Seoul City Prison.

All the inmates thought the guy named Eun Chul-woo was crazy.

They heard he was a rich man. How rich? Rich enough that he could have become the head of a well-known chaebol in the Republic of Korea in another decade or so.

But for some reason, the guy had lost his mind and was obsessed with revenge… Which was more important, getting revenge and going to prison, or living freely? Which was better, eating steak every meal with a tycoon’s inheritance, or eating kimchi soup with rice in prison?

His fellow inmates really didn’t understand.

“We commit crimes for money. You’re already so rich, why did you have to commit a crime? Huh?” said an inmate who was in for running an underground casino, loan sharking, and murdering a debtor. “I heard you even killed the Prosecutor General’s son. Daebak… you really have guts.”

The scene of one murderer asking another murderer why he killed someone was truly a bit bizarre.

Normally, as a newly arrived junior, he should have at least had the sense to let the senior inmates in the cell poke fun at him for a bit of entertainment.

But for some reason, Eun Chul-woo hadn’t said a word since entering the cell, just stared intently at a corner of the room.

“Damn it, what’s this guy looking at?”
“Why isn’t he talking? Is he mute?”
“You little brat, so disrespectful to your big brother.”

The Prosecutor General, Kim Joo-hwan, was a control freak, and his son, Kim Min-kyung, was no good either. Plus, Eun Chul-woo was a tycoon with deep roots, so everyone thought it was possible he might get out. That’s why they were still being relatively polite to him.

But even the best patience has its limits.

The inmate known as “big brother” had asked many questions without getting a response and soon grew impatient. He shoved Eun Chul-woo’s head hard. “Yah! I’m talking to you, are you deaf? What’s so great about being a murderer? I’ve killed people too, you understand? You guys who’ve had money since you were kids are so full of yourselves. Are you looking down on us? You want a beating?”

“You guys don’t see it?” Eun Chul-woo suddenly said.

“What?”
“See what?”

Eun Chul-woo’s voice was hoarse as he pointed to the corner of the wall. “There are two legs over there.”

Just two legs, standing stiffly in the corner. From the direction the feet were pointing, it wasn’t hard to guess that the person was facing Eun Chul-woo.

The inmates were startled by Eun Chul-woo. The ones who were originally close to the corner scattered with a whoosh, frantically slapping their own backs, terrified of picking up something sinister.

The inmate who was considered the “big brother” jumped away from Eun Chul-woo’s side, his eyes wide as he roared, “You little brat! Are you trying to scare us? Are you saying that just to make a fool of us?! There are no legs there! You psycho!”

“Could-could it be the ghost of an inmate who committed suicide in here in the past?”
“You believe the new guy’s ghost stories?”
“I heard this prison was built on a battlefield.”

No, it wasn’t.

Eun Chul-woo stared at the corner, his throat dry. Those were Kim Min-kyung’s legs, wearing the pajamas and slippers from the day he died.

He recognized them.

The same thing happened many times.

Everyone thought Eun Chul-woo was playing ghost stories, and even the prison guards were no exception.

Eun Chul-woo was called into the office for a talk with a manager. The man’s tone was cold and his attitude was serious. “Inmate Eun Chul-woo, stop playing these boring games. Do you want to be put in solitary confinement again? If you continue to disturb the other inmates, I will apply to have you isolated.”

A life sentence meant his range of activities in prison was already limited. If he were to be placed in solitary confinement and isolated by his fellow inmates, he would really go crazy over time.

Eun Chul-woo said nothing.

Because that familiar, cold touch had once again coiled around his ear. He heard the other say, 「Solitary confinement? That’s great. Then we’ll have more time to spend together, won’t we, Chul-woo?」

Heh…

Kim Min-kyung, you’re as clingy as ever.

After that day, Eun Chul-woo settled down quite a bit. Everyone thought it was because the prison guard’s warning had worked.

But only Eun Chul-woo himself knew that wasn’t it. He had just gotten used to the presence of Kim Min-kyung’s ghost and wasn’t as scared anymore.

That guy Kim Min-kyung still loved to play pranks. Even though his ghostly form couldn’t touch people, because he didn’t need to sleep, he could always startle Eun Chul-woo when he least expected it. This was also the reason why Eun Chul-woo had been so heavily criticized by his fellow inmates recently.

Early morning.

Eun Chul-woo was last in line to wash up. Thanks to Kim Min-kyung, he was now ostracized and isolated. Whatever he did, he could only be at the very back. After all, no one wanted to be around a madman who was full of “ghost stories.”

The inmates finished washing up and passed by Eun Chul-woo. A few even spat at him as they walked past.

“You ghost-story-telling piece of trash!”

Only Eun Chul-woo was left in the washroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his face with his eyelids drooping, barely looking in the mirror.

In the mirror was Eun Chul-woo’s face, so haggard he was almost unrecognizable. There were dark circles under his eyes, his spirit was listless, and his skin was pale. This was all because a certain restless ghost had been talking in his ear almost all night, including right now.

「Ah… what a pity. You haven’t looked up these past few days? Chul-woo, long time no see,」 Kim Min-kyung’s bloody face smiled sweetly in the mirror.

His voice was magnetic and his tone was tender. If it weren’t for his knowledge of the other’s personality, Eun Chul-woo might have believed it was true.

He’s an award-winning actor, after all, Eun Chul-woo thought. He acts like a lover to everyone.

In some ways, they were very much alike. As long as they could achieve their goals, they could do anything, even if it meant pretending to be deeply in love.

That’s why they could never know if what the other said was true or false, could never trust each other. The only eternal themes in this relationship were tangible benefits and endless scheming.

Eun Chul-woo still didn’t look up. He mechanically rinsed his mouth, wiped his face, and packed up his toiletries.

The blood-covered Kim Min-kyung in the mirror was bored. For over a month, he had changed into a new gruesome appearance to meet Eun Chul-woo every morning.

At first, Eun Chul-woo’s terrified look was truly amusing. After all, he had never seen Eun Chul-woo like that.

Later, as Eun Chul-woo lost his appetite and grew thinner by the day, Kim Min-kyung was delighted. He thought that if this continued, Eun Chul-woo might just die too.

If possible, let’s be ghosts together. Wouldn’t that be more interesting?

But before long, the other man was no longer afraid of him.

Ah…

That guy Chul-woo is as smart as ever. Has he already figured out that I can’t touch the living?

But you know, Chul-woo, just because I can’t touch you now doesn’t mean I won’t be able to in the future~

The days passed one by one.

The “well-behaved” Eun Chul-woo began to have someone to talk to. It wasn’t his cellmate, but a newcomer he had chanced upon during a collective yard time.

The young man was very interested in Eun Chul-woo, looking at him with eyes full of admiration. “I saw the news about you! To be able to make up your mind to kill someone at such a young age, that’s really amazing. The first time I killed someone, my whole body was shaking, and I pissed my pants.”

The guy laughed non-stop after saying this. Although he looked young and naive, probably not even a college graduate, he was clearly a sociopath who had no regard for human life.

Eun Chul-woo looked at him for a long moment before asking, “What about you? How many have you killed?”

“Your voice is so hoarse, you haven’t spoken in a long time, have you?” the young man said with a grin. “Not as many as you. Three.”

They spoke of human lives so casually. After that, Eun Chul-woo had a little follower. The other inmates called them the big psycho and the little psycho, and they were disliked by everyone.

It felt good to have someone to talk to, but that feeling quickly vanished.

When the young man spoke to him, Kim Min-kyung would also be chattering in his ear, droning on about how many times they had sex back then and how many condoms they had used, to the point that Eun Chul-woo couldn’t hear what the young man was saying at all.

Dinnertime. The young man carried his tray and sat down next to Eun Chul-woo, even giving Eun Chul-woo the meat from his own bowl.

This time, Kim Min-kyung was silent. Using the fact that ghosts can’t touch physical objects, he stubbornly squatted under the table, sticking his blood-soaked head up through Eun Chul-woo’s tray, his black and white eyes staring intently at Eun Chul-woo.

Eun Chul-woo closed his eyes, his appetite completely gone. He pushed his tray across the table. “You eat it. I have no appetite.”

“Really?”

The young man was overjoyed. Without any hesitation, he dumped the food from Eun Chul-woo’s tray into his own bowl and wolfed it down in a few bites.

“No wonder you’re so haggard. You don’t even look like you did in that business magazine. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

「He seems to know you well,」 the blood on Kim Min-kyung’s head gradually disappeared, revealing that handsome face that had captivated all of Korea. 「Looks like you have fans too, Chul-woo. Just like me~」

Eun Chul-woo remained silent as usual, not even glancing at Kim Min-kyung as he got up and left.

Kim Min-kyung sneered, turning to stare viciously at Eun Chul-woo’s retreating back. Chul-woo, we have plenty of time. Let’s see how long you can avoid me.

My life.

It’s not that easy to take.

The young man’s appearance seemed to have angered Kim Min-kyung greatly. The already frequently appearing ghost actor became even more active.

Every morning, the inmates had an hour of reading time. This was originally the time when Eun Chul-woo felt most relaxed. Because all the inmates were reading their own books and not paying attention to others, it was quiet, which gave Kim Min-kyung no interest in tormenting him.

But today was a little different.

「Oh, he’s calling you ‘hyung’,」 Kim Min-kyung said in a flat tone. 「I remember when I first met you, you tricked me into thinking you were older than me and made me call you ‘hyung’. I got so used to it that it took a long time to change it, right?」

Eun Chul-woo focused on flipping through his book as if he hadn’t heard anything. The young man rested his chin on the table, staring at Eun Chul-woo, his eyes occasionally flashing with keen interest.

“Chul-woo-hyung,” the young man suddenly said with a small smile, “the news said you killed your boyfriend, the Prosecutor General’s son, that very famous actor… so you like men, right?”

Eun Chul-woo: “That’s none of your business.”

“Saying that is too hurtful,” the young man moved closer. “Didn’t you share your soup with me? To repay you, how about I become your boyfriend?”

The young man clearly had more to say, but the small flower vase on the table suddenly toppled over on its own, shattering on the floor with a crash, startling everyone.

The other inmates looked over in annoyance. “Hey! Damn it… can you not go crazy everywhere? Haven’t you broken enough things recently? What excuse are you going to use this time? Did you see a severed leg or a ghost hand?”

“Quiet!” a prison guard strode over. “Inmate Eun Chul-woo, what happened?”

Eun Chul-woo said faintly, “An accident.”

The young man’s expression was strange.

He was closest to Eun Chul-woo, so he knew very well that Eun Chul-woo hadn’t even moved his hand just now. That small flower vase had flown off the table by itself, as if it had been swatted away by an invisible person. It had nothing to do with Eun Chul-woo at all.

「Chul-woo, you’re so popular,」 Kim Min-kyung smiled and moved closer. 「It really is better when it’s just the two of us, right?」