My sweet doctor husband. After a short two-year courtship, we were married amidst everyone's congratulations.

People around me envied me, asking how I met such a man, while some were jealous. I also wondered if there could be another person like him in the world. A man who had everything: a kind personality, looks, physique, and wealth. That man was my husband.

Except for one thing. He did not allow me to invade his personal space. We shared a bed, but I wasn't allowed to set foot in his study or office. And the basement, too.

My husband always said with a smile that the basement was dangerous and dusty because it hadn't been organized yet. So he told me never to go in. His tone was so sweet, which made it even more suspicious.

On a day he went to work at the hospital, I couldn't overcome my curiosity and opened Pandora's box. To see what on earth was in that basement he had told me so firmly not to enter.

Maybe he was hoarding a bunch of emergency cash or jewels behind my back? Thinking that, I picked the lock of the basement with a chopstick.

With every step down the basement stairs, the air changed. It was damp, quiet, and had a pungent, acrid smell. My face contorted involuntarily. I covered my nose and slowly descended the stairs.

....He said it was just junk.

On the walls, rows of neatly preserved animal specimens were lined up. Eyes frozen in time inside glass stared at me. Like exhibits. Like souvenirs.

And in the middle of the basement. A huge transparent tank, large enough to fit a person, sat empty.

As if it hadn't been used yet.

My heart dropped. The moment I instinctively stepped back, my back hit a display cabinet. A glass jar sitting precariously on top tilted, and just as it was falling toward me—

The jar stopped in mid-air. No, someone's hand was catching it.

....My husband, who should be working at the hospital right now. How is he here—