After the Darkness, the Dawn

Chapter 10

Junmyeon slams on the brakes and immediately reverses dangerously back into the parking garage, lucky that no one was behind him, all the while pressing frantically on the close button for the garage door. He parks sloppily in his spot and just sits there, feeling the adrenaline running high through his veins, his entire body shaking.

It couldn't be. She's here. How? She's found him. But how? She's outside. And he scrambles out of his car at this thought, the idea that only a thin sheet of metal separating the two of them not nearly comforting enough. He runs for the elevator, pressing on the buttons with a fanaticism, and nearly screams when the door open to reveal a lady. It's not her, only some poor girl staring back at him in confusion, another tenant in the building.

"Sorry," he mumbles, bowing apologetically as he backs away, letting her get off before he rushes inside, ignoring her looks as he presses impatiently for his floor. The ride seems interminable, a fear flashing through him at every floor he passes, irrationally afraid it will stop at the next one, doors opening to reveal her, having somehow found her way inside the building as she always seems to be able to do, and he's tense all the way until he reaches his apartment, shaky hands pressing open the door before he gets in and locks it firmly shut behind him.

Safe, all the adrenaline in his body drains and his legs give in, and Junmyeon collapses onto the floor. Maybe it wasn't her, his mind immediately second guesses, maybe you've finally lost it and you're just imagining things, you used to do that before. And it's true, he did, his first few ventures outside before meeting Chorong had been utterly nerve racking and filled with paranoia. Every woman he passed on the street looked like that beast of a woman, though none of them were, and he'd only ended up feeling irreparably broken.

"It's not her," he mumbles, trying to convince himself as he stands back up again, and he has to mentally force his hand to reach for the handle, fighting against his gut-instinct to hide away in his room instead. "It's not her." He needs to go soon, Chorong will be waiting. It's his turn to cook tonight, they are in the midst of competitions, and she, along with Chanyeol and Bomi, are working extra hours with the students in preparation. "I have to go," he mumbles again, "I have to go," but no matter how hard he tries, he can't force himself to turn the handle, the image of his stalker standing downstairs, smiling at him, just waiting for him to come out, haunting him as the time on the clock rolls forward tic by tic.

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Junmyeon's jolted from his trance, huddled on the floor by the door when his phone buzzes, feeling a relief when he checks and sees that it's only Chorong, a relief that is quickly smothered by rising anxiety. He's been stuck here for the last two hours, unable to move, and she is as worried as he expects when he picks up.

"Junmyeon? Where are you?"

"Sorry, I'm, I-," and he stutters in his reply as he wrestles with himself. Should he tell her? He should, his instincts tell him to, but what if he's relapsing and imagining things? What if it is all in his head? What if it isn't and she follows him to Chorong?

Absolutely not.

"Sorry, I had some stuff come up," the lie tumbles out of him. "I'm sorry," he apologises again.

"What stuff?" Chorong asks and he can hear the worry in her voice. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"It's nothing, just work stuff, I should have called. Sorry."

"Are you sure? I can come over-,"

"No! Absolutely not!" he yells into the phone, panicking at the thought of the woman downstairs. "Do not come over! Okay? Don't. I'm fine. Really. I'll call you when it's all sorted so don't come over until then, okay?"