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She’s decided there is something noticeably off about her neighbor down the hall. She couldn’t put a finger on it if she tried. And she had tried. Numerous times. In the various conversations with her various family members during routine phone calls. In the coffee shop conversations with friends that were too busy to actually dedicate more than a half-hour to hang out and in conversations with friends who weren’t too busy and sat on her couch to hear her recollect the strange behaviors of her neighbor down the hall.
Everyone who would listen had probably heard her mention this man.
And everyone said something along the lines of her being paranoid. That this was just “city living” and the small-town girl just wasn’t used to “normal city behavior”.
Something was off.
Maybe it was the fact that he always had to walk his dog whenever she left her apartment. Even if she knew for a fact that he had just walked the dog less than an hour prior.
Maybe it was that it took him an extremely long time to check his mailbox. The exact amount of time it took for her to walk into the building from work and make her way to the elevator when he would then rush to go up to the 4th floor with her.
Or maybe it was even the newly found knowledge that he was now friends with her good friend that helped her move into the building. The friend that had heard her moans and groans, complaints and grievances, regarding the man down the hall and the creepy feeling she gets when she thinks about the fact that he most certainly knows her daily routine.
That friend, that close friend, was now friends with her neighbor down the hall.
His name is Taehyung . As she’s learned from Jungkook who was surprised she didn’t know his name since he knew her name very well. Jungkook didn’t find this nearly as concerning as she did.
“He’s really nice!” Jungkook tried to convince her. She wasn’t buying it. In fact, she was more apprehensive about the fact that the man had now become a regular customer at the record shop Jungkook managed. Jungkook even mentioned that Taehyung had been going to a different shop much closer to the apartment complex but decided to branch out.
All of a sudden.
Jungkook didn’t find this odd. She did.
Taehyung finally introduced himself to her one day on the elevator back up to the 4th floor. She was surprised to find that he seemed fairly normal. That thought didn’t last long because she quickly remembered that the best serial killers and psychopaths seem normal. She convinced herself that he seemed normal because of the dog he offered for her to pet.
He told her that she could call the dog Tannie. He offered the ball of fluff as if he was a peace offering. As if Taehyung knew he creeped her out. As if he knew she really liked dogs. As if he knew it was a way into her heart. As if he had talked to Jungkook about her.
“We’ve been over this,” Jungkook said with a huff, “Taehyung isn’t some crazed murderer. You’ve gotta stop watching those Netflix documentaries. He’s super chill and I want you to hang out with him. I feel like I’m cheating on you.” He tried to explain his actions.
“You are cheating on me! I told you that he creeps me out and you befriended him!” She was very upset, Jungkook was one of her only friends in the city. One of the only people close enough to come to her rescue if something went wrong. And now he’s befriended her biggest fear. A man she is more cautious of than that one homeless man by the subway station who likes to sing creepy renditions of 90’s pop songs.
“It was hard not to befriend him. C’mon. If I like him he can’t be that bad. You’re just a little paranoid because of the move. That’s normal, I was too! But you’ve gotta get over it and then you, Taehyung, and I can all be friends. That sounds great, right?”
“Does it really mean this much to you?” She asked with a sigh, but she already knew the answer.
“Yes! It’d be great! We could bring Jimin and Yoongi around too! Some of the girls, even! We’d all be super close and have movie nights or something!” Jungkook sounded too excited for this possibility for her to let him down. So she agreed. She agreed to hang out with Taehyung and Jungkook.
Jungkook insisted that they hang out at her apartment. Since two of the three of them lived in the same complex and Taehyung said his place was a mess even though it’s the bigger apartment. She begrudgingly agreed.
Jungkook and Taehyung seemed really close. Closer than she’d expect two people who’ve only met weeks ago to be. Jungkook made friends quickly… but this was very quick. Too quick.
Taehyung complimented her vinyl collection when he came in. Something she was proud of because it was a pricy habit that Jungkook fed into like she was but a duck in a pond and he was a man with too much bread.
Taehyung lingered around her furniture a little too much for her liking. Delicately touching the fabric of her sofa as he walked past. He practically studied her bookshelf. And when she finished cooking, with minimal help from Jungkook, he savored every bite so much that it reminded her of those ‘mindful eating’ exercises a friend had recommended for anxiety and she was certain his food would go cold before he finished.
He complimented her greatly on it. Kept mentioning how delicious it was and he was sure he hadn’t met anyone who cooked as well as she did that wasn’t a professional chef.
The compliments kept coming throughout the evening. On how well she’s decorated and her eye for color. Gradually the compliments moved from her musical tastes and her throw pillows to how nicely she was dressed.
Jungkook was a little tipsy and didn’t notice this shift. She almost didn’t notice either, he was so smooth with the way he slipped it into the conversation.
Eventually, midway through a card game, Jungkook stood up and said he was going to head home before he got too drunk to call an uber. Before he left he hugged her, telling her he was so happy she and Taehyung get along. She gifted him the remaining half bottle of wine and told him to call when he got home.
“Let me help you clean up.” Taehyung offered. It sounded like an offer but it was more of a demand. She allowed him, being a little too tired and a little too intoxicated to deny the help anyway. He even washed the dishes as she started to lose energy.
Eventually, she became so tired that after Jungkook called to let her know he was safe she didn’t protest when Taehyung hugged her before leaving. He thanked her for the wonderful night before he closed her door and allowed her to rest.
Only for a few minutes. 15 if she had been looking at the time as Taehyung had. He knocked on the door. He waited for movement, waited for her to open the door. She didn’t. She had passed out on the sofa.
Taehyung smiled as he opened the door. “Forgot my wallet.” He said, for good measure, just in case she wasn’t fully out. But she was completely out. Taehyung almost worried she was dead. He checked her neck for a pulse and let himself linger there longer than necessary just caressing her neck thinking of how beautiful her collarbones were. How wonderful her lips looked just slightly parted and stained red with wine.
She had barely even finished the full glass so Taehyung wondered if she was such a lightweight that she thought nothing of a glass of wine knocking her out.
She must not have. Just like she must not have noticed Taehyung taking a little too long bringing her a glass or even subtly urging her to drink.
It didn’t matter anymore. She was out cold on her sofa, beautifully laid out for him. He’d stay in her apartment if he could but he already had a setup at his own that called out her name.
Carefully, Taehyung scooped her into his arms as if he was afraid of breaking her. He hummed a soft melody as he carried her into his apartment, thankful for the apartment doors closing on their own.
Taehyung walked her into the second bedroom of his apartment and laid her out on the bed. He strokes her hair softly, “I’ve waited so long for you.”