Chapter 6

“Ah… yes.”

It felt as if a finicky beast had permitted her to stay by its side. Like a wild animal playing a subtle tug-of-war, sometimes offering its company, sometimes not, now quietly leaving the seat next to her open. Gabrielle nodded, feeling a strange thrill.

“Please call me Gabrielle too. You can call me Gabby if you’d like.”

Dominic stared at her and suddenly asked,

“I heard you moved. Have you adjusted?”

“How did you know that?”

Gabrielle’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I heard it from Clerk Colton. She said you moved quietly during the week.”

“Oh, that… it was due to family circumstances.”

Gabrielle avoided his gaze, mumbling as she tried to change the subject by looking out the car window. But another question followed.

“So, are you getting by alright?”

His question was soft, almost indifferent, and Gabrielle turned her head quickly. He was staring straight ahead, hands on the wheel.

“At first, it was a bit hard to adjust and I worried about whether I’d be okay.”

“……”

“But it’s better than I thought. I have good neighbors too.”

She only exchanged brief greetings at night, but even with the man from downstairs she’d met that day, Gabrielle was getting along well enough. In this unfamiliar, remote neighborhood, it was comforting just to have someone she’d met and exchanged names with. At least, seeing him at night, she could be sure that he wasn’t secretly involved in anything illegal or dangerous.

“You seem to trust people easily.”

“Sorry?”

It was a meaningful remark. Gabrielle immediately asked back, but got no answer.

“I’ll open the window.”

Feeling stifled by the air inside the car, Gabrielle rolled down the window.

Her gaze, turned carelessly, caught sight of his hand on the wheel. The veins stood out on the back of his hand, his fingers long and elegant. The cuff of his sleeve was neatly buttoned.

“Are you close with him?”

“No. We’ve only exchanged greetings. He’s a kind neighbor who helped me with my trunk on the first day.”

There was no need to mention that she’d almost lost her life by missing a step. As the awkward silence continued, Gabrielle opened her mouth, trying to fill it with conversation.

“Can you really be sure someone is a good person just because they helped once?”

His voice was flat. Seeing his expressionless profile, Gabrielle looked away. He was strikingly handsome, but clearly prickly in personality. Just when she thought they’d gotten closer, he’d pick at something unreasonable.

“It’s a woman’s intuition.”

To his unreasonable remark, Gabrielle responded with an equally forced answer.

“Intuition?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps finding her answer absurd, Dominic let out a small laugh. By then, the car had arrived at the entrance to District 7. Slowing smoothly, the car stopped in a dingy alley that didn’t suit its style.

“Thank you for the ride. Well then.”

Gabrielle gave a polite farewell, not waiting for an answer, and got out of the car.

* * *

The next day, the original Executive Director was dismissed, and Dominic Moore, who had been Acting Director, was appointed to the Executive Director position. Everyone who saw the announcement on the bulletin board was confused. Gabrielle was no exception.

“Tax evasion and bribery?”

“Goodness. Was the Executive Director really that kind of person?”

“He never seemed that way. I thought he was honest. Everyone knows his wife and kids too.”

“You never truly know someone until you see what’s inside. He must’ve been wearing a mask.”

Some people were so shocked they turned pale, others clicked their tongues, and still others eagerly shared every rumor they could think of.

Gabrielle, standing apart from her bustling colleagues and looking up at the bulletin board, felt someone grab her shoulder.

“Gabby!”

“Chief?”

“Did you know about this?”

“No, not at all.”

“You were with him all day yesterday, right?”

At the Chief’s words, the gossiping staff all turned to stare at Gabrielle. Embarrassed by the implication, Gabrielle shook her head firmly.

“We were, but we barely talked about anything besides work.”

“What? You work together all the time but you’re not close?”

Annoyed by the accusatory tone, Gabrielle frowned.

“We’re just a normal boss and employee. There’s nothing going on, so please…”

“That’s what she says.”

She didn’t notice how quiet things had gotten around her. Gabrielle abruptly stopped speaking and turned around. All eyes were fixed on Dominic Moore.

“I think I heard my name just now.”

“N-no, Sir!”

“Sorry.”

Dominic glanced around and spoke quietly, and people scattered like mice spotting a human in the corner. Gabrielle was left standing alone like a lamb, shoulders hunched.

“Well then, Miss Brooks.”

Dominic, drawing out her name as if teasing, asked in a businesslike tone,

“Where’s the meeting minutes you mentioned yesterday? I need them by this morning.”

Gabrielle hurried to finish the minutes, almost burning her fingers, but more work piled up immediately.

Now she had to prepare Dominic’s inauguration speech for his appointment as Executive Director. Gabrielle gathered all the previous directors’ speeches and drafted a fairly decent speech. She hoped this would at least satisfy him for the morning.

But the draft was rejected before he’d even finished the first paragraph.

“This is boring. The first sentence makes me sleepy.”

“……”

“Rewrite it. It’s an important speech.”

Without even looking at Gabrielle’s tense face, Dominic dismissed her draft.

“Yes… understood.”

Watching hours of work get crumpled so mercilessly was not a pleasant experience. Gabrielle took a deep breath and returned to her desk to rewrite the speech draft.

But the second draft was also rejected.

“How is this better than before?”

“…I’m not sure what you want.”

He hadn’t been an easy boss to begin with, but now he was so strict, it felt like not even a needle could draw blood. Suppressing her anger, Gabrielle asked gently,

“If you could tell me what you want, I’d appreciate it.”

Only then did Dominic look up at her, giving a faint smile as he replied,

“Make it appropriately witty, formal, not too heavy but not so light it floats away.”

What nonsense. Like a dessert without sweetness, pasta without noodles, or salad without vegetables. Gabrielle was left speechless as Dominic picked up his pen again.

“I’m busy, so you can go. Bring something better next time.”

It was only on the fourth draft that she finally got approval—or rather, notification. Dominic Moore simply told her to leave for the day with the final version, then left.

Barely holding back her irritation, Gabrielle left the company exhausted. She felt mentally and physically worn out. The sun had already set, and it was dark outside. When she got off the bus, the neighborhood was as desolate as ever. Gabrielle walked into the alley, drained.

She realized someone was following her about three blocks from her rented room.

Footsteps echoed through the narrow, cluttered alleys. At first, they sounded far away, but soon they were close behind. Her heart pounded, legs trembling. She recalled what the Chief had said recently.

“Have you noticed a lot of young women going missing around here lately? They haven’t caught the culprit yet, right?”

“Really?”

“Really. If it were another district, the police would’ve caught him by now, but this is District 7… Anyway, be careful. Don’t come home late.”

The story she’d tried to ignore now clawed at her mind, gripping her heart. She stopped walking, just in case, and the footsteps behind her stopped too. Her blood rushed to her head, hands shaking. Gabrielle took a deep breath and counted to three with her eyes shut.

‘One, two, three…!’

As soon as she finished counting, she gritted her teeth and ran as fast as she could. She heard curses and the sound of someone running after her. She ran for her life, terrified of what might happen if she were caught.

Running desperately, she finally felt the pursuer fall behind. Spotting her villa, Gabrielle sighed in relief and grabbed the front door.

Click.

“What…?”

She’d never heard of a curfew here. Her heart sank. Frozen in place, unable to do anything, she soon heard shouting and a man calling for her.

She looked up at the windows, but all were dark. Even if the lights were on, there was no guarantee someone would help her. As a last hope, she looked up at the nearest house, but its lights were off too.

“Kyaaah!”

Just then, someone grabbed her shoulder from behind. Gabrielle screamed and collapsed on the spot.

“Please help me! Please, I beg you!”

Eyes squeezed shut, she pleaded over and over. She prayed that whoever had chased her wasn’t the culprit behind the recent disappearances—or that someone would hear her scream and come out.

But only silence followed. When Gabrielle, feeling her blood drain away, slowly opened her eyes, she froze.

“…Gabrielle?”

“……”

“What are you doing here?”

It was Julian. Gabrielle’s strength left her body and her arms dropped. Sensing something was wrong, Julian knelt down to meet her gaze.

“What’s wrong with your face? You look like you’ve seen a monster.”

“Someone was chasing me…”

“Huh?”

“They followed me for several blocks, so I ran like crazy…”