My walk home from the restaurant that night went uninterrupted by presences of either the tangible or ethereal state. While I was grateful that the previous day’s attackers didn’t appear, I was bothered by a sense of loneliness at the loss of my shadow companion. We hadn’t had actual contact, but... no one else had ever walked me home, and the streets seemed much emptier without the semi-presence of the silhouette.

I descended the hill towards my loft, accompanied by little more than the mist of my own breath and a nervously uneven patter from the placement of my feet. Soon, I was able to distinguish the squat structure; much to my discomfort, I saw that a sizable figure was outlined at the foot of the stairway. It was curved forwards slightly, giving an impression of boredom and impatience. Whoever it was had obviously been awaiting my arrival for a long period of time.

There wasn’t much hope in avoiding the individual if I wanted to sleep in my apartment that night. Alternatively, I could possibly take the route to the back of the building through a back alley and climb the fire escape to the balcony. But, whether it was arrogance or instinctive stupidity, I felt myself smoldering with anger. I had been helpless against the group of men, and it wounded my arguably overgrown pride. With only one now, I foolishly postulated that I could hold my own against him if necessary. I didn’t need someone like Junhong to defend me. And if I had miscalculated my abilities, there was always the option of using my newly purchased pepper spray.

So, with an ego larger than the country itself, I strutted further down the cobble path with a controlled gait. I was maybe two buildings away when the man pivoted his face to look at me; the new illumination of a streetlight made me falter in my step again, backtracking a few feet in surprise.

Junhong straightened up from his position on the wall and lifted a straight brow at me, questioning my hesitation. His voice carried towards me with a resonation that made it sound as if he’d spoken from right in front of me.

“Were you expecting someone else?”

For a moment, I stood without responding. What was his purpose for waiting outside of my house? If it had anything to do with him being punished during class while I escaped unscathed, I wasn’t prepared to defend my cowardice. The last twenty-four hours had presented a few differing versions of this Choi Junhong, some of which I wasn’t particularly fond of. I didn’t want to encounter the less desirable of his assorted personalities without a decent justification.

Ironic - I was ready to fight my assaulters, but I cringed from the prospect of my neighbor’s irritation. He really had mastered psychological intimidation.

Somewhere between amusement and