The Birth of a Stalker
“Phew.”
Chae Seong-ah let out a heavy sigh as she opened the door to her officetel. The silent air clung to her senses. An empty space devoid of any presence filled her vision. With a gloomy expression, she muttered,
“I’m home.”
Of course, no one was there to hear her voice. She lived alone in this officetel.
She slowly walked to the bed in the corner and flopped down onto it.
...It feels so empty.
How long had it been like this? She had felt loneliness for what seemed like ages now. Her father was the head of a fairly large corporation. From her childhood, he had always been more focused on business outside the home than on family. Naturally, Seong-ah rarely had conversations with her father or spent quality family time together.
Her mother was the same. Rather than spending time with her own daughter, Chae Seong-ah, she concentrated on social activities to support her husband.
So, family felt uncomfortable to Seong-ah. Even though she must have inherited their genes and been raised with their help, facing her father and mother felt awkward and uncomfortable.
That’s why, the day she became an adult and entered university, Seong-ah declared her independence. She told her parents and received some support, moving to Seoul to live in a luxurious officetel. But her loneliness only grew day by day.
“Aaaah! They said you’d get a boyfriend in college! But I haven’t!”
Chae Seong-ah muttered bitterly from the bed. This burning loneliness. She had thought independence would resolve it, along with the silence. But no. Living alone in a strange city, she realized her inner sadness was only increasing.
Seong-ah suffered. But one day, a man appeared before her.
—Customer?
A sweet voice. And an even sweeter, radiantly handsome appearance belonging to him—Kim Jihun.
Chae Seong-ah still remembered their first encounter vividly. His refined looks and the traces of masculine muscles were etched into her retinas, refusing to fade.
Before long, when alone, she started fantasizing about him.
What does he like? What foods does he hate? What are his hobbies? Does he have a girlfriend?
Her curiosity and daydreams about him chained endlessly. Seong-ah realized that whenever she thought of him, her heart raced steeply.
Eventually, she slowly but surely came to understand.
Is this love?
She felt she had finally awakened to “love.” Love, love! Something she’d never felt from her family, now in the active form of giving it to someone else. And to a man whose name she didn’t even know, after just one meeting.
For him, she wanted to do anything. She wanted to be with him no matter what. She had awakened to that feeling.
“Will I ever see him again?”
She murmured wistfully. Now that he had quit his part-time job, the only way to see him was gone.
Chae Seong-ah sank into sorrow.
That was when it happened.
—Bzzzzt.
Her phone vibrated. Seong-ah stopped flailing in her emotions and turned her gaze to the phone.
The screen showed a KakaoTalk message from her friend.
And right after, a link.
She checked the link following the message and muttered in disbelief.
“She’s starting again. I told her to stop watching that CapriKaTV or whatever internet broadcast...”
The friend who sent the message was a peer who devoured all sorts of internet streams. Seong-ah sighed at the link.
“She really doesn’t listen to me.”
Yet she reflexively tapped the link.
Seong-ah had no real expectations. No matter how handsome an internet BJ was, could he outshine the bookstore part-timer she’d seen?
But she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Why is he here?!”
The BJ streaming on her phone screen, wearing a headset and focused on the game—it was definitely the bookstore part-timer she’d seen.
...
“Nice!”
Kim Jihun looked proudly at his computer. More precisely, at the webcam and headset mounted on the monitor.
“Now I can communicate with viewers while streaming.”
He had been streaming games for about three days now. Lately, real-time viewers exceeded 100. But while streaming, Jihun also watched other game streams for reference.
Watching popular game BJs, Kim Jihun resolved.
“I need to interact with viewers too.”
Other internet BJs exposed their faces and voices, responding to viewers with humor, sharing info, chatting—making it fun.
But Jihun couldn’t before. He lacked a mic and webcam.
But now,
“I can do it too.”
The webcam and headset he’d splurged nearly 100,000 won on. Jihun didn’t regret it at all. He was thrilled to finally chat with viewers like other BJs.
“Staring at the chat while silently playing felt so awkward.”
The frustration of wanting to answer questions but couldn’t! Thinking it gone, a smile crept onto Jihun’s lips.
Nodding in satisfaction, he started the stream and launched the game.
—No one can stop me!
On screen, Jihun’s character executed flashy controls. The hero he chose: Tracer. His skill with dual pistols and pulse bombs crumbling enemy lines was impressive.
Tracer blinked in and out, disrupting foes, then pulse-bombed clustered enemies for massive damage. Enemies were helplessly outmatched.
Undoubtedly a top player, captivating attention.
A typical game stream would have viewers glued to his plays. But Jihun’s viewers barely focused on the gameplay.
Something more captivating appeared in the same frame.
The viewers were stunned by Kim Jihun’s appearance! Discovering his radiant looks, they lost interest in the game.
Just yesterday, they marveled at his skills; now, the twist of his handsome face shocked them.
Monitoring the chat, Jihun made an awkward face.
“This... it’s nice getting attention, but feels kinda off.”
Until yesterday, it was a normal game stream. He played diligently in silence, viewers admired his skill.
Today was different. All focus on his shining, refined appearance.
Jihun scratched his cheek at the odd vibe.
Well, more popularity is good.
Not a bad feeling. Though attention was on looks, not skill, he was gaining traction as a BJ.
Jihun glanced at the stream status.
[Viewers: 570]
Pretty high now.
A stark increase from yesterday. More people meant more revenue. Jihun smiled contentedly.
...
Chae Seong-ah stared at the monitor in a daze.
—How’s the taste of that!
—Quad kill!
—Ah, this is it!
Kim Jihun was playing Overwatch. Bullets flew from dual pistols, blinking to foes instantly. Then, perfectly timed pulse bomb wiped multiple enemies.
Any gamer would gape at the skill. But Seong-ah ignored the game.
Her focus: the familiar face in the bottom-right corner—Kim Jihun’s.
“Why is he gaming?”
She couldn’t understand. Just a week ago, he was part-timing at the bookstore. Now streaming games?
“Did he quit the bookstore job to stream?”
Unaware it was temporary, she guessed. She kept watching intently.
His serious gaming face.
Definitely him.
She stared blankly at Jihun on screen. How desperately she’d longed for him the past week!
Seeing him even on screen lifted her mood greatly.
Gazing at his face vacantly, Seong-ah suddenly noticed something.
“Wait, that outside the window... isn’t that our neighborhood?”
She focused on the small window behind him. She recognized the building outside.
A small commercial building in her neighborhood corner.
“No way!”
She screenshot the screen, zoomed on the window.
Definitely a nearby commercial building.
Seong-ah swallowed hard.
“He lived around here after all.”
Made sense if part-timing at the nearby bookstore. But now with solid evidence, she suddenly wanted his exact address.
She started deducing his home location.
This building.
She opened a browser, searched the building from the window. Used Street View to check surroundings.
The angle from the window matches this direction.
Adjusting angles between the visible building and Street View, she pinpointed his location.
It didn’t take long. Living nearby, she knew the area. Combining stream footage and Street View was easy.
Finally, she found the presumed address.
XX-ro XX-gil 21-2
She jotted it in her notebook, then headed out the officetel like possessed.
Whoa whoa whoa stalker