•Nineteen•

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As Haruto made his way toward Asahi's office, an unsettling chill hung in the air. The mansion, once familiar and lively, now felt disturbingly quiet. Shadows seemed to creep along the walls, and the dim lighting only added to the eerie atmosphere.

Asahi leaned against his desk, his face tense. "There's something uncanny about the mansion... it's not like before," he muttered, scanning the room as if expecting something to emerge from the darkness.

Haruto's expression darkened as he took a deep breath. "I checked the surveillance-there's no movement near my room. It's like the cameras have been hacked or tampered with," he said, his voice steady but laced with anxiety. "And Ji Hyun... she's missing."

"What? Missing? Where could she have gone?" Mashiho interjected, his eyes widening with concern. He scanned the room as if he could somehow sense Ji Hyun's presence nearby. "Plus, there's something wrong with this silence. It's too quiet, too still. It's like the whole mansion is holding its breath."

Before anyone could respond, the door burst open, and Yoshi hurried inside, his face pale and voice frantic. "Guys, something's seriously wrong. There's blood on the floor-bullet shells scattered everywhere. The guards? They're gone. Only a few of them are left, but when I asked what happened, no one gave me an answer. It's... it's eerie." His voice trembled slightly as he added, "I've got a bad feeling about this. I swear, someone's watching us. We're not alone."

Haruto's expression hardened, his fists clenching at his sides. Rage boiled just beneath the surface. "If anyone's hurt Ji Hyun... I'll make sure they regret it," he growled, rolling up his sleeves, revealing the tension in his muscles. His jaw clenched as he tried to keep his emotions in check, but the threat of losing Ji Hyun gnawed at him, pushing him toward the edge.

"Calm down, Ruto. We can't act recklessly," Mashiho said, trying to keep the situation under control. But even as he spoke, his voice wavered with uncertainty.

Just then, without warning, a sharp hissing sound filled the air. Smoke began to pour into the office, thick and suffocating, cutting off their vision in seconds. The air turned dense, making it hard to breathe.

Haruto and Yoshi instinctively grabbed their weapons, eyes watering from the burning smoke. "Get ready," Haruto whispered, though his voice was barely audible through the coughing. "Stay sharp."

As Haruto cautiously opened the door, the hallway beyond was completely engulfed in smoke. The entire corridor was a haze of swirling white, obscuring everything beyond a few feet. They could hear nothing but the faint sound of their own breathing and the distant creaks of the mansion, as if the building itself were alive and watching them.

"We need to move, now," Yoshi said, his voice tight with tension. They couldn't stay there-whoever was behind this was waiting for them to slip.

As they stepped out into the smoke-filled passage, every sound seemed amplified, every shadow a possible threat. The smoke clung to them like a living thing, making their eyes sting and forcing them to blink away the tears.

Haruto's heart pounded in his chest, not just from the smoke but from the crushing anxiety that Ji Hyun might be in danger. His mind raced with questions-where was she? What had happened in the mansion?

Then, a sound echoed from down the hall-footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Approaching them.

Yoshi raised his weapon, and Haruto signaled for silence. They moved forward cautiously, the smoke disorienting them, making it hard to pinpoint where the footsteps were coming from.

"Something's wrong," Mashiho whispered, his hand tightening on his weapon. "We're walking into a trap."

Just as the words left his mouth, the smoke thickened even more, and Haruto felt something graze past him-a cold presence, almost like a shadow. Before he could react, a sharp sound echoed-glass shattering, followed by the deafening crack of gunfire.

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