Stalking (1)
Kim Woojin accepted it. To calm the massive wave known as Seo Ihwa, he was preparing to throw himself into the familiar sea called Semin.
“How have you been?”
Semin asked elegantly, crossing her legs as she took a sip of coffee. Woojin felt a brief sense of disconnect between past and present before answering.
“Well… I became a full-time employee at Daehyeop and I’m just living like everyone else, working.”
“So you ended up as a full-timer there? That’s so you.”
Woojin added with a faint, satisfied smile, “The salary and benefits are hard to beat. Not many companies like that around.”
Semin let out a small laugh in agreement. Contrary to his worries, the conversation with Semin flowed more smoothly than expected. They shared lighthearted memories from their university days and stories from the two-year gap, and before they knew it, two hours had flown by.
When the awkwardness had faded and comfort settled in, Woojin suddenly grew curious about who had set this up.
“Hey, who exactly arranged this?”
“Who else? Gang Yumin. Why, you don’t like it?”
At her brazen reply, Woojin let out a chuckle and shook his head. “No. Honestly, when I first saw your face, I wanted to run away… but after talking, it’s not bad.”
Semin smiled, seemingly pleased with his honest answer. “Then that’s fine.”
Yet the more enjoyable the conversation became, the heavier a corner of Woojin’s heart grew. Even as he laughed and chatted with Semin, the sharp exchanges he’d shared with Ihwa echoed in his ears like hallucinations, and her cold gaze kept resurfacing under the name of lingering attachment.
In a place meant to help him forget, he was paradoxically confirming her absence.
Woojin reminded himself of his purpose once more and stood up with determination. “Let’s call it a day.”
“…Yeah.”
Semin swallowed a bitter feeling at his dry attitude. The Woojin she remembered from university had been sly and full of energy, but the man before her today seemed burdened with heavy thoughts, his shadow much darker.
Ah… This is probably the last time.
Just as she resigned herself and reached for her things—
“When are you free next?”
Woojin asked, checking his phone calendar while staring straight at her. Semin doubted her ears for a moment. She had assumed today would be the end, yet here he was, suggesting another meeting first. Embarrassment and joy clashed inside her.
Realizing her prediction had been wrong, Semin tried to sound casual. “I’m a freelancer, so I’m free whenever. I’ll match your days off.”
“Good. I’ll text you soon. Oh, and since I came all the way out here today, you’re buying the drinks.”
“What? Hey, Kim Woojin! You really want to die?”
Semin’s sharp curse filled the café. Only then did Woojin step out the door with a slightly lighter heart.
And so, the blind date between Woojin and Semin—meant to erase Ihwa—came to an end.
A few days later.
Woojin could feel with his entire body that Ihwa’s condition was deteriorating rapidly. The woman who had always maintained her impeccable suits and haughty demeanor was now hiding behind loose training clothes, a cap pulled low, and a mask.
This was something the Seo Ihwa he knew would never—absolutely never—do. Sensing that something serious had happened to her, Woojin felt a sharp ache in his chest.
After much deliberation, he stood up to approach her when his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a text from Semin.
In that instant, Woojin snapped back to cold reality.
What the hell am I doing? I went on a blind date to forget Seo Ihwa, and I can’t even last a few days before…
He forced himself back into his seat and replied to Semin. Typing mechanically, he whipped himself with resolve.
Ihwa hates other people’s attention. His attention, especially, would be nothing but excruciating torment for her.
He deliberately ignored her shadow and clung to the text on his monitor.
...
Quitting time.
He was packing up and hurrying out of the lobby when someone suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him into the darkness behind a massive pillar.
“…!”
Startled, Woojin reflexively tried to pull away but froze. Standing before him was Ihwa, her face filled with raw terror.
“…What is it?”
Ihwa couldn’t even answer. She was trembling violently, clutching his collar as if it were a lifeline. As the silence stretched, frustration boiled up inside Woojin at her selfish behavior.
He firmly removed her hand and spoke coldly. “If you have nothing to say, I’ll be going.”
He turned without hesitation, about to leave the lobby, when Ihwa desperately grabbed his sleeve and shook her head frantically. It was the gesture of a lost child.
“Hic…”
A small, tear-choked sob escaped her.
Realizing something was seriously wrong, Woojin gently lifted the brim of her cap. Beneath it, Ihwa’s eyes—shaking with fear—were revealed.
“What on earth happened—”
“…Help me.”
She had swallowed her immense pride and was clinging to Woojin, the very person whose trust she had recently lost.
Woojin first took her to an empty break room to calm her down.
“Tell me slowly what happened.”
“…Lately, it feels like someone’s been following me.”
“Are you saying you’re being stalked?”
Instead of answering, Ihwa quietly nodded. Woojin knew all too well that stalking without physical harm was difficult to protect against legally.
He handed her a warm paper cup and said, “I’ll escort you home. Until this stalking or whatever it is disappears.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Ihwa took a small sip of water, her hands trembling slightly as she held the cup. Woojin tried to lighten the heavy air with a casual joke.
“Must be tough being pretty. Even ending up with something like this.”
Normally she would have snapped at him with a disgusted ‘Shut up,’ but this time she only managed a faint, powerless smile.
About thirty minutes later, somewhat recovered, Ihwa stood up and said something unexpected.
“You can go today.”
“What?”
“It’s just… I think I’ll be okay today.”
“What if something happens to you?!”
At Woojin’s half-shout, Ihwa lowered her head and mumbled.
“Instead… if I get really scared, come right away… I’ll pay you however much you want.”
Those words filled Woojin with unbearable anger and misery. Why did this woman always have to lead with money, even when asking for help? The world was full of people who would gladly reach out if she simply asked. What kind of hellish life had she lived that made her turn even the smallest warmth into a transaction?
He was dying to know, but Woojin drew the line himself. This was it. Their relationship. When she needed him, she paid him and used him, and he would simply let himself be used. That was all.
To crush the sprout of lingering attachment, he had tried to ignore it, withhold water, and endure. But the rain that was her kept falling relentlessly, forcing that sprout to break through the soil anyway.
What on earth are you thinking, always barging into my life and tearing it apart?
A week had passed since that incident.
It was a week he had barely endured thanks to the thin lifeline called Friday. After the commotion that day, Ihwa had returned to her usual neat attire at work.
After cautiously asking about her well-being for several days, it seemed the shadow of the stalking had vanished.
On the bus ride home, Woojin asked her one last time, as if for confirmation.
“Nothing happened yesterday either, right?”
Ihwa turned to him with her usual expression and gave a small laugh.
“I’m really fine now. Thanks for worrying about me.”
“…Yes. Then have a safe trip home.”
Ihwa gave a light nod, got off at the bus stop, and disappeared into the crowd. Watching her retreating figure, Woojin let out a deep sigh.
Shaking his head as if to shed the weight of his worries, he pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number.
“Where are you?”
─Almost there. You?
“I’ve got one stop left.”
─I’ll get there first then. If you’re late, you’re buying the penalty fee?
Woojin let out a chuckle without meaning to and hung up.
Today was his second date with Semin.
When he got off the bus and headed to the meeting spot, he saw Semin waving from afar. The moment she spotted him, she approached with a bright, childlike smile.
“Nice to see you, Kim Woojin!”
“Yeah. You’re awfully happy to see me. Where do you want to go today?”
“Movie! There’s one I really want to see.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Over the past week of texting back and forth with Semin, Woojin had realized she was a much better person than he’d expected. Bright, honest, and refreshingly straightforward—she didn’t make him look back.
When he was with Semin, he could escape, even if only briefly, from the heavy fog that was Ihwa.
If I really start dating her… could I completely erase all thoughts of Seo Ihwa?
The occasional doubts that rose up tormented him, but Woojin quickly pushed them away. He told himself that harboring such suspicions was disrespectful to Semin, who had come running for his sake.
He put on an even brighter expression and matched his steps to hers.
...
The movie theater lobby was packed with people looking to enjoy Friday night. The savory smell of popcorn and the lively laughter of the crowd filled the air. Woojin ordered caramel popcorn to match Semin’s taste, enjoying a rare moment of lightness.
Then a heavy vibration came from his pocket.
When he checked the screen without thinking, three letters he had desperately tried to erase stood out clearly.
Seo Ihwa
Woojin’s face hardened instantly. He asked Semin, who was still choosing from the menu, for a moment’s understanding and quickly moved to a quiet corner away from the crowd. His heart began to pound ominously.
“Hello—”
Before he could even finish, what came through the receiver wasn’t her usual cold voice.
It was a desperate scream mixed with a piercing shriek and ragged breathing.
─Help me……!