‘הִנֵּ֨ה הָי֤וּ כְקַשׁ֙ אֵ֣שׁ שְׂרָפָ֔תַם לֹֽא־יַצִּ֥ילוּ אֶת־נַפְשָׁ֖ם מִיַּ֣ד לֶֽהָבָ֑ה אֵין־גַּחֶ֣לֶת לַחְמָ֔ם א֖וּר לָשֶׁ֥בֶת נֶגְדֹּֽו׃’
ספר ישעיהו 47 : 14
Unknown golden characters were engraved into the underside of the case.
Jinhyeok had no idea what they meant. He stared at them for a moment, then shrugged, as though the writing had never interested him in the first place. Reaching out, he slowly lifted the lid.
Clunk.
The case opened with a heavier sound than he had expected.
Inside lay a fountain pen, black as ebony.
For a moment, Jinhyeok said nothing.
Judging by the size and weight of the case, he had expected jewelry—or at least some expensive electronic device.
But it was only a pen.
His lips curled in disappointment.
At first glance, the pen itself looked perfectly ordinary. Its long, smooth body was such a deep black that it barely reflected the light. The barrel tapered gently toward the rear before ending in a rounded tip. A narrow gold band encircled the lower end, while the cap was a simple cylinder. The only visible ornament was the gold clip attached to its side.
Jinhyeok sighed and started to close the case.
Then he remembered something he had read on an online forum not long ago.
A limited-edition fountain pen made by a famous Italian manufacturer. Price: 1.66 billion won.
Of course, that pen had looked nothing like this one. More than two thousand diamonds had been set into its body, making it obvious at a glance that it was an object of extraordinary value.
But now that he looked again, the pen before him did not seem quite so cheap.
Jinhyeok lifted it from the case.
It was heavier than he had expected.
He slowly turned it between his fingers, examining it from every angle. Then he twisted the cap open.
A golden nib emerged.
Engraved near its tip was a tiny symbol.
It was very small, yet unmistakably shaped like an eye.
Jinhyeok stared at it for a moment, then tilted his head.
“What the hell is this…?”
He rummaged across the desk until he found a crumpled receipt. Taking up the pen, he scribbled carelessly across the paper.
Nothing appeared.
He pressed harder and tried again.
Still nothing.
“Out of ink, maybe…”
After scratching at the receipt a few more times, he lost interest.
Jinhyeok returned the pen to its case.
He was about to close the lid when—
Someone knocked at the door.
He froze, raising his head as though trying to make certain of what he had heard.
Knock, knock.
This time, the sound was clearer.
“Is anyone home?”
It was the voice of an unfamiliar man.
Jinhyeok listened for a moment, but he could not imagine who it might be.
He pushed the case to one side of the desk and slowly walked toward the door.
“Who is it?”
He stood just inside and waited.
No answer came.
Jinhyeok cautiously opened the door.
At that instant, a black-gloved hand shot through the gap like lightning and closed around his throat.
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