Justice is dead and frozen. To think they call someone like Seo Min-jun righteous. Fuming as he walked to his car, Soo-hyun passed two middle school-aged boys sitting at the bus stop, making a fuss over something they were watching. Little brats. Enjoy it while you can. As he passed by, he overheard them talking.

“Holy sh*t. This is f*cking scary. See how it gives you goosebumps? Is this a real ghost?”

Soo-hyun snorted. Just wait until you grow up. You’ll learn people are scarier than ghosts.

“Hey, isn’t this the nursing home in Seogok-ri?”

“Yeah, I think so. Senior Seon-ho said he went there to drink before.”

“Should we take the guys there at night?”

“Idiot, you want to get dragged away by the wheelchair ghost?”

At the mention of a wheelchair, Soo-hyun stopped and approached them. When he stood right in front of them staring down, the seated boys looked up.

“We go to church.”

They shot back rudely and giggled among themselves. Soo-hyun snatched their phone. “What the f*ck? Mister, what’s your problem? Why are you taking someone else’s phone?” Both boys stood up simultaneously, looking ready to fight, but Soo-hyun ignored them and checked the video.

Just as he feared, there it was—footage of him sitting in the wheelchair putting on a show two days ago. It had over a million views and tens of thousands of comments. His face turned pale and his heart pounded violently. How could this happen…

“So annoying.”

One of the boys snatched back his phone and glared with wide eyes. Soo-hyun looked at them with a somewhat shocked expression. The boys exchanged glances and then looked away. Soo-hyun stepped closer, pulled down the mask covering his face, and laughed like he did in the video.

“Hehehehe.”

The boys’ expressions were priceless. They backed away in fear, and Soo-hyun turned serious and asked:

“Well? Do I look like him?”

“Like who…?”

“The ghost in the video—do I look like him?”

The boys, flustered, looked at the video and then at Soo-hyun. Then, as if by agreement, they shook their heads. “No. Not at all.” Soo-hyun pulled his mask back up in relief. Right, my face was completely covered, and it was dark—who would think it was me?

Soo-hyun said one last thing to the boys before turning away.

“Keep watching stuff like that and you’ll get possessed.”

He heard cursing behind him. “Isn’t he crazy?” “Hey, did you see his face? He’s really handsome.” “So what? He’s a psycho.” “His shoes are Gucci.” “F*ck, they must be fake.”

Soo-hyun laughed incredulously. At least wait until I’m far away to curse. I can hear everything, you little brats. Kids these days have no manners. Kim Woo-jin, on the other hand, was mature and adult-like. Come to think of it, I left without saying goodbye. I wonder if he received the scarf well.

I don’t know what his intentions were in giving me a gift and kissing me, but I hope he wasn’t trying to use me. That would be too sad. Everyone around me just wants to use me. It would be less upsetting if at least one person treated me sincerely.

With a bitter smile, he started the car and drove off, seeing the boys boarding a bus at the stop. His anxiety hadn’t completely disappeared. What if someone recognized him? Even if no one did, now that he’d been exposed, people would keep coming. The thought made him anxious.

Soo-hyun hurried back to the nursing home. Instead of hiding his car, he parked it in the middle of the yard and rushed upstairs with the food and medicine. After packing necessary items in his duffel bag from his room, he went to the neighboring room, but the man wasn’t there. Judging by the absence of his usual work clothes, it seemed he had gone to work despite being sick.

Soo-hyun left the packaged soup and medicine in a corner, then opened his bag and took out cash. He hid a bundle of 50,000 won bills in the man’s food box and wrote a note on a torn piece of paper using a nearby pen.

[Something came up, so I’m leaving without saying goodbye. The money is a thank you for looking after me. Take care.]

After placing the note on top, he gathered his belongings and went downstairs. Staying longer could be dangerous, so he decided to head to Busan. He started the car and drove quickly down the forest path when he saw a black car coming up from the distance. Looking carefully, it wasn’t just one car but several.

There was nothing beyond this point except the nursing home and a farm behind it. The heavily tinted vehicles didn’t look like they were visiting the farm, and they definitely weren’t ghost hunters. Tensely, he pulled his car to the side to let them pass, but they stopped a short distance away.

Soo-hyun gripped the steering wheel nervously. In this standoff, the passenger door of the other car opened, and a tall man stepped out. Recognizing him, Soo-hyun’s face turned white, his mouth agape. Yang Ho-beom’s face, seen after several days, looked like the grim reaper himself.

With a cigarette in his mouth, he stared in Soo-hyun’s direction with an expression suggesting he might rush over and strangle him at any moment. Soo-hyun’s mind went blank, unable to act, before finally shifting gears and hastily reversing. Soon, Ho-beom’s car pursued him fiercely.

This road led to a dead end. A thousand thoughts tangled in his mind. What should I do? Should I abandon the car and escape into the mountains? But shaking them off wouldn’t be easy. Regret washed over him. He should have just stayed hidden—he’d only made things worse with his foolish actions.

While backing up and berating himself, Soo-hyun spotted a reservoir on his right. After several days of cold weather, the frozen reservoir was solid enough to walk across. And beyond the reservoir was a road leading to the national highway.

After a moment of hesitation, Soo-hyun stopped the car, turned the wheel in that direction, and accelerated. It was do or die. Whether caught and killed by Yang Ho-beom or becoming a water ghost by falling through the ice. As he drove onto the reservoir, Ho-beom’s car stopped at the entrance.

Right, they’re human too, so they’re afraid the ice might break. Soon, one of his subordinates jumped out of the car holding what looked like a long stick. Looking more carefully, it wasn’t a stick but a gun. These crazy bastards. They brought a gun? Aghast, he looked back to see the barrel pointing in his direction.

Expecting a hail of bullets like in the movies, he ducked low, but there was just a thud against the trunk, and that was it. What, is that a BB gun? All that posturing for nothing. Sneering, he increased his speed when suddenly there was a loud CRACK! Like lightning splitting a tree.

Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw a large crack forming in the middle of the reservoir. His palms grew sweaty with tension. Thinking he just needed to hold out a little longer, he drove straight ahead, but just before escape, the wheels began to spin. Even pressing hard on the accelerator only produced a revving sound without moving forward.

Disturbing the ice further might cause the car to sink. At that moment, Ho-beom began crossing the ice with long strides from the other side. A chill ran down Soo-hyun’s spine. The precariously cracked ice looked ready to swallow both the car and Ho-beom at any moment.

As the distance closed, his anxiety intensified. Even when caught by a tiger, keeping your wits is what matters. Taking a deep breath and calmly reversing the car before accelerating again, he fortunately moved forward. Ho-beom had stopped in the middle of the reservoir, his face contorted with rage.

As Soo-hyun moved away from the reservoir, Ho-beom’s figure completely disappeared from view. He breathed a sigh of relief. Ironically, even while trembling with fear as Ho-beom walked across the ice, he had worried about him. What if you fall through and die? You’re really crazy to come out there!

After reaching the national highway via local roads, he drove as fast as possible. His hands trembled as he pulled out a cigarette, relieved to have escaped safely. After lighting it, he searched his bag for his phone, turned it on, and contacted Kim Young-taek.

Soon, Kim Young-taek’s voice came through.

“It’s me, hyungnim.”

[Yes, Soo-hyun.]

Talking to someone on his side made him so happy he could cry.

“I’m sorry. Something came up and I need to go to Busan now. Is there any chance of an earlier departure?”

Kim Young-taek was silent, making Soo-hyun anxious.

“It’s difficult, right?”

[There is a boat leaving at dawn tomorrow….]

Soo-hyun’s face, which had been frozen, brightened at this unexpected response.

“Tomorrow?”

[Where are you now?]

“Gangwon Province. I should reach Busan before midnight.”

[Alright. I’ll let them know in advance. Go to the fish restaurant I mentioned before and ask for Manager Park.]

Thank you. Thank you so much, hyungnim. I’ll never forget this favor. Never in my life. Kim Young-taek remained silent. Thinking the call might have disconnected, Soo-hyun checked, but they were still connected.

“Hyungnim?”

[Travel safely.]

“Yes!”

The call ended, and Soo-hyun increased his speed further. He had no idea how many speed cameras he’d passed. If he’d known this would happen, he should have asked Kim Young-taek to cover his speeding tickets too.

After catching his breath, fatigue set in and he felt hungry. Damn. Unable to stop at a rest area for a proper meal while on the run, he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a packet of ramen. He tore it open and munched on it dry to satisfy his hunger as the sun began to set.

Just need to hold out tonight. Just tonight. Then I can finally leave this wretched place completely.

On the way to Busan, Yang Ho-beom’s face kept appearing in his mind. Was it his imagination? He looked slightly thinner. Has this guy been sharpening his knife every night, unable to sleep because he’s so angry? As memories of nearly being beaten to death by Ho-beom resurfaced, cold sweat ran down his spine involuntarily.

I can’t get caught. If I’m caught this time, I’m really dead.