The air in the Nojung Book Store felt heavy, not just with the scent of old paper, but with fear. I stood between the towering bookshelves, an unread exam-prep book—"MASTER THE CSAT"—in my hand. Around me, people whispered, their voices hushed with the same dread that had settled over our district.
"Have you seen the news?" someone murmured nearby. "Our neighborhood is kind of scary these days."
I saw a classmate, her phone pressed to her ear as she browsed the philosophy section. She looked at me, her eyes wide with concern.
"Yeah! There's been so many murders. What is happening?!" I heard someone else reply. "My mom wants to move after my exams are done."
I completely understood her mom's worry. "To be honest, I'm totally with her. Every time we turn on the news, there's something about a murder in the Nojung District!" The people here were getting really upset, badgering the police to do something. I wanted out, too. I'd decided, "I'm going to move away as soon as I get into university."
BZZZZ. My phone vibrated. I stepped away from the main aisle and pulled it out. It was a text from Ajin Baek. where are you?
I wonder if Ajin has given up on going to law school... I thought she'd apply again, but now I'm not sure what she's thinking.
A moment later, I was with her. She looked at me intently, her expression serious. "You could still be in danger, especially after what happened last night..."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. I instinctively reached for her hand.
She didn't let me go. She squeezed my hand and looked right into my eyes with a strange, possessive intensity. Her voice was low, and a chill went down my spine as she finished her thought.
"Don't worry, I'm not in any danger, because..." she leaned in close, her grip tightening on my arm, "...you're going to be my stalker from now on."
My mind raced to make sense of her words. "Wait, Ajin, could you please explain so I can understand? Also, what's with this beanie?" I noticed an unfamiliar black knit cap tucked into the waistband of her shorts.
She held up the beanie for a brief second. "It's the beanie the stalker was wearing. I took it last night."
I stared at her, horrified. "That's what I don't get! Why would you take this?!" I felt a knot of dread in my stomach. What was she truly capable of?
My head was reeling from her confession. I knew I couldn't discuss this out in the open.
"Hey, could we talk somewhere else? Your place is nearby, right?" I asked. I needed to understand her, but I also felt a need to keep her from doing something truly terrible. Knowing Junseo, he'd try to convince me not to...
A short while later, we were sitting on a couch in her apartment. She was nursing a glass of iced tea. I reached out and handed her another one.
"Here. It's iced tea," I said, my voice calmer than I felt. "Now will you please tell me what you're planning?"
She leaned her head on my shoulder, sighing. "My dad was waiting for me at home the other night... He came and asked me for money again, but I don't have much to give him." She paused, her gaze distant. "I'm trying to see if I can rip some money off the cafe owner, but he draws a strict line between work and life..."
She continued, telling me about her boss. "When I work late, he'll tell me that he's worried and to go home... 'You live far from here, don't you? Won't the buses stop running soon?'"
"I tried to see if he'd cross that line... but he never walks me home. He's the cafe owner and I'm the employee. He never crosses that line. He doesn't even see me as a woman." She turned her head slightly to look at me, her eyes pleading. "I need your help to push him over the edge. Will you help me?"
The pieces clicked into a terrifying picture. I pulled back, putting my hand to my face in disbelief. "Wait. Are you saying that you want me to pretend to be your stalker so you can rip off your boss...?"
"That's right," she confirmed, with unnerving calm. "I even told him I was going to move to a new place because of the stalker." She was so composed as she manipulated the whole situation.
"He's all about justice," she explained, a cruel confidence in her voice. "He'll do anything to help me now that he knows that I could be in danger... whether it be financial or physical."
My sense of moral outrage flared. "If it's money you need, I can give you money! You don't..." I began, but she shook her head, a cold smile touching her lips. I wonder what he would say if I told him what my real plan is. I suddenly realized how truly deep into this she was, and the chilling depth of her deception. She didn't want charity; she wanted a target to exploit.
If it's money you need, I can give you money! You don't have to go this far...!" I pleaded, leaning toward her, desperately trying to appeal to whatever conscience she had left.
She pulled back slightly, her expression hardening. "I don't want your money, Junseo. I know whose pocket it comes out of." Her words were a stinging rejection of my offer and my sympathy.
"This is dangerous, Ajin. Have you even thought about what could happen if you get caught?" My voice was tight with worry. I couldn't understand her logic. "If the cafe owner is such a nice person, why do you want to rip him off of all people?"
She put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I know what you're worried about... Don't worry, Junseo. I'm confident I won't get caught."
She then explained her choice. "He just happened to be around in the right place at the right time..." She also added, "Plus, I'm going to pay him back once I make enough." A promise I found hard to believe, given her methods.
I sat there, despair settling in. I knew that she only felt safe because she was with me. Junseo always considers my safety first and foremost... But I couldn't shake the fear that she was dragging me into something irreversible.
"I'm not asking you to really stalk me," she leaned in, her voice a soft, seductive whisper. "I'm just asking you to pretend to a few times. You just have to make it look like I'm in danger."
I looked at her, remembering a disturbing memory. "Then why did you ask me... to kill something that night?" The thought made me feel sick, and my own darkness was suddenly exposed.
The night he told me that he'd do anything but murder... he probably meant that he couldn't do it because it would put me at risk. I knew his moral compass was different from mine.
I thought of her former colleague, Jaeo. Jaeo was sensitive to people's pain because... he himself lived in pain. Jaeo didn't hesitate to kill his father to protect his little brother... A cold comparison flashed in my mind. If Junseo was in that situation, he would have chosen to run away with his brother to a safe place instead. That's the kind of person Junseo is.
"I can never let him find out about my plan..." I mused to myself. I knew what she needed, and I knew what she wanted.
I looked at her, my resolve wavering between protecting her from her own self-destructive plan and the terrifying knowledge that I could lose her if I refused. I took a deep breath.
"As... as far as you need me to go... as long as it's not murder... I'm willing to do whatever you ask of me." I made the concession, the promise heavy on my tongue, and in that moment, she had me.

I looked at Junseo, who was still worried about the risks I was taking.
"Oh, that," I said, taking a sip of my iced tea. "I thought about it, and... don't look so nervous! It's just to... add a little taste of drama." I smiled, a cold feeling of satisfaction settling over me. "Everything is in place now."
I knew my plan was dangerous, but I was confident. As long as I will it, there is nothing I can't do in this world. As much as this was a long time coming... I have to be quick and quiet.
A Quiet Night at the Cafe
Later that night, the cafe was quiet. "I wonder if we're going to get a typhoon soon. It's so humid outside!" I commented, mostly to the air.
Yusik, my coworker, sighed. "Yeah, it's been so quiet at the cafe because of it!"
The cafe owner, my target, shook his head sternly. "Hey, it's bad luck to say such things while working. Customers will come in droves—"
Yusik suddenly shrieked. "AAAHH!!! WHAT?! WHAT THE—?" He was staring intently at his phone, his face aghast.
The owner looked over to see what the commotion was. On the screen was a social media post: "INKANG HEO 🤍 LENA DATING" with the caption, "FROM COWORKERS TO LOVERS."
Yusik, clearly a dedicated fan of Lena, started talking quickly. "They're dating?! But I'm her loyal fan!! I just got a promotion in her fan cafe too!!!"
The owner was exasperated. "SMACK! OUCH!! Instead of taking such good care of Lena's fan cafe... you should be taking better care of ours!" He pointed emphatically. "THERE'S CIGARETTE BUTTS ALL OVER THE WASHROOM FLOOR. I feel like I asked you to clean that up at least five times."
Yusik winced, rubbing his head. "Oh, right. I-I'll get right on that..."
"YOU TOLD ME THAT FIVE TIMES ALREADY!" the owner yelled.
"AAAHH! OKAY! I'M GOING! I'M GOING!" Yusik bolted toward the back.
With Yusik finally out of the way, the owner turned to me. "Oh! Ajin, you get ready to go home."
It was the moment I had been waiting for. I feigned confusion. "Huh...? But my shift isn't over yet. Plus, we still have to close..."
The owner's expression softened instantly, his sense of chivalry kicking in, fueled by the supposed danger. "Don't worry about closing and end your shift an hour early in the evenings. I'll drop you off at home and come back in time to close up with Yusik."
The stalker ruse was working. He had finally crossed the line, not for love or attraction, but for his sense of justice and need to protect. My plan had been executed perfectly.
The owner had taken the bait. Now I had to make sure the rest of the cafe staff were suitably panicked to secure my alibi.
The owner turned to Yusik, who was wiping down a table, his face still pale. He put a hand on Yusik's shoulder, leaning in to whisper. "S-Stalker?! The stalker could come wait for you to get off work again. We should try to avoid him as much as possible." He looked at me, confirming I was still leaving early.
I just stared, maintaining a look of passive distress. I watched as Yusik was easily convinced.
"Oh God, Ajin! You're being stalked?!" Yusik cried out, eyes wide with horror. "Is it the guy with the beanie from before...?!"
The owner nodded gravely, his protective instincts in overdrive. "Yes. Now that you know, keep an eye out too. If you see him again in or near the cafe, call the police!"
The owner then turned to me. "O-Okay! Go on, Ajin. Get ready to go home."
"Okay..." I murmured, already heading to the back to gather my things. The operation was in motion, and I felt a surge of cold, focused energy.
The Walk Home
I waited just outside the cafe, and soon the owner drove up. "VROOM! SQUEAAAK!" He pulled to a stop.
We had driven only a short distance before he parked. "I'm sorry... we have to walk from here on in because this is a one-way street..." he explained.
I stepped out onto the creepy street. It was dimly lit and lined with shadows. "Are there any CCTVs here?" I asked, looking around nervously. "This street is creepy..."
"No, not that I know of... This street isn't very well-lit either," he admitted, his voice full of concern. He was already thinking like a protector.
As we walked, I decided to play up my vulnerability even more.
"Please let me know if I'm crying, but... do you live alone, Ajin?" he asked gently.
I gave him the carefully crafted truth I had prepared, the one that made me sound completely alone in the world. "Yeah... my mother died when I was little, and I cut ties with my dad a long time ago. I don't even know where he lives."
It's okay. It's good exercise! The lie had been planted. Now, I just had to wait for Junseo to make his move. He knew the general route. He knew what he had to do to make this look real. I just had to make sure the owner bought the performance.
The owner's kind words were a subtle prod, ensuring my lie about a difficult life settled deeper into his sympathetic mind. "Thank you... Oh, we're here. This is where I live." I stopped in front of my door.
He glanced at the floor near my threshold, his brow furrowed in confusion. "...? What's that in front of your door? Is it a package?"
My stomach twisted with a mix of dread and satisfaction. This was Junseo's cue. I stared down at the object. It was a small, crudely wrapped box, the cardboard stained with a dark, reddish-brown mark—blood.
I pretended to be confused, playing the innocent victim. "Oh, I'm not sure..."
Just as the owner bent down to examine the box, a sudden, dark blur flew past my peripheral vision.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" The owner screamed.
A dark object—Junseo's doing—had been thrown, startling the owner and making the scene intensely dramatic. He stumbled back, his face white with shock.
The small, blood-stained package lay by the door. The message was clear: my stalker was real, he was dangerous, and he knew exactly where I lived. The owner's initial impulse to protect me would now turn into a full-blown mission to help.
Your plan has officially succeeded in its first phase. The owner is terrified and fully convinced of the danger.