Boss Ma, a big shot in the loan shark industry, was conducting business today as usual, with a woman named Kim Department Head in his arms.
Just then, a phone call suddenly came in.
"What is this?"
It was an unfamiliar number. Caller ID blocked, something felt off no matter how he looked at it.
Boss Ma hesitated for a moment at first. Should he answer it?
He soon answered. He figured a mere phone call wouldn't pose a significant threat. And soon, his expression turned serious.
“Hey, Kim Department Head. Scram for a bit.”
Boss Ma lightly slapped the butt of the woman who had been fawning over him, pushing her towards the other end of the sofa. Then he leaned towards the phone on his desk. Caller ID blocked. An unsettling premonition sent shivers down his spine.
“Hello.”
His voice dropped a tone. From the other end of the line, a voice distorted by a machine filter emerged.
[That bitch Lee Ji Hyun will come to you soon.]
Boss Ma's brows furrowed. Lee Ji Hyun. He knew that name.
The woman who borrowed his money and hadn't been able to pay the interest for months, a former boxer.
There weren't just one or two such people, but this call felt strange.
“Who are you, to know so much about someone else's debtor's situation?”
Boss Ma asked as nonchalantly as possible, in a sarcastic tone.
[You don't need to know that.]
The mechanical voice continued emotionlessly.
[Send that bitch to the address I give you.]
At those words, a smile revealing Boss Ma's yellow teeth spread across his face. Now the picture was starting to form.
“It seems clear you want something. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this business.”
He crossed his legs, leaning back deeply into his chair. He smelled a deal.
[Your principal investment in that bitch. I'll give you double that.]
“Oh-ho?”
It was a larger sum than expected. Boss Ma narrowed his eyes. What on earth did that bitch Lee Ji Hyun do to warrant this?
“Interesting. Why her, of all people?”
[I told you, you don't need to know.]
The mechanical voice cut him off coldly once more.
[I'll send you 100 million won as an advance right away. Once she arrives safely, I'll give you the rest.]
Click.
The call was unilaterally cut off just like that.
Boss Ma remained lost in thought for a moment, holding the receiver. It sounded like bullshit.
But in his bank account, exactly one minute later, the number 100 million won appeared.
He smiled contentedly, and gestured to the woman who was writhing beside him.
Soon, it would be time for an interesting toy to roll right into his lap.
And the iron door creaked open. As expected, it was Lee Ji Hyun.
She looked gaunt, like a stray dog that hadn't eaten in days, staring blankly at the chaotic scene inside the office.
Boss Ma roughly pushed away the butt of the woman who had been fawning over him.
He scanned Lee Ji Hyun with eyes that gleamed like a snake's. She seemed to have more market value than he expected.
“What a sight you are, aren't you, our national team member?”
He crossed his legs, leaning back deeply into his chair. Lee Ji Hyun couldn't respond to his words, and simply bowed her head.
“So, the money? Surely you didn't come just to show your face.”
At Boss Ma's voice, her shoulders hunched even further.
“I'm... sorry... If you could just give me a little more time...”
“Time?”
Boss Ma scoffed. He opened his desk drawer, and pulled out Lee Ji Hyun's promissory note.
Then he flapped it in front of her eyes.
“The interest is snowballing, what difference will more time make?”
“I'll... somehow...”
“How? Will you sell your body?”
Boss Ma's words pierced her like a dagger. Lee Ji Hyun's face turned ashen. She bit her lip, swallowing the humiliation.
“Now, now. Don't be too scared.”
Boss Ma changed his demeanor, and spoke in a gentle voice. He pulled out another piece of paper from the drawer.
On it, an address was scrawled in illegible handwriting.
“You want to pay back your debt, don't you? Then I can introduce you to a job.”
He said that, pushing the paper towards Lee Ji Hyun.
“Go to this address I'm telling you. There will be people there who really want you. Will you go?”
Lee Ji Hyun, with trembling eyes, looked down at the piece of paper on the desk.
It was the only option given to her, and an invitation to hell.
***
The scrap of paper in her hand became damp and crumpled from her sweat.
Lee Ji Hyun walked and walked, like someone possessed, towards the address scrawled on it.
Boss Ma's greasy voice echoed in her ears.
‘There, paying back the money wouldn't be a problem at all.’
It wasn't even funny.
That it wouldn't be a normal job was something even a three-year-old could figure out.
Perhaps she'd have to sell her organs. Or perhaps, it could be something even more horrific.
But what did it matter? Her life was already in ashes.
She walked for a long time. She passed through an unfamiliar residential area, and crossed a small park.
And finally, she stopped in front of the address written on the paper.
Completely different from what she expected, it was a very ordinary and quiet apartment building.
Lee Ji Hyun checked the sweat-soaked scrap of paper once more. Building 102, Unit 1301.
This is it?
She raised her head, and looked up at the ordinary apartment building that seemed to pierce the sky.
It was an incredibly ordinary and quiet scene, utterly unbelievable as the location of the 'job' a loan shark would introduce.
She swallowed once, and entered the apartment building's entrance. The glass door opened with a cold mechanical whir.
She took the elevator and pressed the 13th-floor button. Inside the cramped space, her reflection in the mirror looked utterly pathetic and miserable.
Ding.
With a cheerful chime, the elevator doors opened.
At the end of the hallway, the cold front door marked '1301' greeted her.
Her heart pounded wildly. What awaited her beyond that door? What kind of hell?
She reached out a trembling hand, and pressed the doorbell button.
Ding-dong-
The clear, cheerful chime echoed in her ears like a death sentence.
A moment later, with a click from inside the door, the door slowly began to open.
What she saw through the crack in the door was not a human face.
A pure white mask, devoid of any expression or emotion. Only the eye and mouth areas were hollowed out in black.
Lee Ji Hyun instinctively stepped back. It was a bizarre and eerie sight that made the hair on her body stand on end.
“...”
The masked woman simply stared at her without a word. Then, she nodded slightly, as if motioning her to come inside.
Where on earth was this place?
Lee Ji Hyun's mind was filled with confusion. But there was no turning back now.
She swallowed dryly, and stepped inside as instructed.
Click.
As soon as she entered, the front door locked behind her. Now, there was truly no turning back.
The inside of the house was surprisingly ordinary. A neatly arranged living room, a soft-looking sofa.
But that very ordinariness created an even greater sense of unease.
“Where... is this?”
Lee Ji Hyun asked in a trembling voice.
Instead of answering, the masked woman walked past her towards an inner door. And then she opened that door.
The moment the door opened, a damp, fishy smell wafted out from inside.
Lee Ji Hyun couldn't identify the smell. But instinctively, she sensed danger.
At those words, Lee Ji Hyun's brows furrowed fiercely. Although she had been led here by despair, she hadn't come to hear such nonsense.
“What nonsense is this?”
Her voice sharpened. From her sturdy body, honed by exercise, an instinctive aura of intimidation emanated.
“If you're playing games, stop it right now. I'm not in the mood for that.”
But the masked woman didn't flinch in the slightest.
Rather, from somewhere around her mouth, hidden by the mask, a faint chuckle seemed to escape.
The woman, without a word, flung the room door wide open.
And Lee Ji Hyun saw. The most horrific and surreal sight of her life.
Inside the room, on the bed, was a woman—no, a female.
A dog collar was fastened around her neck, and it was so loose that it had slipped down to her nape.
Her naked body was covered in red and blue marks. And between her legs, in the most private place...
It was covered in a black, grotesque tuft of hair. Like an animal's tail.
The most horrifying thing was the woman's face. Han Seo Yeon, who had been so arrogant and haughty in high school, like a star floating in the sky.
She was staring blankly into space with empty eyes, gnawing on her own fingers.
“Han... Seo Yeon...?”
A breathless sound escaped from Lee Ji Hyun's mouth.
The masked woman, placing a hand on Lee Ji Hyun's shoulder, whispered gently.
“Say hello. She's your Sunbae.”
“Sunbae? What the hell are you talking about? How dare those crazy bitches turn my friend into this state?”
“You, dog-like bitches...!”
Blood rushed to her head. Neither debt nor despair mattered in this moment.
Lee Ji Hyun snarled like a beast, and threw a punch at the masked woman.
It was a lightning-fast straight punch, imbued with her experience from her days as an athlete.
But.
Just before her fist shattered the mask.
In the air, a massive shadow appeared. It moved at a speed she couldn't perceive.
A muscular giant stood silently behind her.
Thwack-!
With a dull thud, a powerful impact struck the back of Lee Ji Hyun's neck. An excruciating pain, as if her neck bone had snapped. Her vision went black.
“Ugh...”
She couldn't even scream, and collapsed weakly to the floor.
The last thing she saw was the pure white mask, still unmoving, looking down at her.
The masked woman looked down coldly at the fallen Lee Ji Hyun, and spoke to the muscular man standing beside her.
“Good work.”
The man, without a word, effortlessly hoisted the unconscious Lee Ji Hyun onto his shoulder.
“That bitch will now become a precious Hoobae of our club. Her Sunbae will have to train her very well, won't she?”
Yoo Ji Min said that, smiling towards Han Seo Yeon, who was staring blankly into space on the bed.