Aya prepared her clinic once again.
Before, she always had someone beside her during opening hours.
Now, she worked alone—cleaning, sorting supplies, trying to rebuild everything that had been destroyed.
She never imagined the clinic would open again.
Many clients were still afraid.
They feared their pets might suffer the same fate as the animals caught in the tragedy.
To Aya, the place still felt tainted.
No matter how many times she cleaned, the memory of blood and death clung to the walls.
Focus, Aya.
It was the only thing she could tell herself.
She exhaled slowly.
The police had promised to contact her once they discovered another lead.
She was also waiting for a copy of the surveillance footage from a nearby building—hoping it might reveal who entered the clinic that night.
"Cloud… let's rest for now," she murmured softly.
She placed the cat inside his carrier before driving back home.
The police had confirmed that her parents were still on the suspect list.
But without evidence, nothing could be proven.
My sister recognized the man who killed her…
Could it be someone I know too?
When she arrived at the apartment, the silence felt suffocating.
Too quiet.
Painfully quiet.
Aya fed Cloud and changed into comfortable clothes.
That voice…
Why does it feel familiar?
Who did it belong to?
And where did they hide Aliya's body?
Aya bit her lip hard.
What if Aliya was still alive when they took her?
What if they hid her somewhere?
Her thoughts spiraled wildly.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Someone was watching her.
She could feel it.
But she had no idea who.
XXX
Deep within the forest, a man dug frantically into the earth.
His breathing was ragged.
Sweat covered his body.
Blood stained his clothes.
Deep bite wounds marked his skin.
Near his ear, a tattoo glinted faintly under the moonlight.
He opened a large bag beside the hole.
"I have to hurry… I need to bury this girl," he muttered.
Someone's unseen spirit watched from the void.
Horror filled her chest.
A young girl's battered body slid out of the bag.
Her school uniform was soaked in blood.
One arm was missing.
For a brief moment—
the girl's bloodshot eyes met Aliya's.
She almost screamed.
The girl was still breathing.
Barely.
Just barely.
"H… help…"
The girl's trembling hand reached toward her.
She shook her head helplessly.
Blood spilled from the girl's mouth as she begged again.
"H-help…"
Aliya's hands trembled.
She wanted to cry.
She wanted to run.
She wanted to save her.
But she could do nothing.
The man suddenly noticed the girl's faint breathing.
A gunshot shattered the silence of the forest.
The girl's eyes widened in shock—
then slowly faded.
She stood frozen in terror.
Her legs refused to move.
Fear rooted her to the ground.
The man tossed the body into the pit like discarded garbage and began covering it with dirt and stones.
Then—
he suddenly turned his head.
Directly toward her.
Her body froze.
The moonlight concealed his face, but a chill ran through her entire being.
She forced herself not to breathe.
Not to move.
Not to exist.
Only when the forest became silent—when the footsteps disappeared—did she finally crawl away, shaking violently.
She hadn't gone far when she stumbled and fell.
Voices approached.
"Seriously… how could you mess up this badly?" a man snapped.
"I thought your work was always clean. How did someone see you?"
A figure stepped forward, pointing a gun at someone beside him.
The limping man.
The one who buried the girl.
Her heart lurched.
They had seen her.
"P-please… please spare me," she begged desperately.
"I won't tell the police… please. I still want to live."
The man clicked his tongue.
"No, dear."
"I can smell trouble."
"And trouble needs to disappear."
He raised the gun.
Before she could beg again—
something slammed into the back of her head.
Warm liquid trickled down her face.
Her vision blurred.
Her limbs weakened.
Her breath flickered like a dying candle.
Am… am I going to die?
The thought echoed in her fading mind.
Another gunshot rang out.
Coldness spread through her bones.
Her breathing grew shallow—
then weaker—
then almost gone.
The man dragged her body by the arm and tossed her into a shallow grave.
A final resting place known only to him.
Tiara jolted awake.
Her breath came out in sharp gasps as her heart pounded violently.
Another nightmare.
Another memory of the night she died.
She looked around, realizing she had fallen asleep and drifted into the past again.
She hated remembering.
The fear.
The pain.
The helplessness.
Her gaze slowly moved toward Aliya.
Calm.
Unaware.
Innocent.
Tiara swallowed.
She needed distance.
If she stayed too close, she might be drawn back into danger again.
But she still didn't understand why she had been assigned beside Aliya.
Why she had also been chosen as a guardian despite her tragic death.
She forced the memories away and steadied her breathing.
She couldn't fall apart again.
Not now.