Chapter 68: Arrest Complete

Ryu-ah first sensed something strange when her hand overlapped with a stranger’s in the elevator.

“Ah!”

Just as she was about to press the button for the third floor where Ji-eun lived, a tall woman reached out and pressed it first.

Ryu-ah assumed the woman might be a neighbor.

Maybe she lived next door or nearby—that fleeting thought passed through her mind.

That thought was shattered when she saw the woman’s confident strides.

The woman didn’t hesitate as she walked directly toward apartment 305, where Ji-eun lived.

Without realizing it, Ryu-ah stepped in front of her, blocking the way.

“?”

The woman looked down at Ryu-ah, her gaze filled with confusion, as if asking what was going on.

Though Ryu-ah managed to block her path, words didn’t come easily.

Was it the woman’s imposing height? Ryu-ah found herself unable to ask, Who are you, and why are you going to Ji-eun’s house? Instead, she merely fidgeted in silence.

As Ryu-ah awkwardly hesitated, the woman, who had been studying her intently, spoke first.

“Ryu-ah?”

“Y-yes!”

Startled that the woman recognized her, Ryu-ah’s voice came out louder than intended.

She had only recently started streaming and wasn’t well-known even among content creators.

How did this woman know her? Was she a fan, perhaps?

It seemed likely. If not a fan, how else would she recognize Ryu-ah?

Her thoughts raced.

The idea of encountering her first fan in such an unexpected place left her feeling flustered and awkward. Yet, a subtle sense of pride at being recognized made her heart flutter.

But that fleeting moment of excitement was quickly shattered by the woman’s next words.

“Hello, I’m Lee Si-young. I work as an editor for Molu.”

“…What?”

Ryu-ah’s expression turned blank as she let out a dumbfounded sound.

Then, realizing the situation, her face flushed red.

Of course, she thought. Why would she meet a fan here?

This wasn’t a crowded public place but a quiet corridor in a studio apartment complex.

“Are you here to visit Ji-eun?”

“Oh, this…”

Si-young glanced at the soup bag Ryu-ah was holding as she spoke.

Following Si-young’s gaze, Ryu-ah’s eyes shifted to the bag in Si-young’s hand.

It was a food bag, steaming with warmth. She’s here to visit someone who’s unwell, Ryu-ah thought, realizing their destinations matched.

“You’re here to see Ji-eun… or rather, Molu, too?”

“Yes, I heard she was very sick. And you?”

“I saw the broadcast. Molu lives alone and might need someone to take care of her.”

Neither of them had received any direct invitation.

Si-young murmured softly, her words lingering in Ryu-ah’s ears.

Ryu-ah felt the same way.

She had only received a brief text saying she could visit. She hadn’t expected anyone else to be there.

But did editors usually care about a streamer’s health?

The streamers Ryu-ah knew maintained a strictly professional relationship with their editors.

Even if they were close, it wasn’t common for an editor to bring soup or make a house call.

It seemed Si-young had made the soup herself, judging by the effort it must have taken.

This wasn’t typical—it felt more like a manager’s job than an editor’s.

Was it because they were both women of a similar age?

“Shall we go in?”

Si-young seemed familiar with Ji-eun’s home.

Unlike Ryu-ah, who was imagining the house as seen in Molu’s broadcasts, Si-young showed no reaction to her surroundings, moving calmly as if she’d been there many times before.

Feeling a strange sense of inferiority, Ryu-ah shook her head and followed Si-young.

They hadn’t gone far when Si-young suddenly stopped. Ryu-ah instinctively halted as well.

Si-young then backed up, moving toward the corner near the elevator. Ryu-ah tilted her head, confused.

“What is it? Why did you stop?”

“Shh.”

Si-young put a finger to her lips, signaling for silence. Her eyes were fixed on something, cold and sharp.

Then she motioned for Ryu-ah to come closer.

Ryu-ah decided to comply, crouching beside Si-young and watching her expression.

Si-young’s face was grim, her seriousness catching Ryu-ah’s attention.

Following Si-young’s gaze, Ryu-ah looked ahead.

“What…?”

She whispered, covering her mouth in shock at the unexpected sight.

Standing in front of Ji-eun’s door was a suspicious figure dressed in a thick padded jacket, wearing a mask and sunglasses.

The person was loitering, their behavior undeniably strange.

Elsewhere, Ji-eun lay in bed, her forehead damp with sweat.

Ji-yeon, her younger sister, carefully wiped her forehead with a damp towel, concern etched on her face.

Ji-eun, still asleep, breathed softly as Ji-yeon slid a thermometer into her ear, sighing quietly.

“Why is her temperature so high? She said she was fine like this?”

Jiyeon sighed, shaking her head.

“She’s so much trouble.”

Recently, her sister had required even more care than usual.

The once-reliable older sister who seemed as solid as a mountain during Jiyeon’s childhood had suddenly started showing cracks.

“Is it because she’s been living alone?”

Jiyeon muttered to herself as she gently brushed Ji-eun’s hair aside.

But that didn’t quite explain it. Ji-eun had been living alone for about a year without any issues before.

She never used to collapse like this from exhaustion.

And she seemed… lazier somehow.

The sister who never let house chores pile up and could cook better than Jiyeon herself now bragged about making soy sauce egg rice as her signature dish.

Her behavior was almost as if she had turned into someone else entirely.

If Jiyeon thought back, it seemed to have started around the time of Ji-eun’s first stream.

It was strange enough that Ji-eun had started streaming games in the first place.

She’d never even shown interest in games before, and suddenly she was running a gaming channel?

“So weird… so weird…”

Jiyeon stared at her sister, who was sound asleep, and let out a small laugh before standing up.

Why bother overthinking it?

Whatever the reason for her sister’s change, it didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that Ji-eun’s new self wasn’t necessarily bad.

“What would she even do without me?”

Jiyeon walked to the bathroom to cool down the now lukewarm towel.

There really wasn’t much in Ji-eun’s house.

Without a proper basin to soak the towel, Jiyeon had been walking back and forth to dampen it under the faucet.

Suddenly, a thought struck her.

“Is it okay for her to just sleep like that with such a high fever?”

The sweat on her forehead alone was worrying, and her body must have been drenched.

Everyone knows sleeping in sweat-soaked clothes isn’t good, especially when you’re sick.

It would be better if Ji-eun could shower before going back to bed, but she clearly wasn’t in any condition to do so.

That left Jiyeon with only one solution.

“Do I… have to wipe her down myself?”

She stared at the damp towel in her hand.

A well-wrung towel still carried a refreshing coolness.

“Um… Sister, are you… awake?”

Ji-eun, lying there with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly open, gave no response.

Swallowing hard, Jiyeon gripped the towel and approached her sister.

This was just caregiving, nothing more.

Ji-eun had done the same for Jiyeon countless times when she was little.

This was simply for her sister’s health—purely medical care, no other reason.

Jiyeon repeated these reassurances to herself as she reached to lift Ji-eun’s sweat-soaked shirt.

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from outside.

“What the—!”

“Who’s there?!”

Startled by the commotion, Jiyeon froze, letting go of Ji-eun’s shirt.

The edge of Ji-eun’s pale skin disappeared as the fabric fell back into place.

“What is that noise?”

Had it been just a brief sound, Jiyeon might have ignored it. But the inexplicable racket continued.

There were sounds of a struggle, even a woman’s scream, echoing clearly from outside.

And it wasn’t distant—it sounded like it was coming from right outside Ji-eun’s door.

“Should I go check?”

The decision didn’t take long.

Looking at her sleeping sister, Jiyeon decided it would be worse if the noise woke her.

She placed the towel aside, headed to the door, and carefully pressed her ear against it.

After quickly slipping on some clothes, Jiyeon cautiously unlocked the door.

What she saw next made her jaw drop.

“Let me go! What are you doing?! Aah!”

“What were you doing here? Show me your phone.”

A man, his hat and sunglasses knocked off, was pinned to the floor.

On top of him was a woman, twisting his wrist as she interrogated him coldly.

“I-I’ll help! What should I do?!”

A third woman, who looked completely bewildered by the situation, was also assisting in restraining the man.

It was a bizarre scene.

This seemed to be the source of the noise.

Jiyeon, watching the chaos unfold, tried to piece together what was happening.

Her attention was drawn to a phone that had rolled to her feet during the struggle.

Picking it up, she quickly realized the truth.

“A stalker…?”

The phone’s gallery was full of familiar images—photos of a certain someone’s back.

The person she had just been caring for moments ago.

Her one and only sister, Ji-eun.