Stalker Unknown | Saeyoung Choi x Reader {4/10}

    Sleep didn’t come easy for you that night. It felt as if your anxiety suffocated you each and every time you tried to close your eyes. Visions of a dark figure watching you from the corner of your room played through your mind and prevented you from falling into the comforting arms of slumber. The paranoia grew so overwhelming to the point where you had to turn on your bedside lamp and sit up in bed, your eyes scanning every inch of your room for another person.

    
    You hugged yourself tightly and attempted to wrack your brain for any possible suspect which turned out to be harder than you expected. You always kept to yourself, for the most part. Being friendly towards other came naturally to you, but you rarely ever turned a small conversation into something more. Even if it was someone you didn’t know, you found that far too difficult to believe. More times than not you felt practically invisible to other people. Could there actually have been someone who paid such a close notice to you that they would be capable of going to this extent of obsession?

    
    You mulled over all these thoughts, each new suspicion you acquired even more jumbled than the last. Retracing back to the suspects you did know, the only names that came to mind were… Saeyoung and Hye. Your chest tightened at just the thought of it. It was a horrible feeling to suspect the people you love most of doing such a horrible thing, but they were the only two people that came to mind.

    
    The more you thought about it, though, the less sense it made. Both lived a considerable distance away from you which was why it was difficult to meet up often. That alone was more than enough for you to cross them off as suspects. As relieved as you were about that, it still brought you right back to square one.

    
    You knew nothing.

    
    An incoming text startled you right out of your thoughts. Letting out a loud yawn, you picked up your phone to see that it was already 7:48 a.m., to your surprise. A sleepless night of just pondering passed by fairly quickly, but you were definitely feeling the effects of it. Opening the text, you read what it said.

    [7:48 a.m.]

    From: Saeyoung

    Morning, beautiful~  Hope you’re sleeping well.

    Call me when you wake up.

    Smiling at his words, you quickly dialed his number on your phone and called him. The phone barely managed to ring once before Saeyoung had already answered it, surprised by your unusually quick call. You were usually still asleep at this time.

    
    “Can’t sleep?” he inquired. He kept his phone tightly secured between his shoulder and ear to allow him to continue to type furiously away at his keyboard.

    
    “Nope. I’m assuming the same can be said for you,” you said, trying your best to withhold the yawn that was struggling to escape your mouth.

    
    “Well, between having to finish my work under taser point from Vanderwood and hacking into different systems to get a better idea of who this stalker is, I haven’t had much time to sleep.”

    
    He chuckled and you couldn’t help but feel guilty. If it wasn’t for you, he’d be finally getting the sleep he needs. He knew you far too well, though. Saeyoung spoke before you could even open your mouth to apologize.

    
    “Don’t worry about it, babe. Even if you ask, I’m not sleeping until I can guarantee your safety.”

    
    You blushed, realizing just how lucky you were to have a boyfriend as caring and protective as him. Even if it was only short-lasting, he made you momentarily forget just how much danger you truly were in.

    
    “Did you find anything about the stalker?”

    
    He sighed. “If you’re asking if I know who it is, no. But I did manage to hack into the surveillance of the convenient store you went to and did get a visual of the person. Although they successfully managed to keep their face blocked from view at every angle, it’s obvious that the suspect is male.”

    
    “You sound so hot when you talk like a cop,” you cooed. Certainly not the most appropriate time to make such a comment, but it was the only thing you could say to make this whole situation more normal. There weren’t too many girls your age receiving terrifying messages from a mysterious stalker and you wanted to pretend, just for a moment, that everything was normal for you as well.

    
    “I’ll remember to bring the handcuffs next time,” he teased, causing you to giggle. The joking around was short-lived, though. “Now that the stalker is confirmed to be a male, I’ve been freely able to hunt for possible suspects, one of them being that childhood friend of yours-”

    
    “Hye?” you inquired in a soft tone filled with dread.

    
    “Yes. Don’t worry; as much as I want to rule him as the stalker and get this whole thing over with, I looked further into it and the more I searched, the less I seemed to find. No criminal history, no possible motive, nothing.”

    
    He sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples as he did so. Whoever this person was, he sure did know how to cover up his tracks and make this search a hell of a lot harder for Saeyoung. No matter what, he wasn’t going to give up, even if it killed him in the process.

    
    “So… Does this mean it’s safe for me to head over to his place later? I don’t want to disturb you from your work, but I don’t want to be by myself either.”

    
    “Yeah, it should be fine. Just be careful, babe, okay? Text me every hour and inform me if he shows any signs of suspicious behavior.”

    
    “Yes, yes. I’ll be careful,” you drawled, rolling your eyes at his protectiveness despite your secret love for it.

    
    “I love you, [name].”

    
    “I love you too, Saeyoung.”

* * *

    You finally managed to get a few hours of sleep after getting off the phone with Saeyoung. It wasn’t many hours, but it was still something. When you woke up, you couldn’t stand to be in your apartment any longer. It was supposed to be your safe place, but all you felt was fear.

    
    At around one in the afternoon, you took the thirty-minute drive to Hye’s apartment. Giving him a warning ahead of time had completely slipped your mind and all you could do was hope he’d be home. You rang the doorbell and waited several seconds to see if he would open the door, your feet subconsciously shifting back and forth in nervousness.

        
    Right before you were about to turn around and head back to your own apartment, he opened the door. A smile appeared on his face the moment he noticed it was you.

    
    “[name]!” he exclaimed. “I wasn’t expecting a visit from you.”

    
    “Hey, Hye. Sorry for coming over so suddenly - I know I should’ve called and everything-”

    
    He chuckled. “No need to apologize. Come on in!”

    
    You felt the burden of anxiety weighing on your shoulders suddenly disappear after stepping inside the apartment. Just being in the presence of another person that you trusted was enough to make you feel so much lighter. You sat down on the couch with him and released a contented sigh.

    
    “So what brings you here? It’s quite a way from your own apartment.”

    
    “Oh, I, uh…” you stammered. You didn’t want to flat out tell him about the stalker issue. It was already bad enough that Saeyoung got involved; you didn’t want Hye getting dragged into it as well. “I got a rodent problem in my apartment. They’re working on fixing it now, but I can’t stay there for a moment. My boyfriend’s working and I didn’t want to bother him, so I was kind of hoping you’d be free to entertain me.”

    
    “Of course,” he chuckled. “You know you’re always welcome here. In fact, if the boyfriend is going to be busy all day, you can spend the night on the couch if you’d like. I don’t want you to have no place to go to.”

    
    “No, it’s fine! I couldn’t ask that of you.” It was true. After showing up to his home out of the blue, you would feel absolutely awful staying overnight at his place. You were already being rude as it is.

    
    “You’re not asking, though. I’m offering,” he chuckled.

    
    “A...Alright then. Thank you.”

    
    “No need to thank me, [name]. Just being a good friend. Just so you know, though, I’ve already made plans to go visit my grandmother at the hospital tomorrow. I’ll be leaving early.”

    
    “That’s fine! I hope she gets better.”

    
    “Yeah, me too,” he sighed. “Depressing topics aside, I just bought some new horror movies. Care to binge them with me?”

    
    You couldn’t help but smile. That offer was perhaps the best thing you’ve heard since this whole situation started. Even if it was just for a few hours, this would be a normal night for you.

    
    “I’d love to.”