...in which he turns his back

special treat - my third and last entry for Infinite Secret Santa 2014

given prompt: Myungsoo or Sungyeol as a stalker of the other

Myungsoo/Sungyeol

3357 words

dedicated to special_girl

The sun nibbled harshly at the back of my legs, hungrily seeping through the fabric of the dark jeans I chose to wear that day. I admit, I should have gone for shorts, it was August after all, but if it were not for the long pants, it would have taken me longer, perhaps forever, to notice him at all. That was, if only he himself hadn’t started to appear in front of me willingly, wanting to be noticed.

I was standing, waiting for the right bus to come. It was coming late as usual, but I was in no hurry to return to the lonely, dark flat I was supposed to call home. When I thought my calves were finally igniting I turned around and let the burning sunrays devour my face instead. That was when I caught a glimpse of him.

He was not really out of the ordinary and wouldn’t catch my attention at all if it were not for the exceptionally hot weather and his choice of clothes. He was clad all in black, from head to toe and I wondered how hot it must have been for him; I even pitied him for a second. In contrast to his clothes though, his face was incredibly pale and eyes mysterious as nothing I’d ever seen. He was looking at me.

In attempt to avoid the threatening awkwardness, I forced my lips to stretch into a small smile, which I was sure he saw but never returned. I let my smile fade then and broke the eye contact we held for a few seconds; I had no intention of making a fool of myself. The bus came some minutes later and when I got on, I looked out of the window in search for him and went home wondering where he had disappeared to.

I was never the type of a person to fancy the never dying life of a city centre, nor did I ever like its noisy and usually dirty environment. I preferred the suburbs ever since I was a child; my brother never understood why, just like I never understood how he could live in a flat with windows facing one of the busiest streets in the very heart of the city. When we were younger there was an idea of us living together, but it would apparently never work.

I admit that the centre was convenient when it came to working opportunities and social life and I regretted a bit my decision to go home instead of going to a club with my brother that day. Nonetheless, I still preferred solitude over company and so I chased the thoughts of how nice the evening could have been had I stayed in the city away.

I worked in the city, though, so it was inevitable for me to go there every day sans the weekends. I didn’t mind the approximately half an hour long journeys back and forth, quite the opposite actually. I liked to watch the world pass by when I took the bus; I knew the way by heart and I liked to notice the little changes in various things every day.

The weekend after I saw him was unrealistically slow in passing. I was organising materials for the article I planned to push through for the following month’s issue of the magazine I worked for. The meetings were always the last Monday of the month and I was sure I had enough reasons to win the front page title.

Though a journalist wasn’t something I imagined would become of me, I enjoyed the job more than I thought I would.

Monday came slower than I had wanted it to, but I was really excited once it did. On the bus, I was not able to concentrate on the world outside and I was playing with my fingers to pass the time.

I never paid much attention to the people on the bus with me, but I saw him again. He got on one stop before the one I was headed to and again, he was all in black, eyes watching me. I did not smile again and just averted my eyes. Inconspicuously I watched as he was getting off at the same stop as I was. I grew a bit anxious, but I forgot about him the instant he disappeared.

Much to my happiness and to my colleagues’ dismay, I got the front page and was in good spirits as I went home. And there he was again, as if waiting for me. It was strange and I tried to pay him no attention as I walked to the bus stop, but I heard his steps behind me. The bus was coming already, but it was far enough for the man to have enough time to catch up to me.

“Happy birthday.” He said.

As if I had not heard his words, I said nothing in reply and as soon as the bus came, I got on without looking back once. Once in safe distance, I let my hands shake and ponder of that day’s date.

Indeed, it was my birthday.

He hadn’t stopped appearing in front of me for months and I was gradually getting scared, because the words he uttered at times with that honeyed voice of his made shivers run down my spine. I never saw him long enough to ask what his business with me was, though.

It was one day in November that I finally had the chance and courage to speak to him.

“Who are you?” I asked, the question sounding dumb coming out of my mouth, but I really didn’t care.

“Your shadow.” He said, an amused smirk dancing on his lips. “Or a secret admirer, if you prefer that.” He added.

I could smell the irony in the evening air. It was growing cold. His words did not surprise me the slightest, there had been worse. It occurred to me then that I didn’t know what to say; I was not exactly skilled in talking to people.

 “Why are you following me around?” I asked the only reasonable question I had in mind. Answer to it was something I had been craving for weeks, but I feared I would not get it so easily.

“Why do people do things?” he asked no one, “Because they want to, they find these things interesting, attractive, alluring, desirable even. And you are… all of that combined, Lee Sungyeol. Even when you don’t think so, I do.” He replied, eyes never leaving mine; there was a strange glint to them. Something I had never seen before.

He was right, I never thought I was interesting in any way.

“How do you know my name?” I asked then, being completely caught off guard by the fact.

“How do you think I know your birthday? Where you work? Where you live? Who your family members are?” he asked back. “I know a lot about you. Even what you think.”

Within a split second, something flew through my mind. His smile - lips stretched in an oddly attractive way, his eyes and that strange spark in them… I thought I had seen it somewhere before.

I found myself at loss of words right there. Fear crept to every corner of my body and my legs started shaking. I don’t know if he pitied the sight of me trying to keep my cool or if he considered it enough talking for that evening or both, but he went away then. I did not call after him, I did not demand an explanation.

All I felt and could think of was how scared I was and ask myself where I’d seen that face before.

Somehow I managed to get home that evening, I don’t really remember how. I did not even bother to take my coat or shoes off; the instant I closed the door behind myself I slid down to the floor against it, hands clutching my head.

Even when there was no possible way he was wi