'Ji-hoon? Why aren't you answering?'
Eun-young's voice yanked him back to reality.
The photo in his hand. The glowing monitor. The silence where someone else had stood just seconds ago.
He quickly hid the photo and shut the drawer.
The pencil remained in his hand. Still stained. Still red.
"It's ink," he lied. A red pen exploded.
But Eun-young didn't look convinced.
"You've been… different. Since yesterday. Like someone else took over."
Someone else… took over.
"Can you tell me more?" Ji-hoon asked, his voice trembling.
Eun-young nodded slowly. "You came out of the bathroom smiling. But it wasn't your smile."
That smile. That other him.
"You said, 'Now it begins.'"
Now it begins…?
He dropped the pencil.
Everything was connecting. The mirror. The video. The voice. The phrase: You need to find me.
"Did I ask about someone yesterday?"
"Yes! You asked who had your job before you. Then called HR. Then left."
His heartbeat quickened. Who had this job before me?
He left the office. Alone again. Or so he thought.
In the elevator, he looked at the mirror.
His reflection didn't move. At first.
Then… it spoke.
'You already know.'
"Know what?"
'What you've done.'
What have I done…?
"Who is she? The woman in the photo?"
'You must remember her.'
The reflection tapped the glass. The mirror shimmered. Then— gone.
Only Ji-hoon's own reflection remained.
He rushed home. Avoided the mirror. Climbed the stairs. But something followed him. Thud. Thud.
In front of his door— a red envelope.
Inside: a single note. 'You killed her.'
No. I couldn't… could I?
Photos. Gaps in time. Blood on the pencil.
He entered his apartment.
Why does this place feel like someone else's home…?
On the kitchen table, the message glared at him. You killed her.
Who is she…?
He opened his phone. The conference room photo. The board message: There's no time. Go back and find it.
Then— Thud. From beneath the floor.
Thud. Thud.
He followed the sound. Knees to hardwood. Something hollow.
A loose panel…?
He lifted it. A box.
A lock. And the key already inside. Someone wanted this found.
Inside: A diary. A photo. A USB drive.
The photo— Lee Su-yeon. November 30, 2024. Her name…
The diary—his handwriting. 'Even if I forget everything, I must know the truth.'
The truth… about him. About me.
→ [To be continued in Episode 10]
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