0.
A moonless night, the last night of the lunar month.
Siyun sprinted frantically through the market alley. A path that had once been familiar felt strange and alien to him tonight.
“Hah… hck… huff….”
His breath caught in his throat. It was as though fear was flooding every inch of his body. Everything ached — from where his throat had been choked all the way up to the back of his skull.
The sound of his own heartbeat thundered so loud it seemed to reach his ears.
That was when it happened.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of footsteps from behind sent Siyun’s chest into a wilder frenzy. Unhurried yet deliberate, those footsteps felt like a predator tracking its prey. No matter how fast Siyun ran, they followed at a fixed distance.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
The darkened traditional market was eerie. Through the maze-like alleyways and the tightly locked iron shutters, there wasn’t a single sign of another person.
Siyun quickly scanned left and right. That’s when an old fruit stall entered his line of sight. The shutter hadn’t come all the way down, leaving a gap just wide enough to crawl through. Without a moment’s hesitation, Siyun threw himself toward it. As he pushed his body through the narrow space beneath the shutter, the sharp stench of rotting fruit stung his nose.
The sound of leather shoes grew closer and closer — then stopped right in front of him. A pair of black shoes entered Siyun’s field of vision. They were handmade shoes that looked expensive.
Siyun’s eyes went wide as he curled his body in even tighter. The distance between the man and Siyun was barely fifty centimeters. His heart pounded wildly, as though it might burst from his chest. The man who had been standing still began to move again.
Once Siyun confirmed that the sound was gradually fading away, he finally let out a careful, slow breath. The tension eased slightly with relief, and a tingling spread through his entire body.
He waited until the man’s presence had completely disappeared and he was certain it was safe — then slowly crawled out from under the shutter.
“Caught you.”
Siyun’s body froze at the unfamiliar voice. The man was leaning against the shop right beside him.
“Done playing hide-and-seek?”
He quietly curled the corners of his mouth upward as he looked down at Siyun. His eyes glinted with something cruel — like a cat toying with a mouse.
“H-how….”
He was sure he’d felt the presence moving away. Siyun’s eyes darted around, unable to settle.
The man was tall, with a physique that was anything but ordinary. Sculpted features set against pale white skin. And most striking of all — two eyes, each a different color. The right, a blue like the open sea; the left, a deep black like the night sky. Both shone quietly in the darkness.
It was a face one would have to call beautiful — yet to Siyun, it felt like nothing less than terrifying.
“Well, look at that. Cha Siyun, it turns out you have more than just a talent for working leather.”
The man, who had drawn close without Siyun even noticing, slowly bent down to his level. The movement was threatening — like a predator lowering itself before its prey.
He placed his hand against Siyun’s cheek. At that cool touch, Siyun lifted his gaze and met the man’s eyes directly.
“A talent for driving people mad.”
Dark ghostly energy rippled from the body of the man as he murmured in a low voice. That energy was evil and powerful — far beyond what Siyun could handle.
Beneath a moonless sky, two eyes of mismatched colors stared down at Siyun.
1.
“Hmm, hmm-hmm.”
A quiet hum escaped her lips on its own. The woman, who appeared to be in high spirits, stood before the mirror, smoothing her hair and studying her reflection. The face looking back at her from the mirror was beautiful.
A satisfied smile on her lips, she draped a silk gown over her shoulders and glided out of the powder room with graceful steps, heading toward the bedroom.
“Vice President.”
She called out to him in a voice even sweeter than usual.
Yoon Hoseong — Vice President of Sangwon Construction.
He was the man she had devoted the past three years to pursuing. He was nearly twenty years her senior, and a married man with a wife and a middle school-aged son — but none of that concerned her. If anything, those conditions only sharpened her competitive instincts, and she had pursued him all the more aggressively.
Lately, the woman’s mood had been better than ever. It was because, not long ago, his wife had suffered from severe depression and ultimately taken her own life. The man who had so firmly declared he would never divorce was now a free man.
I’ve finally made it here.
The woman’s heart fluttered at the thought of becoming the mistress of Sangwon Construction.
“Don’t tell me you’re asleep?”
She pouted briefly at the man who hadn’t stirred in the slightest — then the corners of her lips curved upward again.
“Vice President?”
She called to him in a sweet voice as she pulled back the covers. And in the very next moment, a scream sharp enough to split the room tore through the air.
“Kyaaaah!”
The man’s eyes were frozen wide open, and dark reddish foam had dried from the corners of his mouth all the way down to his throat.
[At 3:50 a.m. this morning, Yoon Hoseong, Vice President of Sangwon Construction, was found in cardiac arrest at his residence in Myeongho-dong. The person who first discovered him has been identified as his live-in partner, and an autopsy is scheduled to determine the exact cause of death. Police have announced that, as of now, there are no indications of criminal involvement such as a break-in, and that investigations into the precise circumstances of his death are ongoing.
Yoon Hoseong’s surviving family members have decided to delay the funeral until a definitive cause of death is established….]
* * *
The digital clock in the front seat of the car read 7:35 a.m. Rain that had been falling since early morning left the roads cooler than usual, the air thick with humidity.
Chief Manager Seo began his schedule briefing.
“You have a meeting with Myeongryul Holdings in Umin-dong at noon.”
Gyohyun’s schedule was always packed. Meetings were lined up one after another, and even lunch required him to be on the move for business.
“Is that the only external appointment?”
“No. In the afternoon, you’ll need to attend Vice President Yoon’s funeral.”
Gyohyun, who had been scrolling through his tablet PC, had his eyebrow twitch.
“Has the autopsy concluded?”
“Yes. We received word early this morning that it was finalized. Nothing was found.”
One week ago, Yoon Hoseong had died. The prosecutors found the death suspicious and ordered an autopsy — but it would be of no use.
“Of course it wouldn’t.”
“Still, it’s a relief that this matter was resolved without a hitch.”
Gyohyun glanced briefly toward the front seat.
Chief Manager Seo spoke with a voice tinged with relief, but Gyohyun’s expression remained unmoved as ever. He turned his gaze to the scenery flowing past the car window and sank into thought.
Lee Gyohyun. He was the next heir to Hyosung Group — one of South Korea’s top three conglomerates — and the firstborn of the main Lee family line.
Not long ago, Gyohyun had visited an auction house to find a gift for his grandfather’s eightieth birthday celebration, when he happened to spot Yoon Hoseong there and had given him a look of quiet suspicion.
The firstborn sons of the Lee family were born with abilities unlike ordinary people. They were born with a special pair of eyes — Ghost Eyes — that allowed them not only to see and sense spirits, but to command them like extensions of their own body. For generations, the Lee family had used this power to place curses on others. Through that power, they had built the wealth and connections they possessed today.
But this particular curse was different. It was purely personal revenge — with no benefit whatsoever to himself.
It was only after their daughter’s suicide that his great-uncle and great-aunt had learned the truth: that their son-in-law Yoon Hoseong had been having an affair with another woman and tormenting their daughter all along. Having always been fond of their son-in-law, the betrayal was beyond words. The two had come to Gyohyun’s grandfather and to Gyohyun himself, tearfully begging them to place a curse on the man.
And yet — Yoon Hoseong, who should have died long ago from that curse, was still alive. Very much alive, in fact.
“He’s still alive?”
While searching for the reason, what he found was a keyring. It was the only new item Yoon Hoseong had recently acquired.
