Stalking.

Jongin denies it with vigor but he technically is stalking you. Not so much as an obsessive admirer but a hungry predator surveying his prey. He follows you just about everywhere for three weeks straight. Embedding your strict schedule into his head so that every hour he knew where you were and what you were doing. It seemed as you had no outside social life. Just work and chores. No outside social interactions yet Jongin was utterly fasicnated by you and the seemingly controlled life you lived.

He picked up on all your unconscious habits, noticing how you would lip sync to random songs when you cleaned and kept chewing on the inside of your cheeks throughout the entire day. To be honest, time flew by when he observed you. Remaining stationary across the street. Hiding in plain sight. You never once glanced in his general direction and a couple of times Jongin was bold enough to venture into the cafe, pretending to occupy himself with some random book he hid his face in.

It was Thursday now. A very chilly, bleak weekday with a hint of moisture in the dense atmosphere. Jongin was following you home. Imagine that and he was getting scary good at predicting your movements. He timed each paranoid glance over the shoulder and spin, right on the dot. It was almost fun to constantly hide and make sure his footsteps ghosted over the sidewalk, not the slightest whisper touching your ears. Like hide'n seek. He was winning and you were blissfully unaware.

Jongin has a stupid smile on his face. His new jacket fit him a bit better than the previous one he met you in but then again, he had probably changed clothes at least 6 times since then. He wanted to meet you again. This time on a more casual level. Where you wouldn't be worrying about his mental health and your own safety. Admittedly he did look better, in terms of clothing because over the passing weeks, he had out more than usual. Waking up to university students IDs and their snazzy attire. Jongin considers calling your name. Waving and cheerfully jogging over to say " hello " but you are leaving the restaurant. It's around 11 o'clock and it would be strange if he just popped out of nowhere right?

His smile fades and he just follows. Neutral expression with his nose wrinkling from your scent constantly wafting back to him. He stares at the back of your head for the longest time. Wondering if the long, slightly wavy strands would be soft silky smooth. From the distance it's a total hair commercial, Jongin remembers his amusement when you pulled out your hair band and dragged your fingers through the messy locks. He sighs in yearning, not realizing how severely he was craving your attention till something- or rather someone blocked his view.

It stops him abruptly.

They just randomly shot out from between two buildings. Fast but indistinct strides racing after you at a pace that alarmed Jongin. His eyes widened in shock but his limbs were seized with a familiar stiffness that boiled the blood beneath his skin. He blinked. Once, twice, thrice and then he was running. Abnormally fast with frantic urgency. He had been stalking this prey, no inferior predator was going to come out and snatch up  what he claimed as his weeks ago.

You don't even notice, how typical. Too busy worrying about tomorrow and Jongin smacks into your pursuer like a bulldozer. He clamps a fierce hand over his mouth, dragging him into an alley way with the mere muffled sound of " help " being snatched up by the freezing wind. You glance over your shoulder but of course nothing is there. Just empty walkway so you continue merrily on your way home. Unaware of impending doom.

But it's not so much Jongin protecting you rather than its his instinctive side being possessive. Jongin is, though,  technically Jongin when he attacks the man who charged after you.

With unreal strength he slams them into a brick wall. The air  knocked from their entire body plus there was the sickening crunch of broken bones. They didn't have time to yelp because devastating fists come pouring down on them. Cracking their jaw with such brutal force that it shattered, ivory shards splintering from the flesh and spraying Jongin with implicating crimson. He was frenetic. The sight and definite smell of blood arousing a darker half of him. That’s when he loses it. His humanity and sense of right and wrong. Jongin ceases to be Jongin, Kim Jongin- the boy next door with the blazing smile and he becomes...the manifestation of hell itself. His pent up rage, emotional turmoil and hate unleashing upon a not so innocent man who undoubtedly would have hurt you if he had gotten the chance. This thing that shadows over Jongin isn’t human. It  explodes with obsidian fur and incisors the size of steak knives, their points keen enough to split hair. That’s when the man attempts to scream. He tries to move but he’s already a mess of skin and bones. Paralyzing terror silencing his voice.

Jongin is long gone. The timid boy peacefully asleep while his once dormant infection coerces his vitality into sin. There is nothing but snarling and juicy chunks of meat ripped off a still twitching corpse. The monster feeds greedily. Under the cover of midnight with no one to see, to hear and witness. Its good at that. Picking its victims and shifts. No one ever seems catch the gruesome crimes and Jongin likes to pretend they don’t happen. In fact, he denies their existence and the reality that he is being hunted down by not only the police but the government. A very distraught government who is struggling to find their little experiment gone askew.

In less than 5 minutes nothing is left of the beast’s victim. Just splatters of blood that it’s long, rough tongue could not lap up. It eats everything. Grinding up the bone and devouring articles of clothing that dissolve in the acidic environment of a monster’s insatiable stomach. The man has vanished now. Dropped off the face of the planet with no alleviation for a family somewhere in Seoul. He will be missing. Forever and no one will ever know why. Not even Jongin because he hears no evil, sees no evil and refuses to believe his technical guilt.

Only one man is murdered that night.

Jongin’s supplement relinquishing his body unusually fast. Also, the boy doesn’t wake up to the light of dawn. The moment the monster goes away, he comes back to life. Gasping deeply as if having a night terror. He is cold and stark . Slicked with sweat, head pounding and there is this god awful taste rolling around his tongue. Jongin scrambles into shadows. Heart pumping the purest form of adrenaline into his blistered system.

He can’t move a muscle. Barely able to blink his animated eyes that reflect light like a feral cat. What to do, where to go. His hysteric state of mind is unable to formulate cogent thoughts. Jongin in air desperately. His arms suddenly moving and curling around his torso, nails digging into his skin hard. He can't seem to understand what's going on. This isn't how it goes. This isn't the routine he was used to waking up too. Everything is wrong, all wrong and Jongin feigns innocence. What is he supposed to do? The demon has left him uncared for. He's vulnerable now and the sharp, pre-winter cold chills him to the very depths of his soul. But with all that, what scares him the most is your absence. Wasn't he just behind you? Why isn't your familiar smell surrounding him? Why can't he hear the sound of your feet padding against the ground?

It's unsettling silence in the night. He gets up nervously and his eyes shift around, trying to find some sort of familiarity to soothe his shot out nerves. 

There is none.

Too delirious to function he allows himself to succumb to instinct. A strong drive that trusts his body into action and hazes his mind, ever so slightly. His feet scrape against the rough ground. The calloused skin too tough to be cut by anything he stomps on, not like he would care or notice anyways. Jongin streaks between buildings like a ghost. Everything dead and silent. He knows this area. Images flash through his mind like a map and then he knows where he is going. It comforts him up until the point he has to crash through a door. The back entrance to a clothes store. 

This shop is family owned. He has been inside before and there is no security cameras, no alarm and Jongin feels bad. He doesn't have much time, his hands fly through the racks of clothing and he growls in frustration. Everything is always too small, too tight. He searches in darkness for something. He fortunately finds black sweats, a grey tee shirt and while kicking through boxes he finds shoes. They're actually pretty good shoes and he hopes he won't lose them tomorrow in another...episode. Jongin is coming back to his senses and he stops to breathe, to tell himself that he isn't dying nor is there anyone chasing after him. No one can see him. No one is around and you- you are home. He pictures you snuggled into blankets. Warm, safe and probably smelling good after a shower. 

He is calmed yet somewhat excited. Not exponentially but there's a kick in his heart. A hint of nervousness bubbling up inside his broad chest. Jongin forces himself to take slower, deeper inhales of oxygen. He wipes cold sweat from his forehead and scurries to find a fairly thick jacket to keep him warm when winter rolls in. He can sense it in the atmosphere and it saddens him because he remembers his mother's birthday was in the beginning of the wintry months. Maybe it has past. Maybe it hasn't. 

Jongin peels a black quilted letterman from a hanger. It's perfect he thinks, a faint smile to his mouth as he rushes to leave another crime he has committed this evening. But on his way out, his hands shoots out to grab a SnapBack. Of course black because Jongin is a dark person and he yanks his bangs back. Slipping the hat on backwards so his face can be seen by the world. He really needs a hair cut though. His messy fringe was too unruly but now isn't the time to worry. It's out of his face, he can see everything without peaking through a shaggy layer of black strands. 

Jongin escapes back into the night. Feeling a whole lot better though it sickens him to be so full. He feels as if he has eaten a good meal. It's warm in his stomach he notices, really warm and he thinks he's eaten for two, maybe three. After he's gotten a mile from where he woke up at, Jongin thinks its okay to walk so he does. Wondering just how bad he must smell. Time to find some kind of shower.

Friday morning. You're running extremely early. How out of the ordinary but damn it's good not to feel so tired. You rested really well last night. The kind of slumber that cakes dried drool to the corners of your mouth and well dampens your pillow. Gross right? You don't care. You slept like baby and it shows. The essence of a smile to your lips. Eyes bright, wide awake and even people take notice. The bunch you wait with at the bus stop. They compliment your unusual cheeriness. It's a breath of fresh air, they say. An earnest youth so eager to get to work. Ten minutes till the bus is supposed to show up.

You get up to give an ahjumma your seat and sway left to right where you stand. Smiling at anyone kind enough to smile first. It's weird, so weird of you to be so happy and then is all goes to hell- or heaven. You really aren't sure. 

" Uhm hey " A deep voice calls out. Its chocolate. Melting chocolate with whipped cream and all the older ladies give you that oh-ho-ho look. You want to die. You really do but you're happy today. Happy enough to glance next to you and see a familiar face. " Jongin " He likes the way you say his name. In question as if you couldn't recognize him. " Yeah " The boy chirps and you swear to every higher being that his already sparkling eyes twinkled " How are you? " 

You glance at all the nosy people staring at you two and realize Jongin doesn't seem to give a flying and why does he look so different? Wait. How long has it been? A month? He's supposed to be deleted from your memory. Completely gone but then everything is all fresh. Like scabbing wounds picked raw only much more pleasant. 

" I'm fine " You laugh/say. Eyes widening at the sunshine suddenly pouring down on you. Jongin smiles, it's a really adorable smile and you swear he looks like he is twelve. Especially with the backwards cap keeping his hair from his face. Has he always been this cute? What happened to manly Jongin. This thing in front of you is squish-able. His uncanny resemblance to a goddamn puppy astounding. 

" H-how are you? " You manage to ask back. A bit more broken and uneven in tone. He shrugs his shoulders like a kid. Adding to the youthfulness of his appearance. " Good as I can be I guess. Listen, I wanna thank you again " 

" That's great to hear and oh no, it's really fine Jon- " He waves his hands in front of you. Cutely dismissing your words with a smile. Normally that would have annoyed you, people who talk with their hands but as your last encounter exemplified, you clearly had a weakness for him " Please? I wanna take you to uhhhh " Jongin really should think things through but he's so bubbled headed all of a sudden. " Dinner or the movies- or urr something? " 

He has this hopeful expression. Saying no would be like kicking him when he's already down, wallowing in his own failure. You don't want that. In fact you don't want any kind of harm to come to Jongin. Ever. " Um sure? " His face brightens in surprise. As though he was expecting a big, fat no instead of an apprehensive yes " Really? " If he had a tail, it would be definitely be wagging. " Yeah " You give him a reassuring smile. Shockingly not thinking of him being a serial killer or maniac preying on the innocents of Seoul " why not? " 

He then promptly decides to break your heart into a million pieces by biting his lower lip excitedly, unable to stop the lopsided grin fighting to appear on his face. You two are quiet, you want to laugh for some reason and the gossipy ahjummas are smiling. Quirking their eyebrows because it's about time you found vibrant color to paint your life.