Curiosities and Oddities

Follow the Heart
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A/N: And here’s the next chapter! I hope you guys like it! :)

In the following weeks, Yesung’s life suddenly seemed to be filled with curiosities and oddities.

He couldn’t help but think that… well, strange things kept happening around him lately (and no, they’re not the supernatural or paranormal kind—thank God, because he never liked ghosts and specters). 

Not that these things seemed outrightly dangerous or risky. They were just … odd.

Very odd.

Late one Friday afternoon, Yesung was standing in front of the academy after classes, waiting for Siwon. It was unusual because Siwon was normally already waiting for him by the time that he went out. Just as he was starting to worry about his boyfriend, his phone suddenly rang, and a frantic-sounding Siwon started talking as soon as the call connected.

“Woonie! I’m so sorry! Trouble in the company, and there’s an emergency meeting now. One of our workers messed up so badly, and an investor threatening to pull out. I won’t be able to pick you up today!” He sounded so upset and frustrated about not being able to drive Yesung home.

“It’s okay,” Yesung quickly assured him. “I’ll be fine. I can get home on my own. You just do what you have to do there. Don’t worry about me.”

“I always worry about you, Woonie,” Siwon retorted. “I need to always be with you.”

Yesung’s heart started to beat frantically at those words. He thought it was sweet that his boyfriend cared about him so much.

“I’ll be fine, Siwon. There are plenty of other ways for me to get home.”

“Will you be catching a ride with your friends?” Siwon’s voice suddenly sounded tight.

“You mean Eunhyuk and Donghae?”

“Yes. Them.”

Yesung was puzzled about Siwon’s strange tone, but he decided to put it aside. Siwon was having a very rough day at work, after all. “No. Unfortunately, Hyuk and Hae already left a while ago. I’ll just take the bus. It’s fine.”

Siwon sighed. Yesung was even more bewildered when the sigh sounded relieved to him. Shouldn’t Siwon be kind of upset or disappointed that Yesung couldn’t just a catch ride with his friends, as that would have been easier for him? Why would Siwon be relieved that Yesung couldn’t ride along with his friends? 

But before Yesung could inquire about it, he heard someone yelling frantically for Siwon in the background.

Siwon swore. “I’ve got to go, Woonie. The investor is here, and he’s ready to tear us apart. I’ll see you tonight at your apartment.”

After saying goodbye and disconnecting the call, Yesung started walking to the bus stop. It was a few blocks away from the academy, but Yesung didn’t really mind the walk. Dr. Lee always said that some exercise was good for him (as long as he didn’t overexert himself), and the afternoon was nice and cool, and Yesung thought that the fresh air would do him some good and help him relax after a long day of teaching.

However, as he was walking, Yesung started to feel odd. Goosebumps started to appear on his arms. That was strange; the day was cool, but it wasn’t that cold. The sun hadn’t completely set yet, and it wasn’t so dark. The streets were still filled with people, and it was fairly safe in this part of the city.

But Yesung just couldn’t get rid of that anxious feeling in his stomach.

He couldn’t understand it, but he walked faster. He told Siwon that he would be okay going home on his own, but he suddenly wished now that his boyfriend had been able to pick him up. The sooner that he got to the bus stop, the better.

He kept glancing at everyone that he passed by, but they all seemed to be minding their own business.

Suddenly, he realized what the uncomfortable feeling was telling him: he was being followed.

Abruptly, he stopped and turned around.

At the first, he didn’t see anyone except strangers and passerby. But then, he spotted a somewhat familiar figure some distance away from him. 

Eunhyuk and Donghae’s new student, Kim Kibum.

Yesung’s abrupt turn must have surprised Kibum, for the student seemed to have suddenly stopped as well. Yesung and Kibum stared at each other for a few moments, not minding the people hurrying past them. Then, Kibum started walking again, and Yesung warily stood in his place, waiting until the student had drawn level with him.

“Kibum-ssi,” Yesung greeted cautiously once the student was near enough. 

“Seonsaengnim,” Kibum greeted back with a slight bow of his head.

Yesung hesitated, unsure of whether he should voice out his suspicion. It was awkward to suspect and accuse a student of something like that, but he couldn’t help it, and he asked slowly, “… Were you following me, Kibum?”

A second’s pause. And then—

“Not exactly, seonsaengnim.” At Yesung’s raised eyebrow, he elaborated, “I am heading to the bus stop, which is also where I think you are heading. We are going in the same direction, so I guess that it’s inevitable that I would be ‘following’ you.”

Yesung flushed a bit. “Ahh,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Well, now, he felt so stupid. He just basically accused a student of stalking him when the student was just going to the bus stop like him. Thankfully for Yesung, Kibum didn’t say anything more about his accusation, and they walked together in awkward silence (for Yesung’s part, at least) to the bus stop.

As they walked, though, Yesung couldn’t help but get the feeling that it wasn’t just as innocent as Kibum also just heading to the bus stop. Maybe he was being paranoid, but this didn’t feel like mere coincidence. And the sideway glances that Kibum would occasionally shoot at him weren’t helping matters.

In the bus, Yesung sat beside a window, and Kibum took the seat beside him. Yesung supposed that he should be friendly and try to make small talk with the new student (at the very least, he should ask how Kibum was adjusting to studying in the academy), but he felt tensed and a bit intimidated by Kibum’s serious aura and his occasional piercing glances. So, the bus ride, like their walk, was spent in awkward silence.

Half an hour later, just one stop away from Yesung’s stop, Kibum stood up. “I’ll be going now. See you at school next week, seonsaengnim.” With another quick bow to Yesung, Kibum got off the bus.

Yesung looked at the view outside. Donghae liked to chatter about everything and everyone, and from what Yesung had heard from Donghae, their new student lived in a different part of the city. Not anywhere near the stop that he had gotten off. But then, this stop was near the shopping district, after all, so maybe Kibum was headed there and not yet going home?

Yesung knew that he was being a bit nosy—it wasn’t really his business to know where students go to during their private time. But he just couldn’t shake off the odd feeling.

As the bus started to move again, Yesung looked at Kibum, and he was suddenly glad that the windows were tinted so that Kibum couldn’t see the teacher looking oddly at the student. If the windows weren’t tinted, Kibum would see what he was doing… because Kibum was also staring at the very window that Yesung was sitting beside.

Kibum didn’t move or walk away, just watching the bus drive away. 

Though Yesung had the suspicion that Kibum wasn’t just watching the bus exactly. It seemed more of Kibum watching Yesung go away.

Yesung couldn’t shake off weirdness from the bus ride even when he got home. He decided to cook a special meal for dinner. Siwon would surely appreciate eating something delicious after the stressful day that he had at work. Also, cooking an elaborate meal would necessitate Yesung to focus on the meal preparation, preventing him from dwelling even more on the oddness that he had just experienced.

Siwon looked quite stressed and harassed when he got to Yesung’s apartment, but he did seem to brighten up when he saw that Yesung had prepared a delicious meal for him.

“You’re the best cook I know, Woonie!” Siwon said proudly as they started eating.

Yesung blushed and muttered a word of thanks. Then, because he needed to tell someone and get the weight off his chest, Yesung narrated his experience that afternoon.

“Wait, you think that student was stalking you?!” Siwon said immediately after Yesung finished retelling his story. Siwon looked quite worried and angry.

“I don’t know,” Yesung shrugged helplessly. “He said that he was also just going to the bus stop. It’s a quite plausible reason, and he did ride the bus as well. But I just felt… weird about the whole thing…”

“Who is he? What’s his name?” Siwon demanded. “I’ll get my people working and find out what he’s up to! He can’t just stalk my boyfriend!”

“What? Oh! No! That’s not necessary!” Yesung said hastily. He was now very glad that he hadn’t mentioned the student’s name during his narration. He had noticed that Siwon was very protective of him, and of course, Siwon wouldn’t take it well if there’s a person who’s stalking him.

“But he—!”

“It’s not necessary,” Yesung insisted firmly. “I was probably just making something out of nothing. The poor student is already having a difficult time with adjusting to a new school. It’s fine.”

Siwon did not looked pleased, but he nodded grudgingly. “Alright. If you say so, Woonie… But you will tell me if he comes near you again or makes the wrong move?”

Yesung nodded. However, he was actually partly just agreeing to Siwon’s condition. Telling Siwon if Kibum “comes near him” is a bit too much (they’re both in the same school; Kibum would have to be near him sometim

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farrelandmerry
330 streak #1
Chapter 25: I miss this story, I miss all of your stories, I miss youuuu~ T^T
ZYMoon127
#2
Chapter 25: I normally don’t read fics unless they’re finished so I wouldn’t have started this if I didn’t notice it’s incomplete. I’m glad I did though, because this is an amazing story that’s had me on the edge of my seat! What a rollercoaster! Your writing style is very easy to read and flows nicely. It works really well for the thriller genre. Ahh I love “the gang” so much. For now I’m going to say kyusung live happily together, Siwon gets put in jail for life, and everyone else gets to have fun together. Much 💙💙
ZYMoon127
#3
Chapter 19: This is so exciting and intense!! I haven’t feared or hated a character so much in ages. Siwon better be going to prison!
ZYMoon127
#4
Chapter 12: Help siwon is scaring me 😭😭 poor yesung :(
jill_cloudy02
#5
Chapter 25: This story is very promising, the scenes are so thrilling, it keeps me at the edge of my seat. Still waiting for some update 🥺🥺
kkomii #6
Chapter 25: This story is sooo beautifuulll!! I can't wait to see what happens next!! <33
myfish #7
Chapter 25: Huhuhu finally... 😭😭 i have been waiting 2 years for this huhuhu love you and your story 🥰😍
Yesung69
#8
Chapter 25: Your story is really very beautiful, eagerly waiting for your new update😭🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
tessa24 #9
Chapter 21: wookie☹☹☹☹
tessa24 #10
Chapter 16: my kyusung heart💔