She could hear his distant footsteps in the eerie darkness. It wasn’t directly from behind her, but she knew he was only a few metres away. Risking a look behind hastily, she came face to face with only emptiness. Whipping back her head around, Hara fished out her phone from her sling bag and quickly punched in some buttons.

One ring...two ring...

“Hara, what is it?”

She heaved a huge sigh of relief at the sound of her best friend’s familiar voice. It sounded comforting even though he was probably beds away from her right now.

“Junnie-yah...can you...can you stay on the phone with me for awhile?” she asked him quietly, biting on her fingernail as she waited for his response.

At the same time, Hara quickened her pace; stealing glances behind every few seconds to make sure he wasn’t secretly behind her.

“I’m tired,”Jun Hyung’s sleepy voice drawled from the other end. She heard him shifting around in his bed before he came back on line. “What do you need me for at this hour of the night Goo Hara?”

“I just came back from the school library,” she dropped her voice to a stage whisper and cupped a hand around the phone’s mouthpiece. “I think somebody’s following me.”

She could immediately hear him bolting up in his bed as he juggled the phone to his other ear.

“Yah! What are you talking about? Don’t scare me like this!”

“I...I don’t know! I just have a feeling okay. A very strong feeling.”

She listened to him cussing softly under his breath as he muttered a few inaudible words; too quick for her to catch.

“What are you even thinking, going home by yourself at this kind of time?” Hara could practically see Jun Hyung rolling his eyes at her in disbelief. “Where are you now?”

“I’m taking the shortcut through the park near my house. I’m reaching home soon,” Hara assured him before he could jump on once again. “I just need someone to accompany me for awhile.”

“Aish, this girl. Don’t ever do this again. Arrasso?”

She managed a small smile when she heard the distinctive concern in Jun Hyung’s voice. He rarely shows his care towards her but she knows he means well all the same. In fact, she knows him more than he knows himself. They have been the best of friends ever since they were small kids; growing up together side by side.

“Neh. Don’t worry okay Junnie?”

“How can I not worry when you just blasted me with this kind of stalker news? Who is it by the way? Do you know?”

Hara bit her bottom lip hard as she thought about the possibility. She had a pretty good idea on who he might be but she was almost afraid of saying his name out aloud.

He could hear her.

“It...it’s probably stupid,” she told Jun Hyung just as the street’s lights greeted her from the entrance of the park. She cheered silently inside when she saw the familiar view of her apartment from the other side of the road.

“Nothing’s stupid when it comes to your safety,”Jun Hyung said firmly. “Tell me whatever’s on your mind now.”

“Well...there is someone...”

But before she could spit the words out, Hara suddenly felt someone’s low heavy breathing downing on her neck from behind. Her grip on the phone tightened immediately as she stood frozen on the spot; not daring to even move an inch.

“Hara? Hara, are you still there?” Jun Hyung’s urgent voice came from the other end. “Damn it. Don’t keep quiet like this. Talk to me!”

She waited for him to go away. She waited until it seemed like an eternity. Then...he finally spoke.

“Don’t even think about it.”