The Grip of Fear
Sitting quietly in my sister’s room sipping coffee, I received a call from the Agency Director.
“Hello, Director.”
-Hey, Jia. Are you alone right now?
“…I’m at my sister’s place.”
-Good, smart move. Don’t even think about going out. That bastard isn’t home. The situation is… worse than I thought. The manager wasn’t at his place. He might’ve run to avoid getting caught. Or maybe he slipped out to get revenge on me.
-Sorry. I should’ve reported it right away back then.
“It’s fine. I agreed to it too….”
-Anyway, you already have a counseling record, there’s the can with sleeping pills, and plenty of witnesses. Even reporting it now, we can prove the crime.
“…Do you think he’ll actually get prison time?”
-We’ll have to trust the legal team on that. In my opinion… it’s likely. With evidence this strong. Still, it was clear we could no longer sweep this under the rug like it never happened. This was now a matter of personal safety. Once the manager had reached that level of madness, there was no other answer but the law. …Though many things would inevitably become public during the process.
-Anyway, don’t go outside no matter what. Just stay put. We’ll handle the complaint and everything else.
“…Understood.”
After listening carefully to the director’s repeated warnings, I hung up. …Even if the manager somehow found his way here, I’d be safe as long as I stayed inside. It wouldn’t matter if it was my room upstairs instead. No one knew the door lock code, and I’d changed it again after the incident. What worried me more was Hinami. She was naturally naive; what if he tried to threaten her to get to me…?
“…I should call her.”
Acting on the thought, I tried calling right away. But no matter how many times I dialed, she didn’t pick up. What if… What if it was already too late? Cold sweat I’d just wiped away began to bead again. I checked the manager’s Twitter just in case he’d posted something, but there was nothing. Then I checked Hinami’s Instagram—also no updates.
While I was pacing anxiously into the living room, I heard voices from beyond the door.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow. Haeun wasn’t here today, so…”
It was Kang Juhyuk’s voice, talking to someone who wasn’t my sister. From the conversation, it was probably Hinami. Relief loosened the knot in my chest, and I flopped onto the sofa—only for my phone to ring again. The caller was, of course, Hinami, whom I’d just tried reaching.
-What’s up, Jia?
“Hinami, where are you right now?”
-At home, why?
“The manager’s missing from his place. Don’t go outside, and don’t open the door for anyone.”
-…All of a sudden?
“Ask the director for details. …I’m hanging up.”
-Wait, Jia—
I cut the call after delivering only the essentials. …There was no special reason. The tension had simply drained out of me all at once, leaving me too exhausted to explain everything properly. I’d sweated so much that my head felt dizzy. Clutching my forehead, I collapsed onto the sofa and closed my eyes. …Ha. At least I’d come downstairs. Even if the worst happened, that man could at least serve as an alarm bell….
**
“Hah…!”
A sudden chill jolted me awake. Outside, it was already dark. In midsummer, that level of darkness meant it was already seven or eight in the evening. Even though I’d only meant to nap, I’d slept for quite a while. My lips were parched from sleep, so I threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and opened the door to get some water.
“…?”
…The bed. Why had I woken up in bed? I’d definitely fallen asleep on the sofa…
“Sleep well?”
“…What are you doing?”
When I stepped out, Kang Juhyuk was sprawled on the sofa, staring blankly at the TV. His clothes were similar to what he’d worn earlier, just a different color. His once-messy hair was roughly tidied, and he gave off an annoyingly pleasant scent.
“…Why did you move me to the bed without saying anything?”
“…You were hogging all three sofa cushions. I had to move you if I wanted to watch TV too.”
It was irritating how shamelessly he acted after moving me without permission, but not enough to make me truly angry. After all, I was the one who’d passed out on the sofa. I pressed my lips together and headed to the kitchen without another word, wetting my dry lips with water first.
“Eat something. I ordered in.”
“…”
His tone was blunt to the point of indifference, and I half-ignored him in return. Spotting the salmon poke on the table, I grabbed a spoon in silence and sat down. The sounds of the TV—sharp whooshes and thuds—served as background noise while I pulled out my phone and checked the manager’s Twitter first.
-I want to die
…It was terminal. Posting a sunset photo with a caption like that made it obvious something was wrong with his head, even if I couldn’t pinpoint the exact illness. The thought that the photo might’ve been taken near our building made my stomach churn again. What if someone actually got stabbed? Even if it wasn’t me, some innocent person…
“…”
Kang Juhyuk, oblivious to my thoughts, alternated between staring at the TV and his phone. I noticed he had a wireless earbud in only one ear. Surprising myself with the realization that his presence was more reassuring than his absence—at least for now—I let out a small sigh and lifted my spoon to eat.
…Maybe I should stay here tonight. My sister wasn’t around, but he didn’t seem likely to touch me. If I had to choose between the manager and Kang Juhyuk as the bigger threat right now, the manager won by a landslide. That didn’t mean the current atmosphere was comfortable, though.
“…Ah, shit. Clean up after you eat. I’m going in.”
“…”
As if proving my thoughts, he scratched his head with a bored expression and retreated to his room without even looking at me. The atmosphere had been suffocating enough to give me indigestion, so his disappearance from sight felt like a small mercy. …If only he hadn’t laid a hand on Hinami, I wouldn’t have thought much of him. Of course, when I first saw him I’d wanted him gone, but that was because it seemed suspicious for someone with an unstable income to be dating my sister. If he’d just been an ordinary gym owner, I wouldn’t have cared whether he dated her or not.
“…Haa.”
I still couldn’t understand why someone who liked my sister so much would also go after Hinami. Then again, a man’s mind was something I could never figure out no matter how much I thought about it. The manager was the same. Stalking me so creepily would only make me hate him more—never like him. Why was he doing this to me? Did he seriously think he had a chance? Obsession from a man I didn’t even like was just disgusting. And it wasn’t limited to the manager. For example, if Kang Juhyuk showed that kind of obsession toward me…
“…”
…I nearly threw up the salmon I’d been eating. That mental image was several times more horrifying than the manager. With the manager, it was simply a matter of throwing him in prison. But Kang Juhyuk would gaslight me somehow, turn me into someone like my sister. The thought of being brainwashed into acting cute like her, filming those kinds of videos like Hinami, trembling all over—it genuinely made me nauseous.
I rummaged through the fridge, found a zero-calorie cola, and took a sip to settle my stomach. After slowly chewing and finishing the rest of my meal, I cleaned up and sat lightly on the sofa where he’d been lying earlier. …The cushion still held his unpleasant warmth, making it unnecessarily hot. I shifted as far into the corner as possible until the leather finally cooled, allowing me to sit comfortably. Sipping the leftover cola, I watched the TV he’d left on. I hadn’t noticed earlier because I’d only heard the sound, but the channel was a baseball broadcast. It was already the top of the ninth, two outs. The batter’s team was… my dad’s team. The final batter swung weakly and missed, ending the game. An 11-8 loss. Looking at the final scoreboard, I finally understood why he’d seemed so displeased earlier. They’d given up four runs in the eighth and been overtaken.
“…”
…I’d assumed he hated my dad’s team, but maybe some lingering affection remained after playing there for years. Or perhaps he still had colleagues he knew and wanted to support. Or maybe he just felt miserable seeing himself left out… Though that probably wasn’t it. Knowing Kang Juhyuk as I did, he likely preferred his current life far more than his days as a baseball player.
Turning off the TV after the game ended, I dimmed the bright living room and headed to the bathroom. In the space identical to my own home, I instinctively reached for a toothbrush—only to notice three toothbrushes on the holder and realize this wasn’t my house. After searching the towel cabinet and every corner without success, I left the bathroom and knocked on his door.
“What.”
“Where’s the toothbrush?”
“…”
He responded to the second knock immediately, opened the door, walked out silently, and rummaged through a drawer. He pulled out a purple toothbrush, tore open the packaging, handed it to me, and returned to his room without a word.
“…What was that?”
…His attitude toward me was almost offensively indifferent. The same man who’d shown such malice before was now only displaying obvious annoyance, and it felt strangely awkward. Though, compared to usual, this attitude was preferable… I didn’t know why he was acting this way. …Was he sulking because my sister was staying out? What a strange person. She wouldn’t have gone if he’d told her not to, anyway.
“…”
After brushing my teeth with the toothbrush he’d given me and washing my face, I returned to the room and borrowed my sister’s cosmetics. She used to gift me plenty when we were on good terms, so she probably wouldn’t mind if I used a little. With my face now clean, I lay back on the bed and dozed off. Sleep wouldn’t come easily, but drowsiness was slowly overtaking me when—
“Juhyuk~”
The sound of the door lock releasing echoed through the apartment, followed by the owner’s footsteps at the entrance. At least I wouldn’t have to spend the night alone with Kang Juhyuk… Just as that thought crossed my mind, I realized I hadn’t contacted my sister at all today. …A flicker of fear crept in. Even that man, who’d seemed so disinterested in everything today, probably hadn’t bothered to mention it.