The Chat That Knew Too Much
The loud ringtone echoed through the room. I’d been hoping to get a reply by now, but the other person still wasn’t picking up. “Ah, fuck… why the hell aren’t they answering already…?” My patience was wearing thin. I was so restless I couldn’t stop tapping my foot against the floor.
…Right now it felt like I was standing naked in the middle of the street. That was exactly how exposed I felt.
“Shit…” I bit down on my lip. It stung for a second, but it didn’t change anything.
“…Why does that bitch only ignore my calls when it’s important?” My frustration peaked. My heart, which had been pounding wildly, now felt eerily calm, almost like it had stopped.
“Haaah…”
— The call didn’t connect. After the beep, it went straight to voicemail…
“Fuck! Fuck!!” I slammed my fists into the bed, but the anger only burned hotter. Heat flushed across my face.
“Haa, ha… haaah…”
…Maybe I was overreacting. Who the hell was this person, pulling this kind of bullshit on me? If I ever found out, I swore I’d kill them.
Just then, my phone vibrated. The unfamiliar buzz made me frown automatically.
“That perverted piece of shit… You picked the wrong person to mess with.”
The random chat I’d tried out of curiosity had turned into the worst decision of my life. If I could turn back time, I would’ve done it in a heartbeat.
This guy definitely knew me. But how the hell did he figure out who I was? My age? The snack shop? The fact that I lived nearby? The photo I sent?
“Fuck…”
Taken one by one, none of it was conclusive. But when you put it all together, it felt way too much like me.
“…Idiot. I must’ve been crazy.”
I never expected to run into someone I actually knew. I’d only joined because the other person seemed like a total pervert and I wanted to mess with them a little.
“Ah!”
The ringtone blared again. My hand shot out like lightning and grabbed the phone.
“Hey! Why the hell aren’t you picking up?!”
— Ah, you scared me! What’s with the yelling all of a sudden?!
“Whatever. I’ve got something to ask.”
— W-what? Why are you talking so seriously?
“…Do you know any twenty-one-year-old guys who live near our place?”
— …What?
“I said, is there any guy a year older than us living around here?”
— Hey! Park Eun-ji!!
“…Don’t call me that. You wanna die?”
— Ack!! Hey! Hey! Park Eun-ji got a boyfriend!!
“What the fuck are you saying?! Hey! Hey!!”
Voices erupted on the other end. The call instantly turned into chaos.
— Eun-ji finally has a boyfriend?!
— Who is it?! Name! Tell us his name!!
“Ah… seriously, these crazy bitches…”
My head was already pounding. With everything else swirling in my mind, I couldn’t be bothered to deal with them and just hung up.
Thud—
I tossed the phone aside irritably and flopped face-down onto the bed.
“Haaah…”
Still no progress. I needed to figure out who it was before I could do anything, but calling Choi Ji-young had only made my stress worse.
The phone vibrated again.
“Ah, fuck, seriously…”
What should I do…? Should I just do what they say? But if I do, then what? The questions kept piling up, and in the end I realized I’d just have to deny everything.
“…Just wait until I catch you.”
My hands trembled with irritation. I picked up the phone I’d thrown earlier.
It vibrated once more.
Three photos arrived in quick succession. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Ah…”
A chill ran down my spine. All I could think was that I was screwed.
“……Ha, haha…”
The photos were from my own SNS. A hollow laugh escaped me. The pajamas in the pictures I’d just sent matched perfectly with the ones in my old posts—same bed, same blanket, even the way my hair fell past my shoulders.
“…That fucking bastard.”
I had to steer this away somehow. My mind was filled with nothing but denial.
“…What the fuck is he saying?”
The word felt like an insult directed at me, and it pissed me off even more.
I would never strip in front of a pervert like that, but the words still grated on my nerves.
“……I’d never give it to you, you piece of shit…”
It seemed like things were calming down, but he kept poking at me on purpose.
“Ah… this fucking bastard…”
I was wasting my time with this guy. I was about to leave the chat when another message popped up.
“……”
What was going on? Why did everything he said make me so nervous?
“Haa, hoo… haaah…”
The phone vibrated again. This time it wasn’t the random chat.
“Haa…”
I sighed and was about to throw the phone again when another message came through.
“Ah…”
Choi Ji-young’s words suddenly cleared my head. I immediately called the number.
Beep— Beep—
— H-hello?!
The voice came through after just two rings. The corner of my mouth lifted on its own.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
— Me? Uh, just… outside for a bit.
“Forget it. Do you know any guys a year older who live in our neighborhood?”
— Ah… the ones above us?
“Yeah. Above us.”
— Ah… um, I’m not really sure…?
“Then what the hell am I asking you for?”
— Ah, what should I do?
“Come find out. Who’s there.”
— O-okay, got it.
His voice sounded the same as usual. He looked decent enough, but that was the only decent thing about him. Still, there was something in that pathetic tone he couldn’t quite hide. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it kept rubbing me the wrong way.
“Hey.”
— Y-yeah?
“…Are you smiling?”
— W-what?
“Did something good happen? You sound way too cheerful today.”
— Ah… did I…?
Only the sound of wind came through after that. He stayed quiet until I hung up.
“Hey.”
— Y-yeah?
“Where are you?”
— …Outside…
“Outside where?”
— I got hungry so I stepped out to eat.
“Hoo…”
— …Why?
Maybe I needed someone to vent on. I needed someone to take the edge off this irritation that had built up to its limit.
“Get to my place in ten minutes.”
— …Right now?
“I said come.”
— O-okay, I’m heading over right now!
I could hear him start running, his breathing already growing ragged.
“So where exactly are you?”
— Here! Right now! I just passed the convenience store!
“Pretty close. Get here in three minutes.”
— Y-yeah!
His heavy panting painted a clear picture in my mind, and my lips slowly curled upward.
“You passed the convenience store?”
— Haa, hoo! Just passed it! Do you need anything?!
That strange feeling from earlier had mostly faded. He was still catching his breath, but he was already doing exactly what I told him to do, just like always.
“Nah, just come.”
It felt good. I could already picture him showing up sweaty and out of breath, eyes darting away from mine whenever I looked at him. That image only made me feel even better.