Chapter 12

The powder room on the first floor was already full of women who had arrived earlier, leaving no space.  

It was the same even after Gabrielle went up to the second floor.  

As her patience wore thin and she shifted anxiously from foot to foot, she suddenly spotted a small sign at the end of the hallway: ‘Staff Powder Room.’

Gabrielle quickly looked around and walked over.  

Thankfully, there was no one inside.  

She hurried to take care of her business and was about to leave when she suddenly heard footsteps approaching.  

Startled, Gabrielle instinctively covered her mouth with both hands and held her breath.

Soon, the sound of the door opening was followed by two more pairs of footsteps coming closer.  

Gabrielle hesitated, wondering if she should just go out and apologize, but then she heard the door lock and a low female voice.

“There’s never anyone here. It’s almost abandoned because people say it’s haunted.”  

“Is that true?”

The man’s voice was rough, like scraping against a wall.  

At the same time, Gabrielle felt a primal urge not to be discovered, tightening her chest.  

She pressed her ear to the stall door, tense.  

If either of them stood in front of her stall, she planned to fling open the door, shove them aside, and run.  

Just in case, she peered through the crack, searching for the two people.

“Of course. I swear. I just checked all the stalls myself.”

The tall, broad-shouldered man had his back to Gabrielle, making it hard to see his face.  

The woman stood opposite him, her face mostly hidden, but from her reflection in the side mirror, Gabrielle guessed she was one of the dancers.

Were they lovers meeting in secret?  

But the atmosphere felt off for that.

Gabrielle worried they might check the stalls again, but the woman’s confident voice seemed to reassure the man, who then got straight to the point.

“The information?”  

“Here.”

There was a rustling sound.  

Soon, the woman handed something to the man.  

It looked like a photo.  

If it were only a photo, that would have been fine.  

But what she handed over along with it was a gun.

What was going on?

Gabrielle instinctively sensed this was no ordinary situation.  

She had gotten caught up in something dangerous, and as soon as she realized it, her heart dropped.  

Goosebumps rose and cold sweat trickled down her spine.

“The seat is written behind the photo.”

The woman quickly added, then left the room first.  

The man remained, staring intently at the photo she’d given him.  

Gabrielle gripped her trembling hands and squeezed her eyes shut.  

She wished the man would leave soon, so she could escape immediately.

But her hope turned to despair.  

For some reason, his footsteps, which should have been moving away, grew closer.  

Then, she heard the sound of stall doors opening, one by one, starting from the far left.  

Gabrielle’s lips turned pale as she froze, unable to move.

Was she going to die like this?  

Without having done anything?

At that moment, the face that flashed through her mind wasn’t her mother or other family, but Julian—the one who had made her oatmeal.  

She regretted not confessing her feelings.  

Even if he’d rejected her, she could have at least said something…

Regret surged in like a tide, but at the same time, she felt relief that he wasn’t here.  

At least he wouldn’t be dragged to the afterlife with her.

The presence drew closer and closer.  

Shaking, Gabrielle waited her turn as the door to the neighboring stall burst open.  

The man checked and, finding no one, finally stood before Gabrielle’s stall.

Through the thin wooden door, Gabrielle faced the mysterious man holding a gun.  

She couldn’t even breathe, biting her lip until it bled.

She clasped her hands in prayer, bracing herself for a bullet.

“Act Two will begin soon!”

A voice outside the powder room announced the end of intermission, cutting through the suffocating silence.  

At the same time, other voices could be heard.  

For whatever reason, the man turned and slowly left the powder room.  

Gabrielle, feeling like she had returned from the dead, stayed in place for a long while.

* * *

Naturally, Gabrielle skipped the second act of the performance.  

She didn’t even think to tell the theater staff about the situation, fleeing the theater instead.

Normally, after the show, she would have grabbed a quick bite nearby before heading home, but she was in no state for that.  

She caught the fastest ride home and, as soon as she arrived, collapsed against the door.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably.  

Her mouth was dry and she wanted to drink, but as soon as she was back in her own space, all the tension drained from her body and she couldn’t get up.

How much time passed?  

She sat there in silence for a long time before finally thinking she should at least report the incident to the police.

“I can’t just sit here.”

Gabrielle summoned all her strength and stood up, bracing herself against the wall.  

There was a public phone just a block away.  

Staggering out the door, she suddenly remembered the mysterious man who had chased her earlier.  

Hesitating, Gabrielle knocked on the downstairs apartment.

“Excuse me. Julian? Are you there?”

He’d said he had work at this hour, but maybe it had been canceled.  

Clinging to a sliver of hope, she knocked, but there was no response.  

Gabrielle rubbed her face with both hands and took a deep breath.

With things as they were, she had no choice but to go quickly.  

If she reported it to the police tomorrow morning, it would be too late.  

Someone who was targeted could die at any moment.

She scraped together every bit of justice she had and hurried down the stairs.  

Ignoring the suspicious glances she passed, she ran until she saw the public phone booth.  

Gabrielle let out a sigh of relief and dialed the number.

After several rings, the call connected.  

Before the person on the other end could speak, Gabrielle quickly explained.

“There’s going to be an assassination attempt at the Korje Ballet Company performance. During Act Two, or right after.”  

[Excuse me? What do you mean?]  

“I witnessed it by chance. A dancer handed a photo and a gun to a man. She said the seat was written on the back of the photo.”  

[Where? Who is the target?]  

“You have to go right now! I didn’t see the photo, so I don’t know who it is! Hurry!”

Even while talking, she covered the receiver, worried someone might overhear.  

The police officer, sounding flustered, soon asked in a grim voice.

[This isn’t a prank call, is it?]  

“It’s not!”  

[What’s your name?]  

“Well…”

Gabrielle started to give her name, then closed her mouth.  

She wanted to save the person who was about to be assassinated, but hadn’t considered getting any more involved.  

She’d be called in for questioning over and over, and people around her would look at her with suspicion.  

She might even be accused of being an accomplice.  

If that happened, her ordinary life would be over.

She could handle anything, except imagining Julian’s face twisted in disgust.  

In the prolonged silence, the police officer’s voice grew urgent.

[Hello? Hello…!]

In the end, Gabrielle hung up.  

She thought she’d done all she could.  

Her heart felt heavy, but at least she had done what she could.

Her steps on the way home were much lighter than when she’d rushed to the phone booth.  

Whether the call was a prank or not, the police would go to the theater once they received the report.  

The man would probably panic and run away.

Feeling much lighter, Gabrielle washed up and went straight to bed.  

She wished that when she woke up, all of this would turn out to be a nightmare.  

Going to the theater alone, witnessing that horrible scene…

Bang, bang, bang.

But when Gabrielle opened her eyes again, it wasn’t the morning she’d hoped for, but still dark outside.  

She was startled awake by the loud banging on the door.  

Gabrielle, frightened, went to the front door.  

She worried it might be a robber or thief, but no one would knock so loudly at this hour.

Standing on tiptoe, she quietly looked through the peephole.

“…Julian?”

On the other side of the door stood Julian, his face pale as if bleached.  

Gabrielle, shocked, immediately opened the door, and the smell of blood hit her nose.  

As she slowly lowered her gaze, she saw his left arm covered in blood.  

His hand clutching his arm was completely red.  

Gabrielle’s complexion turned ashen as she stammered.

“How… how did this happen…?”  

“Just… stop the bleeding…”  

“I-I’ll call a doctor!”  

“No. Just… first aid…”

Julian whispered in a faint voice, then collapsed.  

Gabrielle instinctively caught him and dragged him inside, closing the door behind them.

After that, everything happened in a blur.  

Gabrielle struggled to lay his tall frame on the bed, then took off his blood-soaked black shirt.  

Examining the wound, she saw it was clearly a gunshot wound.

Hovering nearby, Gabrielle finally steeled herself and used the bandages and medicine she had at home to administer first aid.  

Every now and then, worried he might stop breathing, she put her fingers under his nose to check.

Despite his deathly pale face, Julian’s condition gradually stabilized after taking painkillers.