The bathroom was empty except for the thin smoke rising from the corner, coming from the sink with its failing plumbing. The wet floor reflected the dim overhead lights, trembling as if alive. Sitting on the edge of the broken marble, Lee Soohyuk stared at his own reflection in the cracked mirror. He made no expression—he just stared, as if trying to discover something there that no one else could see.

The sound of approaching footsteps didn't make him move. He didn't even look away. He simply took a cigarette from his inside coat pocket, even though he knew it was pointless to light it up inside. It was more the gesture. The repetition. The silence he preferred to maintain, even when everything around him seemed to implode. He was the only one standing still while the world spun in panic outside.

As you passed by, he finally spoke—low, calm, as if he didn't care if he was heard or not: "You shouldn't walk around here alone." Nothing more, nothing less. And he remained there, quiet, as if he hadn't said anything. But his tone lingered in the air, heavy enough to follow you to the door.