chapter 1

“Hello, Property Management here to inspect doors and windows.”

After a knock on the door, someone spoke from behind it.

Unfortunately, I was still in the bathtub.

It didn’t seem appropriate to go out at that moment.

I didn’t reply, hurriedly got dressed.

Just as I was about to open the door, a flash of the news I’d just seen crossed my mind.

To be cautious, I lay down at the peephole, quietly observing the hallway outside.

The person outside was wearing a security uniform from the community. He had a hat and a mask on, holding a notebook and pen, his head lowered, writing something in the notebook.

I was hesitating whether to open the door when suddenly the peephole went completely dark.

Did the lights in the hallway go out?

But if the lights were out, I should still be able to see the green glow of the emergency exit sign.

At that moment, a faint breathing sound came through the door.

That breathing sound slipped through the door and into my ears, scratching at my nerves like a cat’s paw, making my skin crawl.

My heart leapt into my throat.

Suddenly, I realized it wasn’t the hallway lights that had gone out, but the person outside had pressed his entire face against my door’s peephole.

I could even imagine a man lying against my door, staring straight into the peephole with wide eyes.

At that moment, my eyes were directly aligned with his.

Our eyes met, and I was so startled I didn’t even dare to blink.

I didn’t dare to make a single move.

I covered my mouth, forcing myself not to scream.

Because it suddenly occurred to me that the residents in our community had always been at odds with Property Management.

Property Management had been on strike for a long time.

So why were they suddenly coming to inspect doors and windows today?