1.1

It had been an appropriately pleasant and ordinary day.  

Matching Hyunho’s day off, Juhan had also taken leave, and the three of them went to see a movie on a weekday.  

The movie was a horror film, a sequel to one that had been released during their high school years. After saying they had to watch it, they finally went. They then enjoyed a delicious dinner and headed to Yebom’s house since the two had offered to drop her off.  

The car arrived in front of the studio apartment building. After saying goodbye to the two of them, Yebom entered the building.  

“Looks like you’ve been somewhere.”  

“……”  

It was the crazy stalker who had been lurking around the area for the past few days.  

A chill ran down her spine. Reflexively, she turned around to look for the car. She desperately hoped Hyunho and Juhan hadn’t left yet. Thankfully, Juhan had gotten out of the car and was running toward her.  

“What’s going on?”  

“Uh—”  

The stalker flinched at Juhan’s sudden appearance and started running in the opposite direction.  

“That bastard—”  

Cursing under his breath, Juhan chased after the stalker. Closing the distance between them, the stalker suddenly darted onto the road.  

Honk! Hoooonk! Loud horns blared as cars screeched to a halt, creating a dangerous situation. The stalker recklessly jaywalked across eight lanes of traffic and fled.  

“Juhan!”  

She urgently called out to Juhan, who looked like he was about to jump into the road to catch the stalker. It seemed impossible to catch him now that he had fled so far.  

“Yebom, are you okay?”  

Hyunho, who had parked the car nearby and rushed over, asked breathlessly.  

“Damn, who was that? Is that the stalker you mentioned?”  

“Yeah, it looks like he came back. Ah….”  

The stalker had started following her after she participated in an illustration fair a few days prior.  

As an illustrator who made a living drawing cute animal characters, Yebom had participated in a large-scale fair. She had met so many people over the three days that she couldn’t remember them all, but the stalker claimed to have seen her there.  

She wasn’t sure how he’d found out her address, but she suspected it was related to the event merchandise she’d sent out after the fair. Without much thought, she had written her home address as the shipping address, which might have been a mistake. Somehow, the stalker had discovered where she lived and started showing up.  

‘I saw you at the fair. I’m a fan of yours.’

‘You’re as cute as your drawings.’

‘There’s a great restaurant nearby. Want to go together?’

‘Do you have a boyfriend?’

The man, of average height and skinny build, had a gaze that was clearly abnormal. At first, she had tried to respond politely, but even after firmly turning him down, the stalker kept showing up, driving her stress to its limit. The fact that he had found out where she lived and approached her was already a red flag. To make matters worse, he had been lingering around her studio apartment and trying to talk to her.  

It was terrifying and creepy. She had barely gone out due to fear, and now this happened on one of the rare occasions she did.  

“That crazy bastard, why is he camping out in front of someone else’s house? Does he even know your apartment number?”  

“Yeah, the other day, he left some kind of lunchbox at my door. There was even a note saying to enjoy it, but I didn’t touch it at all.”  

“What? Why didn’t you tell us about this?”  

“I just….”  

It was so horrifying that she didn’t even want to talk about it. While she shared casual stories with her friends, she had only vaguely mentioned the stalker situation. She didn’t want to bring it up at all.  

“Yebom, did you report this to the police?”  

“No, not yet…. I looked it up, and the situation seemed kind of ambiguous. I also saw that reporting it might not help much….”  

At first, she had hoped it would just blow over—though, to be precise, it was more of a desperate wish. Now, however, it seemed like that phase had passed, and she needed to file a report.  

“Hm, what should we do?”  

“We should’ve caught that bastard and beaten him up.”  

“For now, come stay at our place, Yebom.”  

“Huh…?”  

Hyunho, with a calm expression, said something unexpected.  

“It’s too dangerous for you to keep living here when the stalker knows your address. If he’s leaving food at your door, he might even break into your apartment.”  

“……”  

The mere thought was terrifying.  

“That’s true. The security here is weak, so anyone can come and go, right? At our place, non-residents can’t even enter. It’s a hundred times safer. We have plenty of rooms, so you can use one of the spare ones. You should come live with us.”  

No matter how she thought about it, that seemed a bit….  

“It’s okay. I can stay at a hotel or something.”  

She didn’t feel comfortable staying here, so she thought she’d go somewhere else for a while.  

“A hotel? Are you planning to stay at a hotel long-term? Do you even have money for that?”  

Juhan immediately frowned and asked. She replied weakly.  

“No, I don’t….”  

“It’s not about money. Hotels are uncomfortable, Yebom. Come to our place. Make yourself at home, just like when you visit us.”  

“But still….”  

Moving into a house where two men lived?  

Currently, Hyunho and Juhan were living together. Hyunho had first found a place near the animal hospital where he worked. Coincidentally, the location was also close to Juhan’s company headquarters. Juhan, who had been looking for a place of his own, suddenly decided it was too much trouble and moved in with Hyunho. The upscale apartment was spacious and comfortable, with plenty of room for both of them.  

Yebom had visited often, starting with the housewarming party, so she was familiar with the space. But living there, even temporarily, felt different.  

Moving into a house with two men…. It was an unheard-of living arrangement.  

“Chapssal would be so happy if you came, Yebom.”  

“Chapssal?”  

Ah, she hadn’t thought about Chapssal.  

Chapssal was the gentle, golden-colored dog that Hyunho owned. The decision for the two men to live together had partly been influenced by Chapssal. With one more person in the house, Chapssal would spend less time alone, so Hyunho had welcomed Juhan with open arms.  

“You said it was your dream to have a dog. Looks like your dream is coming true.”  

“Ah….”  

It had been a long-held wish since childhood, but she had always put it off, thinking she wasn’t ready to take responsibility for a life.  

Still, if she could live at Hyunho’s place for even a few days and spend time with Chapssal, it would be wonderful. She imagined hugging Chapssal to sleep and taking him on walks….  

It was frustrating and infuriating to have to leave her home to escape a stalker, but the thought of staying in a house with an adorable dog melted away her negative feelings.  

“There’ve been a lot of hospitalized patients lately, so I haven’t been able to bring Chapssal to the clinic. If you come, I’ll feel more at ease.”  

“Do you like Chapssal?”  

“I really love Chapssal too.”  

Thinking of the dog’s scent weakened her resolve.  

“Then… can I stay for a few days? If I disappear and leave the apartment empty, maybe the stalker will lose interest and go away.”  

There was no way for the stalker to find her new address, and the neighborhood was safe since it was an affluent area.  

“Don’t think of it as imposing. Stay as long as you need, even after the stalker is gone. Your safety is the most important thing, Yebom.”  

“Thank you….”  

She was genuinely touched by Hyunho’s kindness.  

“Do you have a suitcase and some boxes at home? Pack only the essentials, and let’s leave right away.”  

“Okay.”  

Following Juhan’s lead, she entered the studio apartment.  

Fortunately, as a freelance illustrator, she could work anywhere as long as she had her equipment. She quickly packed her essentials, and the two men loaded them into the car trunk.  

The car left her home and headed toward a new place—their apartment.