Beyond Us [Bangchan] [Finished]

Chapter 25

Things started to get creepy after that weekend.

I had a schedule already set for the week. I got up at 8 a.m., went to the gym, started work at 10, took a break for lunch from 1 to 2 p.m., and went back to work until 6 p.m. I spent almost the whole day at home so I usually went for a walk or something before dinner. In the beginning, I went to work at cafés but it was expensive to do that every day.

As for the weekends, I never did much, most of the time I saw my grandparents on Saturdays and visited a museum on Sundays.

The thing is... I went to Gangnam to window-shopping on Monday after work and adventured to take the subway but once I got in, I noticed a guy staring at me. I thought it was because I wasn't wearing a mask, so I ignored him. When he got out after me, I thought it was suspicious but I told myself I was overthinking about it and just went home.

But my gut was right, I didn't notice until a week later though. I felt observed from time to time but when I watched around there was no one. I thought I was losing my mind until I saw him from the corner of my eye. Like... he would wait for me at the intersection of the apartment building and follow me until he reached the pole that was outside and stared at me while I got in the building, every single day. I was freaking out!

I wasn't sure about how to deal with the situation. I thought a lot about it. I had to notify the police, that's for sure. But I knew I was not going to be able to explain well everything, my Korean was worsening day by day lately, probably because I only talked in English. And if I wanted to make sure I was taken seriously, I should go with my grandpa but I didn't want to involve him. He was just going to worry.

Then it crossed my mind that it might be a sasaeng. What if this guy was actually waiting for Chan? My blood almost went cold at the thought. But it was unlikely since I didn't see him before going to the station. I thanked God we happened to meet somewhere else that Sunday, just for the sake of his safety.

That Friday I set my mind and went to the police anyway. It took a lot of time; they asked me to fill out some papers, which took me ages because as I have said before, I'm not good at reading Korean, and to describe this guy. But even I was frustrated, my description was very vague since I never got to see his face and I knew it wasn't going to help much.

I was told that they would be patrolling the neighborhood for the next few days. Maybe they did, maybe not, I don't know. I fled to my grandparents' house that weekend; Chan was in Japan attending a TV show so nothing held me back in Seoul. But when I was back on Monday and went out for a walk after work again, the guy was there. I almost cried.

I ran back to the building and called the police. This time they checked the CCTs though, which was really helpful.

In the middle of all that, Chan called. I turned off the call; I was on edge and didn't want him to worry. Moreover, my neighbor called my landlord because of the police presence. My landlord called I had to explain the whole thing and the police were still there, and an old lady from the same floor was popping her head at my door trying to figure out what was happening. I wanted to disappear!

When I was finally alone, Chan called again. I was feeling calmer so I took the call this time. But that was by far the worst idea I had had.

"Hi, are you busy? I've been calling you". He said complaining in tiny.

"Uh..." I couldn't even say a word before bawling through the phone.

"What happened? Are you ok?" He asked alarmed. "Mia, are you ok?" He insisted when I didn't say anything but kept crying.

"You didn't have to come", I said feeling kind of guilty after Chan swiftly went to see me.

"There's no way I couldn't have come. I was going to tell you to go out for dinner anyway". He said following me through the apartment.

"I have curry". I said going to the fridge but Chan stopped me midway.

"What's happening? You've been off since last week". I turned to look at his hand holding my hoodie, actually his, and then looked at him.

"Don't worry about it". I said trying to sound like it was nothing serious. He didn't say anything but stared at me for seconds that felt like minutes. "Long or short story?"

"The easiest one for you".

"I'm being stalked". He looked at me blankly for a sec and then blinked taken aback.

Of course, he asked for details. We sat on my bed and talked for a while.

Chan actually related to what I was telling him, but he said that for him, it was rather uncomfortable than scary. Fans, potentially, wouldn't do anything to harm them but it was pretty uncomfortable to be followed around and not be able to do whatever they wanted peacefully, not to even mention privacy. He softened his words though, I could tell by his gestures and tone. I could only grasp what they were constantly experiencing.

"The good thing is I'm moving in a couple of days". I sighed. It was the only reason I had endured 'til then.

When I made the Airbnb, I didn't know for how long I was staying so I just made it until a random date. I thought I was probably leaving, in case nothing happened with Chan, before my birthday so I could spend it with my family; but it wasn't it.

"Will it be ok? Your new apartment is quite near this one". Chan said thinking about it.

"Yeah, I'll just be careful. And the remaining days here, I'll change my schedule or just stay in the whole day".

"Ah! Why do you have to lock yourself?" He said all worked up. "You should be able to go out without any worry".

"It's fine".

"No, it's not fine". I smiled at the view. He was angry, you all.

We ended up having curry and talking about whatever, even the weather was a great topic to talk about at that moment. Chan was eager on making jokes and playfully bothered me until my mood lighted up and convinced him to play a round of Gin Rummy.

Chan left almost at midnight, I felt bad about it but he was the one who didn't want to leave. He just said, "It's ok. I don't have to be up too early tomorrow", and kept playing cards with me. I felt my heart being shaken by how sweet he was.