"Yeah... I know that."
"Well, I'm already here, and I've been here."
"I mentioned it to Dad, you just weren't awake."
Jimin's distant conversation echoed through Seren's bedroom, her tired eyes impotent when it came to opening her heavy lids, unable to detach herself from her sleep.
"Because I wanted to come, why is it such a big deal?" His voice kept at a low volume, however, his frustration was undeniably growing.
Seren slowly opened her eyes, meeting with her sealed closet doors, no Jimin in sight.
She took in a refreshing inhale, rubbing her eyes to free herself from the exhaustion, exhaling as she searched around the empty room — still no Jimin.
She picked herself up from the swallowing mattress beneath her, her eyebrows pushed together in puzzlement.
"Don't blame her. I just told you it was my decision to come." Jimin answered, fighting to keep his voice at a moderate level.
Her eyes shot to the shut bedroom door, and she guessed that he must have stepped out into the hallway to answer Hana's call.
Seren patted the bed for her phone, turning it on to see that it was only six forty-one in the morning.
She rolled her eyes, ire coursing her veins, aggravated that their mom had the nerve to call Jimin at such an early hour, pretending to be worried for his safety. In reality, she was only interested in where he was to be the controlling person that she was.
Seren brushed her fingers through her hair, realizing that it really was a mistake to call Jimin over her home.
It was a selfish decision.
She should have just dealt with it herself, just like every other time.
"Okay. Fine, I'll be home later." He accepted, wanting the call to end already.
Seren heard him sigh, then the door opened.
She raised her eyebrows in suspicion, staring at her younger brother. "I'm guessing mom called?"
He left the door open, stepping over to the spot he was sleeping in. "Yup. She was upset that I didn't tell her I was coming over here. But, I did tell dad." A sigh left his lips as he sat down.
Seren's lips went thin. "Well, you already know how she is. Why didn't you just tell her that I called you over here? Save you the lecture."
He was silent for a moment, his front teeth chewing his bottom lip. "Because you always get blamed. Regardless, I wanted to come. If I didn't, I would have ignored your call."
Seren chortled, carefully tossing the throw blanket off her. "You wouldn't have ignored my call. But, I'll probably get a call from her later."
"Where're you going?" Jimin asked, watching his sister leave the room.
"Bathroom. And I'm really hungry, so I'll probably make food." She expressed, shutting the bathroom door.
"It's like six in the morning." Jimin advised, confusion rippling in his tone. "Isn't it a little too early to be eating?"
He received silence as his answer, Seren being too busy in her bathroom.
Jimin huffed, raising from the bed.
He decided to search around her kitchen, wanting to see if there was anything in her fridge that would ease his hunger for the time being while they decided what to cook. Jimin skimmed through her cabinets, finding nothing that would appease him.
He crouched, squinting when he saw a bulk pack of canned cat food at the bottom of the shelf.
"Since when did Seren have a cat?" He muttered to himself, shutting the door.
He went over to the fridge, pulling out a cold water bottle from the collection she had stored away.
She traced down the stairs, seeing her brother raiding her fridge for something else to pair with his water.
"I have granola and yogurt in there." She informed, stepping over to the front window by the dining table.
"Bleh." Jimin responded with no appetite for yogurt, shutting the fridge.
He looked over at his sister, who was staring out the front window.
"Are you expecting someone?" He wondered out loud, stepping over to the table.
Her voice was a whisper, not stepping away from the window. "Yeah, I'm waiting for Pluto. He usually comes around at this time." She informed, rubbing the side of her arm.
"Pluto?" He repeated, opening his water bottle and taking a sip.
"Yeah. Remember? The cat." Seren tried refreshing his memory, her fingertip silently tapping against the fiberglass.
"I don't remember any of that." He answered honestly, shrugging his shoulders.
Seren sighed, her tense shoulders falling into a despondent response to Pluto's absence.
It had been about four days since he had last paid her a visit, and it was strange that he didn't. Normally, he would visit Seren quite frequently, not only to get food and water but to just bask in the ambiance.
She removed her phone from her pocket, quickly entering the app for the camera she set up on her porch.
Seren searched through former clips where motion was detected through the night. However, there wasn't much, just a few times her camera caught cars that passed by sporadically.
She decided to look through the seven clips that were motion detected through the night. One of the clips was recorded around three in the morning the night before.
Her eyes squinted when she saw a small black figure moving near her driveway.
The figure moved to the front of the camera, and that was when she was finally able to see that it was a black cat. It could have easily been another black stray cat since those were rather frequent. But, something told her that this cat, in particular, was Pluto.
It was rare, but there were a few times when he would settle on her porch through the night, and she would wake up to Pluto by the front door — waiting for his breakfast.
Her heart eased when she saw his small figure enter the frame, consoled to see that he was well, and alive.
Her consoled heart soon began to beat industriously against her chest as she watched Pluto come to a sudden hold. His ears fold back, and his back slowly arched.
Seren's eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment, seeing his mouth open, hissing at something the camera didn't show.
The clip ended with him quickly sprinting in the opposite direction, leaving Seren with hundreds of questions and suspicion flowing through her veins.
"What are you watching that has you looking like that?" Jimin's chortle cut into her focus.
Seren looked up from her phone. "I-I was trying to look through the clips the camera captured through the night to see if Pluto came by, and- and he did but-"
"Wait," he carelessly interrupted. "Since when did you have a camera?" His index finger was pointed to the ceiling, uncertainty coloring his voice.
"I got it a few days ago." She informed, shaking her head. "Makes me feel safer." She muttered, replaying the video to show her brother.
"Here, just watch the clip." Seren walked to his side of the table, handing him her phone.
He held it horizontally, pressing play.
Perhaps Seren was overreacting, the possibility of it being another stray wasn't too far-fetched, especially with the number of strays that roamed around her neighborhood.
Still, Pluto's reaction sent bone-chilling shivers down her body. It wasn't like him to act such a way, even when he did encounter other strays, he stood his ground, never faltering and showing that he was scared of them.
Seren remained hovered over Jimin's left shoulder, keeping her left hand glued above the corner of the table, watching the video a second time. Only, she would keep her eyes open for any movement coming from the direction opposite of Pluto.
Jimin hummed after a moment of just staring at nothing. "What am I looking at? Because I really don't see much."
"Here, you don't see the little shadow?" Seren pointed at the splotch near the driveway.
Jimin became silent when he noticed the splotch of darkness was actually the cat his sister had been referring to.
His lips shaped an oh, "Righ, I remember Pluto. Yeah, he's the cat that always comes around," he gently nodded his head, eyes pasted on the surveillance footage.
"Okay, but just watch." Seren ordered, pointing at Pluto in the video.
Pluto repeated his skittish actions once more, hissing as he took off running in the other direction.
Her lips mashed into a thin and bitter line, unable to see what he ran away from.
Jimin turned to his sister, his dark brown eyes analyzing her indecipherable expression. "So... you're scared because he... ran away?"
"Jimin, did you not watch the clip or something?" Seren asked incredulously, her eyes wide. "Play it again." She ordered, reaching for the phone.
He put his hand up, stopping her from grabbing her phone. "No, I saw the clip. I mean- Seren, he's a cat. Of course he's gonna have the tendencies of one when he senses danger."
"There you go, see?" She pointed, Jimin proving her point. "When they sense danger, right? So, what the hell was it that sent him running off? It looked like it was something near the right side of the porch."
He mumbled something beneath his breath, wavering his head. "Honestly, it could have easily been another cat. Maybe a dog?" Jimin suggested, shrugging.
She huffed, taking the phone from his hands again.
Jimin watched as she dragged her finger on the line.
"Are you gonna play it again?" He rolled his eyes, rising from the chair.
"Yes." She stated in a stern, flat voice. "It's weird that Pluto acted that way. He never does that. I've seen him encounter other animals, he always sticks his ground, never showing that he's afraid."
He opened the fridge, taking out the yogurt his sister offered him. "Dude, you're looking too much into this. Maybe he met his match? Or, maybe... he saw a ghost?"
In frustration, Seren sat in Jimin's seat, throwing her phone above the oak wood table. Her face fell into her hands, her hair acting as curtains as they enclosed the side of her face, dissolving into her own little room.
Endless possibilities scoured her head like an infectious plague.
She shut her eyes, picturing the shadow on her porch, waiting for the right time to enter her home again, with Jimin inside.
Her body tensed when she pictured it, how idiotic it was of her to invite Jimin over when she knew he was capable of breaking into her home.
Guilt gnawed at her, shaking her head in disappointment at her inane actions and decisions.
She heard Jimin sigh, setting his yogurt down on the counter.
"Seren, please." He murmured. "What's going on? I feel like you've been so different ever since I got here." His gentle hand laid above her shoulder, squeezing it for consolation.
She raised her head from her burrow. "Nothing. I've just been on edge, and so stressed recently, for some strange reason."
Though she knew what that reason was, she wasn't up to the idea of telling Jimin the truth.
Not that he would be upset with her for inviting him into her home when the man was stalking her, but because she knew he would make it a big deal.
Rightfully so. It was a big deal. It was huge.
She was risking her life each night she went to sleep, her guard down, allowing the man to enter her home and doing whatever it was that he did when she was asleep and unaware.
"For some strange reason?" He parroted, keeping his hand on her shoulder.
She shook her head. "No. I mean, I know why." She corrected herself, Jimin reading her like an open chapter book. "It's just that I've been so paranoid recently. I know it's gonna make me sound crazy, but when I get home from work I can't help but think that somebody is watching me."
"You think somebody is watching you?" He asked. "Or you know that somebody is out there."
She went silent for a moment, truly pondering his question, and what would come with it if she answered it honestly.
"I know." Seren revealed to him, putting her hand above his.
A sigh escaped through his nostrils, looking away from his sister for a brief second to compose his thoughts.
"How long have you known?" He continued to ask.
"Maybe a month or so." Seren doubted, it certainly felt longer than a month.
"Have you told anyone?" Jimin wondered, staring into his sister's eyes.
She detached herself from his stare. "I called the police twice. They really aren't much help."
"What a surprise." He scoffed, sarcasm poisoning him. "I can't believe you still stay here."
She couldn't believe it either.
"I feel like I have nowhere to go." Her voice wavered, threatening to cry frustrated tears.
"You have plenty, Seren." Jimin persisted in a gentle tone. "I'm sure if you told mom about it, she would let you stay over. She's a control freak, but you're still her daughter."
He stepped in front of her tugging on her hand to pull her out of her chair, and into a warm and reassuring embrace.
"I can't go back there." Seren spoke into his shoulder, decomposing into his figure. "It's all too much to revisit again."
She hadn't stepped foot in that house a second time.
Once their aunt invited her to stay at her place, she never looked back.
"If you can't go back, you have to let me stay here with you." Jimin insisted, pulling her out of his hold. "If he comes, we can at least defend each other if he tries anything."
It didn't seem like a bad idea, but the thought of Jimin going up against such an unpredictable man terrified her. The image of the dead man found by the wash appeared in her mind again, quickly making her open her eyes again.
The thought of Jimin being injured, or even possibly killed because he wanted to defend her was unfair.
Seren didn't even want to have to think about that.
She would likely rather be the one who was killed than Jimin.
She released him, hesitant about everything. "I don't know, Jimin. I don't want to put you in danger a second time. I was stupid to invite you here when I knew he could come again."
"Even if you told me the truth, I still would have came." He insisted, squeezing her shoulders. "I wouldn't leave you to defend yourself against a grown ass man."
"How long did you wanna stay for?" Seren questioned. "What about school? You're gonna be in college soon, and I don't want to distract you from your life and responsibilities."
"I can multitask." He confirmed with confidence. "Plus, I have a few weeks of break left."
Seren just nodded in silence, almost compromising with him.
"Why don't I stay here for a week? I'll stay, and if shit keeps going down, you have to promise to leave this place. We'll do anything and everything to get him behind bars." Jimin coherently suggested, thinking quickly.
"Okay. A week." Seren caved in. "You can stay for a week, and if things dile down, I want you back home. Okay? A week seems dangerous enough."
"Deal." Jimin agreed, putting his hand out for a shake.
She looked down at his hand and instantly shook it. "Okay, deal. We'll defend each other."
☾