After that day of work, the feeling that someone was watching you never left. Admittedly, and wrongly on your part, it had become part of your daily routine, something normal. You had gotten used to the fact that it felt as though someone was constantly staring at you. Although it gave you less of a drive to appear at work and do your job, you had managed to tune out the creepy sensation and continue on with your daily life. Loud noises from the apartment next door had roused you from your peaceful slumber and pulled you out of bed. Through squinted eyes you peered at the alarm clock next to you. The alarm had been set for 10 am, and when that time came, it would blast a random A-Pink song, because you knew it would get you out of bed. It was not ten, but you figured it would be close because your neighbour would have the decency to make noise later in the day.

8:00 AM.

Why was anyone making this much noise this early? You didn’t have to be up for another two hours!

You grumbled and looked around as you felt a chill run through your spine. Why were mornings so cold? You quickly jogged over to your closet, pulling out a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. Donning them quickly, you cuddled up to their warmth. But it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t satisfactory, it didn’t warm you up enough. Maybe a tea would help you. With this in mind you shuffled towards the kitchen and started to boil some water. A tea ought to warm you up! The noise was relentless. Despite the early hour, it refused to quit. Once your tea was done you decided it was time to go check what was going on outside your apartment.

You walked outside to see your neighbour. Or well, you couldn’t actually see your neighbour. You only saw boxes, but his name was all over them. The hall was full from the ground up, with only a little path for one person to walk at a time. It was as if he had decided to move over night, which wouldn’t make sense because moving required a great deal of time and effort. It wasn’t just something people did on a whim… unless they were filthy rich. Considering it was your neighbour Insung, he definitely wasn’t rich. He was just as broke as you were, that’s why he lived in such a tiny apartment. His name was messily scrawled over the boxes, as if this were a last minute job. The only thought you had was that his apartment was haunted, and you were only joking about that because ghosts were most certainly not real.

His door was open, and you could hear chattering throughout as he barked orders to his friends who had been nice enough to come help him out. “Insung-ah!” You called from the front door, knocking lightly. You craned your neck forward as you took a peek into his empty apartment. There was no one in sight so you decided to step in and walk around. You had freely walked around the apartment plenty of times before hand. Whether it had been delivering dinner when your neighbour was sick, or Insung hosting an amazing house party, you were quite adept at manoeuvring around his abode. Poking your head through open passageways, you noted the amount of strangers with familiar faces. People you had probably encountered before, people you probably used as extras in your dreams. It was funny, you could feel names on the tips of your tongue, but your mouth made no effort to embarrass yourself by saying the wrong name. Passing the horde of friends helping in the impromptu move, you called out once more. “Insung-ah!” You called, finally getting a reply from someone who was not your neighbour. He was in the back of the apartment in his room. You called a “thanks” to the helpful stranger and shuffled towards the bedroom.

You knew exactly where the bedroom was. You’d spent a few nights in that room admittedly. Especially when you had first moved in and you didn’t have sheets of plates. Insung was a good friend… well a lot more than a good friend on special occasions. You leaned on the door frame, head and shoulder against the hard wood as an arm fell limp against the wood until your wrist flicked slightly and knocked. You saw a messy head of black hair jump out from behind the bed, “Ah Olivia!” He said, a surprisingly nervous and unwelcoming look on his face. You didn’t focus on it though.

“Hey, what’s this? You’re moving without telling me? What a shame!” You pouted cutely before walking, placing your tea on his bedside table and jumping onto his bed. “What’s the deal? Need some help?”

A sheepish, nervous grin tugged at the corner of his lips as he shook his head. “Naw it’s okay. I got an offer on the place, and so I managed to find a nicer, better apartment. But we’re almost done. Did I wake you? I’m sorry. But you can head home, I’ll be done.”

“Wait what? Tell me who bought this place! Who am I living next to? Why are you leaving me?” You whined as he pulled you off his bed.

“It’s no one, come on, out missy.” He said, smacking your after handing the tea back to you. After he even went through the effort of ushering you out of the apartment and closing the door before you could object. Now this had been nothing like the first friend you’d made in this tiny apartment building. Frowning, you retreated back to your room, upset that he had so obviously lied and kicked you out. It was quite insulting. Insung was a stubborn oppa though, so even if you had knocked again there was a good chance that he would not answer. Sighing, you decided to make yourself a large breakfast and get in some “good morning” exercise and yoga.

To drown out the noise of your noisy ex-neighbour, you slipped your headphones into your ears and your phone into your pocket as you got on the floor and started to stretch. Over the course of an hour and a half you stretched your body into various poses and various exercises, whilst making sure your phone never left the safety of your pocket. God forbid you broke your phone. It was by far the most important social device you could ever own. Your life in Korea would be nothing without it. The alarm on your phone went off when it was time to get ready for work, and you stood up once again from your laying down position on the floor. Anytime you found a moment to work out and do yoga in the comfort of your house, you ended it with a simple meditation session that involved laying on your back and letting any worries, stress, or thoughts out of your system. It was quite relaxing, especially since you had the sound of rain on your phone. The sound of rain was so soothing; it made you want to curl up by a window with a warm drink.

Getting ready for work was surprisingly stress-free experience this particular day, possibly because you had given yourself enough time to actually get ready. Your makeup was done beautifully, and your outfit was especially cute. It was nice to have the spare time to gussy yourself up, even if it was only for work. There was no extra pressure in getting anywhere punctually since you had all the time in the world. You even managed to waltz into work a few minutes early, surprising all of your co-workers. What was most surprising was the very familiar fluffy bleached hair sitting at the counter of the bar, eyes fixated on you. You smiled and waved a bit before walking over. “Jiyong-ssi! What are you doing here?” You asked with a bright smile.

“Ah, I’m just free today… You look pretty today, what’s the occasion?” He asked with a smile full of adoration, soft and blissful; not that you noticed. “Call me oppa.”

“Well you see my neighbour woke me up early because he’s vacating the building… so I had some extra time.” You admitted before standing up. “I better get to work!” You bowed slightly before dashing off to the co-worker that had flagged you down; leaving him before he could say anything else.

The work day was full and chilling. The entire day went quickly, yet you could not shake the feeling that you were being watched. Every time you turned to the familiar face at the bar, his eyes were on you… intently. Staring as if he were searching your soul. He wouldn’t leave for hours, as if he wasn’t one of the most popular idols in Korea. It was spine-tingling. You felt the shivers run through your spine as his gaze locked with yours, not moving whatsoever until you forced your head to turn away. For 11 hours he sat there. Most customers would be kicked out, but it was obvious he was using his ties to the owner to stay. When your shift was over, you slipped out the back door without saying. Within five minutes of your walk home, your phone buzzed as a new text came in.

GD: Where did you go? Are you done work for tonight?

You gulped and quickly shoved your phone into your pocket while picking up the pace of your steps. You just wanted to get back to the safety of your home. Back to somewhere the eyes could not reach you. The texts wouldn’t stop flowing in. It was a bother, it was not normal for this to be happening. You had understood the dating culture in dating. Yes, guys texted a girl as much as they could within the first few days of meeting… but this was weeks later, with a very awkward visit at work… and post-. At this point, you figured he would have lost interest. You had been very wrong.

It's been so long since I've updated! I'm sorry!