"You look sweaty. Do you want to take a shower?" Junseo asked, his voice low with concern.
"No, I'm fine..." I replied, still recovering from the charade. "My boss completely fell for it. I told him I was fine and to go home, but he looked so unsure."
"If we want to keep him hooked, we'll have to step things up a little. It'll have to be more graphic than one dead rat," I observed.
Junseo nodded. "That'd keep him hooked for sure."
Then, I looked at him, my expression turning serious. "I've been meaning to ask you... could you hit me, Junseo?"
His eyes went wide with shock. "W-what did you just say...?"
I ignored his question and rummaged through a drawer. "It has to look like the stalker beat me up. Why don't you put on some gloves and hit me a few times?" I asked, holding up a pair of dark gloves.
"I can't do that." Junseo was firm. "No. I won't do that."
I looked up at him, questioning. "...Do you mean that?"
"THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO ASK YOU. HOW COULD YOU ASK ME TO HIT YOU?" he exclaimed.
"You've seen me get beaten up lots. That's new," I said, my voice flat.
"I know. That's why I don't want to hit you. Because I see you get beaten up all the time. Each time I witness it, it becomes a trauma and a wound!" Junseo's voice cracked with raw emotion.
I looked at him, asking, "You... won't...?"
"THAT'S RIGHT."
He took the gloves from me. "I don't know about anything else, but... I will never hit you, even if my life depended on it." He let the gloves fall.
I sighed. "Okay, fine... If you don't want to, I won't force you."
Junseo's posture softened as he spoke, his eyes still fixated on the gloves. "You know what? It doesn't even have to be you. Your role is to show my boss that the stalker really does exist. Now that he's convinced there's a stalker, your role is finished."
"Junseo, I don't care if you get hurt or not... but I don't want to be the one to hurt you. I don't want to lose you. You know... that I don't treat you like I treat everyone else." I embraced him, clinging to him.
Junseo spoke softly, "Some days you scare me, Ajin... I feel like you're like this because you weren't loved as a child, but I don't know what to do... I feel like my mother is to blame for that..."
"Go home and... wait for me to reach out to you. Then you won't get hurt... and I can do what I have to do," I instructed, my grip on his sleeve firm.
But at the end of this, all you have to come back to me... to the way you used to be. I thought to myself, staring into the distance. Pushing someone who is already on edge... is not a great strategy. It's of no use if they run away. I hope this child... never escapes the cage I've put him in. Unlike the others... Junseo is worth keeping.
The Shop Talk
The next day, in the coffee shop, a customer was talking to one of the employees.
"I didn't get a good sleep last night," the customer confessed. "Where's Ajin? I haven't seen her for a while."
The employee rubbed the rim of his cup and replied, "Oh, she had to make a delivery to that investment firm nearby. The weather has been terrible because of the typhoon that's on its way here... and we haven't had many customers. She said something about having to do her best with deliveries at the least."
"You should count yourself lucky, boss. It's hard to find part-timers like Ajin these days," the employee remarked.
The customer took a drink from his coffee mug. "Ajin may be a star employee, but you're not! You bring us back down to average, buddy. Plus, she's the one who works hard! Why are you taking the credit?"
WHOOOOSH The wind howled outside.
"A-are you okay, boss? Your eyes are really red!" the employee noticed, concerned.
"Oh, and... could you help me order some pepper spray? I'll pay you back later," the customer said, avoiding the question about his eyes.
"Pepper spray? Is it for me?" the employee asked, surprised by the request.
"Yeah. Her stalker was... standing outside her house last night. He even left a dead rat and a threat note," the customer replied, relaying the fabricated story I had helped Junseo create.
"Wow, what a piece of crap...! Why the hell is he bothering me?! I have my nose to the grindstone, day in, day out!" the employee exclaimed, clearly upset on my behalf.
The customer then lowered his gaze, his attention elsewhere. "I wonder if it's because of the photo that was posted on social media."
"Photo...? What photo?" the employee asked.
"Oh, you haven't seen it? Someone posted a photo of me on social media and it went viral!"
CEO's Office
In the CEO's office at Longstar Entertainment, the CEO, a beautiful woman in a red top, was looking at the viral social media post of me.
"OH MY GOSH... holy sh*t, this cafe employee is so hottt.jpg," the post read. The caption continued, "She works at Cafe Xanadu near K University. Literally everyone who goes to K University knows of her lol. I found out her name is Ajin Baek. I think she's on social media :/"
The CEO gasped. "HEY, THAT'S THE GIRL I TRIED TO RECRUIT! What is she doing on here?"
She then turned to an assistant. "Yes, ma'am?"
The CEO, clearly excited, rubbed her ear. "How did she know I like coffee...? She's got me all excited!" Her next words, however, were directed at someone else entirely.
"I'm sorry, there's been a slight change of plans. Please push my flight tomorrow to another day."
"May I ask why...?" the person on the other end of the line inquired.
"There's something I need to check before I get on that flight."
Cafe Xanadu
The customer, still at the cafe, was speaking to the employee about the previous night.
"What do you mean, I don't have to drive you home?" he asked, referencing something I must have told him. "Why not?"
It seems the "stalker" drama, the dead rat, and the viral social media post are all working together to get the CEO's attention and keep the boss—the customer—invested. Junseo's choice not to hurt me has put the burden back on me to execute the plan, which I've done by creating this buzz.
"My friend says he'll drop me off today. He's going to meet me somewhere nearby," I said to my boss as my shift ended.
"Really...? Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked, clearly still worried about the supposed stalker.
"I'd feel better dropping you off myself. How good is your friend in a fight?" he pressed.
I smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll be super careful. But I'd love it if you could drop me off at home again starting tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll come straight back to the cafe right after my baseball club meeting. I'll meet you here," he agreed.
The Set-Up
"I'm off, Boss!" I called out.
"Okay! Good work today!" he replied, and I left the cafe.
A little while later, my boss was walking toward his car, still thinking about me. He lit a cigarette, his brow furrowed with concern. "I wonder if I got home okay..."
Inside my home, everything was being prepared.
"THE HOUSE IS ABOUT READY... AND NOW..."
I was working quickly and violently, ensuring the scene was set.
SHATTER!
WHOOSH went the scattered books and papers.
CRASH went the glass and other objects.
I finished my work and stood in the middle of the mess, panting slightly. The home was in complete disarray, a perfect depiction of a violent break-in.
The Boss's Anxiety
Back on the street, my boss was starting to feel a strange sense of unease. "I don't know if it's because of that weird dream last night, but I feel really anxious for some reason..."
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. BZZZ. He pulled it out to see who was calling.
"WHOA, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL... IT'S AJIN--"
The phone call arrived right as I had finished creating the "crime" scene. It seems my plan is now moving into the next phase: a desperate plea for help that will fully convince my boss the stalker is real and dangerous, thereby cementing the loyalty of Junseo.
"WHOA, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL... IT'S AJIN--" my boss, Mr. Choi, exclaimed as my text message lit up his phone screen.
The text simply read: "AJIN: Mr. Choi, please help me. Will you come to my place as soon as possible?"
His cigarette forgotten, Mr. Choi's eyes widened in fear. He tossed the cigarette and phone, jumped into his car, and sped off.
VROOM went the engine as he raced through the night. His expression was a mix of intense worry and determination.
He pulled up to my house and immediately began pounding on the door.
BANG BANG BANG!
"ARE YOU IN THERE, AJIN? IT'S ME, MR. CHOI! OPEN UP!"
He tried the doorknob. CLICK!
His eyes went wide with shock. "THE DOOR IS UNLOCKED...!" He pushed the door open, which scraped the floor with a chilling SQUEAAAK.
Mr. Choi stepped into the darkness, his breath catching in his throat. He saw the chaos I had meticulously created: scattered papers, broken glass, and dark stains on the floor.
"AJIN..."
He spotted my shoes at the entrance, then his gaze swept over the damage. He took a few steps, noticing a piece of ripped fabric and dark splatters.
DASH
He rushed forward and found me on the floor, seemingly injured.
"MR. CHOI...!!" I cried out, grabbing his arm as he knelt beside me.
He cradled me gently. "W-WHAT HAPPENED...? DID THE STALKER BREAK IN HERE?! WHERE'S YOUR FRIEND?! WHY ARE YOU ALONE?!"
I lay there, my face streaked with tears and a faint trace of blood on my lip, the perfect picture of a victim. The elaborate plan had worked; Mr. Choi was completely convinced of the danger and his desperation to protect me was palpable.
The dramatic staging of the break-in has successfully drawn Mr. Choi deep into my situation. The fact that I called him and was alone makes him feel like he is my only savior, a classic manipulation tactic.
As Mr. Choi held me close, I began my fabricated account of the assault.
"My friend said he couldn't make it because something came up... so I came home alone... When I got here and tried to open the door, the stalker came at me with a knife and—"
Mr. Choi interrupted, his voice laced with terror. "He had a knife?? Did you call the police?!"
I clung to him, whimpering. "No, you can't...! He said he'd really kill me if I called the police...! He said he'd make sure I pay if I do...!"
Mr. Choi looked down at my hand, which was covered in fake blood from the glass I'd broken earlier.
"This won't do..." he muttered, his mind clearly racing to find a solution. He carefully lifted me. "Ajin, let's take you to the hospital first."
He saw the wound, the blood, and the wreckage. "We need to do something about your hand. Besides, it's too dangerous to stay here."
He guided me out of the doorway. He looked at me, his resolve hardening. "Come stay with me at my place."
The dramatic staging and my convincing performance have led to the ultimate goal: Mr. Choi has invited me into his home, believing it's the only way to keep me safe from the imaginary stalker. The refusal to call the police, a deliberate part of the deception, only heightens his sense of personal responsibility.