Chapter Text
At times you felt like nothing's the way it should be. Even the smallest, unsettling thoughts or emotions that suddenly popped into your head to run down your arms in form of goosebumps weren't things to be taken lightly. Sometimes they're almost unnoticeable, yet they lingered upon your shape whenever you're stepping out of your comfort zone. The front door. You knew it wasn't normal, however, there didn't seem to be an alternative in which you're able to shake these feelings off.
Alert, conscious, or just the tiniest bit of odd air's enough to set you off track. It took a whole week for you to identify what's wrong, at first you assumed to simply lose your mind, but over time it showed. You're not the one out of your mind. Because one day there had been this strange number that suddenly appeared on your phone screen when enjoying your latest coffee at the table in front of the store. Unknown, it said. Very suspicious, not a good thing to have shown on your phone like that.
But no matter what you tried against it coming back at you, the person behind the number found a way. First trying to lure you with what apparently had been a game for you to test, but as soon as he called with that very rough albeit tired voice, things felt off. So much so, you declined to become the beta tester, who in their right mind would ever accept such an offer when being told to come over in secret? You didn't have a death wish. The man your age sounded genuinely sad after you refused, changing the subject to something about paradise and what not. That's when you knew you made the right choice.
Although that's what should've been the end was only the beginning of something you're unable to break free from. He insisted to call, not a day passing by with his unknown profile picture and name coming on screen. Most of the time you ignored it, pressed the call away sometimes so whoever's there would get the hint and leave you alone. But it didn't work in your favor, the calls became more frequently, the exact opposite of what you tried to achieve. Every time you did take the call, though. If you wouldn't have known better, you'd say he became more and more desperate. In a way every lady would run miles into the other direction.
Just once you're hoping for a peaceful day without interruption when walking down the street of Korean, watching the shop's through their windows and maybe finding clothes or objects to your liking. Especially thrilled for the marketplace that happened every friday down town, a crowded place, somewhere nobody could get their hands on you. So for once, you felt safe going out of the house. It didn't take long though, considering Unknown's number soon appeared on your screen when talking to one of the salesman about the price for the strawberries. You excused yourself to take the call, praying that this time, he would get the hint.
"You got it right away. I'm glad. Were you waiting for my call? If so, I'd be really happy."
His voice reached your ears through the phone, not sure how to start this conversation. Ever time you opened your mouth to protest and tell him to get the fuck away from you, he either ignored it skillfully or justified the calls by implying that you wanted to talk to him. When in reality, you really didn't want that at all, you're unaware of the stranger's name even.
"Your head must have been full with my thoughts while waiting for me. Like I was while I was waiting for you."
"I honestly doubt it.."
You mumbled to his delusional statement, whoever this man was, there's cleary something wrong with him. He didn't even know you, how could he be sure you're into the calls although you made it very clear it's not remotely how you felt about his constant seek for attention. As you looked for the peaches next that got promoted, you could tell they're fresh. It made you smile by how tasty they appeared.
"Oh right, I have a secret to tell you."
His voice lost on volume, drawing in more of your interest. Despite this man being a total creep, there's something about him that's causing your curiosity to shoot through the roof, otherwise you wouldn't take any of his calls. The young man seemed pleased when asking what exactly the secret was.
"I actually went to see you yesterday after hanging up. I couldn't help myself, I wanted to see you."
Time came to a standstill, your feet refusing to take steps in front of the many market stalls as an ice cold shower ran down your entire back. So that's what you'd been feeling all day long, did he actually pinned your location in order to follow you? Did he watch or even recorded you? Now your suspicions confirmed themselves. You had a goddamn stalker on the phone. With your eyes staring wide, he continued to explain. But his voice's suddenly so much more dangerous.
"I thought about surprising you by dropping by where you were at but decided to save that for later."
Oh god, that's not good. That's horrible, actually. What have you gotten yourself into? This guy's sick in the head, he actually dumped his work or private time to come down, find your whereabouts and watch you from afar. You couldn't help but shake the horror your body's going through, unable to stop yourself from looking around to make sure nobody's there watching you. The young man hummed softly as you did so.
"I watched you from one meter apart, did you notice?"
"W-What?! You did what? Are you insane?"
All of your head turned bright red due to the panic, or rather the shock his words put you under. He was one meter away from you and you didn't even noticed? How well did he managed to act for you to overlook his creepy behavior? You never felt so unsafe in your entire life. There's a man out there, obviously obsessed with you since your fist conversation on the phone. So much so, he went out of his way to follow you around. What should you do? Feeling helpless wasn't anything you prayed to find yourself in today.
"Haha, I like the look you're making right now. How cute."
As quickly as you turned bright red, you became paper pale again. Once you replayed what he revealed, twice and even a third time. Yet the meaning never changed. For a moment there's silence between the two of you.
"Ah... Darn."
"You.. You're h-here..?"
"Actually.. I'm still watching you right now. How I'm watching you is a secret."
You accidentally stepped onto a stranger's foot, who shoot you a dead glare for which you apologized in your clumsy state. He's still here. He's close enough to see you. Not having any of it, your steps down the street became twice as fast, you almost ran away from the marketplace. Feet bringing you to the next best coffee shop to hide inside there. But wouldn't he find you? Could he track you thanks to the phone of yours? The stranger with rough voice seemed quite amused when you tried to get away, there's a playful tone in his voice.
"I feel like I'm with you as I'm listening to your breath and watching over you. Don't you think so?"
"No, not at all! Get the fuck away from me!"
Some people gave you weird stares, you're having other priorities though. The one thing he's good at was creeping the shit out of you, and, of course, ignoring your words to go on with his rambling. You actually went to the cashier to order something random from the menu, the last thing you needed's more attention drawn to you. Unknown, as he's called on the screen when calling, suddenly had something hopeful in his voice, like he's genuinely waiting for you to share whatever he's feeling.
"You.. want to feel me closer like I do, right?"
The man behind the counter gave you a concerned look with all the blood out of your face. It's not funny how your heart hammered behind your ribcage. That's the worse thing you heard so far, although being watched without consent's not very much a news you wish to get, either. You left the shop again, looking around for the countless time as you quickly albeit carefully made your way home. There, he couldn't watch you. Right? Your stomach began to spin the more you thought about it.
"Don't worry, there's only a few days left. The day will soon come where I can be right in front of you and touch you."
Your entire body shuddered by the thought. You didn't want this guy anywhere near you, let alone touch you. Quick to not lose any more time, you grabbed the keychain and reached your front door. Soon you're going to call the police on this man, or heck, just someone who's capable to keep you safe from whoever that sicko was.
"I get the feeling we'll meet soon."
"I hope not, so stay away before I call the police! Do you even realize how creepy you sound?!"
There's silence answering your louder tone of voice, you couldn't help getting angry over the phone. Scared and angry, that's a good description for the chaos going on inside your head and chest. Everything but meeting this guy, you'd rather kill yourself with a gun. His voice, as he finally answered, low and nothing more than a whisper.
"You should have come when I told you to.."
After opening the door to your place, you slammed it shut when being inside your own walls. Your knees jelly from the horrifying experience as the guy on the other end sighed quietly.
"Let's talk again tomorrow. Bye."
And with that, he's the one who hung up on you. Your back slid down the door, trying to catch your breath to not black out due to the lack of oxygen. Holy fuck. Holy motherfucker this man watched your steps, knew your locations and insisted to meet you in person soon. You really needed to report this call, all of him, he's the definition of stranger-danger. Feeling sick all over by just the thought of him touching your skin, you took the drink you'd ordered in all the panic to calm your stomach. It's hard to relax, however, when realizing he might be sick enough to break into your place as well.
So that's what had been following you around for such a long time. It's him. He watched your steps and gave you this uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty throughout your daily life. That's what happened whenever leaving home, he's the reason you're frightened. And frankly, things wouldn't get better if you just let it be. But what could you possibly do? Your only chance's for the police to investigate, but if they didn't want or, heaven forbid, thought your just exaggerating, you might be fucked. Not sure in what way, you closed your eyes to lean your head back.
Suddenly you noticed unfamiliar red color in the middle of your living room. After focusing your blurt vision as good as you could, you're able to make out the unknown item on the table. It's a boutique of red roses. And they're definitely not from you. No, you already figured who put them there and therefore, you knew that, yes. He could come into your place. And he probably wouldn't care if it's against your liking. Unknown's going to meet you soon, if you wanted or not.