EVELYN: (mumbling to herself while walking through the corridors) ''What does he think of himself.. what a jerk..!''
MAXWELL: ''Whoaa.. cursing someone on the first day of the new year.. sounds like you''(laughs).. ''but wait.. are you crying?''(makes a serious face) ''Did Alan said.. something to you?'' (looks at Alan's empty desk and whispers to her)
EVELYN: (nods her head) ''nothing.. happened. Don't worry.. about me''
MAXWELL: (concerned) ''Don't lie to me, Eve. I can see the pain in your eyes. I'm damn sure it's because of that idiot. I'll go and talk to him'' (walks towards Alan's desk)
EVELYN: (grabs his hand) ''no need to talk to him... things have already ended... between us'' (teary eyes)
MAXWELL: What? Ended? Really..(tries to hold back his smile) i mean..I never would have guessed that you two would end things. You always seemed so happy. But I'm glad you got away from him, he's a toxic person. You deserve better, Eve.
EVELYN: I don't even want to see him.. i think I have to resign from my job. I can't bear working with him.
MAXWELL: Don't make any rushed decisions. Take some time off if you need to, but don't give up your job because of him. I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't bother you anymore.
EVELYN: ''you have always been there when I was feeling low. Thanks a lot, Max'' (smiles)
MAXWELL: Don't mention it, Eve. That's what friends are for. And don't worry, I'll make sure Alan gets what he deserves. Just focus on yourself and your happiness, okay?
EVELYN: ''Ohh.. i forgot.. today is Mia's (Max's younger sister) birthday. Last time, She showed me a figurine from her favourite anime show.. and yesterday, i have seen the same one on a shop. So, i have bought it for her''(hands over the present to Max) ''please give it to her, she would be happy to see it''
MAXWELL: Sure, I'll give it to her. She'll love it. So thoughtful of you, Eve. I'm happy to have you as my friend. I'm sure things will get better for you. Just be strong and keep moving forward. And don't forget me in case you need help with anything.. alright! (Smiles)
Max came into her life even before Alan. And within a short period of time, three of them had become close friends.
They often hung out together after rough days at work. Because of his cheerful personality, he was an 'easy to talk' kind of person.
Miami was also like his brother..kind, caring and a cute girl. She was quite close to Eve. The following year, she was turning 16 and Eve wanted to bring something special to her which would make her happy.
Though the breakup with Alan left her heartbroken, but it also opened her eyes to his true nature. While dating, Eve had distanced herself from the people who truly cared about her like Max and Amelia, her best friend from school days.
She decided to rebuild the friendship which she had lost while being in a toxic relationship with Alan.
Max and Eve decided to give Miami a surprise birthday party after work. He was kind'a reluctant to ask her to join as last year, Eve had refused the offer because Alan wanted to go out with her. But this year, she wanted to be a part of Mia's birthday.
As the day went on, she found solace in her work.
When the clock struck 9, Max came to her desk to pick her. As they were about to leave together, Alan gave her a vicious glance and then walked out with Innah, a female coworker who used to sit 2 cubicles away from Alan and was always hitting on him. That day, Alan also seemed to be comfortable with her.
As they arrived at Max's house, the party was already in full swing. Mia looked happy and surprised to see Evelyn there.
Max had invited some of their other coworkers and friends as well. They all enjoyed a delicious dinner, played some games, and watched Mia open her presents.
As Mia opened Eve's present, she screamed with surprise..
MIAMI: ''OMG.. sis, thank you so much. I had my eyes on this the day it got released in the market. (Gives her a hug) You really made my day. You are the best sis! ''
EVELYN: ''Don't mention it.. it's not a big deal. I also wanted to apologize to you that I didn't make it to your birthday last year and had disappointed you. I'm sorry dear and a very happy birthday to you. Always be happy and cheerful.. like your brother, okay!''(smiles and hugs her back)
The night ended with them all laughing and having a great time. Eve was happy to rebuild her relationship with Max and be a part of Miami's day.
After the party, Eve thanked Max for organizing it and making Mia's birthday special. As they were cleaning up, he asked her if she wanted to grab a drink with him.
Eve knew that Max was concerned about her and wanted to know more about her breakup but her mind was not ready to give him the details. So, she had to decline the offer.
Max dropped her at her house and left afterwards. As Eve entered the house, her phone started ringing. She looked up the screen and was surprised to see a strange number calling at this hour. But as she was about to pick up the call, it got disconnected on its own. ''Might be the wrong number'', she mumbled.
It was already 12:30 am. There was a strange deadly silence, filling her house. Eve quickly washed up and took out some apple juice from fridge. She wasn't feeling sleepy so she turned on the television while gulping the juice.
As she was flipping through the channels, a news alert caught Evelyn's attention,
''BREAKING NEWS.. YESTERDAY, A YOUNG WOMEN WAS FOUND DEAD IN HER APARTMENT AT SEOCHO 2 DONG, SEOUL.
THE CASE IS INVESTIGATED AS MURDER. THE AGE OF THE VICTIM IS ESTIMATED TO BE IN MID-20's OR MID-30's. THE BODY WAS BRUTALLY MUTILATED AND THE RIGHT ARM OF THE BODY IS MISSING.
'A-MARK' IS ALSO FOUND ENGRAVED ON THE NECK OF THE VICTIM WHICH IS SIMILAR TO THE CASE OF THE MURDER OF A YOUNG GIRL HAPPENED LAST WEEK.
THE POLICE IS SUSPECTING THE MURDERER TO BE THE WANTED SERIAL KILLER WHO IS INFAMOUS BY THE NAME OF 'ABYSS.' HE IS KNOWN TO TARGET YOUNG LADIES AND ALREADY HAVE 9 MURDERS RECORDED IN HIS NAME.
CURRENTLY, POLICE HAVE NO POTENTIAL EVIDENCE BUT THE CCTV FOOTAGE FROM THE VICTIM'S LOCALITY MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN SOLVING THE CASE.''
Evelyn's heart skipped a beat when she looked at the CCTV footage on news. It showed the killer going into the house of the victim.
It was difficult to see his face as he was totally covered and wearing a cap. But the most shocking thing was that his clothes had a great resemblance with that of Dayun's, the stranger who had met her yesterday. It made her think that could he be related to the murder somehow...she had no idea.
Eve couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off about Dayun. But she couldn't bring herself to believe that he could be a killer.
He seemed to be a nice person and besides this, Evelyn wasn't in her senses last night. He could have done anything with her but he dropped her off at her house and left after leaving his business card and phone number, like a normal person.
Eve was puzzled and got lost in her own thoughts and suddenly, her phone rang again. It flashed the same unknown number.
She was suspicious and scared to pick it up but had to gather up the courage to press the answer button. A feminine hoarse voice answered her call.
The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. The voice on the other side of the phone said, ''I know who you are and what you have been through.. I'm standing in front of your door. And one more thing, don't even try to call the cops otherwise.. you know the consequences.''
Eve's heart raced with fear as she hung up the call and quickly locked all the doors and windows. She couldn't believe that someone was standing outside her door at this hour, knowing about her whereabouts. She thought of calling the police but she was helpless.
As Evelyn was organizing her thoughts. Suddenly, she heard a loud beep sound coming from the door. Her pupils got dilated and she was sweating profusely.
Chills ran down her spine. ''How come the stranger even knows the pattern of my door.'', she said to herself. Meanwhile, the gate opened with a loud thud voice.
Her hands were trembling as she grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slowly made her way towards the door.
Eve could hear the footsteps approaching and getting louder and louder. Her mind was racing. As she reached the door, she saw no one was standing there.
''Has the person already left..? But I clearly heard the sound of the door being unlocked a second ago'', she thought to herself.
As she was analysing the situation and out of nowhere, a hand on her shoulder startled her. It felt like her soul left her body. Her mind stopped working. She became stiff and her heart was literally pounding so fast that it could have burst open anytime through her chest.
Evelyn nerved herself and turned around in a reflexive manner. She blindly attacked the intruder without even having a glance at his face. She opened her eyes at the sound of a painful sigh which came out of that intruder's mouth after being injured.