Chapter 1

(Author left this warning at the beginning of novel.)

“We aim for national, racial, and human rights equality, but discriminatory profanity and coercive scenes may appear in the work.”

(Tr*gger Warning for the attempted r*pe, abusive language, and violence in this chapter.)

June 21, 23:47:12.

When she stood on the side of the road and waved her hand, the electronic sign that says “Unoccupied ” turned off and the taxi stopped.

“Welcome!”

Although it was late, the young driver greeted the guest kindly.

Ha-na, wearing a ball cap and carrying a bag full of English textbooks, nodded, and climbed into the back seat.

“Mapo, in front of Yuseong Mart.”

“Yeah, Yuseong Mart. Are you a student?”

“Yes, well it’s late.”

“Ugh, that’s a lot of trouble. There’s water and drinks, so please feel free to drink.”

She glanced at the drinks in the center console that the driver spoke of, but she didn’t touch them.

The taxi was quite comfortable. A protective plate was installed to maintain the distance from the driver’s seat, and there was a subtle smell of air freshener.

That means the driver is at least not a chainsmoker.

She felt like pickled plums. So, she yawned loudly and closed her eyes for a moment while the car stopped at the signal.

She thought she was fluent in a foreign language because she lived abroad for a long time, but the foreign language she learned for her license was different.

Anyone can speak, but to understand the structure of a language properly, Some study was needed.

She had been pushing herself for several months because over-indulgence is common once she gets hooked.

Of course, that’s not the only reason she was tired. As soon as she finished class, she stopped by a convenience store and drank three cans of beer.

Even a shot of drink plays the role. Then, an unexpected situation appeared as soon as she opened her eyes.

‘Did I fall asleep?’

Her heart was beating rapidly, and confusion arose as if she had suddenly been pulled out of water. The taxi was still running, and the guests had increased.

She checked who was in the passenger seat and asked the driver.

“Driver, not there yet?”

The driver, who looked back, smiled with his eyebrows drooping as if he was apologetic.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, miss. I took the wrong road and got stuck behind the car in the middle. Are you okay?”

“It can’t be helped. Please get there quickly. The fees are…”

“Do not worry. You only have to pay half the fee.”

Half….

She frowned and soon noticed a familiar landmark in the distance, her panic start to cool off and she rested her head against the window again.

The driver was kind, and the man who was part of the joint ride was busy playing games on his cell phone. Frequently, the vibrating sound of a cell phone could be heard from the seat in front of her.

She fiddled with her cell phone and loosely inserted it into the front pocket of her bag.

‘I’m arriving soon, so…’

She just wanted the ride to finish quickly so she could go home and reorganize her vocabulary materials.

Soon she would be twenty-nine, and shortly afterwards the age thirty will follow through. Now was the time for a stable job.

When she thought of every minute and second of her life going to waste, Ha-na, who was leaning her head against the window, suddenly opened her eyes again. She must have dozed off again.

A dark and gloomy place without a single light.

Her focus sharpened quickly and noticed there was no one in the driver’s or front passenger’s seats.

She slowly stared out of her window, which was engulfed in darkness. The moment she sensed danger, the back door where she was sitting was opened.

The man who suddenly pushed himself in was the taxi driver from the driver’s seat. Surprised, she leaned back and the door opposite of her opened.

“Hold her!”

Another man then appeared from behind, and secured her body tightly with both arms. The hat was removed, and her long hair flowed down.

“Oh what do we do? you picked up a criminal, not a passenger, driver?” one man said with a smirk.

They were treating her like she was invisible, they chuckled between themselves, and the driver grabbed her leg.

“Wow, what a hard face. You must have a temper.”

“Hey, I didn’t think she drank anything. Will it be okay?”

“Shit, that’s what I’m saying. I was shocked because of how strong the alcohol smell was.”

“Hey, aren’t we going to be screwed?”

“She can try and report it if she wants to. We can kill her.”

Then, a sharp metal tip pressed against her neck. She couldn’t tell whether it was a knife or a mere tool used to threaten her because she couldn’t see it.

Then the man restraining her from behind put his hand inside her shirt. Excited just by rubbing her chest, he started rubbing his erect member against her waist.

Soon the driver holding her leg started groping at the leggings she was wearing, breathing heavily with a reddened face.

Ha-na warned the men by glaring at them as if they were pathetic.

“Don’t you want me to do it?”

“Wow, you’re classy. Is this a new thing? You’re talking so f**king weird. Are you scared?”

“Yeah, I’m scared. So, if you stop here, I won’t be mad. You bastard.”

“Shut up, you punk. Before I’ll use your face as a mop.”

The driver, who uttered the vulgar words, lowered his pants and pulled out his member. Then he warned quite strongly.

“If you bite, your hair will fly away.”

The metal that touched her neck pressed into the skin even harder. She was then convinced that it was a crudely made imitation knife that was pressed against her neck. But anything with a sharp tip, no matter how crude, can be a weapon.

She pursed her lips and looked up at the excited man.

“But, she’s so pretty. I think I’m going to lose it. Smells good too. Fuck.”

The man sitting at her back could not contain his excitement. Her lower back was wet.

With that terrible and irritating sensation, her patience was gradually going downhill.

“Hurry up and open your mouth!”

The driver tapped her lips with his erection and grabbed her hair.

With her eyes raised, her lips draw an arc. An unusually relaxed, creepy smile. The bewildered man’s eyes contorted.

“You… have you ever killed anyone?” Her tone of voice was calm, as if she was speaking to a friend.

“What? What are you talking about, damn it?”

“It’s a habit to prepare drinks with medicine, right?”

The lips of the man turned blue. He seemed to have concluded that this was an unusual turn of events, or she was a crazy b*tch.

“…Hey, kill this b*tch.”

If there’s nothing to say, it’s there.

She smiled and looked up at the man. She always smiled when she had nothing to say. The driver’s eyes widened at that angel-like face.

“You…!”

She pointed to her own neck, where the blade touched.

“If you’re going to kill me, not here… Here. I’ll show you.”

It happened in an instant.

She seized the wrist holding the knife, redirected the aim and forced the man behind her to stab the driver in the chest. There was a terrible rupture sound as the muscle separated from the bones.

“Argh!”

“Hey!”

The man’s wrist twisted in a strange direction. She bent forward, pulling her leg back, and with all her might, kicked the driver in the stomach.

The knife was pulled out by the recoil and blood gushed out. The driver’s eyes rolled back, and he fell out of the taxi.

She slammed her elbow into the ribs of the guy behind her, barely dodging the knife. The throbbing pain made the man bend over, unable to breathe.

As she got out of the taxi, she struck the driver, who was trembling as he attempted to crawl away, on the back of the neck. There was a cracking sound and he passed out.

Next is….

“Dirty.”

Looking down at her wet, slippery clothes, she frowned and approached the taxi. The man, who had just opened the back door and was attempting to escape, began to tremble with terror.

“Come on, come on, come on, I was wrong…!”

“What?”

“Hey, I was drunk! Spare me…”

“The law has been changed to magnify the punishment for sexual offenses in a state of mental and physical weakness… You don’t even watch the news, do you?”

“No, I mean… that’s not it!”

Now, he was shivering and wheezing with shortness of breath. Seeing the droopy, repulsive genitalia and the pale, lifeless face reminded her of the sensation of the ejaculation on her back. She felt like swearing but decided not to let the words slip out of her mouth.

“Should I kill him?”

“Sa, save me…!”

“Are you scared? Don’t worry, the Korean police will save you. But I have a personal request. Please don’t pull your dick out, tuck it away and go. Yes? It’s very disgusting.”

Suddenly, a police car siren sounded from afar.

Her expression wrinkled.

She kicked the man’s face, which had an expression of joy as if he had met a savior, like a soccer ball.

The man’s chin whips to the side with a crackle sound, and he slowly falls to the ground.

Crimes against children, the elderly and the socially disadvantaged must be eradicated.

Then, a van with its warning lights blaring, stopped loudly with the screech of tires.

“Lee Ha-na, you bastard! I told you not to kill them!” Jeon Yu-cheol shouted as he jumped out of the van.

He was a very ugly-looking man today. He’s tall and has a nice body, but that’s just too much. Like a sample of a macho man. Jeon Yu-cheol often looked more like a gang member than a homicide detective.

She responded harshly to Jeon Yu-cheol, who was running wildly on the road.

“I didn’t kill him. Don’t kill me.”

“You punk! This is what murder looks like!”

“I was drinking. This is enough defense due to mental and physical weakness. I know it’s self-defense.”

“Hey, that’s enough. Call 119. Quickly!”

The detectives, who got out of the five police cars that followed the van, laughed at the bloodied criminals.

The handcuffed criminals couldn’t move, they just laid in the dirt and trembled until the ambulance arrived.

The surrounding area that quickly became a crime scene, was a construction site with a logo of the construction company. Construction has been halted for a while due to the exercise of a lien.

So, there was nobody around.

Ha-na looked at Jeon Yu-cheol and pointed to the shirt he was wearing.

“Take it off, old man.”

Jeon Yu-cheol, startled, covered his chest and looked her up and down.

“Is this sexual harassment?”

“Yeah, take it off. Hurry up. It’s uncomfortable.”

“Why!”

She turned around and pointed at her shirt.

“That bastard made a mess.”

“Hey, f*ck that bastard…!”

“I can’t go like this. Well, I’ll take a shower as soon as I get there.”

Jeon Yu-cheol took off his shirt while spewing all types of swear words. She grabbed the shirt he had taken off and grinned.

She went to the taxi and took out her cell phone from the front pocket of her bag. She then stopped the file she was still recording, and she transferred the file to Yu-cheol’s cell phone.

“It’s evidence. Recordings collected at the scene of the crime. He threatened me with a knife, attempted murder, sexual assault, he ejaculated on my body, and he threatened me with harassment and intimidation. It’s all in there.”

“Wow, did you record everything in the midst of all this?”

“It’s to make sure that there’s no escape due to insufficient evidence. If I see them again, I will kill you.”

Yu-cheol’s colleagues, who stared blankly at her back as she headed to a corner to change her shirt, poured out questions as if they had been waiting.

“Who is that? Are you really her junior?”

“Weren’t you an actor?”

“Did she come from another team? That person made this much trouble by herself? Oh my god.”

The faces of the juniors were relaxed, as if they were enjoying a drink. In the eyes of homicide detectives, who did not blink an eye despite the harsh situation, Lee Ha-na was unusual.

It’s not unusual, it’s amazing.

Yu-cheol, who lit the cigarette he took out after taking off his clothes, gave a serious warning with a grin.

“Hey. Whatever you think, it’s up to you, but don’t try to get involved with her. Because none of the humans who made eye contact with Lee Han-na are alive. Don’t forget.”

Then, he shook away the unsettling feeling sweeping over his arms with a motion that did not match his large frame.

“That’s not a person. That’s a weapon… a murder weapon.”