silhouette | jhs ✓

11. Waiting

Chills sprinted down her skin, panic surging through her as her hands began to sweat. Her stomach clenched, dread weighing down on her helpless body.

And she had nobody to stay with.

Somebody who could be her safe zone.

Her parents didn't want her in their home, and she would never squeeze herself into Namjoon's one-room studio apartment.

The creep struck gold, lurking a young woman with no source of protection must have been like winning the mega-million.

The urge to cry suddenly mulled down on her, the swelling lump in her tight throat becoming insurmountable.

"Hey, Kim. I think I got something." Jeong spoke, breaking her thoughts.

Her head shot up at his words, hope finding its way to her naive little heart.

Both proceeded to his discovery, Seren hadn't a clue on what it was, but she wished it was something that they could use to track him down.

He pointed the flashlight toward the ground, showing something resting above the grass.

Kim hummed. "You said he was smoking a cigarette, right?" He looked over at Seren.

She fiddled with her fingers, nodding. "Yes."

"Well, there's your cigarette." He answered, pointing at the burnt-out, smashed stick.

A powerful sense of relief exploded in her chest. "Well that's good, isn't it? You guys can trace any DNA on it?" She glanced at both officers.

Officer Jeong picked it up with his gloved hand, holding it up.

"Mm, it's pretty useless." Jeong muttered, staring at the death stick.

Her speeding heart dropped, and any trace of hope she had was now as shriveled as the stepped-on cigarette. "Wh-what do you mean? He had it in his mouth, how is that useless?"

"Well, any trace of his DNA would be almost impossible to find when it's been stomped on." Jeong explained, sighing under his breath.

She stuttered, not knowing what to do or say next. "Can't you at least try?"

"We could take it in as evidence, along with your police report." Kim elucidated, closing his notebook. "Jeong searched the area, and nobody seems to be here. He must have ran away, spooked when you showed him that you called the police."

'Yeah, right.' Seren bitterly mused. 'More like turned on, getting a fucking hard-on.'

She could still envision his tongue running over his lips, turned on from her sorry attempts to get him off her property.

Seren was unwell with fear, finding it absolutely disgusting.

It was a horrifying picture she would remember for quite some time, unable to shake the peril in her cramping gut.

"In the meantime, while things get sorted out back at the station, maybe you can stay over at a relative's house?" Kim suggested, clicking his pen closed.

She really had nobody who she could run to. Seren had many trustworthy friends, but she would be endangering their lives if the man continued to pursue her.

"Someplace to keep you safe. Your home is very secluded from all the others, it's best to surround yourself with people, keep you feeling safer." Jeong mentioned, methodical.

And here Seren thought having a home sheltered from squawking neighbors was a plus.

Not in this situation.