The First Night I Saw His Real Face

Woo Hee-woon crouched behind a wooden box.

His thin body was completely obscured by the shadows cast by the stack of boxes above him.

Thud—

“Aaaaargh—!”

He squeezed his eyes shut.

That dull sound of something being struck, the ripping screams that followed… how many times had it repeated already?

Four?

Five?

His body trembled tighter, knees hugged into his chest.

“Uuuuh… p-please… spare me….”

“Are you ready to talk now?”

A low voice asked.

“Y-yes. I-I’ll tell you everything. J-just spare me….”

“Shh. Only say what’s necessary.”

A gentle voice, completely unfitting for the situation.

Hee-woon knew that voice.

The man torturing someone so brutally…

…was the very person he had been stalking.

‘Hello, sunbae.’

‘Mm. Hello.’

A simple exchange with his upperclassman, Seo Kang-woo.

Just that was enough to keep Hee-woon floating all day.

Seo Kang-woo always carried a faint air of inscrutability.

He blended well with others, yet maintained an odd sense of distance, and even when he smiled, there was always something cold beneath it.

To someone timid and indecisive like Hee-woon, that coldness seemed incredibly cool.

There were many rumors about Seo Kang-woo.

Chaebol heir.

Gangster.

Aspiring celebrity.

None had ever been confirmed, and Hee-woon found even that secrecy attractive.

His feelings were somewhere between love and admiration.

Just seeing Kang-woo made him happy.

He wanted to see him longer.

Know him more.

That longing twisted into the wrong shape in a single moment.

One day, after exchanging a brief greeting he found all too short, he found himself trailing behind Kang-woo’s broad back in a daze.

This is weird… maybe I shouldn’t… he thought for a moment—but then reasoned that Kang-woo probably happened to be heading to the campus store too.

Stalking began that easily.

‘I was going that way anyway.’

‘I’m not following him on purpose.’

‘And following someone isn’t a crime, right?’

‘Following him home—okay, that’s bad.’

‘Never again.’

‘Wow, he really lives in a nice place.’

‘Who would ever know Kang-woo lives somewhere like this? Only me.’

By the time he realized it was a crime, he had already tasted its sweetness.

After that, he continued justifying himself.

‘I’m not installing hidden cameras.’

‘I’m not taking photos.’

‘I’m not sending weird messages.’

‘I’m not hurting him.’

‘I’m just watching.’

‘That’s all.’

He felt disgusted with himself.

He felt guilty toward Kang-woo, who knew nothing.

But he couldn’t stop.

Watching Seo Kang-woo was too sweet, too blissful.

Usually, outside of class, he trailed Kang-woo quietly from behind.

After classes ended, he immediately headed to Kang-woo’s house—regretting that they didn’t share more classes together.

When he reached the front of Kang-woo’s residence, he hid behind a roadside tree and waited endlessly.

If nothing unusual happened, Kang-woo would walk his dog around 8 p.m.

He couldn’t always see him.

If someone else came out at 8, it meant Kang-woo wasn’t home.

Hee-woon had promised himself he would only watch Kang-woo at school or near his home.

So if Kang-woo didn’t appear by 8, he would wander around for a bit and then head to his part-time job.

Meaning: the time from the end of his classes to 8 p.m. was the daily working hours of one stalker.

For nearly a month, his dinner had always been a single cream bun.

Actually, for the past three days, even breakfast had become a cream bun.

He had broken his own rules, but discovered something thrilling in return: Seo Kang-woo jogged at 6 a.m.

Whether he jogged every morning—he would need about a week to confirm.

This was how Hee-woon kept crossing the boundaries he set for himself.

And today—

Both of his scheduled tutoring sessions were suddenly canceled.

So Hee-woon hid near Kang-woo’s house longer than usual.

He stared blankly at the mansion peeking above the tall wall, wondering if the lighted window belonged to Kang-woo’s room.

He genuinely hadn’t realized it was past 11 p.m.

Loitering in front of someone’s house near midnight was too extreme, even for a stalker.

Of course, the definition of “too extreme” was always subjective.

Startled, he quickly called a taxi.

This was an affluent neighborhood, so no buses ran here—he had to take a taxi.

Just until the bus stop five minutes away.

The moment he checked the app showing the taxi getting closer—the large front gate opened.

Seo Kang-woo stepped outside.

Hee-un immediately shrank deeper into the darkness and watched him.

Kang-woo had slicked his hair back, wearing a fitted suit that emphasized his build.

He looked different from how he appeared on campus.

Simply… perfect.

No wonder there were rumors about him becoming a celebrity.

He didn’t look like an idol or a model—more like an actor pulled from a masterpiece film.

Even the way he gazed indifferently ahead looked iconic.

Then he heard the soft sound of a car approaching.

Hee-woon flinched—thinking his taxi had arrived—but relaxed when a sleek black foreign car stopped at the gate.

Kang-woo got into the back seat, and the car drove away.

Where could he be going, dressed like that at this hour?

Thinking for a moment, Hee-woon frowned.

A club.

It had to be.

He’d never heard Kang-woo went clubbing.

If he went, everyone would stare at him.

He was tall and broad-shouldered—impossible to miss.

How would he dance?

He wanted to see.

The impulse surged before he could stop it.

And before he could suppress it—

The taxi arrived.

Once inside, Hee-woon said,

“Please follow that car.”

The driver gave him a puzzled look, but when Hee-un muttered something about his girlfriend cheating, the driver’s eyes gleamed and he enthusiastically tailed the car.

Seo Kang-woo didn’t head toward the city.

He drifted toward the outskirts.

When rice fields came into view and people became scarce, the taxi driver glanced nervously at Hee-woon—but after noticing the boy’s skinny frame and gentle features, he seemed reassured.

When the car ahead stopped, Hee-woon also got out.

The taxi fare was over 50,000 won.

He regretted everything—yet now that he’d come this far, he decided to enjoy it.

His heart pounded at the thought of discovering a version of Seo Kang-woo no one else knew.

It seemed Kang-woo hadn’t noticed being followed.

He and two other men walked without looking back.

The place where their car stopped was a small factory.

After watching them enter, Hee-woon slipped out from behind a dusty truck and followed.

The door was open—too easy.

He sensed something was wrong the moment he entered.

He should have sensed it earlier—when the car headed somewhere deserted, or when the faint scraps of their conversation drifted back to him.

Between several men standing with their backs turned, he saw Kang-woo wearing an indifferent expression.

In front of him, a man was kneeling.

“P-please spare me.”

Begging for his life.

Woo Hee-woon’s mind had not been normal lately.

Maybe everything went wrong the moment he began stalking.

When it came to Seo Kang-woo, his thoughts turned especially strange.

He should have run outside the moment he sensed danger, not hidden behind some crates.

Even while hiding, he should have called the police first.

Not… eavesdropped.

“Y-yes. I-I’ll tell you everything. J-just… spare—”

“If you say one more useless word, the other hand goes too. How will you eat then?”

The dull sounds from earlier—those must have been the sounds of a hand being crushed.

Hee-woon covered his mouth as harsh breaths escaped through his nose.

He was covered in goosebumps.

Seo Kang-woo.

This was the secret behind Seo Kang-woo?

His mind went blank.

What do I do?

What should I do?

Leave.

I need to sneak out.

No—call the police first.

What’s the number again?

I’ll search it online…

His pale hand shook as he gripped his phone.

No one would ever imagine Seo Kang-woo was this kind of person.

The thrill sprouting between fear and terror—he didn’t notice it yet.

Drowning in panic, Hee-woon couldn’t focus on the conversation.

Just before he could send a text to the police, he peeked through the gap in the crates again—and finally heard the voices clearly.

“Send him off in one go.”

“W-wait! Young master!”

The kneeling man grabbed Kang-woo’s leg as he turned away.

Kang-woo’s gaze dropped to the hand clutching his pant leg.

“P-please…”

A hand so mangled it hardly looked human slid weakly down his clean trousers, leaving a dark smear of blood.

“……”

Seo Kang-woo slowly lowered his head, staring at his stained pants.

His perfectly shaped brows drew together, his forehead creasing faintly.

Hee-woon, peering through the gap, forgot to blink.

Under the dim lighting, dust floated between them, casting shadows across Kang-woo’s face.

Time slowed.

“f*ck. Filthy.”

At that quiet murmur, Hee-woon blinked.

Reality snapped back.

Call the police.

I have to—

But instead of moving, his eyes stayed locked on Kang-woo’s hand slipping into his pocket.

The object Kang-woo pulled out glinted under the flickering light.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

With practiced, unwavering motion, he adjusted the jackknife in his grip—

—and drove it into the kneeling man’s throat.

Blood erupted like a fountain.

Even as the arc of red cut through the dusty air and splattered onto the floor, Hee-un couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

“…s-save…”

The man clutched his throat, let out a strangled moan, and collapsed forward.

So—

Seo Kang-woo… stabbed someone.