**The bell rang**, signaling the end of the break. The clamor of students' voices crept toward them like a warning.
**Ji-Hoon:** (Slowly pulls his arm away, his voice calm but his eyes blazing with defiance)
"I need proof… not cryptic riddles."
**Min-Jae:** (Hides the photo hastily, then drops a **black pendant** with a fragmented aura symbol into Ji-Hoon's hand)
"The basement… under the library. Go tonight, and you'll find all your answers. But…" (Glances fearfully over his shoulder at approaching footsteps)
"…if you see my older brother's shadow there… **run**. He's not just a member… he's the monster who *creates* monsters."
**Ji-Hoon:** (Clenches the pendant in his palm, its cold seeping into his bones)
"What about you?"
**Min-Jae:** (Retreats into the crowd, his final words echoing)
"I'm going to find the **black void** in the photo… It might be a doorway to bring her back."
As Ji-Hoon rushed to class, a question relentlessly pierced his mind:
*"Is the black aura around the beast in my bathroom… another leash made by the club? Or is it something else… something worse?"*
While Ji-Hoon tried to focus on the chemistry lecture, his fingers fiddled with the black pendant under the desk. Its coldness felt nothing like metal… more like **the stifled breath of a living thing**. Every time he gripped it, he heard a faint hiss whispering one repeated word: *"Free me…"*
When classes ended, he bolted from the school like the wind. He hailed a taxi, his heart pounding like a war drum. **"What if the beast woke up? What if it escaped and killed others?"**
Arriving at his rundown apartment building, he noticed from afar that **his window was open**, the curtain flapping like a broken bat's wing. He climbed the stairs heavily, his trembling hand on the doorknob…
**Silence.**
But chaos screamed inside: **The iron chains were severed** as if slashed by claws of fire, and deep scratches marred the bathroom walls. On the floor, sticky **black blood** pooled—exactly as Min-Jae had described.
**"Damn it!"** he hissed, surveying the wreckage. His anatomy textbooks lay scattered, one torn page showing a human heart stamped with the pendant's symbol!
Outside the window… a long shadow with pointed ears vanished into the alley.
**"Well… My worst fear just came true."**
He stared at the symbol on the torn page, fingers trembling over the drawn heart. **"Why leave this mark? A threat… or a cry for help?"**
Before he could answer, he noticed something bizarre: **The black blood on the wall was moving!** Tiny tendrils crawled toward the symbol, completing it. He leaned closer… and the symbol morphed into a **miniature map** highlighting city districts, with a red circle around an old building labeled: **"Song Chemistry Lab – 1928."**
**"This isn't a coincidence…"** he muttered, recalling Mrs. Park mentioning this lab in history class last week. **"They experimented on prisoners during the occupation…"**
Outside, a long howl shattered the night's silence. The pointed-eared shadow stood mid-alley, its crimson eyes glaring as if sending a message: **"Follow the blood… or I'll follow your breath."**
Grabbing the torn page and pendant, he decided in an instant: **"The lab… I'm going tonight."**
But a voice inside froze him: **"What if this is a trap?"**
The black blood on the wall began slithering toward his feet, as if dragging him to the door. **"Didn't Min-Jae warn you not to touch it?"** He remembered Min-Jae's delayed text.
Yet… **the blood now spelled a new word:**
**"Only you can…"**
Outside, the shadow snorted like a mad horse and vanished. Time was running out… a decision had to be made.
"But how can blood *move*? Vampires control blood, werewolves have superhuman strength—this is neither." He shook his head, drowning in unanswerable questions. **"Move… Library or lab?"**
He finally chose: **"The lab first… Answers lie there."**
---
In the alley where the woman was killed, veteran Inspector Kim examined the corpse with uneasy eyes. Giant fang marks on her neck, torn brown fur on the ground. He dialed a contact labeled **"The Damn Director"**, and a gruff voice answered:
**"Why ruin my break?"**
The inspector replied dryly:
**"The case you sent me… I think it's *their* side."**
A heavy pause, then the director answered gravely:
**"Fine… I'll contact the Hunter family."**
---
**Back to Ji-Hoon:**
As he raced toward the lab, he recalled Min-Jae's mention of **"the Hunter family"**. Were they monster hunters? Or part of the game?
At the entrance of the derelict lab, he found the door locked with a rusted chain. But the black pendant in his hand glowed with an eerie purple light, as if reacting to something inside. **"Maybe it's the key!"**
He shoved the door hard… its creak echoing a long groan. Inside, the stench of old chemicals mixed with mold. On the walls… **dozens of black symbols** mirrored those in his bathroom!
Flickering lights revealed **shattered iron cages** and scattered papers with anatomical sketches of hybrid beasts. Among them, a photo of a **werewolf with a black aura**, accompanied by a shaky note:
**"Experiment 12: The aura steals free will… turns them into puppets."**
Suddenly… a groan echoed from the basement. Clutching the pendant, he descended the crumbling stone stairs.
Below, a **pitch-black room** held glass cylinders filled with black liquid. One was shattered… the ooze slithering toward a man bound to an iron chair.
**"Save me…"** the man rasped, eyes drowning in terror.
But before Ji-Hoon could move, a **tall shadow** loomed behind him—its heavy breaths heralding catastrophe…