect 4 – Sunghoon: He knows a lot about me. Maybe he's threatening me for something.
Suspect 5 – Jay:
Jake stopped writing.
"What's suspicious about him?"
He twirled the pen while thinking—when suddenly his phone screen lit up on its own, showing a message notification from Unknown. Jake immediately opened it.
It was a photo.
A photo of himself, sitting at his study desk.
Jake immediately turned toward the door, which was slightly open. He clearly remembered seeing Sunghoon close it earlier.
"This must have been taken recently."
Slowly, he stepped out of his room and checked his surroundings—until he noticed Niki, who was seriously focused on his laptop in the living area.
A spot close to Jake's room.
"Ki."
Niki looked up, adjusting his glasses.
"What is it, Jake?"
"Did you see anyone pass by here?" Jake asked.
Niki shook his head. "Nope. I've been alone here this whole time."
"O-Oh, okay," Jake said, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Who passed by?" Niki asked.
"N-Nothing. I think I was mistaken," Jake replied.
He returned to his room, suspicion swirling in his mind.
Was it really Niki who took that photo of me?