Broken Paths || Wen JunHui

Chapter 23: The Edge of Madness

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Da-Rae stood frozen at the entrance of her apartment, the oppressive silence pressing down on her. The feeling that someone had been there—or still was—wrapped around her like a suffocating blanket. Every instinct screamed for her to run, but she couldn't move. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit room, searching for anything out of place. The shadows seemed deeper tonight, thicker, as though they were hiding something just out of sight.

With a trembling hand, she turned on the lights, half-expecting to see someone lurking in the corners. But the room remained eerily still, untouched. Yet, that creeping sense of being watched wouldn't leave her. It clung to her like a shadow she couldn't shake, growing stronger with each passing second.

Get a grip, she thought, trying to calm the wild thrum of her heartbeat. It's just your mind playing tricks on you.

But no matter how much she told herself it wasn't real, the unease settled deeper into her bones. She felt it in the stillness of the air, in the way her apartment seemed foreign, like it no longer belonged to her.

He's watching.

The thought hit her like a physical blow. She couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, Jun was behind this. His unsettling words, his intense stares—it was as though he had reached into her life, wrapping himself around her like an invisible presence. But how could that be possible? He was still in the hospital. He couldn't be here.

Could he?

She shook her head, forcing herself to move. She had to stop letting her thoughts spiral out of control. She needed to focus. The more she thought about Jun, the more real the fear became, threatening to unravel her.

As she walked further into the apartment, the light from her phone flickered—a message. She unlocked it, hoping it wasn't Hyun-Woo again, but instead found a text from an unknown number:

"You're not alone, Da-Rae."

Her blood ran cold.

The phone slipped from her hand, clattering to the floor. She stared at it, her heart pounding in her ears. The room around her seemed to close in, the walls tightening, suffocating her. Her mind raced—who was it? Jun? Someone else? How did they get her number?

Breathe. Focus. But it was impossible to think straight. Panic was taking over, the fear consuming every rational thought. She bent down to pick up her phone, her hands shaking so badly she almost dropped it again.

Her fingers hovered over the screen, debating whether to call someone—anyone. Hyun-Woo? No. She couldn't rely on him right now. The police? What would she even say? That she felt watched? That someone had sent her a vague message?

Suddenly, a knock echoed through the apartment.

Da-Rae's breath hitched. It was a soft, almost tentative knock, but in the dead silence of the night, it sounded deafening. She stared at the door, her body frozen with fear. Who would be knocking at this hour?

The knock came again, louder this time.

Forcing herself to move, Da-Rae crept toward the door. Her heart pounded in her chest, each step feeling like a slow march toward something terrible. She pressed her ear against the wood, listening for any sound on the other side.

"Da-Rae?" A muffled voice called her name.

Her heart stopped. She recognized the voice. It was Hyun-Woo.

Relief flooded her for a brief moment, though it was quickly followed by a new sense of unease. What was he doing here?

"Da-Rae, open up. We need to talk." His voice was firm, not quite demanding but not far from it.She hesitated. The tension from their earlier argument still hung heavily between them. Opening the door would mean facing him—and facing the ultimatum he'd thrown at her earlier. But more than that, something about his sudden appearance felt off. Why was he here, now, in the middle of the night?

Still, the dread that had settled over her since entering her apartment was overpowering. She needed human contact—needed someone to break through the oppressive fear suffocating her. With a shaky breath, she unlocked the door and cracked it open.

Hyun-Woo stood there, his face cast in the harsh light of the hallway. He looked tense, his jaw clenched tight. "Da-Rae, what's going on? You haven't answered any of my calls."

She swallowed hard. "I...I've just been busy."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Busy? It's late. What's really going on?"

For a moment, she considered telling him the truth—that she felt like someone was watching her, that the apartment didn't feel safe anymore. But she knew what his response would be. He'd brush it off as stress or exhaustion, dismiss her fears like he always did.

"I'm fine, Hyun-Woo," she said, though her voice lacked conviction. "I just need some time alone."

Hyun-Woo stepped forward, his foot crossing the threshold. "You can't keep shutting me out, Da-Rae. We need to figure things out. About us. About our future."

Da-Rae took a step back, the weight of his presence making her uneasy. "I just need space."His eyes flickered with something—frustration, maybe even anger. "You've had space. Too much space. My parents are losing patience, and frankly, so am I."The tension between them was palpable, but before either of them could say more, her phone buzzed again. She glanced down at the screen. Another message from the unknown number:"He doesn't understand you like I do."

Da-Rae's blood turned to ice.

Hyun-Woo noticed the way her expression changed. "What is it? Who's texting you?"She shook her head, panic rising in her throat. "It's nothing."

But her heart knew better. Jun wasn't just a patient anymore. He was out there, somewhere. Watching. Waiting.

⋆˙⟡♡⚕🩺⊹ 🤍