Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

January 15th, 6:00 PM.

A male corpse lay quietly on the floor of Miyagi-san’s home.

Dust, dirt, and coagulated blood mixed together on his filthy clothes and ashen head. Through the hole in the wall, it was impossible to clearly make out the corpse’s age or appearance. Only those bulging, fish-like eyeballs, seemingly staring into nothingness with their ghastly white color, sent chills down one’s spine.

Duanmu Liang, crouching at the wall, instinctively held his breath to avoid being noticed by the neighbor.

Good.

Calm down, calm down.

Now was the time that required careful thought.

He let out a long breath from deep within his lungs.

The most likely situation right now was…

—Miyagi-san was the perpetrator of a murder case.

The corpse showed minimal signs of decomposition, suggesting it was recent. Moreover, this woman was no ordinary killer.

Because after the murder, instead of frantically fleeing the scene, she chose to bring the corpse back to her home.

Was this a premeditated crime being carried out according to plan?

Or was this the aftermath of the killing?

Either way, it was bad news.

Duanmu Liang, hugging his notebook, walked to the landline and placed his mobile phone on the table. Before that, he had locked the door and firmly shut the window facing the corridor.

So, think it through carefully—what was her purpose in dragging the corpse into the rental apartment?

After killing someone, the next step would naturally be disposing of the body. Whether by dumping it in water or burying it, but first…

…

Could it be…

No, it couldn’t be…!

He couldn’t help but cover his forehead.

—Was this woman planning to dismember the body here?

If that happened, it would really give him a headache.

Ab-so-lute-ly not.

He had to stop this fool immediately.

Call the police.

That was the only option left.

Though it was regrettable, the fate of a murderer could only lead to the courtroom and prison.

…

Miyagi-san might be a good person.

Even now, he still believed this.

Being deceived by beautiful appearances was simply male instinct.

But he truly wanted to believe that perhaps she had some unavoidable reason for killing that unfortunate person, or something along those lines.

However, in the end, what you get from surface observations can only be superficial things.

Even people you see day and night can have sides unknown to others.

Those who think they can judge someone’s character and thoughts just from their actions and expressions are merely megalomaniacs.

“Alright.”

He would quickly and discreetly dial “110” without being discovered by Miyagi-san next door—

…

“Knock, knock, knock.”

At that moment, there came a knocking at the door.

He nearly threw the phone in his hand.

“Ah… do you need something, Miyagi-san?”

Immediate response.

Especially at times like these, one must answer without hesitation. The quicker the better—hesitating and overthinking would not only arouse suspicion but also intensify internal nervousness, leading to mistakes one wouldn’t normally make.

His voice felt steady, with no trembling in his tone. Good, well done. As expected of me.

“Um…”

Miyagi-san seemed to hesitate.

What was she going to say?

‘I know you’re suspicious of me. But you shouldn’t have any evidence, right? Please hurry up and leave from in front of my door—!’

“I prepared dinner, but it seems like too much for one person. Would you like to come over and join me, Landlord-san?”

…

…What?

Duanmu Liang was dumbfounded.

Wait, was she joking? Inviting him to her room? Hadn’t she forgotten there was still a corpse lying in her room?! And until now, there hadn’t been any sign of her dealing with it—

No… wait, could this be a test?

He furrowed his brows in thought.

If so, following “Duanmu Liang’s” usual habits, refusing would be the correct answer.

But what would happen if I said “yes” at this time? Would she really take such a big risk just to test me?

Or perhaps she had already prepared a backup plan.

Like luring me over and then silencing me as well.

To be safe, still…

“Sorry, I’ve already eaten.”

He answered as naturally as possible.

“Oh… I see. That’s a bit disappointing, especially since today was going to be a real showcase of my cooking skills!”

Miyagi-san’s voice carried a hint of regret.

“Is… is that so…”

Duanmu Liang gave a dry laugh.

For some reason, hearing such a response sent an inexplicable chill through him.

She couldn’t be planning to… that…

No, surely not even…

*

Half an hour passed.

Even peering through the hole in the wall, he could only vaguely make out the figure of a woman busily working in the kitchen.

Humming a tune, stepping in high heels, moving with light footsteps, the woman going in and out of the room seemed to be in good spirits.

That corpse just lay there quietly.

Neither moved nor covered.

…What on earth was this woman thinking?

Duanmu Liang sighed, turned around, and leaned his head against the wall helplessly. In the meantime, he had tried calling the police but found no sound on the other end of the receiver—perhaps the line had been deliberately cut, or maybe it was just broken.

Ah, all because of staying up these past few days buried in work, who would have thought something like this would happen.

This must be a nightmare, right? This has to be a nightmare, right?

The worst things seemed to have been arranged together like some coincidence. Having a phone but being unable to call the police—even third-rate TV dramas wouldn’t use such a clumsy plot device.

If this was reality, it wasn’t much different from a nightmare…

No!

He took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks.

If neither option works, then just go straight to the police station to report it. She’s alone, a physically weak woman, it should be fine.

Duanmu Liang stood up, lifted the calendar, pressed his body against the wall, closed his left eye, and aligned his right eye with the hole.

Before leaving, he wanted to confirm Miyagi-san’s movements one last time.

“Huh…?”

He was somewhat surprised.

The hole… was blocked by something on the other side.

The light from the neighboring room couldn’t penetrate through.

What was it?

Was it some kind of fabric… covering it?

Was this preparation for dealing with the corpse?

After all, when cutting it into pieces, blood from the dead body might still splatter everywhere.

As if answering his doubts—

A voice came from the other side of the wall.

At an extremely close distance. It was her voice.

“Duanmu-kun.”

Miyagi-san asked softly.

“What are you looking at?”

…

In that instant.

He suddenly understood.

What was in the wall hole was actually an eye.

Quietly staring back at him through the wall.

A woman’s eye.