— When the fog settles not just on the streets, but deep within the soul of the city —
Dawn
The small town of Hwaansa. Nestled in the hills, draped in thick foliage, and cloaked in a near-constant veil of chill and mist. Life here is slow and quiet. At most, there's the occasional theft or a drunken brawl — but fear? Terror? No one speaks of such things.
But this morning felt different.
On one of the town's oldest roads, where muddy trails vanish into dense undergrowth and the ruins of a forgotten temple lie crumbling, a stray dog was clawing feverishly at the ground.
Cha Seung, the tea vendor, was on his usual walk to the morning market. He paused, eyes drawn not out of curiosity, but unease. The dog's neck bore fresh cuts, and from its throat came a low growl — like bones cracking.
He stepped closer, hesitant. And then he froze.
Just beneath the soil, barely visible… was hair. Long strands — a woman's.
With trembling hands, Cha Seung brushed away the dirt.
A head.
A human head. A young woman's.
Her eyes were hollow, her face distorted — frozen in what looked like unbearable terror… or excruciating pain.
He ran. He couldn't speak. Only one word escaped his lips—
"Again…"
Midday
The news spread fast. The townspeople were stunned. But it was that one word — again — that stirred something deeper, older, in some of them.
Most of Hwaansa's current residents didn't know what had happened 25 years ago. Back then, girls had gone missing. Only their heads would be found — nothing more.
Detective Lee Hyun hadn't been in Hwaansa back then. He had built a reputation in the capital's cybercrime unit for solving impossible cases. But family obligations had brought him back here. A place where time moved slower, where people were simple, and mysteries were few.
But today, his eyes darkened.
He visited the scene himself. The girl's face was disfigured beyond recognition. It looked as if someone had smashed it repeatedly. Her lips were torn, her nose crushed, her eyes… wide open, frozen in a permanent expression of dread.
Memories flickered in Lee Hyun's mind — old reports he had once skimmed, thinking they were nothing but legends.
Afternoon
Back at the station, Lee Hyun began digging.
Old case files. Police reports. Newspaper clippings. Dusty folders filled with forgotten horror.
Twenty-one girls had vanished over five years — all of them found in the same grotesque fashion.
But the strangest part?
Not a single face could be identified.
And now, twenty-five years later, the same horror had returned.
Lee Hyun shut the file. He stared out the window at the quiet town — peaceful on the surface, but perhaps, in its shadow, something monstrous was waking once more.
Night
At the far end of Hwang Market, where an old theatre once stood, darkness lingered. The streetlights didn't work. The alley behind was pitch-black.
An old woman peered through her window and spotted a man standing alone near the edge of the market. His face was obscured by the shadows. But around his neck hung something — a charm, old and worn.
The man stood there for nearly an hour, unmoving, silent. Then he turned, melting into the alleyway.
The old woman watched him quietly. She wasn't afraid.
But something inside her stirred — a discomfort she couldn't explain.
The next morning.
The town was trembling. No one walked the streets alone. The police had increased patrols. But there was only one question on every pair of lips—
"Who's next?"
Lee Hyun held a small piece of paper in his hand — a fresh report.
Last night, around 9 PM, a young woman named Ha Yoon had gone missing. She worked in a small shop on the town's western edge.
Some locals claimed they saw her last with a stranger — tall, wearing a blue coat… and around his neck, an old charm.
Lee Hyun's chest tightened.
Because a name was echoing in his mind.
A name he didn't dare speak out loud…
A name last whispered.. twenty-five years ago.