Ah, seriously.
I wondered who it was—turns out, it was that lunatic. He was wearing that blue tracksuit again today. I thought he’d given up, but he came back.
“Hey, 412! I know you’re in there.”
I stood there without saying a word, staring at the intercom screen. The psycho shouted something about coming out.
Should I go out and confront him? I hesitated. These days, there are plenty of people who show up at their neighbors’ doors holding weapons, claiming anger management issues and whatnot. What if he was that kind of person? The thought made me shrink back inwardly.
No, how easy did he think I was that he’d come back and pull this shit again? After he left earlier, I was going to just brush it off as having seen one crazy bastard in passing. But now he was back, causing a scene again. Instead of responding to him, I called the security office.
“There’s a lunatic in front of my door.”
[Ah, the one in the blue tracksuit? Ugh. What a headache.]
“Isn’t there anything you can do?”
[It’d be faster to report him to the police.]
Honestly, asking the elderly security guard to deal with a hot-blooded guy like that seemed like too much. Worried he might overhear, I sent a text report to 112. Soon after, the nearby police station called me.
[Where are you located?]
“×× Apartments, Building 101, unit 412. There’s a strange man outside my door.”
[What does he look like? Is he a resident there?]
“He’s wearing a blue tracksuit, and yes, he lives in this apartment complex.”
[Ah…….]
The moment I described him, they gave a similar response to the security guard.
[There’s not much we can do except issue a minor offense ticket for repeatedly ringing the doorbell. Isn’t he there for some reason?]
“There’s no reason for him to be here!”
They asked again if I truly didn’t know him at all, so I told them I’d run into him once at an apartment residents’ meeting. Judging by what they were saying, this wasn’t the first time he’d acted like this.
[He’ll probably stop after a while. He doesn’t have any dangerous items, so don’t worry.]
While staying on the line, I carefully lifted the intercom receiver and checked. Just as they’d said, he wasn’t holding anything except his phone.
They said they’d dispatch someone, but I told them I’d call again if it escalated and hung up. I didn’t want to make things bigger than they already were. I just hoped he’d get tired and leave on his own. If a guy like that ended up paying a fine, he might cause an even bigger scene afterward.
On the intercom screen, he was leaning against the hallway railing, playing a game on his phone. He looked like the type who’d burn out after a day or two.
The problem was that I needed to go out to run an errand Jun had told me to do, but with that lunatic right outside my door, I couldn’t exactly leave… In the end, I called Jun again.
“Sorry, but there’s a crazy guy outside my door, so I can’t go out.”
[Cut the bullshit.]
“I’m not lying……”
[Then what am I supposed to wear tomorrow?]
Right now, Jun didn’t care about my situation at all. Irritation flared up instantly, and I snapped, not caring what happened next. No matter how much of a boss he thought he was, this was too much—especially on a day off.
“You’ve got a great body—just go out naked! God, you’re so selfish. I’m already pissed because of the lunatic outside my door.”
[Want me to come over?]
“What?”
[I said, want me to come to your place?]
“If you’re thinking of coming over, then change your clothes yourself. Bye.”
[You said there’s an annoying guy there. I’ll come.]
“No, thanks.”
I was flustered by how he suddenly switched into gentle mode. I’d responded coldly, but when he tried to soothe me, that gave me a different kind of discomfort.
“I’m hanging up.”
He seemed to say something on the other end, but I hung up anyway and turned my phone off completely. If Jun came, I’d technically have an ally, but… something about it felt off.
The idea of him knowing where I lived, for one.
Hiding my Blood Planet access device wouldn’t be hard, and there was no way he’d find out I was GentleTouch—but it was that gut feeling. You shouldn’t ignore instincts like this. Yesterday, the look on Jun’s face when he’d desperately tried to stop the closing elevator doors had only reinforced that uneasy suspicion.
Assuming he’d gone off to change clothes after hearing my situation, I quietly approached the front door again. Even while I’d been on the phone with Jun, it had been quiet outside. I thought maybe he’d left, but the blue tracksuit was still there, leaning against the railing, fiddling with his phone.
Whenever I peeked out, he’d sometimes seem gone for a moment, only to return and stand guard in front of my door again. He didn’t care at all when passersby glanced at him. At one point, he even brought what looked like a fishing chair and sat down. It seemed like he might pitch a tent next.
Yeah. It’s nothing.
He’ll calm down soon.
Thinking that, I took a nap.
***
When I woke up, the sun had already set.
Seeing the dim light outside the window, I instinctively grabbed the intercom to check if he was still there. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I stared at the screen. No one was there. Just as I’d thought, it seemed like he’d only make a fuss for a bit before leaving.
Still, since tomorrow was Sunday and I’d be home all day, the thought of that lunatic coming back to ring my doorbell again annoyed me.
Then I figured if I ignored him for just one more day, he’d probably give up. For now, I decided to take refuge somewhere else. I usually didn’t go out much, but choosing not to go out and being forced not to go out were worlds apart. With no other choice, I turned my phone back on.
The moment it powered up—ding. Ding. It chimed repeatedly.
They were messages from Seomun Jun. Sent separately—some to me through the Juni number, others to Gentle through the ShutUp number.
The ones from Juni were mostly threatening: why was I refusing when it was just an errand, was I ignoring his messages now, if I didn’t exchange it today he wouldn’t list any more properties with our real estate office, and so on.
The ones from Big Mouth were also mostly threats: when was I logging in, why wasn’t I answering calls, did I pop a Relax and bail, he’d spread my number everywhere. Either way, everything Seomun Jun sent ended in a threat. At least the messages from Big Mouth ended on a slightly softer note—maybe because he wanted to smooth things over for the sake of our future link. He finished by saying he’d give me an item if I logged in.
“He’s the textbook definition of strong against the weak, weak against the strong.”
Ignoring both Juni’s and Big Mouth’s messages, I called Han-woo.
“Let me crash at your place for one night.”
[I’m not home right now. I’m out of town.]
“What’s the password?”
[You’re going to my place when I’m not even there?]
“There’s a crazy guy roaming around outside. Just for tomorrow. Please? I’ll be your Guide for a day.”
[2580. You can eat what’s in the fridge, but don’t touch the wine.]
I promised Han-woo I wouldn’t even look at his precious wine cabinet and packed a change of clothes for Sunday and work clothes for Monday into my backpack. Sometimes I borrowed Han-woo’s clothes too, so I didn’t need to pack carefully.
I hadn’t opened the door since coming in earlier. Checking the intercom again, the hallway sensor lights were off—thankfully, no one seemed to be there.
After watching for a while, I decided it was time to go. I slung on my backpack and opened the front door.
The motion sensor light in front of my door snapped on, and I flinched, thinking someone was there.
“Why am I getting scared?”
I hunched slightly, worried someone from the apartment across might see me. Since it was an open corridor, it took quite a while to walk to the elevator at the very end. After waiting and waiting for it to come up, I gave up—fourth floor wasn’t that high—and turned toward the emergency stairs.
As I reached for the emergency exit door, I spotted a familiar outfit moving down the hallway. The blue tracksuit stood out instantly. The sensor light in front of my door had turned on, and there he was—standing there. Then, just like before, he casually leaned against the railing and fiddled with his phone.
Shit. If I’d been a little later, we would’ve run into each other.
I forced myself to turn away and opened the emergency exit door.
Ding—.
An elevator arrived, and a family stepped out, chatting warmly among themselves. The lunatic, who’d been staring only at my door, turned his head toward the elevator.
And then his eyes met mine as I stood there holding the emergency exit door open.
He was smiling.
Smiling—as he started running toward me.
I darted into the stairwell and locked the door behind me.
Why the hell is he chasing me?!
When someone runs after you for no reason, all you can do is run. As I descended to the first floor, my pounding heart was impossible to control. Was it racing from running? Or from fear? It felt like a red alarm light had gone off inside my head.
As I rushed out through the apartment entrance, I couldn’t even understand why I had to run, why I had to flee in the middle of the night like this. I just didn’t want to face a lunatic like that.
Panting, I crouched in a corner to catch my breath. I’d seen him run a few times before—he was incredibly agile, like an athlete. If I kept sprinting around the apartment complex, he’d catch me for sure. I planned to hide until things quieted down. I couldn’t run anymore anyway.
Ha… pathetic stamina.
As I hid among the dark shadows, my phone suddenly rang. I turned it off after just one ring, but in the stillness, it sounded loud.
The caller ID said Juni. Seomun Jun must’ve been calling to order me around again.
I switched my phone to silent and looked around. Even after I’d come out and hidden, the lunatic hadn’t come out through the apartment entrance. If he’d followed, he would’ve burst out panting. It seemed like he’d given up.
I’d been crouching for so long that my legs had gone numb. With no choice, I stood and slapped my legs to restore circulation. Becoming a fugitive in my own peaceful apartment complex made me regret attending that residents’ meeting more than anything in my life.
“All over a damn carton of eggs.”
Scanning my surroundings, I slipped out of the apartment complex. I was walking along the trail toward the subway station when…
Someone suddenly grabbed my backpack and yanked it hard.
