Chapter 4

The Red Notebook — Episode 4: (The Wrong Assumption)

Yuri stared at the note in her hand.
“If you're reading this, Yuri… they found you.”
She read it again. Then again.

Her parents had disappeared. Their phones were still in the room. Their bags were still there. And the note was lying on their bed.

Yuri had assumed her parents left it for her. But something didn't feel right.

If they wanted her to know the truth, why hadn't they simply told her?

She looked at the red notebook and slowly opened it.

Most of the pages were filled with strange dates, crossed-out names, and sentences that made no sense to her.

Then she saw one name written clearly:

MRS. HAN

Yuri frowned. She had never heard that name before.

Underneath it was a short sentence:

“She brought them here.”

Yuri's eyes widened.

Her parents had always said the trip was their idea.

But now she wasn't so sure.

She turned the page.

A photograph slipped onto the floor.

Yuri picked it up.

It showed her parents standing beside a woman.

The woman was smiling at the camera.

Yuri stared at her face.

She didn't recognize her.

At least… she thought she didn't.

Then she noticed the date.

Seven years ago.

Yuri's stomach dropped.

She had been much younger back then.

Why had her parents never mentioned this woman?

Suddenly, Yuri's phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

She looked at the screen.

One message appeared:

“You found the notebook.”

Yuri froze.

Before she could reply, another message appeared:

“Your parents never wanted you to find it.”

Yuri's eyes widened.

So the note wasn't from her parents.

Someone else had put it there.

But who?

Another message appeared:

“Ask your parents about the woman in the photograph.”

Yuri looked down at the photograph again.

Something about the woman's face felt strangely familiar.

Then Yuri slowly walked toward the hotel window.

Across the street, a woman was standing beneath a streetlight.

Watching the hotel.

Watching her.

Yuri couldn't see her face clearly.

Then the woman lifted her hand.

She was holding a photograph.

Yuri's heart stopped.

She looked down at the photograph in her own hand.

Then back at the woman.

It was the same photograph.

Yuri stepped closer to the window.

The woman suddenly turned around and walked away.

Yuri rushed to the door.

But before she could open it, her phone buzzed again.

One final message appeared:

“Don't follow her.”

Yuri stared at the screen.

Then she looked back through the window.

The woman was gone.

And for the first time, Yuri wondered—

Was the woman trying to lead her somewhere… or keep her away from something?