He blinked. "...Ghost what...?"
The boss shouted, "STOP IGNORING EE—"
Dong-wook lifted one finger, then had to grab the wall with his other hand just so he wouldn’t fall.
"Don’t shout... I’m reading... my eyes... are doing that spinny thing again..."
He blinked slow, like the text was wobbling.
He pocketed the phone.
Grabbed the boss by the collar. Headbutted him. The boss dropped like a sack of onions.
Dong-wook stepped over him.
"I gotta go," he muttered. "Don’t wait up."
The girlfriend waved both hands. "CALL EEEE—!"
Dong-wook waved lazily. "I don’t know your na—"
He stepped outside into the alley.
A black sedan was parked there. Windows tinted. Engine running.
A man in sunglasses stepped out from the car.
"You are Lee Dong-wook?"
Dong-wook nodded. "Yeah."
"Get in."
Dong-wook scratched his head.
"...Am I fired?"
"No."
"...Promoted?"
"No."
"...In trouble?"
"Yes."
"...Ah."
He opened the door and climbed in. "Whatever. I’m tired."
Before the sedan pulled out, he raised one lazy hand toward the driver.
"Oh... hey... tell my captain..."
He pointed vaguely back at the gambling den.
"Maifa boss Kang Gil-tae— yeah— mission completed... or whatever..."
His head dropped back against the seat. "I’m... gonna sleep now. Wake up if I die."
He closed his eyes. He let out one small snore. The sedan drove off, leaving a whole building of unconscious gangsters behind.
[Seoul tropolitan Forensic Division – Yangcheon]
The forensic lab was a ss.
tal trays piled up on one side. Chemical bottles left open on the counter. A microscope still switched on even though no one was using it.
Paper files were stacked ssy, so leaning so much it looked like they were one tap away from falling.
The sll of disinfectant mixed with old coffee.
A monitor in the corner displayed the ongoing autopsy report — body diagrams, temperature logs, and notes sliding down the screen.
And on the autopsy table —
right beside the open body —
was a half-eaten sandwich and a cold cup of coffee.
Not on a separate stand.
Not on a tray.
Just left there, right in the middle of everything.
Ryu Min-seo didn’t care.
Her hair looked like she had trimd it herself before breakfast.
Her lab coat was crooked — one side higher than the other.
One glove on, the other hand bare because she forgot again.
Her eyes were locked on the corpse, tracing details like she was reading a diary.
"So they said you fell from the second floor," she said quietly, leaning close enough to fog her goggles.
"That’s cute. But you’ve got garden soil under your nails. Second floor doesn’t have soil. So... soone’s lying."
Her tone wasn’t angry.
It was amused.
Behind her, two colleagues were whispering near the equipnt shelf.
"I swear she scares more than the corpses," one muttered.
"No, you’re wrong," the other said, lowering his voice even more. "Corpses don’t eat on the job."
They both stared at the sandwich next to the sa autopsy table.
One of them gagged quietly.
Min-seo didn’t react.
Maybe she heard. Maybe she didn’t. She didn’t care anyway.
A knock ca from behind.
The junior dical examiner stepped in — a newbie with clean shoes and too much fear in his eyes.
He saw everything at once.
The chest was still open, the sandwich crumbs scattered near the table, Min-seo tracing a bruise with her bare hand, and cold coffee dripping onto the table like it was part of the procedure.
His throat made a squeaking sound.
Min-seo slowly turned her head. "...What."
He froze. "I—I ca for the... uh... the report... the—"
He grabbed a random file and ran out fast, almost tripping on his way.
Min-seo blinked once.
Then she smiled faintly and stroked the corpse’s cold arm like comforting it.
’It’s always the living who scream,’ she said.
"You don’t scream at all. That’s why I like you better."
She lifted the corpse’s hand.
Her eyes sharpened.
She noticed sothing only she would.
"You were dragged," she whispered.
"Not pushed. Not falling. Soone pulled you first. You’re helping more than the people upstairs."
Her notebook was a ss — lines everywhere, random circles, arrows pointing nowhere.
Only Min-seo knew what it ant.
Then her phone buzzed.
She checked it with her clean hand.
[ Internal Dispatch Notice ]
Report for Imdiate Extraction.
Location: Forensics Basent Side Entrance.
Assigned Operation: Ghost-6
Her face didn’t move.
But her eyes... brightened.
Just a little.
Like soone getting sothing they wanted for a long ti.
She tossed her sandwich aside.
Didn’t even look at the coffee.
Didn’t cover the body.
Didn’t clean anything.
She patted the corpse’s shoulder once.
"I’ll co back. Don’t let anyone touch you."
Two colleagues watched her leave the lab.
One leaned closer and whispered,
"Thank god... she’s finally out. I can breathe again."
The other wiped his forehead.
"Was she... talking to the dead guy? Like an actual conversation?"
"Yeah. And the body was the normal one in that room."
"...Is she even a real doctor?"
"I don’t know, man. She scares more than the autopsies."
They both stared at the autopsy table where the sandwich crumbs were still sitting.
One muttered,
"I’m moving floors. I don’t care where. Just far from her."
Min-seo walked straight down the hall, lab coat flapping, glove on one hand, nothing on the other.
A black sedan waited at the basent entrance.
A man in a suit stepped forward. "Ryu Min-seo?"
"Yes." She stared at him without blinking.
The man lasted three seconds before looking away. "...Please get in."
She slid into the back seat.
Midway through the drive, she spoke softly:
"This is about the Underworld Judge."
The driver tensed. "How do you know?"
"Your breathing changed," she said.
"People breathe like that when they bring interesting bodies."
Silence.
Then she added, almost sounding excited:
"If it’s about Underworld judge... that ans more strange corpses. Good. I was getting bored."
She leaned her cheek on the window, eyes half-open, already thinking about her next body to open.
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