A/N: Hi, everyone! Thanks for subscribing and voting just with the foreword! This is the very first chapter and hope it can grab

some attention from you although it’s just a boring intro chapter … :D I dedicated this chapter to makkana_ai unnie and feelgyo

unnie who put so much effort in making me write down this fic … and makkana_ai unnie even made me the beautiful poster that you

saw in the foreword … Love you Unniedeul! <3 Please enjoy and leave me some comments, pretty please! :D

“Andy-yah … Put that box on the table and … Wait! Where’re my catalogues?”

“I already put them on your bedroom, Hyung …”

The younger’s annoyed tone made Eric realize that he had been too much bossing around Andy who was willingly helping in his

moving in to a new apartment. And also, his eyes set on his wrist watch and found another reason why the usual kind Andy was out

of patience.

“Ah? It’s already 1 p.m? Gosh! Time flew really fast …”

Then, he glanced at his younger friend and saw the other was raising one of his eyebrows at him as a sign.

“Ok … Ok … Andy yah … I’ll go and buy something for lunch … since I still don’t know the number of Chinese restaurant around here

…”

He replied fast with a chuckle and left his apartment in rush after rubbing both of his hands with his jeans and grabbing his wallet

and phone. Since he knew how Andy could transform into a short-tempered devil if he did not get food in meal time, it would better

to grab something as fast as he could for Andy as lunch.

He punched the elevator button to go down from his 12^th floor apartment and when the empty elevator arrived, he got in while

browsing the latest copy of Nylon Magazine online to get some inspiration for his next design. Being a jewelry designer for one of

the famous jewelry shop in Seoul, he needed to catch up with the latest trend and interest among youths and ladies.

After hitting the “G” button, he leaned onto the elevator wall in the corner while keeping his attention to his phone. Then, he

heard the “ding” sound and after lifting his head, he found it was only at 11^th floor. At the next second, the door opened and seeing

a man standing outside of the elevator, his jaws literally dropped.

That guy was in a thick woolen long coat which reached to his knees while wearing a black cap and a mask over his mouth. Moreover,

there were big black-rimmed glasses on his face and wearing gloves, long black pants and sneakers, literally Eric could not see even

an inch of his skin except a pair of his eyes between the cap and the mask and the black locks of hair below his cap.

He also seemed to notice Eric looking at him from head to toe and maybe because of this, he still did not enter the elevator until

the door started to close again. Eric immediately stepped forward and stopped the closing door with his arms, causing that guy leap

backwards suddenly.

“You called the elevator, right? If so, what are you doing standing there? Come in quickly!”

Although he could not see the guy’s face, Eric could sense the shade of unwillingness or nervousness in those pair of eyes. After

hesitating for a few more seconds, finally, that guy sneaked one of his hands into his coat pocket and walked stiffly into the elevator

before standing at the opposite corner, looking like wanting to be as far as he could from Eric.

“Ground Floor?”

Eric got a little annoyed with that completely covered guy’s action towards him. He was even trying not to look at Eric’s direction

when he nodded slightly back at Eric’s question like Eric had a kind of contagious disease or virus and who could not get irritated

with that kind of expression?

Eric glanced from the corners of his eyes at that literally-fully-clothed guy while wondering maybe he was inside the elevator with a

psychopath or not. There was nothing wrong with his clothes but where it went wrong and strange for Eric was that it was freaking

June, in the middle of summer, not November or December to dress up like that while going out.

Here, he was already soaking up in his own sweat, even by only wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts and at that time, that weird guy

from 11^th floor was in a heap of winter clothes, like he was going to ski resort or ice skating center. But, considering from his mask,

maybe he had caught flu and got sick and that was why he was covering up himself like that, Eric thought.

However, Eric still did not think it was necessary to cover up that much even with flu and besides, that guy did not seem like being

weak due to flu. Eric even noticed that guy’s hand in pocket seemed like grabbing something tightly from the shape of the pocket.

Moreover, he caught that guy stealing quick glances at him from his eyes’ corners, in the same way with Eric doing. But his glances

were more like keeping guard on Eric’s movements rather than looking at him with curiosity.

Finally, after having a glancing duel in the elevator, the “ding” sound appeared with the flashing LED of “G” and the door opened.

That guy immediately got out of the elevator, almost running and leaving Eric in dumbfounded state.

“What? I’m like a bad guy to harm him? And he’s not even a teenage girl to freak out like that … Tsk!”

He could not help but mumbled himself in an annoyed tone while walking out to the pavement. The sun was shining too brightly and

he even put his hand above his eyes for some protection.

“How can he walk around with that kind of weather? Really weird …”

He recalled all the clothes that guy wearing and felt hot and sweaty just with the imagination. He glanced around the surrounding

and that weird guy was nowhere in his sight.

“He just got out in front of me and now he disappeared … Wait! Maybe he’s a ninja?”

He scratched his head while starting to walk towards the direction that he thought there was a supermarket or a Chinese

restaurant.

“Aishh … I must hurry up … Andy is waiting …”

 He started to walk a bit faster while being busy with mumbling to himself and that was why he missed a pair of eyes looking at him

from behind the wall of his apartment building.

Hyesung let out a deep sigh under his mask after seeing the man walking towards the opposite direction and he leaned back onto

the wall, releasing his tight grasp on the pepper spray in his pocket. His gloved hand even got numb after grasping the spray bottle

too tightly for a few minutes and he had to wait for a while to make his rapidly beating heart calm again while rubbing the sweat on

his temples with the back of his gloved hands.

Well, he was nearly dying in the elevator throughout the ride. If he had known this, he surely would have used the stairs instead of

the elevator. He had even felt his knees shaking too much when he had had those quick glances from that man in the elevator. He

had not seen that man in this block of apartment and that stranger was even checking him out from head to toe in an enclosed

elevator where only two of them were standing.

And after that, he was tall and well-built like …

He shook his head strongly and started hitting his own head since those unwanted images were nearly popping out again in his

memory while sliding his back along the wall and finally squatting down against the wall. He even felt a shiver running down his

spine, making him turn around his head to check if there was any suspicious man around him while tightening his hand around the

pepper spray in his pocket.

“It’s ok … Hyesung … It’s ok … Breathe in … Breathe out …”

Whispering to himself, he stood up again before looking up the sky and seeing the brightly shining sun in the June’s sky, he let out a

second sigh for the day. Blaming himself for forgetting toilet paper rolls at last evening’s grocery shopping, he started to walk

towards the mini mart around the corner in fast pace, both hands in his coat pockets and head lowering.

He hated to go out for unnecessary things, even if it was only the surrounding of his apartment building. Actually, he did not want

to leave his apartment at all. He did not want to see people and their curious eyes at him, an overly-clothed weird guy whose face

was not shown even in half. And most importantly, he did not want to be noticed by other people.

He did not want to get any attention from people, especially men.

Raising his walking speed towards the mini-mart, finally his destination appeared in his sight. Then, abruptly slowing down his steps,

he took a quick glance inside the mart and seeing a teenage girl at the cashier counter, he let out a relief sigh and walked towards

the mart before pushing the door slowly.

“Welcome!”

He slightly bowed at the greeting from the girl without looking at her and straightly went towards the shelf of toiletries, knowing his

action did not bother the girl at all because she was working here for nearly a year and he assumed she had been too used to his

appearance and actions. After finding the desired packet of toilet paper rolls, he grabbed three packets and put them on the

counter to fish out his wallet from his coat pocket.

“It’s 3200 Won, please …”

He handed a note and the girl put the packets into a shopping bag before handing it and the changes to him. In the process, he

caught a glance of a smile on the girl’s face obviously directing to him like every other time and he just gave a slight nod back as

usual since she could not see his smile penetrating his mask even if he smiled back.

After grabbing the bag and putting the coins into his pocket, he stepped out back to the road brightly lit with the sunshine and

retraced his steps back to the apartment building in the same rapid speed. He felt a stream of sweat moving along his spine and

increased his speed more than before to get back to his air-conditioned apartment.

Then, turning around the corner, he lifted his head a bit unconsciously and a familiar image of a man appeared in his sight, walking

from his opposite direction.

That stranger in the elevator again.

He felt goose bumps all over his body and a shiver again along his spine, realizing he was surely taking the elevator for the second

time with that stranger.

With that thought, he speeded up more to reach the entrance of the building and take the elevator first without waiting that guy.

He kept lowering his head and hurriedly got into the already opened elevator before abusing the “11” button and the close button.

When he saw the door finally closing, he leaned to the elevator wall and let out a relieved sigh.

But, to his dismay, the door opened again in a second and saw that stranger getting into the elevator with a satisfied grin on his

face, making him tremble a bit. He seemed like surprised seeing Hyesung again in the elevator but kept silent.

Then, in a flash, Hyesung just set a decision and he stopped the closing door by putting his arm between the crack before running

out of the elevator towards the stairs. He stopped only after running up until the 4^th floor and sat down on one of the steps,

panting hard.

He knew he surely looked like a weirdo running out from the elevator like that but there was no way he could be in that enclosed

space with that stranger again.

Especially when that person kept reminding Hyesung the person he wanted to erase out of his memory for life …

He sighed again and tried to control his breathing to get back into normal state. Then, suddenly, a thought crossed over his

clear-again head.

“He took the elevator again … so that means he’s living here?”

If so, from now on, he had to avoid that man not to bump into again.

Confusing for a few minutes, at last, he looked up and saw the unending stairs above him.

Anyway, he seriously needed to take sleeping pills tonight … since the nightmares were probably coming back …