Chapter 2: The Man the Entire Nation Was Hunting

The Idol Next Door

Chapter 2: The Man the Entire Nation Was Hunting

The apartment was silent.

Too silent.

Han Ji-Woo stood frozen beside the unconscious man on the floor.

Outside the door...

someone waited.

The voice came again.

"Min-Jun."

Calm.

Patient.

Dangerously calm.

"We know you're awake."

Ji-Woo instinctively covered the idol's mouth, even though he was unconscious.

His own heartbeat thundered louder than the rain outside.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Three slow knocks echoed through the apartment.

Then...

silence.

Five seconds.

Ten.

Thirty.

No footsteps.

No voices.

Nothing.

That silence terrified Ji-Woo far more than shouting ever could.

Min-Jun suddenly grabbed Ji-Woo's wrist.

His eyes opened.

Sharp.

Cold.

Filled with years of exhaustion.

"Turn..."

His voice barely escaped.

"...off..."

Ji-Woo looked around.

"The lights?"

Min-Jun weakly nodded.

Ji-Woo switched off every light.

Darkness swallowed Apartment 305.

Only flashes of lightning occasionally illuminated the room.

Min-Jun struggled to sit.

Blood soaked his black hoodie.

"You..."

Ji-Woo whispered.

"You're Kang Min-Jun."

Min-Jun closed his eyes.

"So..."

"You know me."

"The entire country knows you."

Another knock interrupted them.

This time...

on the window.

Ji-Woo slowly turned.

Fourth floor.

Outside.

Someone wearing black gloves stood on the emergency staircase.

Watching.

Motionless.

The figure slowly lifted one finger...

placing it over their lips.

Shhh.

Then disappeared into the darkness.

Ji-Woo stumbled backward.

"What..."

"...what was that?"

Min-Jun looked toward the window without surprise.

"They found me."

Minutes later...

The hallway became quiet again.

Ji-Woo carefully looked through the peephole.

Empty.

Nobody.

When he finally relaxed...

his phone exploded with notifications.

BREAKING NEWS

TOP IDOL STILL MISSING

POLICE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

REWARD INCREASED TO ₩500 MILLION

His eyes widened.

Five hundred million won.

That amount could pay every debt.

His grandmother's treatment.

College tuition.

A better apartment.

A completely different life.

He slowly looked toward Min-Jun.

The idol had fallen asleep again from blood loss.

One phone call...

That was all.

Everything would change.

His finger hovered over the emergency number.

He imagined his grandmother smiling again.

Warm meals.

No more delivery jobs.

No more poverty.

His hand trembled.

Then...

he remembered one sentence.

"...Don't call the police."

Ji-Woo slowly lowered the phone.

"I must be crazy."

An hour later...

Using old first-aid supplies and countless online tutorials, Ji-Woo removed the bullet.

He wasn't a doctor.

Far from it.

But somehow...

Min-Jun survived.

The idol finally opened his eyes again.

"You should've left me."

Ji-Woo sighed.

"I considered it."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I don't know."

Min-Jun smiled.

It wasn't the bright smile millions loved.

It was small.

Broken.

Almost painful.

"You really are strange."

Ji-Woo laughed.

"That's rich coming from Korea's most wanted celebrity."

Morning arrived.

Sunlight entered through cracked curtains.

For the first time...

Ji-Woo properly looked around Apartment 305.

It wasn't abandoned.

Someone had been living here for months.

Boxes of instant ramen.

Medicine.

Exercise equipment.

Stacks of handwritten lyrics.

A single family photograph.

Min-Jun noticed Ji-Woo staring.

"My mother."

Ji-Woo handed him the photo.

"You look happy."

"I was."

Those two words carried enough sadness to fill the room.

Suddenly...

The television switched on by itself.

Breaking News.

A reporter stood outside Aurora Entertainment.

"The missing idol Kang Min-Jun is now believed to have fled South Korea."

Ji-Woo looked at the television.

Then at Min-Jun.

"So..."

"They're lying."

Min-Jun nodded.

"They've been lying from the beginning."

"What really happened?"

Silence.

Finally...

Min-Jun whispered.

"I saw someone die."

Ji-Woo frowned.

"What?"

"I wasn't supposed to."

"You witnessed a murder?"

Min-Jun slowly nodded.

"But the victim..."

"...was someone who officially doesn't exist."

Before Ji-Woo could ask another question...

The apartment door suddenly unlocked.

Both froze.

Someone had a key.

The handle slowly turned.

Click.

Ji-Woo grabbed the nearest object.

A frying pan.

Min-Jun reached beneath the sofa.

Pulling out...

a compact black pistol.

Ji-Woo stared.

"You own a gun?"

"I own enemies."

The door opened.

A woman stepped inside.

Long black coat.

Dark sunglasses.

Elegant.

Beautiful.

She stopped the moment she saw Ji-Woo.

Ji-Woo stared back.

Nobody spoke.

Then...

she slowly smiled.

"So..."

"You're the college student."

Min-Jun immediately stood despite his injury.

"Leave."

The woman ignored him.

Instead...

she looked directly into Ji-Woo's eyes.

"My name is Lee Na-Eun."

"I work for Aurora Entertainment."

She removed her sunglasses.

"But officially..."

"...I'm dead."

A deafening gunshot shattered the apartment window.

Glass exploded across the room.

Na-Eun threw Ji-Woo to the floor just as a second bullet tore through the wall where his head had been.

Someone outside had opened fire.

The hunt had begun.

End of Chapter 2

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