Hierarchy : Murder Mystery ⚊ Lee Heeseung & Park Sunghoon

prologue

The crisp autumn air enveloped Daesung Academy in an unsettling quiet. Shadows danced across the sprawling campus under the cold, indifferent gaze of a waning moon.

The grandiose architecture of the school loomed dark and foreboding against the night sky, hiding its sinister secrets from the untrained eye.

Inside the abandoned gymnasium, the echoes of long-forgotten laughter seemed to reverberate eerily, swallowed by the dense silence. The gym’s once vibrant energy had dissipated, replaced by an oppressive, ominous stillness.

Jake, a student who had stayed late to finish some work, hummed softly to himself as he meandered around, his tune a stark contrast to the eerie quiet.

Whistling a light, carefree melody, Jake moved with ease, completely unaware of the gravity of the night. His footsteps were casual and light, the rhythmic tapping of his shoes on the wooden floor the only sound filling the empty space.

The night outside, however, held something far darker. On the rooftop of the academy, a shadow moved. A figure stood at the edge, silhouetted against the pale moonlight, their breath visible in the cool air.

The figure hesitated, staring down at the unforgiving ground below. The tension in the air was suffocating.

Suddenly, a sharp sound broke the night’s stillness—a faint crash, like metal hitting the ground, followed by a loud thud. Jake’s whistling faltered as the noise reached his ears. He stopped in his tracks, cocking his head to the side.

"What was that?" he muttered to himself, confusion creasing his brow.

Still, he shrugged it off and resumed his casual pace, heading toward the exit of the gym, his whistling resuming as if to drown out the eerie atmosphere.

But then, it happened. A second, even louder thud reverberated through the night, and this time, Jake froze in place.

Something was wrong.

His heart started to beat faster as he slowly raised his eyes toward the direction of the sound. From the corner of his eye, he saw it—a figure, falling from the rooftop, plummeting toward the cold, hard ground below.

Time seemed to slow as the body twisted through the air, its descent horrifyingly real. The sickening sound of flesh hitting concrete echoed through the stillness.

Jake’s eyes widened in terror. His mind struggled to catch up with what he had just witnessed. The lifeless body—Hwan’s body—lay crumpled, motionless on the ground, the blood slowly pooling around it.

He took a step back, breath catching in his throat, panic starting to rise.

"No... no, no, no," he whispered, his voice trembling. His feet were rooted to the spot, his casual demeanor shattered in an instant.

What was supposed to be an ordinary night had just turned into a nightmare.

He spun around, about to dash back into the gym when he noticed something—movement.

A door, slightly ajar, caught his eye. Behind it, muffled sounds, like footsteps quickly retreating, reverberated through the air.

Someone was there. Someone had been watching, too.

Jake’s panic surged. He needed to call someone. His hand, trembling, fumbled for his phone. His mind raced as his fingers found Heeseung’s number and shakily pressed call.

“Heeseung...” Jake’s voice was barely audible at first, choking on his words. “You need to get to the gym... now. Hwan... Hwan’s dead.”

The line buzzed with static, Heeseung’s voice sounding distant, unaware of the horror that had just unfolded.