“Is it a disguised intruder?”

The police officer looked troubled at Choi Yoon, who asked as soon as he got out of the truck.

“We thought so and shot…”

Another police officer slipped his foot under the bird and flipped it over forcefully. An eagle the size of a small child rolled on the ground a few times before stopping and fluttering. Soon it quietly breathed its last.

If it were a monster transformed into a bird, it should have turned human when it died. But the bird remained still as it was.

The police officers looked visibly dismayed.

“We made a mistake. It’s just a bird. Geez, when they transform into animals, there’s no way to tell them apart.”

The police officer clicked his tongue.

It was then that Jang Yong Sik, whose face had been flushing red and blue for a while, suddenly burst out in anger.

“How can you handle things like this!”

The police officers exchanged uncomfortable glances. Jang Yong Sik didn’t hesitate to point and shout.

“I told you to be careful! It’s good to catch disguised intruders, but be cautious, extra cautious before shooting! This road is frequently used by residents! I even marked it on the map for you! What if an innocent resident gets hurt? Will you take responsibility?”

“Sir, please calm down…”

“Do I look calm right now? There are students living nearby! The youngest child in our village lives alone! What if Seo Jung gets hurt! What if a bullet had gone astray!”

“We fully understand your position, sir, but it’s true that it’s almost impossible to distinguish when monsters transform into animals. We can’t just let an eagle fly by right in front of us, can we?”

“No matter how much you suspect it’s a disguised intruder, you shouldn’t open fire from this side! The people living inside are obscured by the bushes and hard to see! I’ve told you many times! People suddenly come out here!”

“But…”

“Look at what you’ve done! You’ve not only threatened the safety of our villagers but also killed an innocent animal!”

“We will absolutely not let any villagers get hurt. Please trust us…”

“Set traps, install capture nets, whatever, but absolutely do not fire guns in this alley. If you shoot here one more time, I’ll destroy your barracks!”

Choi Yoon stepped back slightly from Jang Yong Sik and looked at Kim Tae Rin’s face.

She was standing still next to Ji Chun Bae, staring at the bird without blinking. Her face was pale.

As if she had been shot herself.

The state of emergency imposed on Jangcheon County was soon extended to nearby cities and counties including Seoju City.

The reason was that the escaped disguised intruder was an eagle monster, a bird of prey, so it was fast and dangerous.

The protests were temporarily suspended.

Apart from the hassle of passing through checkpoints, there were concerns that if a large crowd gathered, it could become a target if the disguised intruder planned a terrorist attack.

Regardless of right or wrong, the residents of Soseulli couldn’t adapt to the state of emergency. It had been too long since such a thing happened.

Several times a day, announcements flowed to immediately report any suspicious person suspected of being a disguised intruder.

When the sun set, sirens sounded urging people to return home.

Wanted posters were plastered in every alley. Kim Tae Rin stared for a long time at the tired composite sketch of a man who looked like he could barely make a living, let alone commit terrorism.

Although there weren’t many children in the neighborhood to begin with, Jang Yong Sik gladly drove his truck to the district office to borrow fences for those few young and pretty ones.

He put up fences at the entrance to the mountain, the outskirts leading to the reservoir, and all remote places. If there was an urgent need to enter, it was decided that at least three adults should go together.

The whole of Soseulli was tense with nervousness. A large barracks was erected at the entrance of the village.

Kim Tae Rin didn’t like this.

Although the police needed a place to stay and had to set up barracks somewhere, it was suspicious that they specifically settled here. Kim Tae Rin thought patrols would be sufficient for Soseulli. It wasn’t an illusion that there seemed to be more police than residents in this small village.

Some neighbors, including the village head, said they felt rather reassured. They said it seemed like they were paying more attention to us because there had been an incident in the past.

However, most were full of complaints. They accepted Choi Yoon’s hypothesis that the escaped disguised intruder itself might be fictitious. They were upset that just when they had finally been exposed to public opinion and should be protesting all day to keep up the momentum, they were tied down because of a disguised intruder that may or may not exist.

Kim Tae Rin made an information disclosure request under Ji Chun Bae’s name. She asked them to post the grounds and current status for setting up the barracks.

A response came in three days. It was a long and difficult-to-read list of laws and regulations that ultimately said they couldn’t disclose it.

Kim Tae Rin had no intention of giving up.

She spent a full half day calling every town, village, and neighborhood in nearby cities and counties under the state of emergency. She asked if barracks had been set up.

Police were stationed in almost every place. However, fewer than ten places had barracks installed.

Even before finishing organizing the list, Kim Tae Rin noticed the commonality of these unlucky villages. They were neighborhoods that belonged to the protest organizing committee or had people who were key activists in the protests.

Kim Tae Rin, Jang Yong Sik, and Ji Chun Bae didn’t belong to the organizing committee, but they had been carrying out equally active activities. Above all, Choi Yoon was here. It wouldn’t be strange if a hundred barracks were set up.

“It seems they’re keeping a close eye on us.”

Kim Tae Rin went to the weekly Monday village meeting to share this fact, and she and Ji Chun Bae went to town to buy a large whiteboard and hung it in the village hall.

They had people write down even the slightest thing if they experienced any unfair treatment or felt threatened by the police staying in the village.

No major incidents occurred. But the tension was swelling and felt like it would burst soon. It could be felt on the skin.

The number of resident police officers increased day by day.

The sturdy men walking around in groups of three or four, wearing loose uniforms and carrying long guns, were threatening just by their presence.

They smoked cigarettes regardless of whether they were in the scorching sun or shade. Some joked around while helping with farm work and ate snacks.

Sometimes the police took comical photos with Choi Yoon’s car, which had an out-of-place shine under the sunlight, as a backdrop.

Many residents felt fear from such idle-looking behavior of the police. Because it didn’t look like they were searching for the escaped disguised intruder to anyone. It just seemed like they needed a plausible excuse to control access.

In this situation, what was able to hold the public’s attention on the protests even a little was thanks to an article Choi Yoon sent out.

More precisely, a single photo in that article rekindled the dying embers and even caused an explosion.

The media focused on the fact that Choi Yoon had never treated the opposite sex so intimately before.

Whether in official interviews or circulating paparazzi photos, every reporter enthusiastically emphasized that Choi Yoon had refrained from any contact with the opposite sex except when being faithful to his job as an actor.

The sight of such a Choi Yoon looking straight at the camera while lightly grasping the shoulder of an unfamiliar woman shocked the public.

Kim Tae Rin’s face, which appeared as small as a fingernail, was enlarged and circulated as big as a door.

Speculations about Kim Tae Rin, who had only had her shoulder grabbed by Choi Yoon, overflowed more than about the disguised intruder who might do something unpredictable and was being searched for with police mobilized.

Kim Tae Rin, who had expected and aimed for this to some extent, initially brushed it off, but by this point she couldn’t sleep due to the pressure. Sometimes she regretted it. No, she often did.

I must have been crazy.

But at that time, she really had no choice.

From the moment Choi Yoon tilted his head slightly but kept his gaze forward and whispered to her, Kim Tae Rin was completely out of her mind.

When his large hand gently rested on her shoulder, spreading warmth, she almost threw up her heart. The situation worsened as soon as she turned to face him, startled.

Choi Yoon at around 2 PM when the yellow sunlight gently swelled from all directions was so unbelievable that everything he said sounded like the right answer.

Yes, I lost my mind for a moment.

The result is fine. Kim Tae Rin contributed to the safety of the village. But if asked if this was the only way, regret welled up.

While Kim Tae Rin was tearing her hair out several times a day, how was Choi Yoon? He seemed unfazed.

“If we can get attention even through a scandal, that’s how much safer we become. It’s exactly what we wanted.”

His calm attitude was not comforting at all.

“Ms. Tae Rin, look at me.”

But his face was definitely helpful. Just quietly looking at it made distracting thoughts disappear and time flow like water. The emptiness that followed immediately after was a problem, if anything.

“If it’s still hard…”

Choi Yoon took the phone from Kim Tae Rin’s hand and closed the internet window with a tap.

“It’s a world where everything disappears with one touch. Now it’s all gone and it’s just you and me, Ms. Tae Rin. In that sense, do you have any empty boxes?”

Choi Yoon filled the box Kim Tae Rin handed him with some of the things loaded in his car. He said they were sponsored items that needed to be returned, and that he might have to pay quite a bit for the late return.

“Do you need anything? I’m going to town.”

“To town?”

Please go somewhere. Anywhere.

If she kept facing that bright face, her brain would melt and disappear.

“Yes. I need to send some packages, buy some daily necessities for myself, and I think I’ll need a few more cameras.”

Kim Tae Rin’s eyes widened, wondering if the cameras that the person called his manager had already sent and piled up in the guest room weren’t enough. Choi Yoon smiled a little. He spoke gently.

“There’s a blind spot in the kitchen area. And it’s useful when editing to put one inside the refrigerator too.”

Choi Yoon made a gesture of opening the refrigerator door with his hand. He looked quite pleased. Kim Tae Rin was not pleased at all. The most private place in the kitchen, the refrigerator, was about to be exposed to the world. She decided to organize the freezer compartment before the day was over.

“I don’t mind installing more cameras, but will you be able to go out? I heard Grandpa Ok tried to go out to buy fertilizer today but was turned away. They told him to just borrow fertilizer from neighbors.”

“Really? Is he a monster? I heard monsters now have to be accompanied by humans to go out.”

“He’s human.”

“He’s human but they didn’t let him go out?”

Choi Yoon sighed lightly.

“Then I’d better hurry. Is there anything you need, Ms. Tae Rin? Given the atmosphere, we might be completely blocked from going out soon, so feel free to tell me anything and I’ll buy it all.”

She thought it would be nice if he bought a mask to cover his own face. Or a hat to pull down low.

“I don’t need anything in particular.”

After confirming that Choi Yoon had just stuck his wallet in his back pocket and disappeared across the yard from the restaurant, Kim Tae Rin quickly went to the storage room with an empty bowl.

She opened the dog food bag tucked away in the corner and filled a bowl generously. She mixed it with milk from the counter and had a simple meal. It tasted even better eating in the restaurant without Choi Yoon.

I won’t be able to eat this anymore either.

Filming will start soon.

With Kim Tae Rin’s permission, Choi Yoon will rummage through every corner of the restaurant.

Before that, she had to turn the restaurant upside down. She had to find and eliminate all clues pointing to a disguised intruder, that is, anything reminiscent of something other than human.