Thursday, January 8, 2004 – 9:55 a.m. / Ministry of Employment and Labor – Waiting Room

  The ticking of the old wall clock pierced the air like a blade. Mina gripped the strap of her bag so tightly her knuckles turned white.

  Dozens of messages sent to Favez. No reply. Only the sterile words on her screen: Message Sent. She didn’t know if he had read them. She didn’t know if his phone was even on. The uncertainty pressed against her lungs until breathing felt mechanical.

  9:59 a.m.

  Her mouth was so dry her tongue scraped against the roof of it. Then—a familiar black sedan glided into the parking lot.

  Professor Han Do-yoon stepped out calmly, adjusting his coat as if he were attending a prestigious conference, not an investigation for labor exploitation. He walked toward the building with unhurried, terrifying confidence.

  Mina’s breath stalled. The edges of her vision blurred.

  10:10 a.m. / Investigation Room 3

  “Mr. Favez isn’t coming?” The investigator’s voice was neutral, almost bored.

  Mina swallowed hard. Before she could find her voice, Professor Han adjusted his glasses and leaned forward. His tone was smooth, dripping with practiced concern.

  “He’s been struggling with visa issues,” the Professor said. “This morning, he contacted me to say he decided to return to his home country immediately. I truly regret that I couldn’t support him until the end.”

  He placed a neatly folded resignation letter on the table. Mina felt a cold sweat slide down her wrist.

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  The moment you show up tomorrow, your graduation is over. Bohyun’s warning from last night echoed in her mind.

  She lowered her gaze, trying to steady her heart, and saw it—a blue case file lying in front of the investigator. Stamped among the official seals was a handwritten notation: [1-05-6].

  A chill ran through her.

  Six. She was the sixth. The "05" before it represented five others who had entered this room before her—five others who had disappeared behind the Professor’s polished smile.

  “Are you here as a witness?” the investigator asked, looking at Mina. “If the complainant, Mr. Favez, isn’t present, proceeding with the testimony may be difficult.”

  Professor Han turned toward her with a thin, sharp smile. It wasn’t a welcome; it was an invitation to her own professional execution.

  Mina reached into her bag. She didn’t speak. She didn't argue. She simply pressed Play.

  Static. Then—Bohyun’s voice burst into the sterile room.

  “Hey, Seo Mina! Why aren’t you answering? The professor knows everything. The moment you show up tomorrow, you won’t graduate. You won’t survive in this field!”

  The air in the room froze. Professor Han’s relaxed posture tightened—barely visible, but there. The recording continued.

  “Senior…” Mina’s voice in the recording sounded small but clear. “Is this because the professor paid off your credit card debt? Nearly two million won—that’s months of a researcher’s salary. Is that the price of your silence?”

  Silence followed on the tape, heavier than the static. Then Bohyun’s broken reply: “You don’t understand. Without that money, I’m finished. He paid it. He told me to convince you.”

  Mina stopped the recording. She looked directly at the Professor. The gentle, scholarly mask was gone. Behind his glasses, his eyes had hardened—animalistic and calculating.

  “Professor,” she said quietly, her voice finally steady. “Did Mr. Favez really leave of his own free will? Or did you discard him once he outlived his usefulness—just as you used debt to pressure Bohyun?”

  The investigator’s pen stopped moving. The atmosphere in the room shifted.

  For the first time, the number on the file no longer felt like a tag around Mina’s neck. It felt like a crack. The first fracture in a wall built from years of silence.

  Next Episode Preview The recorder clicks off. Footsteps approach the door. Bohyun stands outside—hesitating. Professor Han turns toward him. His smile returns, but this time, it doesn't reach his eyes.

  What do you think happened to Favez? Did he really flee, or is the Professor's reach deeper than we think? Let me know your theories in the comments!