THE JUDGMENT VOTE

Episode 1: The Message

The city never slept.

Even at midnight, the streets were alive with flashing lights, crowded restaurants, and people hurrying home after long days. On the surface, everything seemed normal. But beneath the bright lights, anger was growing.

People were losing faith in justice.

Every day, news reports told the same story: powerful criminals escaping punishment, victims left heartbroken, and courts failing to deliver justice. Social media was filled with arguments. Some people demanded harsher punishments. Others believed the law should always be respected.

Nobody imagined that everything was about to change.

At exactly 9:00 p.m., every phone in the city vibrated.

Students, office workers, shop owners, taxi drivers—everyone received the same mysterious notification.

UNKNOWN SENDER

"A criminal who escaped justice lives among you."

"Do you believe this person deserves punishment?"

"Vote now."

YES or NO

For a moment, the entire city froze.

Mina Park, a university student, stared at her phone in disbelief.

"What kind of prank is this?" she muttered.

Her friends laughed.

"Someone's trying to go viral."

"Ignore it."

"It's probably fake."

Yet people couldn't stop looking at the message.

Curiosity spread quickly. Screenshots flooded social media. News channels interrupted their broadcasts to discuss the strange notification.

Within minutes, millions of votes were being cast.

No one knew who created the vote.

No one knew how it reached every phone.

And no one knew whether it was real.

Across the city, inside a dark room lit only by computer screens, a masked figure watched the results appear.

The person's face was completely hidden.

On one monitor, the vote percentage climbed higher and higher.

YES: 61%

YES: 70%

YES: 79%

The masked figure remained silent.

Waiting.

Watching.

At 10:00 p.m., the vote closed.

Final Result:

YES: 84%

The room fell silent.

Then the masked figure spoke for the first time.

"The people have made their choice."

The next morning, the city woke up to shocking news.

Television screens displayed the face of a wealthy businessman who had recently avoided prison despite being accused of serious crimes.

The headline sent chills through the nation.

"BUSINESSMAN FOUND DEAD HOURS AFTER MYSTERIOUS CITYWIDE VOTE."

Panic spread instantly.

People who had laughed at the vote the night before were no longer laughing.

News reporters crowded the streets.

Social media exploded.

Some called the masked figure a murderer.

Others called them a hero.

At police headquarters, Detective Han stared at the television screen with a serious expression.

"This isn't a coincidence," he said.

Beside him, Detective Seo nodded.

"Someone planned this."

Han grabbed his coat.

"Then let's find them before another vote appears."

Far away, hidden in darkness, the masked figure watched the chaos unfold on a monitor.

Slowly, another notification draft appeared on the screen.

A second vote.

A second target.

And a second chance for the city to decide.

The game had only just begun.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the city, Mina couldn't stop thinking about the vote.

She opened her phone again and stared at the message that had started everything.

A strange feeling settled in her chest.

What if this wasn't the end?

What if the next vote was already being prepared?

Outside her window, sirens echoed through the night.

For the first time, the city was afraid.

And somewhere in the darkness, someone was preparing to ask the people another question.

Episode 2: The Second Vote

The morning after the first vote, the city was in chaos.

News reporters crowded the streets. Social media was flooded with theories. Some people called the masked figure a murderer, while others praised them as a hero.

Nobody could agree on one thing:

Was this justice or revenge?

At police headquarters, Detective Han and Detective Seo were assigned to the case.

"The message reached millions of phones at the same time," Seo said as she reviewed the reports.

Han frowned.

"Whoever did this is highly skilled."

For hours, the investigators searched for clues, but every digital trail seemed to disappear.

It was as if the sender had planned everything perfectly.

Meanwhile, Mina sat in a crowded café near her university.

Everyone around her was discussing the mysterious vote.

"I voted YES," one man admitted.

"You shouldn't say that out loud," his friend replied nervously.

"What if the police hear you?"

Mina looked down at her phone.

The whole situation felt wrong.

Yet she couldn't stop thinking about the question.

What if the criminal really deserved punishment?

As evening approached, tension spread across the city.

People were afraid another vote might appear.

At exactly 9:00 p.m., every phone vibrated once again.

The message had returned.

UNKNOWN SENDER

"A new vote has begun."

A photo appeared on the screen.

Jung Min-Soo.

A man accused of causing a deadly accident years earlier.

Although many believed he was responsible, the court had dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence.

The question appeared beneath his picture.

"Should this person be punished?"

YES.

NO.

Within minutes, millions of citizens began voting.

Fear spread through the city.

At police headquarters, alarms rang.

"It's happening again!" Seo shouted.

Han grabbed his jacket.

"We need to find him immediately."

Police officers rushed to Jung Min-Soo's home.

But when they arrived, the house was empty.

His car was gone.

His phone was turned off.

It was as if he had vanished.

Across the city, people watched the vote percentages rise.

YES: 58%

YES: 65%

YES: 72%

Inside a dark room illuminated by computer screens, a masked figure silently observed the results.

On one monitor was the live vote count.

On another was a map of the city.

The figure remained completely calm.

Back at headquarters, Han stared at the screen.

Something felt wrong.

This wasn't random.

Someone had spent months planning every detail.

And if they failed to stop the vote, another tragedy might occur.

As midnight approached, the final votes continued to pour in.

The city waited anxiously.

Would Jung Min-Soo survive the night?

Or would the mysterious judge strike again?

The answer would change everything.

The answer would change everything.

Midnight arrived.

Across the city, people stared at their phones, waiting for the final result.

The numbers stopped moving.

YES: 81%

NO: 19%

A heavy silence followed.

No one knew what would happen next.

At police headquarters, Detective Han received an urgent call.

His expression immediately changed.

"What happened?" Seo asked.

Han grabbed his coat.

"Jung Min-Soo has been found."

The two detectives rushed out of the building.

Rain poured from the dark sky as police cars sped through the empty streets.

When they arrived, dozens of officers had already surrounded an abandoned warehouse near the harbor.

Han pushed through the crowd.

"Where is he?"

An officer pointed toward the building.

"Inside."

The detectives entered cautiously.

Their flashlights cut through the darkness.

Then they saw him.

Jung Min-Soo was sitting in a chair, frightened but alive.

Next to him was a large screen.

A single message was displayed:

"The people have spoken."

Below it was another sentence.

"Justice delayed is justice denied."

Seo looked around.

"He's gone."

Han clenched his jaw.

The masked figure had disappeared once again.

But something else caught his attention.

Pinned to the wall was a photograph.

A photograph of another criminal.

Someone the police had never connected to the case.

Someone who had escaped punishment years ago.

Han slowly removed the photograph from the wall.

On the back was a handwritten message.

"You are already too late."

For the first time, Han felt a chill run down his spine.

This wasn't just about one criminal.

The masked figure already had a list.

And the next vote might begin sooner than anyone expected.

Far away, hidden behind dozens of glowing computer screens, the masked figure watched the news coverage with silent satisfaction.

Then a new file appeared on the monitor.

TARGET NUMBER THREE.

The game was far from over.

Episode 3: Target Number Three

The city could no longer pretend that the votes were a joke.

After the second incident, fear spread everywhere. Parents warned their children to stay indoors. News channels covered the story twenty-four hours a day. Every conversation seemed to lead back to the same question.

Who was behind the votes?

At police headquarters, Detective Han stood in front of a large investigation board covered with photographs, newspaper articles, and reports.

In the center was a picture of the masked figure.

Or rather, a sketch based on witness descriptions.

Unfortunately, it wasn't much help.

"We're chasing a ghost," one officer complained.

Han remained silent.

He couldn't stop thinking about the photograph found in the warehouse.

The photograph of another criminal.

Target Number Three.

Meanwhile, Mina sat in her dorm room scrolling through social media. Thousands of posts discussed the mysterious vigilante.

Some people called the figure a monster.

Others called the figure a hero.

One post caught her attention.

"What if the police are protecting criminals?"

The post had millions of views.

Mina quickly locked her phone.

The idea made her uncomfortable.

That evening, Han received a report from the forensic team.

They had finally discovered something unusual.

A tiny fingerprint had been found on the photograph recovered from the warehouse.

It wasn't enough to identify a suspect directly, but it matched someone connected to a case from years ago.

Han immediately searched the file.

His eyes widened.

The fingerprint belonged to a former police officer named Kang Dae-Ho.

A man who had disappeared three years earlier.

Seo stared at the report.

"You think he's the masked figure?"

Han shook his head.

"No. It's too obvious."

"Then why is his fingerprint there?"

Han looked thoughtful.

"Because someone wants us to find it."

For the first time, they considered a frightening possibility.

The clues were being planted deliberately.

Someone was guiding the investigation.

Somewhere else in the city, a hooded figure entered an abandoned building and unlocked a metal door.

Inside was a room filled with computers and surveillance monitors.

The masked figure was already waiting.

"The police found the fingerprint," the hooded visitor said.

The masked figure nodded.

"Exactly as expected."

"What happens next?"

The masked figure turned toward a large screen.

A new face appeared.

Target Number Three.

A famous businessman accused of bribery and corruption.

Although several investigations had been launched against him, none had resulted in punishment.

The masked figure's voice was calm.

"The city will decide."

Back at police headquarters, every officer's phone suddenly vibrated.

The room froze.

Han slowly looked at his screen.

A new notification had arrived.

UNKNOWN SENDER

"The third vote has begun."

Shock spread through the office.

The target's photograph appeared beneath the message.

Within seconds, the vote count began rising.

Across the city, millions of people opened the notification.

Many hesitated.

Others voted immediately.

The memory of the previous votes still haunted them.

Han felt a growing sense of urgency.

This time, he had to stop it.

Because if the masked figure succeeded again, the public's trust in the law might disappear forever.

As the vote percentages climbed higher and higher, Han noticed something unusual hidden at the bottom of the screen.

A tiny symbol.

A symbol he had seen before.

But where?

As he stared at it, a terrible realization began to form.

The clue they had been searching for had been in front of them the entire time.

And if Han was right, the identity of the masked figure was closer than anyone imagined.

To Be Continued...