Chapter Text
So, University life wasn't easy.
Not that he thought it'd be, but...
To put it lightly, Jungwon was fucking EXHAUSTED.
When he wasn't in class, he was cramming his brains out with the miniscule amount of spare time he got during his evening shift at the 7/11.
If he wasn't studying, he was sleeping.
Wake up, study, class, study, work, study, rinse, repeat, study.
Sometimes he wished he'd lay down for bed one night and never wake up.
Or, better yet, wake to discover the last three years of his life were all just one big, terrible nightmare.
Wake to the happier days.
Back before he was an 'adult'.
Back when he had a FAMILY.
Before he started cursing his 'fate' or whatever you wanna call it.
Anyways.
The only saving grace in Jungwon’s otherwise bleak life were his wonderful friends (who were kind enough to bring him emergency ramen during his darkest hours), and his early morning practices with the University's swim team.
His athletic scholarship was pretty much the only thing keeping him afloat for the semester.
Jungwon truly thought things couldn't get any worse.
That THIS, this mental asylum of going through each and every day like a walking corpse, was rock bottom.
That life couldn't drag him any further down into the abyss than it already had.
But then 'HE' appeared.
And Jungwon?
Hah.
Jungwon never stood a chance.
Even if he could...
Well.
There's really no point in fighting against your fate, right?
_______________________________________
It all started with a feeling.
That crawling, hair raising self-consciousness you get when you can just TELL that someone's looking at you.
Even if you don't hear them, or see them, you can really FEEL the presence there.
Like some long-lost remaint of hunting survival instincts hidden deep in the blood of our species bubbling up to the surface.
Jungwon's no stranger to people looking.
He doesn't particularly mind it, either.
There's always eyes on him when he's in the water.
He'd been approached plenty of times too, a few of those being by some incredibly good-looking men, and if he wasn't so god damn TIRED and BUSY all the fucking time, he'd have surely let one of them take him out.
So, Jungwon's used to having eyes on him, but...
Someone's been watching him whenever he leaves his swim practice in the mornings.
Or, at least, he thought someone was, but whenever he'd do a 360 to check the surrounding area out, he couldn't find anyone lingering around.
Still.
The feeling would remain all along the walk to his first class of the day, sinking gradually down into his chest like a weight.
After a couple weeks of this feeling not disappearing, Jungwon began to ignore it.
What else could he do?
At the end of the day, feelings are just that:
Feelings.
A chemical reaction by the brain.
They aren't REAL.
But then it started happening in the evenings.
Not just on his way TO work, but also on the way back home after.
The feeling of being... WATCHED, just wouldn't go away.
Jungwon was beginning to think that he was going crazy.
That it was just his imagination running wild, from severe lack of sleep and vitamin D and probably a surplus of essential nutrients that his Vegetasty ramen just couldn't provide him with.
That's what his friend's re-assured him it was, too.
"You need to sleep more." Sunoo said kindly.
"You need to eat a steak." Ni-ki said seriously.
"I think you just need to get laid, bro." Jake joked. "Repression is a serious crime..."
Jungwon tried his best to ignore it.
He really did.
But slowly, he began to notice more and more little things.
The extra shadow casting down by the streetlamp on the corner as he waited at the bus station.
The faintest sound of footsteps behind him as he entered the secondary building's concourse in the mornings.
But...
Jungwon really WAS tired.
He was so exhausted, he'd began spending his lunch hour getting a nap in instead of actually eating.
Honestly, it wasn't too far fetched to think his imagination was conjuring these things up.
The thoughts were still small enough for him to chalk off as overthinking.
That is...
Until he SAW him.
It was near the end of Jungwon's shift at the convenience store one night.
Olive green hoodie.
Ball cap.
Black face mask.
He didn't come inside the store.
Instead, he stopped at the vending machine near the window.
Tapping through the code buttons briskly, like he'd done it a million times.
Normally, Jungwon wouldn't pay it any mind, but...
As the man bent down to grab his drink out, he glanced up.
And paused.
Their eyes met.
Night-time shadows and the bill of his hat cast a dark shade across his hardly visible face.
Even so, the glass of the store lights reflected off of his pupils, creating an eerie glow.
Eyes with a sharp hook at the ends, giving them a predatory fierceness akin to an eagle's.
Frozen, staring back at Jungwon through the glass.
It's hard to explain how Jungwon knew.
The way his heartbeat instantly began to accelerate.
The prickles that formed across his skin in a harsh wave.
The twisting feeling of dread that pooled through his entire body.
The stare-off that must've lasted for only a minute.
THIS was the person watching him.
For some reason, Jungwon was SURE of it.
Then the man moved, grabbing his drink and starting to stand back up.
Jungwon's hand tightened around the mop in-hand as he watched, quickly trying to calculate if he could get to the door and lock it before the stranger could make his way inside.
Based on the distance?
Probably not.
The man looked taller than him.
He'd definitely get there first.
Which left Jungwon with option two.
Before he could start going over how, exactly, he'd jam the wooden mop handle into the man's eye socket...
The man turned around.
And then he walked away.
Jungwon watched the retreating figure leisurely flip over the bottled tea in his hand.
Then he disappeared around the street corner.
The tension left Jungwon's body immediately, his grip loosening.
He shook his head and sighed.
Jungwon was just being paranoid.
That had to be it.
Right?
He was just overthinking the interaction.
And he really, truly wanted to believe that was it.
That everything was just in his head.
But...
After that day, the stranger started showing up regularly.
Same hat, same face-mask.
Same time, same vending machine.
The only thing that routinely changed was the hoodie, which seemed to alternate between a few different designs.
Jungwon didn't WANT to notice it.
But it was hard not to.
Of course, it was the same for any other customer who'd regularly come in during his shift.
After a while, the appearance becomes the norm.
You just start to remember things, like the exact pack of cigarettes they want when they come up to the counter.
Or the exact flavor and brand of tea the masked man gets from the vending machine.
11:40 PM, every day, like clock-work.
Never lingering for long.
Never coming inside.
And after a few weeks of this, Jungwon began to accept it for what it was:
Just a random guy, probably stopping on his way home from work for his favorite bottled green tea.
It had nothing to do with Jungwon.
Well.
Until it did.
Until one morning, Jungwon noticed a strangely familiar hat as he walked from the natatorium after practice.
As early as it was, there were always people moving around the campus.
Morning runners, sports clubs, project groups.
Though it was never BUSY, there were enough people around for it to be normal to see figures moving in the distance.
Jungwon was running late, shaking the leftover water from his hair that he didn't have time to towel-dry out.
He saw it from the corner of his eye.
For a moment, Jungwon froze.
That same chilling dread began to course through his body, rooting him in place.
Maybe he saw it wrong.
Right?
Maybe it was just in his head.
But...
He knew.
Fear was making him stall.
Jungwon steeled himself.
He looked over, following the line of trees off to the left.
Then his heart dropped.
There it was.
There he fucking WAS.
The hat.
The mask.
Sitting casually on one of the outdoor benches, leaning back with long legs crossed.
Even from the long distance, Jungwon could recognize the bottle in his hand.
Dongwon Green Tea.
Jungwon felt sick.
He couldn't move, glued to the sidewalk with his dripping hair and his sock-less slides.
His eyes widened as the strangers head tilted slightly.
He was staring right at Jungwon.
Like he knew Jungwon could see him, but he didn't CARE.
Like he'd been WAITING there.
Just waiting for Jungwon to spot him.
Fuck.
Jungwon sprinted all the way back to his apartment that day.
It was real.
It was real because the next day, when Jungwon left practice, HE was there again.
Sitting.
Watching.
Waiting.
_______________________________________
"And you're positive he's... following you?" Sunoo said hesitantly, attempting to be the voice of reason in the conversation.
"Pretty sure." Jungwon sighed, leaning over his book. "I told you I saw him on the concourse last week, right? Last night, I saw him near the dorms."
"Shit." Jake shuddered. "How is he getting on campus? Is he a student?"
Jungwon shook his head. "No idea."
"Has he tried to talk to you?" Ni-ki frowned.
"No, thankfully. He hasn't done anything really. He just.... watches."
And that he does.
Jungwon knows it.
He can FEEL it.
Because every time Jungwon spots him, the man is already staring him down, eagle-eyes locked onto Jungwon's moving figure from wherever he's lurking.
He doesn't seem to care at all that Jungwon knows.
The stranger never looks away.
Even when Jungwon spots him, he continues to stare.
Ball cap lowered.
Identity hidden.
Fucking creep.
Clearly, he had no shame.
"Have you mentioned anything to the University's security? Or the police?" Sunoo spoke logically.
"Mention what?" Jungwon clicked his tongue. "That I keep seeing a masked guy on campus? That he goes to the vending machine near my job every day? They'll just tell me I'm being paranoid."
Their corner table in the library fell silent.
The hardest thing about being followed is finding tangible proof of it.
You need solid evidence, SOMETHING to prove that what's happening is real.
The guy following Jungwon around seemed to know every camera blind-spot in the vicinity.
Jungwon could spot him on the surveillance cameras from the 7/11, but the only thing it ever showed was the masked man getting a drink from the vending machine, which really did nothing.
At least, it proved the man wasn't a GHOST, so Jungwon was not yet suffering from stress-induced hallucinations.
"Do you have any pictures? Me and Jake will go have a 'talk' with him. I'm sure he'll fuck off after that." Ni-ki offered confidently.
"Well... I have this." Jungwon pulled out his phone, sliding open his gallery to the low quality, pixelated image of the stranger's back that he'd taken from the 7/11's CCTV.
"That's... helpful." Ni-ki sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"Well, we definitely believe you." Sunoo assured, patting Jungwon's hand lightly. "God, I wish you didn't have to work so late. You know you can always call if you start feeling... unsafe. One of us can walk you home."
"That's okay." Jungwon rejected quickly, sitting up. "I don't think he's... uh, dangerous."
The other three stared at him blankly.
Jungwon scratched his neck. "I mean, he hasn't tried to do anything—"
"Yet." Jake cut in.
".... Right. Yet. He hasn't tried to do anything yet. But he's probably just some awkward guy with a crush. Based on the whole mask thing, I'd assume he's probably not the best looking either... poor thing. It's more, just.... uncomfortable. But if I DO feel unsafe, I'll definitely call you guys, okay?"
"Or the police." Sunoo reminded.
Right.
The last thing Jungwon wanted was to make trouble for his friends.
Especially when it probably WAS just nothing.
Although the following-around thing was weird and creepy, by every standard....
It'd been over four months.
If the guy really wanted to do something to Jungwon, he could've easily tried it already.
Still...
Jungwon wanted to make sure he had some evidence.
Just in case.
The blurry picture from the CCTV wasn't enough.
He needed something CLEARER.
Something that could help identify the person beneath.
_______________________________________
It took a while for Jungwon to find the perfect opportunity.
To find a day where the store was slow enough, where the atmosphere seemed RELAXED enough, for him to successfully pull his plan off.
Jungwon already had his phone out and ready when 11:36 hit.
All he had to do was stay calm.
Deep breaths.
Jungwon made his way around the shelves, sliding onto one of the stools at the ramen counter by the window.
Easy.
Take it easy.
Jungwon held his phone up, naturally beginning to pose like he was taking selfies.
Calm.
Stay calm.
He kept his camera facing outwards, slowly tilting as he moved, trying different angles out.
Normal.
Be normal.
Slowly turning it towards the vending machine.
There was movement on the other side of the window.
The machine buttons beeping.
The whirling click of the mechanisms ejecting the beverage out.
The sounds were eeriely close now.
Jungwon's heart was pounding even louder in his ears.
Jungwon didn't look.
All he needed to do was to NOT look.
He just needed to keep taking pictures.
He could see the body outside moving downwards from his peripheral.
Keep snapping photos.
Just keep going.
Jungwon could see the bright outline of the logo on the stranger's ball cap through the screen of his phone now.
He was so fucking close.
Just a bit more...
Jungwon tilted the camera down, snapping a photo quickly.
Right as the stranger looked up.
Fuck.
Shocked, Jungwon abruptly yanked the camera back up, facing it towards the ceiling as he awkwardly held a peace sign up.
Holy shit.
Holy SHIT.
Jungwon hadn't looked down, but those dark eyes seemed to pierce right through his camera lense, as if he could see Jungwon through the screen too.
Oh my God.
He was still there.
Jungwon didn't stop spamming the shutter button until the lingering figure moved away from the glass.
Shit.
That was fucking tense.
Jungwon let his hand drop down with a sigh, opening his gallery quickly to swipe through the photos.
Most of them were motion-blurred, but the one he'd gotten of the man looking into the camera was clear enough.
Jungwon zoomed in on the photo with a frown.
It was hard to tell with the mask covering his face, but the man's eyes were slightly crinkled up at the corners, almost like...
He was smiling.
What the hell?
Jungwon stood up absently as the store bell chimed, alerting him that a customer was entering.
Hopefully, if things really did escalate, the picture would be of some use.
"Welcome to 7/11. Can I help you find..." Jungwon trailed off as he turned.
Standing a few feet away from him was the man.
Black hoodie.
Dongwon Tea in-hand.
Jungwon's could feel his blood begin to run icy-cold through his body, any words dying out in his throat.
He...
He came inside.
Why the FUCK did he come inside?
Shit.
Did he notice Jungwon taking the photos?
He couldn't have realized it was that, right?
Right??
Jungwon was panicking, his fight or flight instincts beginning to kick in on a delay.
But the stranger didn't even look at him.
Instead, he strolled slowly down one of the aisles, browsing through the convenience store junk like he was picking out a birthday card.
Jungwon took the opportunity to tip-toe back to the check-out counter, quickly finding his pepper spray beneath it and letting his hand hover over it.
His chest felt like it might explode, adrenaline pouring through him in waves.
Okay.
Calm down.
He's just buying something.
He just decided that today, of all day's, he wanted to buy something in the store.
It had nothing to do with Jungwon.
Jungwon let those thoughts repeat over and over in his mind, unable to look away as the man spent an excruciating amount of time reading over random products.
Finally, he seemed to decide on something.
He made his way slowly to the check-out counter.
Jungwon's eyes were tapered down to the hand that placed a paper bowl of ramen on the counter.
He couldn't will himself to look up and into that piercing stare.
Not until the hand moved.
It disappeared for a moment, going somewhere up in the air.
When it returned to the counter...
A black string was looped around the index finger.
The face-mask hung haphazardly off of it.
Jungwon couldn't help the way his eyes widened.
The way he could feel his pulse hammering all the way in his throat.
"Just this."
The voice was smooth.
Deep.
Jungwon couldn't help it.
He looked up.
A small gasp escaped his lips.
Unintentional.
Unwanted.
He couldn't hide his shock.
It wasn't that it was someone he knew.
The man was, as he'd suspected, a complete stranger.
It's that....
He was fucking HOT.
Not even in like a "he's decent looking" kind of way, but in a "he's fucking GORGEOUS" kind of way.
The kind of good-looking that makes you stop and turn back just to make sure you didn't imagine it.
Jungwon was stunned.
The man's expression was unreadable.
His sharp eyes matched his sharp jawline perfectly, giving him a slightly cold appearance.
In fact, his lips seemed to be the only soft thing on his entire face, the shadows from his hat giving even more sharpness to the natural contouring.
Neither spoke.
Time seemed to stretch on forever as Jungwon stared blankly back into the man's mesmerizing gaze.
The gaze that flickered wordlessly across Jungwon's face.
Like he was taking in the reaction.
Memorizing it.
It was the sound of the door chiming again that broke Jungwon out of the strange spell.
He scanned the item quickly, hardly looking down as he stuttered out the total.
The man paid with his phone, twirling the mask around in his other hand as he moved.
He didn't say anything else.
After another flickering glance up to Jungwon’s eyes, he turned to leave.
Jungwon didn't miss the way he paused by the door, looking for a moment at the stool Jungwon had been sitting on.
Jungwon shivered.
Then he was gone.
The moment he left, Jungwon let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, a hand falling to the counter to help steady himself.
It was unexpected.
Everything suddenly felt way too strange.
If Jungwon didn't already know the guy was a freak, he might've actually been ATTRACTED to him.
Instantly, his brain started trying to find some logic in the situation.
Why would a guy like THAT be following him around?
What if Jungwon had just been overthinking things all along?
Right.
That would make more sense, wouldn't it?
It just wasn't adding up.
Nothing was.
But then Jungwon glanced down at the counter, realizing the man had left without even taking the item he'd bought.
Jungwon's mouth ran dry suddenly.
Vegetasty.
He stared at the product, instantly feeling unsettled again.
Because that was the exact same cup of ramen he ate for dinner every night.
The one he usually only bought in bulk at the grocery store, because it was actually one of the more expensively priced ramen's, and he could only afford to eat it that way.
But how the FUCK would anyone know that?
Unless...
Jungwon paled.
Did he follow him to the grocery store?
Or did he....
Was he watching him in his DORM?
Jungwon ran his fingers through his hair.
His dorm room was on the 5th floor, and it was impossible to get in without a key card.
It was just a coincidence, Jungwon told himself.
Just a coincidence.
Jungwon pulled out his phone again, clicking onto his gallery with shaky fingers.
He had the man's picture.
He even knew what his face looked like now.
If he tried, he could probably make a decent sketch of it out.
Calm down.
Everything was okay.
He'd be okay.
_______________________________________
"Isn't that a MLB logo?" Ni-ki pointed out, studying the picture carefully.
Jungwon blinked, tabbing over to Naver to reverse search the logo on the image.
Ni-ki was correct.
The logo was for an American baseball team, the Seattle Mariners.
"Sorry I'm late. Food Court line was craaazy long." Jake groaned as he slid into the seat beside Ni-ki. "Whatcha doing?"
"Examining Jungwon's stalker."
"Oo, lemme see." Jake stood up again immediately, moving over to hover between Jungwon and Ni-ki's shoulders.
Then he frowned, reaching a hand out to zoom in on the image.
"Hey... isn't that Jay?" Jake blinked.
Jungwon and Ni-ki snapped their heads up simultaneously.
"You KNOW him?"
"Yeah. Well... no. Kinda. He's a... friend of a friend. Although, I did have one class with him freshman year."
Jake's eyebrows furrowed. "His name's Park Jongseong. Psych Major, Fourth Year. I heard he's pretty popular over there."
He really WAS a student.
Park Jongseong.
Jay.
Psych....
Psychology Major?
What the fuck?
Seriously?
Why the hell would a Psychology Major be stalking Jungwon??
"Are you sure...?" Jungwon swallowed.
"I'm pretty sure that's him. He wears that same hat around campus all the time."
"Well, I don't care WHO he is. If he's messing with Jungwon, we should go fuck him up. You know his department, right?" Ni-ki grumbled, moving to stand up.
Jungwon stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Don't."
"What? Why not?"
"I mean. Maybe... maybe it's just some... project assignment?" Jungwon said awkwardly.
Things just...
Weren't adding up.
Maybe he was making things a bigger deal than they needed to be.
Ni-ki gaped at him. "Right, a project assignment... to what? Follow someone around? Study how the human mind reacts to being terrorized?"
"I haven't been TERRORIZED, okay? And I don't know. Just... I don't think antagonizing him will help anything."
"I agree with that. Violence might just make things worse for Jungwon." Jake sighed. "I'll keep an eye out. If he does anything else, make sure to tell us, okay?"
Jungwon nodded.
"Of course."
_______________________________________
It was a rare off day from work.
Jungwon was laying in his bed, scrolling distractedly on his phone (and neglecting the mountain of course work waiting on his desk).
It was surprisingly easy to find information about 'Jay' online.
He had a public Instagram account.
Most of the pictures posted related to the various hobbies he seemed to have, like some F1 team's merch, his surprisingly nice guitar collection, and his 'prized' black BMW XM.
Clearly, his stalker wasn't lacking in money.
The thought made Jungwon feel even more exasperated.
Why did only the bad people get blessed with wealth?
Fucking annoying.
The only pictures that showed the man's face were group photos.
In all of them, he was strikingly handsome, with his hair trimmed short and a light half-smile curling on his lips.
It was definitely him.
The man from that night.
And his page was, to put it simply, NORMAL.
Nothing about it screamed social recluse.
Mental patient.
Stalker.
He had friends, interests, and a ridiculous amount of followers.
Yet....
Yet, he still showed up across the field every morning after Jungwon's swim practice.
Went to the same vending machine near Jungwon's job every night. (Although thankfully, he didn't come into the store again.)
And newly, a black BMW XM that was IDENTICAL to the one on Jay's page had begun parking suspiciously close to Jungwon’s dorm on his evening off-days from the 7/11.
Jungwon felt like he was going crazy.
He sat up, peeking out the tiny slit in the corner of his blinds to look down at the street.
There it was.
Parked near the tree-line, windows tinted far too dark to see inside.
The headlights were on.
SOMEONE was inside.
It was fucking weird.
It just made no sense.
Jungwon yanked his head away, quickly turning the lights out in his room.
He needed to do his school work, but he hated the thought of his silhouette being visible from the lighting in the window.
Even with the blinds closed, five stories up in the air, he felt so...
Visible.
Watched.
Jungwon let the faint glow of his phone screen light his desk up as he sat down to work, dragging a hand tiredly through his hair.
He had no time to panic.
No energy to cry.
The sealed cup of 7/11 Vegetasty sat ominously on the corner of his desk, a tangible reminder that everything wasn't just in his head.
Some of it, at least, was real.
_______________________________________
"But you haven't come out with us in weeks. Please?" Sunoo begged, his voice sounding small on the other end of the phone line.
He was being careful, the concern evident from his tone.
"Not tonight. I know you're worried, but I'm okay. Seriously. I just really wanna sleep right now." Jungwon spoke quietly, holding his phone close to his face.
The bus was packed, which wasn't unusual for a Friday night.
He'd already surveyed the crowd TWICE for any signs of his stalker, his eyes combing over every new passenger in detail.
Still, Jungwon couldn't help but feel the need to keep his voice low, like he was afraid of being overheard.
It was getting worse.
He knew it was.
The mental toll of being constantly monitored was making Jungwon feel concious of every little thing around him.
Any sight of a ball cap or a face mask was putting him on high alert.
He'd began avoiding going anywhere he wasn't required to.
Seeing his friends less and less.
Most of his free time was spent pent up in his apartment with the lights off.
It was the only time he could truly feel alone.
Private.
Sunoo sighed. "If you say so. You can always call me if you change your mind. I miss you... We all do."
"I know." Jungwon whispered, his grip tightening on the phone.
He got off at the next stop, pulling his hoodie up unconsciously as he began the walk back to his apartment.
It was tiring.
And frustrating.
The way his eyes mechanically scanned over each person he passed by.
The way the first thing he did when he got back to his apartment wasn't collapsing on the bed like he used to.
He locked the door, sliding the extra chain lock securely in place.
Then he immediately made his way over to the window, peeking out the corner of the blinds down to the street below.
There it was.
That fucking BMW.
Maybe it was the conversation with Sunoo that set him off.
Maybe it was just a culmination of everything together.
Jungwon was tired, and frustrated, and SICK of letting this paranoia control his already gloomy days.
FUCK this 'Jay' guy.
Why should Jungwon have to hide in the dark, avoid going outside, just to feel NORMAL?
It was anger that fueled his actions.
Jungwon crossed the room abruptly, flipping the light switch on.
Then he stormed back to the window.
He yanked the cord to the blinds, pulling them all the way up until they snapped in place.
He stared down at the blaring headlights of the car for a moment.
This guy wants to watch him that badly?
Fine.
Let him watch.
Jungwon began to undress.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Making a real show out of pulling his hoodie over his head, twisting his thin waist gracefully.
Arching down purposefully to pull his shorts off.
The only thing he left on were his briefs.
When he was finished, he turned back to the window, holding his middle finger up triumphantly.
Jungwon felt a surge of power.
Courage welled up inside of him.
It felt so invigorating to send out a big fat "FUCK YOU."
Why should he care about this guy?
Satisfied, Jungwon turned back to his bed, collapsing down with a newfound relief.
If this really WAS some social experiment, surely he'd gotten the message across now.
Jungwon reached for his phone tiredly.
He should text Sunoo.
Make plans to go out another night.
Be social.
Yeah.
This was more like him.
But unexpectedly, Jungwon's phone went off right as he reached for it.
A text came in.
It was from an unknown number.
The moment Jungwon clicked onto it, a feeling of dread sank familiarly into his chest.
[ damn ]
[ you're so fucking sexy ]
[ that was for me, wasn't it? ]
It was hard to explain the sharp twist that pulled through his gut.
See, a part of Jungwon was still in denial.
Thinking that maybe a lot of things were just in his head.
He didn't want to believe it was all real.
But THIS?
This was fucking real.
It was REAL.
The messages continued to flood in.
Jungwon couldn't look away from the screen, paralyzed in place.
[ your body's so beautiful baby ]
[ fuck ]
[ i wish i'd recorded that ]
[ you look so good in your swim jammers ]
[ but this is so much better ]
[ can't believe you just did that ]
[ you're so good for me baby ]
[ so good ]
[ you have no idea ]
[ will you show me again? ]
[ i'll get a good video this time ]
Jungwon felt sick.
It was disturbing.
This freak was calling him BABY.
Unbelievable.
The rush of panic went through Jungwon all at once.
He blocked the number with shaky hands, stumbling around as he pulled a blanket around himself and turned out the lights.
He hid around the side of the wall as he let the blinds back down.
It felt like all the air had left his lungs.
Jungwon could hardly stand, grasping onto the corner of his desk and knocking the cup of ramen down in the process.
He stared down at it, willing away the tears stinging his eyes.
He wouldn't cry.
Not over this.
Not over some psychopath.
_______________________________________
It didn't seem to matter how many times Jungwon blocked the number.
Almost instantly, there would be a new one messaging him random spurts of unsettling nonsense.
[ i'm sorry baby ]
[ are you mad? ]
[ i was just joking about recording ]
[ i'd rather see it myself anyway ]
Eventually, Jungwon just gave up on blocking him, leaving the messages to sit on unread instead.
Well.
Mostly.
It was hard NOT to be curious.
Especially when the messages came so CONSTANTLY.
Some of them seemed almost... normal.
[ goodmorning baby ]
[ did you sleep okay? ]
Until they weren't.
[ i had a dream about you ]
[ you had your pretty mouth full of my cock ]
[ so fucking perfect ]
[ did you dream of me too? ]
Through these messages, it had become abundantly clear that his stalker's interest in him was very much... sexual.
Jungwon wasn't sure what to do with the situation.
He should be going to his friends about it.
To the police.
To SOMEONE.
But...
Jungwon glanced down at his phone beside him absently as he stocked the soda cooler.
The situation was overwhelming.
He'd only started getting texts after he'd provoked the man at the window.
After he'd given him the attention he was clearly seeking.
As long as Jungwon didn't give it any more mind, wouldn't it be okay?
This was the only thing Jungwon could tell himself to keep the fear from creeping in and taking over.
11:40 PM.
Jungwon's eyes moved to the glass windows habitually, watching as the familiar figure appeared.
He watched the man pressing the buttons on the machine.
Watched him turning his head to look into the store, his gaze directed towards the register, where Jungwon would usually be standing.
Then his eyes moved across the store, searching until they finally found the target.
Jungwon.
Jungwon looked away quickly, turning back to the cooler with a sharp breath.
Don't look at him.
Don't acknowledge him.
He's a creep.
He's just a fucking creep.
_______________________________________
"Who's blowing your phone up?" Jake complained, nudging it with the corner of his book. "Can you check it? Or at least put it on silent."
"Sorry." Jungwon mumbled, snatching his phone up quickly.
He frowned as he read the banner notification.
Freak - 11 Unread Messages
Fucking hell.
Jungwon tilted his phone back as he unlocked it, glancing over the messages quickly.
[ where are you? ]
[ you don't have work today? ]
[ ohhh ]
[ the library ]
[ don't stay out too late ]
[ you're working so hard ]
[ don't forget to eat ]
[ damn ]
[ you look good in that sweater baby ]
[ did you know? ]
[ your bag is unzipped ]
Jungwon's eyes widened, his head instantly snapping up to glance around the library.
Seriously?
He's HERE?
It was one thing to follow Jungwon around, but...
Jungwon glanced at Sunoo and Jake, who were peacefully studying beside him.
This fucking lunatic.
He couldn't help the rush of anger that surged up, his fingers flying over the keyboard on impulse.
〔 go away you fucking psychopath 〕
〔 stop messaging me 〕
〔 i'm trying to study 〕
The response was immediate.
[ sorry baby ]
[ ahhh ]
[ you finally responded ]
[ i'm sorry ]
〔 don't call me that 〕
〔 you're fucking insane 〕
〔 leave me alone 〕
[ don't be mad baby ]
[ i just needed to make sure you were safe ]
[ i'll go now, okay? ]
[ have one of your friends take you home later ]
[ it's dangerous to walk home this late ]
Jungwon could hardly hold back a disbelieving laugh.
〔 the only danger is YOU 〕
〔 fuck off 〕
〔 creep 〕
There.
It felt good to vent some of his frustration out.
A few minutes passed before the last response came in.
[ goodnight jungwon ]
Jungwon scoffed, turning his phone off resolutely.
He glanced down at his bag, pulling up the outer pocket zipper with a sigh.
_______________________________________
Jungwon was back to studying in the darkness of his apartment.
He didn't want to stress his friends out any more than he already had.
It was hard to control the back-and-forth state of his mind, alternating between anger, fear, and acceptance.
It felt like his brain was constantly revolving around the subject.
Like he couldn't escape it.
Even when he knew he wasn't being watched, his mind continued to bring up the topic.
He found himself absently scrolling through Jay's new Instagram posts, searching each one for clues, for some kind of sign that all of this was just a bad dream.
The text messages were a constant reminder that he was being monitored, and his enraged response from before didn't seem to phase his stalker at all.
In fact, it only seemed to encourage him more, the floods of text becoming more and more frequent.
He didn't seem to care if Jungwon responded or not, easily having one-sided conversations with himself.
But the worst part of it all wasn't the harassment.
No...
It was Jungwon's own brain.
And he hated himself for it.
It all started one night when Jungwon came home work, feeling for his bed in the darkness and collapsing onto it right away.
It'd honestly been weeks since he'd last jerked off, and with all the recent stress, his body was BEGGING for some kind of release.
It wasn't the first time Jungwon attempted it, of course.
But ever since the whole stalking situation had started....
Jungwon groaned in frustration, burying his head into the pillow.
It didn't matter what he did.
He could pull up a porn video, try to immerse himself in some smut novel, ANYTHING he tried...
His brain would always go back to those fucking eyes.
Dark, examining.
You're so good for me baby.
So fucking perfect.
The moment his brain went there, Jungwon would stop himself, guilt and disgust eating away at him rapidly.
That's his fucking STALKER.
He's not attracted to him.
He's NOT.
But that night...
Jungwon palmed at his shorts in frustration, doing everything in his power to keep his mind off of Jay.
He wouldn't think about him.
He wouldn't.
Jungwon's eyes moved to the window habitually.
That car was parked outside again.
The lights were off.
It was impossible to see inside.
It was impossible for HIM to know what Jungwon was doing.
But...
What if he DID?
What if he was watching him now?
Jungwon flushed, swallowing down the discomfort in his chest.
He just needed to get this out.
To get it out of his system.
He needed...
Jungwon groaned, closing his eyes as his hand slipped down into his waistband.
He couldn't will the thoughts away.
Not this time.
He could imagine it so CLEARLY.
Jay, sitting at his desk chair, lounging the same way he did on that bench across the field every morning.
Hat tilted down ever-so-slightly, but not enough to hide those eyes that never left Jungwon's figure.
Just sitting there.
Watching him.
Watching Jungwon touch himself.
FUCK.
Jungwon's hand moved faster, tears stinging at his eyes as he gave in to the intrusive thoughts.
I had a dream about you.
You had your pretty mouth full of my cock.
Jungwon imagined staring up into those cold eyes.
What would Jay do if he saw him like this?
That crazy fucker.
Would he...
Shit.
SHIT.
Jungwon couldn't stop it.
His body reacted on it's own, tension leaving his body in instant bliss as he came.
He came to the thought of Jay watching him.
Jungwon laid there for a while, letting his breaths even out as the orgasm shot through his system.
Then he cried.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Jungwon cried.
He cried miserably, his body shaking and head aching from the tears.
This was so fucked up.
HE was so fucked up.
And he had no idea what to do about it.