Dara stands in the corridor of the second floor of the library building where she works, next to the coffee vending machine which—following the theme in December—suddenly had been filled with Christmas decorations. Dara holds a paper cup containing hot coffee with one hand, while the other hand holds a phone that is attached to the ear.

“Yes, I’ll go home on Christmas Day,” she said on the phone while looking out at the large glass window overlooking the front yard of the library building.

“You’ll stay here until after the New Year, don’t you?” Her father’s deep voice was heard at the other end.

“Of course,” Dara said as she slowly sips her coffee. “By the way, Dad, is Mom still in Jeju?”

Dara’s father and mother originally lived in Seoul, then three years ago they moved to Busan, her father’s hometown, to look for a calmer atmosphere. Her father was never used to the hustle and bustle of the city of Seoul.

“Yes, but she will go home this week,” said her father. “She said your grandfather’s health had improved.”

“Great,” said Dara, nodding.

Last week her mother went to Jeju because she heard that Dara’s grandfather had to undergo operation for appendicitis, but the operation was successful and her grandfather was well again.

After convincing her father that she will spend the New Year in Busan, Dara closes the phone and pockets it. As she is about to sip her coffee, her phone vibrates. She takes it out and sees the caller ID that appeared on the screen.

“Hello? Seunghoon, what’s wrong?” Dara said as soon as the phone was pressed to her ear.

“Dara Noona, do you have time tonight?” Seunghoon’s cheerful voice was on the other end.

“What’s the occasion tonight?”

“Jiyong Hyung, Chaerin Noona, and I want to go out for a drink tonight,” Seunghoon explained. “Think of it as a small party welcoming new neighbor. Before that we will have dinner together at Grandpa and Grandma Shin’s place.”

Hearing the name of Kwon Jiyong, Dara’s mind immediately floats into the incident last night and suddenly her cheeks felt hot. She closes her eyes tightly, trying to shake off those embarrassing memories. God! Her new neighbor definitely thinks she's some kind of psycho stalker...

“Noona?”

Her thoughts stops and Dara tries to focus her attention on Seunghoon. “Yes? Sorry, what did you say?”

“So how? Can you join us?”

“Tonight I can’t,” said Dara after thinking for a moment. “A colleague of mine invited us to celebrate his birthday. I promised to come along.”

“Oh?” Seunghoon’s voice sounded rather disappointed.

“Dara-ssi.”

Dara turns towards the voice of the woman who called her. She sees one of her co-workers waving at her. Next to her stood a blonde woman. Foreigner, Dara thought immediately. In the library, Dara is the only employee who can speak English, so she is always indirectly asked to serve foreign customers who can’t speak Korean.

“Sorry, Seunghoon, I have to go back to work now,” said Dara quickly. “Have fun. Maybe I’ll come next time. Forgive me?”

After saying that, she hangs up, throws the used paper cup into the trash bin near it, then jogs to her waiting co-worker.

***

Dara shivers. White steam comes out of every time she exhales. She glances at her watch. It’s almost midnight. It turns out that she and her colleagues had been singing for hours at karaoke. She clears . is a little sore because she sings too much. While busy singing she didn’t feel tired, but now her body aches and her eyes are heavy. She just wants to get home quickly and sleep.

While humming softly, she walks down a small, slightly uphill road to her apartment building. The small road is quiet and only lit by dim lights.

Then she hears that voice. The sound of footsteps behind her. Dara gasps softly and swallows hard. She tries to calm down. Maybe she heard it wrong. Dara keeps walking — even though her steps involuntarily got faster — and puts her ear. Really! There’s someone behind her!

So what if there’s another person who also walks on that road? Is the road mine? Dara murmured to herself, regretting her easy panic. Don’t think nonsense. Convince yourself first.

Secretly Dara tries to glance behind her shoulder. She doesn’t manage to see much. She only catches the figure of someone who walks not far behind her. She gets goose bumps. Panic begins to attack regardless of the rebuttal of common sense. As she quickens her pace, her breath begins to difficult and bad thoughts begin to wander through her mind.

The footsteps of the person behind her also sounded faster. Bad people? Dara thought in a panic. Drunkard? Or worse, ?! God, protect me. Crime on lonely streets is nothing new in a big city like Seoul. Dara immediately said a prayer in her heart. Another possibility is tucked into her brain. Don’t tell me... stalker? This isn’t the first time Dara has been followed. That experience made her traumatized.

There it is! The apartment building is already near. Dara is very relieved. She almost runs, but her legs are too stiff to move faster. Suddenly...

“Hey...” There’s a low voice of a man behind her and Dara feels her shoulder being held. The panic explodes. She spins quickly while swinging her bag towards the person. She also doesn’t forget to scream loudly.

Her bag hits the side of the man’s body with a loud thud. Dara swings her bag once more and…

“Wait... It’s me. It’s me!”

Dara stops swinging her arm and glares fiercely at the man who raises his hands in front of his face to protect himself. Slowly the person lowers his hands and Dara can see his face clearly.

“Kwon Jiyong?” Dara said in a choked voice. Her eyes widen.

Even though her new neighbor is still a stranger, at least Dara knows him. Her wild heartbeat somewhat subsides. “Gosh, why are you sneaking up like that?”

Jiyong looks different