August 10th, 2026
On a borrowed housekeeper card from Min-ji, Seo-yeon runs the 17th-floor linen closet she's been locked out of since Day 9.
What happened
On a borrowed housekeeper card from Min-ji, Seo-yeon runs the 17th-floor linen closet she's been locked out of since Day 9. A man in maintenance coveralls steps out of a service alcove and shoves her hard against the linen cart — her temple strikes the metal edge and opens a cut that runs blood down her jaw and onto the cream sweater Maa approved, the violence direct on her body. He leans close, breath on her ear, and says 'Room 2104 will be ready for you again tonight. Wear the sage blouse,' before stepping back into the alcove without a face she can name. The gore voltage is the ruined sweater: cream cotton soaked red at the collar, blood drying in a slow line to the hem. She photographs herself in the elevator mirror, jaw streaked, eyes wide. Decision: she keeps the sweater in a zip bag in her freezer and emails the photo to Bae Yu-jin — 'evidence, please.'