Glancing briefly at his watch as he trudged through the snow coated pavement, Kyungsoo sighed in frustration as he picked up his pace. Half past six. His daily delivery of seafood comes at six every morning. Hopefully either one of his employees came in early today and caught the delivery man before he left because having no seafood meant not being able to serve half of the menu. The thought of disappointing his customers had Kyungsoo’s heart dropping in depression. He really meant to show up for work on time today, but the consecutive stalker photos received had been scaring him senseless that he was too paranoid to sleep and only fell into a deep slumber when it was the wee hours.

That’s right, Kyungsoo had a stalker. Initially, he thought it was a prank played by one of his employees when he received a photo of himself hard at work in the café. He simply dismissed it when none of them would fess up, and merely collected the photos that were delivered by the postman every day. But the photos were getting creepier. From innocent photos of him working at the café, it became back views of him walking home, him taking out the trash at his apartment complex, and things got serious when he received a photo of him sound asleep in bed. The stalker not only followed him home, but broke in while all was quiet in the dead of the night. It horrified Kyungsoo how he had no idea that someone had broken into his apartment until he received the photo and he spent the night considering having a police report filed. Then again, the stalker would immediately know if his duty was to tail Kyungsoo all day. The poor boy was trapped.

As he finally pushed through the doors to Heaven, he felt his body weighing him down considerably when Luna rushed out of the kitchen with a flustered expression. They had missed the delivery man after all.
“I’m so sorry boss; I rushed over once I received your call but when I arrived the truck had already left.” Luna hung her head apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it; it was my fault I overslept.” Kyungsoo rubbed his nape sheepishly. “Just make sure to explain to all our customers that food items with seafood wouldn’t be available today and make suggestions to what they could order instead.”
“Yes, boss! On a separate note…” Her voice trailed off.  “You’ve been out of sorts for the past few days. Is something bothering you?”
“Of course not! It’s just insomnia.” Kyungsoo fibbed.
“Is it possibly about those photos? Are you still receiving them?”

The topic of his stalker had him panicking and he shook his head while averting his gaze. It had to be a prank. He just has to find out who is the mastermind.

Business was buzzing as usual despite the setback on the menu, and thoughts about his stalker had been shelved in the back of Kyungsoo mind as he flitted between counter and kitchen to assist Chanyeol. He had come up with the idea of an all waffles day and the promotion included a free cup of latte with every waffle purchase. It naturally saved him the hassle and frustration of having to explain why he couldn’t serve what was on the menu when all the orders were for waffles. Even Chanyeol nodded his head in respect when he heard the idea and Kyungsoo definitely felt his pride swelling.  He was by the door bowing to the customers who had just finished their meal when he noticed the postman getting off his bike. He stood rooted as he watched the postman pulling out a parcel from the metal box attached to his bike before making his way towards Heaven. ‘Oh God,’ Kyungsoo eyed the man uneasily and jumped when the bells on the door tinkled. ‘A parcel. The stalker sent a parcel!’

Ripping the parcel out of the postman’s grip, Kyungsoo couldn’t be bothered if he was behaving strangely, and not to mention, extremely rude right now. With the box tucked firmly under his arm, he marched straight for the alley hoping that Luna had not seen him or the postman. He was strained enough as it is and he didn’t want to have to make further explanations to people who aren’t likely to be able to help him. Kyungsoo didn’t stop until he was certain that he had the privacy he needed before dropping the parcel on the floor and ripping the brown wrapping paper apart. His heart thumped wildly against his ribcage as his fingers traced the box that was completely covered with black felt material and held shut with a silver snap. in a deep breath of air with his eyes closed, he tore the lid open in a swift motion, his hands trembling as he willed himself to open his eyes. He wished he didn’t.

Cushioned with an abundance of red silk cloth, a doll nestled lifelessly in the middle of the box. But what really terrified Kyungsoo was a photo of his face plastered on the face of the doll. ‘Let’s have a good time together.’ A note lay on the doll and Kyungsoo shredded the piece of paper viciously before kicking the toy away from him. He didn’t understand why anyone would go out of his way to instill so much fear in him if it was intended as a prank. The person had gone too far but as much as he tried, he couldn’t recall offending anyone. What has he ever done to deserve this?

Still unnerved as he made his way back to the café, Kyungsoo wrapped his arms tightly around his shivering body – partly in fear and partly due to the fact that he had charged into the cold without his coat. Gasping as he literally leaped a few steps away when he felt a hand on his shoulder, Kyungsoo shrunk into a ball by the pavement while spewing every profanity he knew. It was not until the bright, roaring laughter reached his eardrums that he looked up fearfully with his rounded eyes. “Hey dude, you need to chill a little. It’s just me if you were thinking it’s some creepy noona who wants your number.” Kai bent over with his hands over his stomach as he chuckled at his own joke, oblivious to the murderous glare that Kyungsoo was shooting him as he straightened himself. He only stopped when the shorter jabbed him in the ribs and had him doubling over in pain. “I do not appreciate that extremely inappropriate and insensitive joke.”

It was the first time for Kyungsoo to set foot into the dance studio that he had always passed on his way to work. The interior was brightly lit with minimal furnitures, save the counter that was situated conveniently right before the entrance. Lining the sides were various rooms with their doors closed.
“It was just a joke. Did you really have to react so aggressively?” Kai murmured as he retrieved two cups of coffee from the vending machine before leading the way into one of the empty practice rooms where all four walls were completely covered by mirrors. Kyungsoo felt the tension leaving his body when he realized that in this open place, he was safe from the stalker that had been haunting him. Accepting the drink gratefully, Kyungsoo took a sip before making himself comfortable on the floor. “Are there no lessons right now?” a few weeks after Kai started working, he ceased to frequent Heaven daily and he explained that it was due to the sudden increase of classes.
“I have thirty minutes before the next class. So… do you want to enlighten me as to why you were so aggressive?”
Kyungsoo lowered his head when the focus was shifted to him again. If he tells Kai, perhaps the dancer might be able to house him for a period of time until the stalker is caught. But would the dancer believe his words?

“Knock knock?” Kai waved his hand in front of Kyungsoo who appeared zoned out. “Yah, don’t leave me hanging. Tell me why!”
“Promise me a few things first.”
“A few? You’re very greedy.”
“Firstly, don’t laugh at me. Secondly, you have to take my words seriously. And lastly, I’m hoping you can help me. Deal?” Kyungsoo eyed the dancer hopefully.
“Deal.”
“Okay,” taking in a deep breath to settle his racing thoughts, Kyungsoo started recounting the first night where Kai was too busy to show up for dinner.

It being a Friday, business was considered slow with only half of the café occupied and Luna had everything in control even without Kyungsoo’s assistance. Excusing himself, he stepped out of the café into the cold, trying to freshen himself as the chilly wind brushed past his face and ruffled his hair. He groaned when he realized that it did nothing to help but made him sleepier instead. Stifling a yawn, he raised his head and studied the dark clouds in the sky when a sudden flash out of the corner of his eyes caught him unguarded but he was too slow to catch whatever it was. The very next day, he received the photo which explained the flash and despite his pleads and threats, no one in the café would own up.

“The photos wouldn’t stop coming since.”
“,” Kai muttered. “.”
 “Today I received a doll with my face on it and a note that suggests the stalker might be intending to show up before me soon. I need help, Kai. Someone is stalking me and this creep is able to enter my home without leaving any signs of breaking in!”
“Have you filed a police report?”
“No. I’m afraid the stalker might turn violent and stop me before I even make it into the police station.”
“,” Kai switched to profanities this time as he tugged on his blonde hair, seemingly torn between decisions. “How do you want me to help you?”
“I just need a hideout till the stalker gets tired of waiting for me at home. Please?” Kyungsoo worked his doe eyes pleadingly. It didn’t take another second before dancer boy agreed.

Kyungsoo couldn’t thank Kai enough for canceling his classes for the night, offering to stay with him at Heaven until it was time to close. Although the latter had dismissed it easily, he knew Kai had to make special arrangements for the last minute cancellation and who knows if the dance studio made him pay for the loss? But as much as he was grateful, Kyungsoo was selfish at