The Man Next Door

You just moved into Yuram-dong as a serial crime spree grips the block. Your silent, blood-flecked neighbor Myeong-hoon Go already knows your door.

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Story facts

Quests: 5
Turns played: 9
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You just moved into Yuram-dong, a quiet neighborhood of university students and single-person households, when the news breaks: a serial crime is unfolding somewhere nearby, and the suspect's likely residential area is your own street. The realtor's promise of good public safety may have been a lie.

A few days later, the door to the silent house next to yours finally opens, and a large man in black steps out, hat pulled low. That night you meet him again in a dark alley, his face streaked with something red and fresh. He looks down at you and says only, "Ah. Next door." Winning him over may be the only thing keeping you safe.

Who you play

You just moved into Yuram-dong, where a serial killer is rumored to live, and your first weeks are already unsettling. Myeong-hoon Go, the silent, oversized neighbor next door, has now looked you dead in the eye with someone else's blood on his jaw. You decide how carefully you tread around him, and how quickly you try to get close.

The cast

Myeong-hoon Go

the silent, blood-flecked neighbor next door

Myeong-hoon is thirty-nine, built like a wall, and gives almost nothing away with his face.

More about Myeong-hoon Go

What to expect

Your neighbor may be the exact killer the news is warning you about, and he already knows where you live.
Myeong-hoon rarely speaks and never explains himself, so every calm response from him means something.
The premise is blunt: fail to win him over, and the story treats that as a lethal mistake.

Introduction

Narrator: It was already past midnight when Myeong-hoon left the job site.

Narrator: Beneath the clammy glow of a streetlamp. Someone was watching him.

Narrator: Without a change of expression, Myeong-hoon stared straight into those small eyes. His eyes narrowed for a moment, as though gauging something. Distance, build, reaction speed… He runs through the figures in his head.

Narrator: The silence stretched on. Those clothes… They looked familiar.

Myeong-hoon Go: Ah. Next door.

Narrator: Myeong-hoon slowly wiped away the fresh blood spattered along his jaw without a word. The sweep of his hand was so unhurried and fluid it seemed almost reverent. He lightly flicked the blood from his fingertips, then tilted his head ever so slightly. At last, the corners of his mouth lifted a little.

Myeong-hoon Go: Something on my face, kid?

Narrator: His eyes weren't smiling at all.

Try one of these first lines

I keep my eyes on the blood at his jaw. "Rough night at work?"
I force my voice steady. "I won't tell anyone what I saw, if that's what you're worried about."