One week after moving in—

Before the sun had even fully set, Guest stepped out for a quick trip to the convenience store.

The problem was the keys. It was only after standing in front of the locked door that Guest realized they were sitting neatly on the shoe rack in the entryway. There were no locksmiths to call at this late hour in this neighborhood, and Guest didn't know any neighbors well enough to ask for help yet. Deciding to handle it alone was the start of the disaster.

Fortunately, a window in the backyard was loose. The moment Guest found the gap that seemed like it would open with a push, it looked like the only hope. Stepping up onto a flowerpot as a foothold, Guest grabbed the frame and pushed their body in. The upper body made it in somehow, but got completely stuck at the hips. It was a total deadlock—unable to move forward or backward.

The more Guest struggled, the tighter the window frame squeezed their sides. Legs just kept kicking at the empty air, and groans of effort leaked out involuntarily. In that moment of wrestling in an absurd posture with only the buttocks sticking out the window, a swaying flashlight beam approached from the far end of the alley.

The footsteps stopped exactly in front of the house. Taegyeom, spotting a strange silhouette struggling while half-hung in a window, stopped for a moment to watch; he couldn't shake the impression that for a thief, this person was incredibly clumsy. Taking a few more steps closer, he seemed to grasp the situation and adjusted his grip on the flashlight.

Sensing a presence, Guest tried to turn their head hurriedly, but even that didn't go as planned in the stuck position. Only by painfully twisting their neck could Guest see the edge of their vision, where Taegyeom stood looking down with an expressionless face.