Chapter 1. Serial Killer (1)

Translator: Lili

Perverts are rare these days…

Even though a woman was living alone in a shabby house, the supply of thieves, robbers, and perverts wasn’t as steady as she’d anticipated. On the news, they always talked about criminals invading people’s houses every day, but strangely enough, not one had ever visited Jeon Nabi’s home.

She wasn’t asking for much. Just one person per month crawling into her place would’ve been sufficient. Had she been wrong to dream of a paradise where humans rolled right into her home without her having to lift a finger?

She had ambitiously rented this place expecting an abundant life, yet reality was harsh. No matter how hard she tried, making ends meet proved difficult.

If Nabi had appeared timid and easily frightened in her daily life, things might’ve been easier. However, she was completely inept at such behaviors. In fact, Nabi unintentionally frightened people all the time, despite never intending to.

Even if she were lucky enough to have a sexual predator or someone similar try to break in through the window, another problem always arose. As soon as they spotted Nabi, they’d suddenly change their minds and attempt to flee. That was because Nabi would excitedly rush toward them in joy without realizing how she looked—having forgotten to wipe off all the blood staining her apron.

Understandably, since Jeon Nabi was, in fact… a kind of serial killer.

To be more precise, she was something human-like, living hidden through many long years, surviving on human flesh.

From the times of war up until the old days when police administration was chaotic, it had been relatively easy to find suitable people to eat. But now, in this era of smartphones, committing crimes wasn’t easy at all. Why did becoming a successful criminal nowadays require knowledge of technology or administrative science? Nabi couldn’t wrap her head around it. Even human-eating serial killers faltered in the face of technological advancement.

As a last resort, she’d decided to use this semi-basement apartment as bait to attract at least thieves. Yet, kids these days didn’t even seem capable of climbing windows.

‘Were all the daring youths dead from war? Why isn’t anyone coming?!’

On top of that, Nabi had lived in this neighborhood for just about four years, yet she had already started attracting suspicion from the police. She’d been unlucky. Once, there had been a man trying to peek into her semi-basement apartment window to spy on the woman living alone. She’d grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside—but unfortunately, someone had witnessed that exact moment.

It must have looked as if he’d been sucked into a haunted house. After receiving the report, the police came rushing over. The officers were highly suspicious of Nabi, who remained nonchalant even in their presence, but in the end found no evidence.

When the police visited, the sexual predator lay hidden barely a meter away, still breathing, tucked away in the corner. Nabi thought she’d been caught for sure. Thankfully, the local police weren’t particularly thorough.

Instead, rumors began to spread that a human-eating monster lived in Jeon Nabi’s apartment.

Of course, over these four years, Nabi had indeed eaten numerous people—sexual offenders and others alike. Perhaps the population had decreased slightly. But how could they possibly know? Throughout human history, hadn’t sexual predators constantly regenerated, maintaining a stable number?

Unbelievable. She’d been secretly eating them. How were people figuring this out every single time? Life really wasn’t easy.

Finding people was becoming increasingly difficult, strange suspicions were mounting, and she remained clumsy at relationships. Nabi continued struggling through her life.

Thus, when she finally saw a ‘guest’ standing outside her home after such a long time, Nabi couldn’t help but feel ecstatic. Hearing someone lurking at her door, she hurried over excitedly to see—a genuine robber standing right there.

“!”

Nabi held her breath, inspecting the appearance of her guest carefully through a crack in the window. Tall, posture upright, and muscular. Plenty of fat and muscle for her to chew on. Judging from his straight frame, even his bones must taste good.

‘One moment.’

Nabi calmed down. Taking a second look, she saw him wearing a ski mask over his face, with an empty bag slung at his side—a traditional, classic robber’s outfit.

Of course, until he stepped foot into the house, she couldn’t know if his intention was theft, robbery, assault, or murder—but that was trivial. The crucial point was that he was entering her home at all.

She must remain calm. She couldn’t risk startling him and letting him run away again. As she’d repeatedly thought, perverts nowadays were rarer than ever.

For the record, she’d never once successfully welcomed a robber into her home before.

Waiting eagerly, she heard the front door open.