"Collapse"

In the city of Ancheon, there lived a tenth-grade high school student named Kang Ji Hwan. He was a cheerful, slightly annoying boy who always made his friends laugh with his silly antics. At school, Ji Hwan wasn't popular, but his playful and nosy personality made him well-known among his classmates.

His father, Kang Dae Ho, was an ordinary office worker — quiet, unremarkable, and living a simple life. His mother, Han Mi Jung, was a loving housewife, devoted to taking care of her family and ensuring Ji Hwan grew up well. They seemed like a perfectly normal family.

The Night That Changed Everything

One evening, Ji Hwan was on his way home from a friend's house. He chose a narrow alleyway — a shortcut he often took without a second thought. His steps were relaxed, and he hummed softly to himself while scrolling through his phone.

But then, before he realized what was happening, dark silhouettes emerged from the corner of the alley.

Thud!

A wooden plank struck the back of his head. The world spun. His body lost balance, and before he could scream, Ji Hwan collapsed onto the cold ground. His vision blurred, and a sharp pain radiated from his skull.

A boy in a black hoodie crouched down, rummaging through Ji Hwan's pockets.

"He's got a lot of money! Haha! Grab his phone too!"

Laughter echoed through the alley as the group of delinquents stole his pocket money, phone, and any valuables they could find, leaving Ji Hwan unconscious on the asphalt.

Blood trickled from his head, staining the ground beneath him.

In the distance, the sound of footsteps slowly approached. A shadowy figure stood at the end of the alley, silently observing Ji Hwan's motionless body.

The figure didn't move right away — just watching. Calculating.

Then, they stepped closer.

Ji Hwan didn't know it yet, but that night would be the first thread unraveling a dark secret — the truth about his father, hidden beneath the mask of an ordinary office worker.

Ji Hwan slowly regained consciousness in a sterile, white hospital room. His head throbbed painfully, the bandages wrapped around his skull a stark reminder of the attack. He could barely open his eyes, the dim light from the hospital ceiling blurring everything around him. The beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound that kept him tethered to reality.

He tried to move but his body felt weak, his muscles stiff, as though they had forgotten how to function.

Suddenly, he heard the soft, familiar voices of his parents.

"Ji Hwan! Ji Hwan, are you awake?" His mother, Han Mi Jung, sounded frantic, her voice trembling. Ji Hwan could hear the fear in her tone, and it made his heart ache.

From the corner of the room, Kang Dae Ho, his father, stood motionless. His face was calm, but his eyes held a deep, unsettling intensity. He approached his son's bed, placing a firm hand on his wife's shoulder as she crouched beside Ji Hwan, wiping away tears.

"Mi Jung," Dae Ho said softly, his voice steady despite the situation. "He's going to be okay. The doctors are doing everything they can."

His mother, still visibly shaken, turned to him. "But how could this happen? Who would do something like this to our son?" Her voice cracked with distress.

Dae Ho took a deep breath, his demeanor unwavering. "We don't know yet, but we'll find out. For now, we need to stay calm." He gently guided her back, giving Ji Hwan some space to breathe.

Ji Hwan, still dazed, tried to speak, but his voice barely came out as a whisper. "Mom... Dad... What happened?"

His mother immediately leaned in, brushing his damp hair from his forehead. "You were attacked, Ji Hwan. Some kids... they hit you with a wooden plank. They took everything from you. But you're safe now. You're in the hospital."

Ji Hwan's mind raced, fragments of the attack flashing back. The alleyway. The shadowy figures. The pain. It was all a blur, but one thing lingered — a sense of danger.

As his parents continued talking softly around him, a thought nagged at Ji Hwan. His father's unusual calmness, his ability to reassure his mother in a time of crisis—it all felt oddly detached, almost too perfect. His father was always steady, but this time, there was something more. Something that didn't sit right with him.

Ji Hwan closed his eyes again, the mystery of the night still weighing heavily on him. Why did the attack feel so... deliberate? And why had his father acted so composed in such a tense moment?

The answers to these questions, Ji Hwan realized, would come sooner than he expected — but the truth was far darker than he could ever have imagined.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing broke the silence that had settled in the hospital room. Kang Dae Ho's phone vibrated in his coat pocket, the ringtone cutting through their conversation. He glanced briefly at his wife, then took a deep breath.

"Mi Jung, I'll step out for a moment," Dae Ho said with a firm, yet calm voice. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked towards the door.

Mi Jung, still sitting beside Ji Hwan, looked confused and anxious. "Where are you going?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Dae Ho waved a hand without turning back. "I have something important to handle. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

The hospital room door quietly clicked shut behind him, leaving Mi Jung to sit, her eyes filled with worry. Ji Hwan watched his father's retreating back, and a growing unease settled in his chest. Something wasn't right. His father, usually unhurried, had seemed almost in a rush after that phone call.

"Why did Dad leave like that?" Ji Hwan whispered weakly, his voice barely audible.

Mi Jung turned her gaze to her son, trying to mask the unease in her eyes. "Your father... he just wants to make sure everything's okay. Don't worry," she replied, forcing a smile, though Ji Hwan could see the worry written all over her face.

But Ji Hwan knew. Something was off. That phone call... it hadn't been an ordinary call. His father had rushed out in a way that wasn't like him.

Ji Hwan lay back in his bed, eyes closed, but his mind was racing. What was happening with his family? Why had his father remained so calm in such a dangerous situation? And more importantly—what had happened that night? Why had he been attacked by those troublemaking kids in that alley?

The thoughts spun around in Ji Hwan's mind, but the pain in his head made it hard to think clearly. Meanwhile, outside the hospital room, a much darker world was waiting to pull him deeper into its grasp.

Time continued to move forward, and a few days later, Ji Hwan found himself back at home, getting ready for school. His head was still aching slightly, though the bandages had been removed, and his wounds were healing. The events of the attack still weighed heavily on his mind, but today, something strange caught his attention.

As he got dressed, Ji Hwan noticed his phone lying on the bedside table, still intact, along with his wallet, which contained money and all his valuable belongings—everything he thought had been taken from him during the attack. Confusion surged through him. How could this be? The kids who attacked him in the alley had stolen everything. He remembered the pain, the dark figures, and the sense of vulnerability as they took everything from him. But now, everything was right in front of him, untouched.

His mind raced as he wondered who could have returned his belongings. Was it possible someone had found them and brought them back? Or had it been someone else entirely? The questions spun in his head, but he couldn't make sense of any of it.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He didn't have time to dwell on it. His school day awaited.

Ji Hwan grabbed his backpack and hurried toward the door. As he stepped outside, the chill of the morning air hit his face, and for the first time in days, he tried to push the mystery aside and focus on the day ahead.

His school wasn't far from home, and he preferred walking rather than taking a bus. As he made his way down the street, his mind kept drifting back to the strange discovery. Why had his things been left untouched? And who was behind it?

But something else nagged at him—a feeling that today would bring more answers than he was ready for. Something was unfolding, something he wasn't prepared to face. And as he walked toward the school gate, the unsettling thought lingered in his mind, knowing that soon enough, the truth would find him.

Ji Hwan's school is Seongjin High School, an exclusive all-boys institution. The atmosphere in his class was typically loud and full of chatter that morning. However, today was different. The noise grew even louder when Lee Joo Hyuk and Kim Seung Woo, two students known for constantly clashing, started arguing.

The two exchanged harsh words and shoves, quickly escalating into a fight. Desks shifted, and their classmates immediately jumped in to cheer them on, eager to see the fight continue.

"Come on, Seung Woo! Show him who's stronger!" shouted one of the students from the back.

"Joo Hyuk, you can beat him!" another one called out, encouraging the fight.

Ji Hwan, who had initially just been watching with a slight grin, couldn't help himself and decided to join in. He yelled out with enthusiasm, supporting Seung Woo.

"Seung Woo! You got this!" Ji Hwan shouted loudly.

However, instead of the fight getting more intense, both Joo Hyuk and Seung Woo suddenly stopped, glaring at Ji Hwan with annoyance. They exchanged a look of frustration, clearly upset.

"Hey, Ji Hwan! What are you doing jumping in? I'm serious here!" Joo Hyuk snapped.

"You too, Ji Hwan! Stop pretending to support me!" Seung Woo added, taking a step back.

The entire class, who had been excited and shouting earlier, now seemed annoyed with Ji Hwan for interrupting the fight. Some of the students fell silent, while others started murmuring, feeling irritated by the disruption.

Ji Hwan, feeling awkward, quickly tried to diffuse the situation. "Ah, sorry, guys, I was just messing around. Didn't expect you two to stop like that."

But the atmosphere in the class had already shifted. The tension was palpable, and the students who had been cheering now sat quietly, clearly frustrated.

"Ugh, this is getting old... watching them fight all the time," one of the students muttered in annoyance.

Ji Hwan, still feeling uneasy, just smiled sheepishly while sitting back down. Meanwhile, Joo Hyuk and Seung Woo exchanged another irritated glance. Eventually, they decided to call it quits, though the irritation on their faces was still evident.

"This class is never quiet," Ji Hwan thought, settling back in his seat. But deep down, he knew that while the situation had calmed for now, something bigger was looming on the horizon. Today was only the beginning of something unexpected.

Suddenly, during the break, the lively atmosphere in the class changed in an instant. There was a loud crash followed by frantic screams from the students outside. Everyone in the class turned to the window, their eyes widening as they saw a young man fall from the roof of the building.

The room went silent, and the students stared in horror as the figure hit the ground. Blood streamed from the fallen body, pooling into a crimson mess. His face was unrecognizable, horribly mangled, and his body was twisted unnaturally. The entire class stood frozen, shocked by the gruesome sight.

Some of the students rushed to the door to get a closer look, while others were paralyzed with fear. One of the teachers, hearing the commotion, hurried outside and immediately called the police, her voice shaking with panic.

"Someone... someone fell from the roof! Hurry, call an ambulance!" she shouted.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop, far from the crowd, another young man stood silently, staring down at the chaos below. His hand gripped a knife tightly, blood still dripping from the blade. He appeared exhausted, but his eyes betrayed a mixture of confusion and anger. After a long pause, he turned away and walked calmly, disappearing through an emergency exit.

The police arrived quickly, securing the area and trying to calm the crowd, but the true cause of the incident remained a mystery. Everyone was left wondering who the victim was and what had really happened.

For Ji Hwan, who had witnessed the event from afar, a sense of unease gnawed at him. The situation felt too strange to be an accident. There was something darker at play, and Ji Hwan couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow connected to the unfolding events.