Tale 2

It’s been a solid one week since Kiyoko arrived in Seoul and began living on her own in Shin-dang Residence. Up till now, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one came breaking the door down to force her back to Tokyo, nor was there anyone staking out in a car outside her window. Kiyoko took it as a good sign that her father is still unable to track her, that or he’s not looking for her.

The days have gone by uneventful and boring, minus the phone calls exchanged between her mother and herself. Surprisingly to herself, she even lost the will to open a book to study which was highly unlikely of the Kiyoko back in Tokyo. All Kiyoko did all day was wake up, stare out into the city she couldn’t even step out into, an occasional snack or shower here and there, then finally back to sleep and repeat. Everything seemed like a routine and her life felt as if it held no purpose anymore, she had nothing to do. Kiyoko thought that by leaving Tokyo she would be happier and less fearful, but if she were to be honest, it’s scarier knowing he’s out there and could be knowledgeable about her location as of now.

“Ah hyung! Come on, let me in! It’s not funny!” A sudden voice shouted out in the hallway. Kiyoko’s next door neighbours, again. It’s been like that for a week, when Kiyoko got too deep into her thoughts, her rowdy neighbours would always be making noise from next door, snapping her back to reality. Kiyoko made her way to the front door to observe the commotion through the peep-hole. A young man, probably one of the tenants, was standing in only a towel wrapped around his waist. He was pushing the door of unit 8-2-0, but it seemed as if the force on the other side was stronger and there was no way he could beat them in this immature brawl. “Jooheon-ah, let me in! Hyungwon, yah! You’re younger than I am, let me in before I whack you!” The guy said. “Yah! There’s other people living on this floor now, let me in before they see me!” He continued to no avail. After a good five minutes, his friends finally let him in and their cackling was louder than ever at the misfortune of their one friend.

“You rascals, could you imagine what would happen if our new neighbours saw me half out in the hallway!” Hoseok complained. “You should’ve seen your face!” Jooheon, the mastermind laughed. “Yah, but are you sure we even have new neighbours? I’ve never even seen anyone walking in or out of that unit.” Kihyun questioned. “Pretty sure, I walked back home about a week ago to see some girl walk into the elevator. I missed it but I saw that it went up to the 8^th floor.” Hoseok justified. “A girl?!” The youngest, Changkyun, asked excitingly. “How did she look? Was she hot?” Jooheon asked. “I didn’t get to see her front profile.” Hoseok replied. “Then what about her back profile?” Hyunwoo asked. “Ah hyung! You too?! You’re the last person to ever ask about a girl!” Hoseok joked. “Forget I asked.” Hyunwoo replied which made his friends burst out in laughter.

“Be careful! That was expensive!” Hyunwoo complained to his friends. Changkyun and Hyungwon were trying to carry the heavy box of fancy rice cake that they Hyunwoo had purchased for their new female neighbour but because of their height difference, the box was slowly tipping to one side.

Knock knock

“What was that?” Kiyoko thought to herself. “Hello, is anyone in there?” A voice on the other side of her front door asked. “Oh no..” Kiyoko feared the worse, “did they finally find me?” Kiyoko hurriedly went under her bed to hide, which by the way was a stupid hiding spot. About two minutes of silence went by, when another round of knocks were made again. “Wouldn’t they have broken down the door by now?” Kiyoko asked herself. Kiyoko heard inaudible mumbling, it sounded as if there were quite a few people out there. “Hello,” a voice chirped up again, “we’re your next door neighbours, is anyone in there?” the voice continued.

“Oh Kiyoko, you idiot.”

Kiyoko went up to her front door to check on the said next door neighbours. Through the peep-hole she saw seven boys crowding around her door, two were carrying a fancy looking box and the one at the far side kept looking over at the box to make sure it didn’t fall over. Kiyoko was about to open the door for them when she remembered that even harmless looking next door neighbours could be a threat to her. Considering her position, she shouldn’t be too trusting towards others, right now. And with that, Kiyoko let go of the handle.

“Guys, I don’t think anyone’s home.” Kihyun said. “Hyung, are you very sure someone is living in this unit?” Hyungwon asked Hoseok. “I’m positive! Maybe she just isn’t in right now.” Hoseok replied. Feeling dejected, the seven of them turned back towards their unit and disappeared through the door. Without their knowledge, their new female neighbour was still observing everything from her peep-hole with a solemn look on her face. Kiyoko felt bad, but she knew she had to put her safety first. Who knows, maybe they were men hired by her father to pose as her neighbours. Either that or she was being paranoid, but one thing’s for sure; she wasn’t going to risk all the hard work her mother put into her escape.