Watcher

The call came just past midnight.

“Another one.”

That was all they said.

But it was enough.

By the time Kim Seok stepped out of his car, the street was already sealed with flashing lights and police tape. The air felt heavier than usual, like the night itself already knew what waited inside.

Third time.

That thought stayed quiet in his mind, but it was there.

The officers near the entrance straightened when they saw him.

“Sir.”

“Where?”

“In the alley.”

Kim didn’t waste another second. He slipped on his gloves as he stepped under the tape, his expression already set — calm, focused, unreadable.

But sharper than before.

Because this wasn’t new anymore.

Inside the alley, the world felt cut off.

Silent.

Still.

Wrong.

The body lay near the back wall.

A woman.

Mid-twenties.

Same as before.

Kim stopped a few steps away, his eyes scanning everything before moving closer.

No chaos.

No mess.

No signs of panic in the surroundings.

Control.

Again.

He crouched beside the body slowly.

Bruises around the wrists.

Faint.

But clear.

Restraint.

Her hands were damaged — nails cracked, skin torn slightly at the knuckles. She had fought.

Not enough.

Her face was turned slightly upward, frozen in something that wasn’t just pain.

It was fear.

The kind that took time.

The kind that stayed.

Kim’s jaw tightened slightly.

Same as the others.

Footsteps approached behind him.

“You always get here before me.”

Kim didn’t look back.

“Try driving faster.”

A quiet scoff.

Park Jay stepped beside him, holding his kit, eyes already on the body.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

They didn’t need to.

Jay crouched down, studying the details carefully.

Wrists.

Hands.

Face.

Clothes.

Then the space around her.

“Time?”

“Within the last two hours,” one of the team members replied from behind.

Jay nodded slightly, still focused.

Around them, the team was already moving.

Voices low.

Steps quick.

No one relaxed.

Because everyone knew.

This wasn’t the first.

And now it wasn’t even the second.

Kim finally spoke, his voice low.

“Same pattern.”

Jay didn’t answer immediately.

He leaned closer to the victim’s face, eyes narrowing slightly.

There it was.

Faint.

Almost invisible.

But not to him.

“She cried,” Jay said quietly.

Kim’s gaze shifted.

“Tear marks,” Jay added.

A silence fell between them.

Not heavy.

Not shocked.

Just confirmed.

Kim looked at the body again.

At the hands.

At the stillness.

At the way she had been left here — not hidden, not exposed completely either.

Placed.

Like before.

“This isn’t rushed,” Kim said.

Jay nodded slightly.

“No.”

He stood up slowly, pulling off one glove.

“This takes time.”

Behind them, one of the officers spoke nervously, “Sir… should we start linking it officially to the previous two?”

Kim didn’t turn.

He didn’t need to think about it anymore.

That decision had already been made the moment he saw the body.

“Yes.”

Jay looked at him.

Kim’s voice didn’t change.

“Same method. Same behavior. Same control.”

Jay exhaled quietly.

“And same fear.”

For a moment, both of them stood there, looking at the victim.

Three bodies now.

Not random.

Not accidental.

Not emotional rage.

Something else.

Something patient.

Something watching.

Jay finally spoke, his tone calm but colder than before.

“This isn’t random anymore.”

Kim’s eyes didn’t leave the body.

“No,” he said quietly.

Then after a second

“It never was.”

The alley fell silent again.

But this time, it felt different.

Because now, they weren’t looking at a case.

They were looking at a pattern.

And patterns meant one thing.

This was just the beginning.

CHAPTER 1 COMPLETE