My sister-in-law got in an elevator with a serial killer and talked her way out

Okay I wasn't going to post this but my brain won't let it go.

I'm 19, high school senior. This didn't happen to me. It happened to my sister-in-law's older sister, like years ago. I've only met her a few times but my sister-in-law told me the whole story and I STILL get chills thinking about it. I'm gonna just call her "unnie" because that's what she is to my sister-in-law.

So unnie lived in an apartment complex in Seoul (Seongbuk-dong? I think?) with her husband and their baby son. Both parents worked so every morning she'd drop the baby off at her mom's place, and every evening she'd pick him up on the way home from work.

This one day. It was raining. She comes back to her apartment complex with the baby in her arms. The security booth is empty. She figures the guard is out patrolling, whatever, and heads to the elevators.

Her building had two elevators. One for odd floors, one for even. She lived on an odd floor so she hits the button and waits.

Right next to the elevator there's one of those flyer boards, and there's a guy standing there. Raincoat. Hood pulled way down over his face. Just staring at the flyers.

She didn't think anything of it. Honestly she assumed he was a Chinese delivery guy picking up empty dishes from a previous order (this is a super normal thing in Korea btw¹). Didn't even register as weird.

Elevator dings. She gets on. Doors start closing.

And the raincoat guy SPRINTS over and shoves his hand in to stop the doors. Gets on with her.

Okay still fine. She's holding her baby against her chest, not really paying attention. But then something feels off. His hand is in his pocket but it's not just. sitting there. He's fidgeting with something. Like gripping and regripping. Can't keep still.

She glances down.

Newspaper wrapped around something in his pocket.

A knife.

Like imagine that. You're trapped in an elevator with a man who has a KNIFE and you're holding your BABY and the door just closed and it's gonna be 5 floors of the longest ride of your life.

The second she clocked it she said her brain just went survive survive survive. And then she starts talking to her baby. Loudly. Like performing.

"Did Junho² have fun with grandma today~?"

"Mommy and daddy are working so hard at the office to buy Junho his formula"

"Were you sick today baby? My poor baby, are you feeling okay? Mommy's so sorry she can't be with you all day"

"What would Junho do without mommy and daddy huh..?"

And then she goes "Junho say hi to the nice man! Hi mister!"

The baby wasn't even sick. She was making it up. She was trying to make him feel sorry for her. Trying to make her a person and not a target.

He didn't say ONE word back. Not one.

She could see his face in the mirror next to the elevator panel. His hand in his pocket would NOT stop moving. His eyes were darting everywhere. Couldn't hold eye contact. Couldn't look at her.

She told my sister-in-law later:

"You don't know what it means when people say you can feel killing intent on someone. I felt it. I actually felt it."

She said his eyes had it. Like her whole body went cold and that wasn't even enough.

Elevator dings. Her floor. Doors open.

He doesn't get off.

So she doesn't get off either. Just stands there. Frozen.

Then HE steps out first. And walks straight to the emergency stairwell next to the elevator.

She books it. Runs for her door. And then she hears it. Footsteps. He's coming back UP the stairs. He's chasing her.

Her husband isn't home. She knows her husband isn't home. But she starts SCREAMING at the door like he is.

"HONEY!! It's me I'm home open the door!"

Ringing the bell. Kicking the door.

"Open up!! Honey are you asleep?? OPEN THE DOOR!!"

She hears him. He got close. Then stopped. Then backed off.

She keeps fake-yelling at her fake husband. Then hears the killer going back down the stairs.

Her door was a keypad lock. Not a key. A keypad. So she SLAMS the code in, beep beep beep beep beep CLICK, shoves the door open.

And that's when she hears him. Running. Full sprint back up the stairs because he heard the beeps and realized she was getting away.

Here's the thing about keypad locks. They don't lock instantly. There's a few seconds between the door closing and the lock engaging. Beep beep~ click.

He got to the door BEFORE it locked. She heard the handle rattling. Him yanking on it. RIGHT there. On the other side.

If that door had opened even a second earlier. she would've died.

And this part broke me.

The second she got inside. she THREW her baby. Like actually threw him. Across the floor. Like a bag. She said any mom will tell you your kid is your whole world you wouldn't hurt a hair on them but in that moment she needed both hands free and she needed it NOW and she chucked her months-old infant onto the floor to save both their lives.

She held the handle on her side. Waited. Heard him finally give up and walk away.

Then she grabbed the baby, ran to the bathroom, locked that door too, and sat there shaking until her husband came home.

...

A little while later. it was on the news.

Rainy days. Raincoat. Murdering women.

Some of you reading this might actually remember seeing it on the news back then.

I'm literally typing this like it happened to me and my heart is POUNDING. oh my god.

He got caught btw. Back when it happened they were keeping it pretty quiet, cops were blocking a lot of the press coverage. I tried googling and couldn't find much detail but... I'm pretty sure it was Yoo Young-chul³. pretty sure.