Kyle had already arrived at the villa, sprawled across the long couch beside Youn-Jae, who sat silently, lost in thought. Across from them, Tobi lounged in a single chair, her expression shifting slowly from boredom to irritation. Kyle, however, seemed oblivious to the world around him, absorbed entirely in his phone. His fingers flew across the screen, grinning as if he were caught in the middle of a playful flirtation, giggling at every message. The flickering light from his phone cast an eerie glow on his face, but he barely noticed anyone else in the room.
Tobi's patience was rapidly wearing thin. She shot Kyle a sharp, frustrated glance before speaking, her voice thick with exasperation. "What the hell are you doing, Kyle?" she snapped, her arms crossed tightly. "You've been glued to that phone since you got here, giggling like you're possessed by some flirting demon!"
Kyle didn't even look up, his lips curling into a grin as his fingers continued their rapid dance across the screen. Tobi groaned audibly, throwing her gaze to Youn-Jae, who was still deep in his thoughts. Her frustration shifted toward him. "And you?" she demanded. "Can you at least explain what happened earlier with Euan? You've been sitting there like a statue, lost in your own world."
Kyle paused mid-text, glancing up at the mention of Euan. His curiosity piqued, but he didn't look entirely surprised. "Euan?" he asked, his voice a mix of amusement and genuine interest.
Tobi rolled her eyes, growing more impatient by the second. "Yes, Andrew's lover," she replied, her tone sharp with frustration. "I told you before, he's weird. Youn saw it himself earlier."
Kyle set his phone down, his eyes narrowing in focus as he turned his full attention to Youn-Jae. The playful grin from earlier faded slightly, and a more thoughtful expression took its place. "Is that true, Youn?" he asked, his voice softer, the weight of Tobi's words settling in.
Youn-Jae let out a soft sigh, his hand rubbing the bridge of his nose in a weary gesture. His voice, when he spoke, was quiet, barely above a murmur, as if the subject itself drained him. "Yes," he confirmed, the single word carrying a reluctant acknowledgment. "It's true."
Kyle leaned back against the couch, his brows furrowing in thought. He glanced at Tobi, then back to Youn-Jae, offering a teasing smile even though his words were laced with a quiet seriousness. "Come on," he said with a light shrug. "We all act a little weird sometimes. Doesn't mean we should judge someone for it."
Tobi rolled her eyes, unimpressed. She wasn't buying into Kyle's carefree attitude. "Don't give me that, Kyle," she retorted, her tone sharp. "He's really weird. And I know I've seen him before—I just can't remember where."
Youn-Jae, who had been listening silently, reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. With a few quick swipes, he found the picture he was looking for and turned the screen toward Kyle. It was a photo of Ji-Won.
Kyle stared at the screen, his brows furrowing as he studied the image. Confusion clouded his features, but he said nothing. It was only when Tobi caught sight of the photo that the atmosphere in the room shifted. She gasped, her eyes widening in instant recognition.
"Wait a minute…" Tobi's voice trailed off, and her expression turned from disbelief to sharp clarity. She turned to Youn-Jae, her face a mixture of surprise and realization. "That's it. That's why Euan looked so familiar. I've seen this photo before. You showed it to me… it's Ji-Won."
***
Thirty minutes passed, the weight of the silence in the room growing heavier with each passing second. Youn-Jae, Tobi, and Kyle sat in quiet turmoil, each of them lost in their own thoughts. The air between them crackled with tension as they tried to make sense of the fragments of information, wondering whether this was some bizarre coincidence or if something far darker lurked beneath the surface.
Tobi could feel the silence gnawing at her. Her fingers twitched, and she finally broke the stillness, her voice trembling with a mixture of confusion and desperation. "I... I'm confused," she said, her words barely above a whisper. "I've never seen Ji-Won in person before, and he... he's dead, right?" Her eyes darted between Youn-Jae and Kyle, searching for answers. Her hands moved restlessly, as if trying to pull the answers from the air. "So, Euan must be someone completely different, right?" she asked, her gestures growing more frantic, as if the physical movement might somehow untangle the mess in her mind.
Youn-Jae took a slow, deliberate breath, his chest rising and falling heavily. The weight of everything pressing on him was palpable, but the words wouldn't come. His mind swirled, trying to make sense of the chaos, but all he could manage was a heavy silence. He couldn't speak yet—not until he could grasp the truth.
Kyle, seemingly still half-absorbed in his thoughts, muttered under his breath as something clicked in his mind. "If Euan is here... then James must be here too…" His voice trailed off, the realization starting to settle into the corners of his consciousness.
Tobi snapped her fingers sharply in front of him, irritation flashing in her eyes. "Hey, Kyle, are you with us?"
Kyle blinked, suddenly coming back to the present. "Oh, right. Sorry," he muttered, shaking off the daze. His eyes turned serious, now fully focused on the conversation. "So, are you saying there's a chance that Euan might actually be... Ji-Won?" The shift in his tone was immediate—no longer distracted, but intense, the gravity of the situation finally hitting him.
Tobi leaned forward, her voice growing sharper as her mind raced with possibilities. "Didn't Youn never retrieve Ji-Won's body back then? Could that mean—" Her words hung in the air, a question that had no easy answer.
Kyle nodded slowly, his brow furrowing as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. "It makes sense... in a strange way," he murmured, his voice more contemplative now, though still tinged with disbelief.
As Tobi and Kyle continued to speak, their voices growing more animated with theories and questions, Youn-Jae remained eerily still. His gaze was distant, unfocused, his eyes clouded with too many conflicting thoughts. The noise of their conversation washed over him, but he couldn't bring himself to engage. Something about this was deeply unsettling, but he couldn't yet put it into words. He only knew, deep in his gut, that this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
Tobi, finally breaking the tension with a sharp question, asked, "Do you really think Andrew would stir up something this big?" Her voice was laced with doubt, her brow furrowed as she watched Youn-Jae closely.
Kyle shrugged nonchalantly, lifting his hands in a half-hearted gesture. "If he did... Youn would probably kill him for sure," he said, the words light, but there was an edge to them, as if he too sensed the gravity of the situation.
Youn-Jae felt a sudden rush of heat flood his body, his chest tightening with the intensity of the thought. The mere idea of Andrew causing this much chaos was enough to set his blood on fire. His fist clenched without thinking, and before he realized what he was doing, he slammed it into the side table beside him. The crack of his punch rang out through the room, a violent echo that made both Tobi and Kyle jump in their seats.
"Hey! Are you crazy?" Tobi gasped, her wide eyes still locked on his clenched fist, her voice trembling with the shock of his outburst.
Kyle, calmer but cautious, immediately moved to steady him, placing a firm hand on Youn-Jae's shoulder. "Relax, Youn," he said gently, though his grip was firm, trying to ground his friend. "We don't know anything for sure yet."
Youn-Jae's jaw clenched tightly, his body trembling with a barely contained rage. A low growl of frustration escaped him as his chest heaved with deep, labored breaths. His whole body radiated tension, as if he were a coiled spring, ready to snap. His dark eyes were filled with a seething rage that simmered just beneath the surface, and the room seemed to pulse with the energy of his fury. If Andrew—or anyone—was behind this mess, Youn-Jae was ready to tear them apart without hesitation.
Tobi exchanged a wary glance with Kyle, her heart racing. She could see the dangerous edge in Youn-Jae's expression, and the realization hit her like a cold wave—whatever truths they uncovered in the coming moments, it wasn't going to end peacefully. The storm was only just beginning.
The story doesn't end here...
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