Ajin

CHAPTER 001

THE BOY WHO FELL

1. SOMEONE IS IN THE HOUSE

In  Ajin's apartment. Night.

Ajin was alone in his bedroom.

At first, everything seemed normal.

Then he heard something.

A sound coming from somewhere outside his room.

He stopped what he was doing and listened.

Silence.

Perhaps it was nothing.

Then he heard it again.

This time, he was certain.

Someone was inside the house.

Ajin didn't go looking for them. He didn't call out to ask who was there.

Instead, he reached for his phone and dialed the police.

The dispatcher answered.

Dispatcher: "Emergency services. What's your emergency?"

Ajin: "I think someone's inside my house."

Dispatcher: "All right. I need you to stay calm. Are you somewhere safe right now?"

Ajin glanced toward his bedroom door.

Ajin: "I'm in my room. I heard someone outside, but I don't know who it is."

Dispatcher: "Understood. Don't approach them. Stay where you are, and tell me if you hear or see anything else."

Ajin nodded, even though the dispatcher couldn't see him.

Ajin: "Okay."

He tightened his grip on the phone.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then his attention drifted toward the mirror.

And that's when he saw it.

2. THE REFLECTION

At first, Ajin couldn't understand what he was looking at.

It was his reflection.

His face. His clothes. His room.

Everything looked normal.

Except something was wrong.

His reflection wasn't behaving the way it should.

Ajin went still.

He hadn't moved.

Yet the figure in the mirror seemed to be acting independently of him.

Then it happened.

His reflection began mouthing something.

HELP ME.

Ajin's blood ran cold.

He hadn't said those words.

He hadn't even opened his mouth.

But the figure in the mirror was looking directly at him, silently pleading for help.

Then its expression changed.

And Ajin realized something that frightened him even more.

It was as though the thing already knew what was going to happen next.

As though it had anticipated his reaction.

As though it was waiting for him to do something.

Dispatcher: "Hello? Are you still there?"

Ajin didn't answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on the mirror.

Dispatcher: "Sir? Can you hear me?"

Ajin swallowed.

Ajin: "...Yes."

Dispatcher: "What's happening? Do you see the person you mentioned?"

Ajin looked toward the door.

Then back at the mirror.

He had no idea what that thing was.

He didn't know whether it was dangerous, whether it could leave the mirror, or whether it had anything to do with the sounds outside his room.

He didn't even know whether the person he thought he'd heard was real.

But he knew one thing.

Whatever was happening, he couldn't afford to assume he understood it.

3. THE DECISION

Ajin's thoughts raced.

Should he stay in the room?

Should he wait for the police?

Should he try to leave through the door?

Every option felt dangerous.

And the longer he remained there, the more he felt as though he was letting something else decide what happened next.

Then he had an idea.

If the thing expected him to react in a particular way, perhaps he could do something it hadn't anticipated.

Something unpredictable.

Something that would force the situation out of its control.

Ajin took a breath.

Then he screamed.

Ajin: "AHHHHH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

He deliberately dropped his phone.

It struck the floor.

The dispatcher was still calling out to him through the fallen device.

Dispatcher: "Hello?! Can you hear me?! What's happening?!"

Ajin didn't respond.

He rushed toward the window.

For one final moment, he looked back.

The reflection was still there.

Watching him.

Ajin didn't wait to see what it would do next.

He climbed out.

And jumped.

4. THE FALL

The ground rushed toward him.

For a fraction of a second, Ajin couldn't think.

Then—

CRASH.

Pain exploded through his body.

He couldn't breathe properly.

He couldn't move the way he wanted to.

The world around him blurred as he lay there, desperately trying to remain conscious.

He had escaped the apartment.

But he had no idea whether his decision had actually saved him.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of sirens and  approaching footsteps.

Then everything went black.

END OF CHAPTER 001.