I gave out a silent gasp when I saw the face of the clock on the wall. The long hand was in between the figures ten and eleven while the shorter arm was pointing towards the number five. The last bus would arrive at the bus top in five minutes. Hastily grabbing my belongings, I thanked Hyun Ae for inviting me to her eighteenth birthday party and bid her good bye. I put on my shoes and practically ran as fast as the 2 inch stilettos on my feet allowed me to.

‘Two more minutes…’ That was on my mind as I took a quick glance on the timepiece on my left wrist. There was still another hundred and fifty meters for me to cover to reach my destination. I quickened my pace as much as I could without adding more discomfort to my feet. I grumbled as I remembered my mother had forced me to wear this pair of death traps earlier this evening. After much persuasion, I had reluctantly worn the pair of heels, leaving my favorite silver pumps in the shoes cabinet at home.

  As I was approaching the bus stop, I had just managed to see the bus rumble off, leaving me behind. There was no way I could run after the bus now. My only option to get home was on foot. I could not contact my parents and ask them to pick me up as my parents were out of town to attend my elder brother’s graduation. Letting out a sigh, I began my walk home.

 As I walked deeper into the night, I began to take notice of my surroundings which I had neglected on my sprint to the bus stop. The light from the full moon lit my path, guiding me through the darkness of the night. Ominous looking shadows, created by the moonlight and the bare trees by the pavement seemed to stretch out their claws towards me. The sound of my shoes against the cement covered ground seemed thunderous in contrast to the stillness of the night.

All of the sudden, a gust of wind blew. Dead leaves took flight for a brief moment, dancing in spiral patterns before settling down on the ground again. I pulled my jacket closer around me, trying to keep out the cold from my body. A deafening roar of an engine almost made me jump out of my skin. Shifting my line of sight to my right, I saw a silhouette of a man stopping his motorcycle by the side of the road. Killing the engine, he got off his vehicle and started heading in my direction.

I was petrified. Memories of articles that I had read before came into my mind. Stories about women getting ambushed during the late hours of the night rushed into my head. Pushing all the negative thoughts from my brain, I increased the speed of my pace for the second time that night. Taking long strides, I tried to shake him off my trail. The man seemed to have noticed my increased speed, also began to walk faster.

Without hesitating, I broke into a run. Ignoring the throbbing pain in the soles of my feet, I pushed myself to my limit to outrun the man following me. The person behind me started to pick up pace as well. The next moment, I found myself momentarily airborne before gravity pulled me towards the earth. I felt the rough pavement tear my skin and a sharp pain shot up from my right kneecap. Warm crimson fluid slid down my palms and leg. I had cut hands when I had braced myself from the impact from my fall and probably scraped my knees as well.

Waking up from my daze from the little trip back down to earth, I realized that my stalker was just behind me. From his shadow, I realized that his hand was closing the distance between us. I felt my heart crashing against my ribcage and squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for what was to come. His hand came into contact with my shoulder. My body froze. Shaking me gently, he asked if I was alright. My eyes opened and turned around when a familiar voice reached my ears. Releasing a breath that I did not know that I was holding, my eyes showed me a face that I was accustomed to. His mop of dark brown hair was in its usual fashion. Orbs full of melting chocolate started back at me with concern. Finding my voice again, I enquired why he had been following me.

“You left this at Hyun Ae’s.” He brought out a compact disc from his black leather jacket. “She swears that you can’t sleep without listening to Super Junior or Big Bang.” His eyes were mocking me with laughter. I rolled my eyes at my best friend’s dramatized statement. He saw my injuries and helped me up. I winced as another flash of pain shot up my leg. He guided me to his motorcycle and sped off to the nearest twenty four hour clinic. After the doctor had cleaned and bandaged my wounds, he offered to take me home as his way of apologizing for terrifying me.

“You know, all these things happens to you and not to anyone else because of you forgetfulness. I wouldn’t be surprised if you are an old lady in disguise.” Kim Jonghyun said with a chuckle. My friend that I had known since kindergarten earned a smack on his shoulder from me as we rode home together on his Ducati.