Last few days the mornings were all the same, as dawn's fragile light crept through her apartment window, Hayein awoke in a cold sweat. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she struggled to shake off the remnants of nightmares. Reality mingled with hypertension and made her dream rather gruesome, the things she did or the things she didn't, even she couldn't tell apart from her night terrors.
When she reached for her phone, a single text message appeared from an unknown number:
"Sleep well, Hayein? I'm just outside, watching over you." it read
It wasn't a threat, she reasoned, but something else—an odd reassurance mingled with menace, she figured calling Seokjun would only worry him more and it was better if she kept it to herself. Given his degree on psychology, he would try to reason everything with her brain
Later that day, after a particularly distressing incident at the clinic (where a stray note with a cryptic message was found tucked into a patient's file), there was a soft knock at the door.
Hayein opened it to find Yungi standing there. He was, as always, oddly pale with eyes that held an unreadable depth. At 5'9″, his slight frame and quiet demeanor contrasted sharply with the tumult in her mind. He didn't speak much—only his eyes and subtle gestures communicated volumes. Today, without uttering a word, he offered her a small cup of tea and a gentle, almost tender smile.
"Thank you," she murmured, her voice trembling between gratitude and an inexplicable pull. Yungi's silent presence filled the room with a strange, soothing power. In that moment, Hayein felt a spark of comfort. The quiet man, who rarely spoke, exuded an air of understanding. He listened with his eyes as she confided her fears and past regrets—her haunting memories of being Hyurin, the cruel woman she once was.
It was like he was reading her like an open book with those kind tranquil eyes, even the things that never left her very lips.
Without offering overt solutions, Yungi's mere presence seemed to absorb her pain. She began to associate his silent, unwavering gaze with safety.
"Please have a seat, Yungi" she said
He nodded with a smile before taking her offer
"I was here last few days with byul, you'll be here today so I figured you could use tea after sickness " he explained
"Thank you, how's Byul ?"
"His appetite had increased, still not enough" he told
" I remember there was a bone stuck in his throat, for a long time at that so it might take a while getting used to swallowing after I removed it. Still bring him in for the follow ups"
"When you feel better " he said, it was reassuring
"I do feel better, you can even bring him today"
°°°°°
In the vening, Hayein came home from work, exhausted. Tossing her bag onto the couch, she sighed and slumped down, rubbing her temples. Life goes on...
And then—**she noticed it.**
A **black coat** draped over the back of her chair.
Not hers.
Slowly, her fingers reached for the fabric. It was **warm.** As if **someone had just taken it off moments ago.** It smelled woodsy, citrus and familiar but it wasn't his Seokjun smelled. She can't tell where it was introduced to her, the smell that was now creeping her nostrils
She held her breath, scanning the apartment. The doors were locked. The windows shut. Nothing out of place. Even the curtains are as they were, no way could anyone break in from the window. Picking the lock even wouldn't work because she just got inside opening it, if it were picked then it wouldn't been opened by her.
Nothing except this coat was alien.
She lifted it, bringing it closer, and that's when she noticed something in the pocket.
A **single wrapped candy.**
Hayein's throat tightened.
This brand... she had seen a classmate who used to eat it
**One that shouldn't be mixed with soil by now**
She quickly threw the coat aside, her heart hammering in her chest.
But as she turned, she swore—**just for a second—**she saw a shadow near the doorway.
Watching
And then it was gone.
