It all started after the unexpected meeting with Baekhyun at the birthday party.
The nasty comments on her broadcast channel. The black car on the night of GoldenGrove's first anniversary celebration. The man wore all black from head to toe that she had seen a few times these days.
Chaeyoung was getting paranoid. She knew that she was being paranoid since that birthday party. If only she could catch the man that spied on her...
"I'm not...exaggerating.", she said to Lisa as she was telling her about the suspicion she had been keeping to herself.
"Do you think it's him?", Lisa asked back.
Chaeyoung sighed, she could not give an exact answer to it.
"I'm trying to be positive. After what happened between me and him, the last thing I knew of him was that he moved to China. I don't know if he came back here so...I don't know if that man I saw was him or not.", she said.
"Could it be his friend?"
Chaeyoung tried to think, "I don't know.."
"It could be him. What's his name? Let me ask Bogum oppa to track him down.", Lisa said.
"Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun. But I don't think it's him.", Chaeyoung replied.
"Why do you say that? You said you met him at the party and these things happened after the party. It could be him following you around, you said you warned him not to look for you, right?", Lisa asked.
Chaeyoung nodded.
"It could be him. Who knows he doesn't care about your warning?"
Chaeyoung thought carefully before responding, "He's not that kind of person."
"Chaeyoung! You said you haven't seen him for what? Eight, seven years? Do you think people won't change during that span of time?", Lisa got serious in the conversation.
Chaeyoung was startled by Lisa's determination to help her resolve the issue.
"Chaeyoung, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scold you. I just want you to think realistically.", Lisa said as she saw a tear escaping Chaeyoung's left eye. "Come here. I'm sorry..", she pulled Chaeyoung for a hug to comfort her.
"I'm not crying because of that...I just...remember the past..", Chaeyoung said in between tears. "You know how sensitive I'd get..."
Lisa rubbed her back softly, "Chaeyoung, I'm sorry.."
She shook her head, "It's not your fault. It's me. Anything that related to my past...you know how easy I'll cry..."
"Shh...don't cry. I'll help you, okay? The first thing to do as I said, we'll ask Bogum oppa to track him down and get information about him. Bogum oppa is a hacker, remember? This is a small matter for him to handle.", Lisa suggested.
Chaeyoung nodded slowly, "Okay.."
♡♡♡
Bogum put the yellow file on the table in front of them with a serious look.
"Everything about Byun Baekhyun is in there. I've tracked his social media, followed him outside and investigated who he always met. I can't say he's 100% clean, you can see the screenshot of his private message there.", he said as Lisa and Chaeyoung took out the contents of the file to see for themselves what Bogum had gotten from his investigation.
"So, he's a businessman who travels a lot and he doesn't seem free to spy on other people.", Lisa put down the paper detailing Baekhyun's profile. "Is this conversation of him with-"
"The same account.", Chaeyoung said upon seeing the name on the screenshot paper. "That name, real_loey.", she pointed to the name on the paper.
Lisa took a closer look at the conversation, "Look at the date. Is this after the party?"
Chaeyoung nodded.
"I think Baekhyun didn't spy on you but he might.", Bogum stated before he showed them the screen of his laptop. "He had been commenting on your videos randomly since the conversation.", he pointed to where they could see the information he was talking about. "But...I checked his IP address and it showed that he was commenting from overseas.", he added while showing another tab on the screen.
"Shanghai, China.", Lisa said.
"He could've asked someone else to spy on you.", Bogum uttered.
"Can you find out what he's doing now, oppa?", Chaeyoung asked.
Bogum nodded before doing his magic while being watched by the two women curiously. After a few minutes, he clapped his hands and showed them what he discovered.
"Park Chanyeol. A CEO of a shipping company in China. He's married for five years with Chloe Yuan and they have a son, Park Chanwoo.", Bogum summarised his findings on the man who allegedly was spying on Chaeyoung.
"With this profile, he's capable of hiring someone to spy on Chaeyoung..", Lisa concluded.
Chaeyoung sighed, "What should I do now? I can't file a report based on just my intuition. Plus, he's far away...no one would believe me."
Lisa took Chaeyoung's hand to give her courage, "If you don't feel safe alone, you could stay with me for a while."
Bogum nodded.
"Thanks but until when? When will I feel at peace again? I can't stay with you forever, Lisa.", Chaeyoung spoke sadly.
"I have an idea but I don't know if you'll like it.", Bogum raised his hand slowly.
"What is it, oppa?", Chaeyoung asked.
He nodded before sharing his thoughts, "You should respond to him. Ask him what he wanted."
"No, oppa. That's not a good idea.", Lisa disagreed. "Chaeyoung, don't listen to him."
"It's the best, harmless way I can think. I don't really like it too but it's the best if you want to settle this quickly and quietly. You know, just between you two.", Bogum added. "You should find out his motive for suddenly showing up again after he left-"
"No-"
"I'll do it.", Chaeyoung made both of her friends speechless. "I'll respond to him. Now.", she added, giving them both of serious gaze.
Bogum nodded, "But his account is private. The only way you can respond is by following him first."
Chaeyoung nodded as she took her phone out, "I know. I'll follow him."
"Chaeyoung, are you sure about this?", Lisa looked worried.
"Yeah, I need to resolve this quickly. I can't keep living my life feeling scared and paranoid longer. It's tiring.", Chaeyoung replied.
"What if he doesn't accept your request?", Lisa asked.
"Well, then. Bogum oppa might need to hack his account to accept me.", Chaeyoung showed them that she had clicked on the request follow button on Chanyeol's account. "For now, let's wait. If he accepts my request, I'll let you guys know. If he doesn't accept in 48 hours, I'll let you know, oppa.", she added, trying to look confident in what she was doing.
Bogum nodded, "I'll be ready anytime."
Lisa smiled before pulling Bogum by the neck to hug him, "This is why we love you, oppa. Our genius hacker."
He sighed in annoyance, "I'm a security analyst, not a hacker."
"Similar thing, you still do hacking in your job.", she replied while Chaeyoung chuckled, looking at them.
♡♡♡
Chaeyoung just finished her tutoring classes that evening when she felt hungry on her way home. She had been minimising going out alone these few weeks and have not been to GoldenGrove for a while. When she saw the cafe while driving home, she decided to stop by to get her dinner there.
"Welcome to GoldenGrove.", Yeonjun, a new staff member, greeted her as she entered the cafe.
She smiled at him before she headed to the counter to see the pastries in the display cases.
"Oh, hi, Chaeyoung.", Jungkook's voice greeted her as he appeared from the kitchen.
"Hi, Jungkook.", she smiled before looking at the pastries again.
"It's been a while since I saw you here.", he said as he waited for her to make her order. "Busy with tutoring?", he asked her.
She nodded, "I just came back from three classes actually, and now I'm starving."
He chuckled as she hugged her empty stomach, her face contorted with hunger.
"Can you give me two servings of rosé pasta and these three pastries? And lemonade for my drink.", she said to him.
He smiled, "You're really hungry."
Chaeyoung smiled back, embarrassed, as she spoke quietly, "I eat a lot. Is it bad?"
Jungkook shook his head, "It's totally fine. All of these, eat here or take away, Chaeyoung?"
She hummed as she thought for a while.
"What if you eat here? Pasta is best served while it's hot.", he suggested.
"You're right.", she nodded in agreement.
"You should eat too, boss. You haven't eaten your lunch, it's almost dinner time.", Yeji suddenly said as she passed by them out of nowhere.
Jungkook looked at her, puzzled, "Where did she come from?"
Chaeyoung laughed softly, "Would you join me, Jungkook?"
"Hm?"
"I'll eat here, do you want to eat together?", she asked him.
"Yes, he can.", Yeji came back to answer on his behalf.
"Hwang Yeji...", Jungkook widened his eyes while looking at the sneaky younger lady beside Chaeyoung.
Yeji smiled at him, "It's not like you have to ask anyone's permission. You're the boss, don't worry about the cafe. We can handle it."
Chaeyoung looked at Jungkook, anticipating his answer.
He nodded after careful consideration, "I'll make your order, and I'll come over to eat with you later."
Yeji smiled happily before turning to Chaeyoung, "Come here, unnie. Let me show you your table."
Having dinner with Jungkook at his cafe was not a bad decision. Chaeyoung was laughing a lot as she listened to Jungkook while they were eating. He managed to make her smile and forget her problem for a while. At least, she could breathe freely and enjoy her day again with him.
Since the day she felt like she was being followed, she had avoided going out alone for a long time and that actually affected her emotions as ashe could not see Jungkook for fun. They still greeted each other when they met but she had to decline when he asked her if she wanted to take Hank for a walk with him and Bam. She also did not let Hank out long even if she brought him out for a walk by herself. She limited her time outside and without her realizing, she put Hank in the same situation with her.
"If you couldn't take him, I can help you. I can even take care of him for you if you want.", Jungkook said as he walked her out to her car. "You don't have to pay me, I'm glad enough if Bam has a friend to play with at home.", he added since Chaeyoung told him that she hired a dog walker to take Hank out that day.
She smiled warmly, "Thanks, Jungkook but I don't want to burden you."
He smiled back, "It's not a burden for me, Chaeyoung."
"Hm...I will think about-"
"Watch out!", he grabbed her hand to save her from the incoming motorcycle when she was walking to the driver's seat side.
He looked at the motorcycle with a sharp glare as he pulled Chaeyoung close to him. Chaeyoung was startled and closed her eyes as she heard the loud honk from the motorcycle. None of them moved when it happened, the time seemed to go slow motion on them.
Slowly, Chaeyoung opened her eyes as she realized how close they were at the moment. She could feel his heart beating in a rush, or was that her own heart beating loudly?
She looked up at his face, he looked angered by what happened.
"Jungkook? Hey...Jungkook.", she called his name as she patted his back.
She did not know how her hands were like hugging him when he pulled her earlier but that was how they looked like under the darkening sunset.
"Jungkook..."
He finally turned around and looked at her face, "Chaeyoung, are you okay?"
"Ye- yeah. You can- let go of me..", she stuttered, distracted by their close proximity.
"Oh, um...I'm sorry.", he slowly stepped back while letting her go from his hold.
"It's okay. You...were just saving me. Thank you...", Chaeyoung said as she too, took a step back before heading to the driver's seat door.
Jungkook quickly helped to open the door for her, "Be careful, Chaeyoung."
She smiled as she got inside her car, "Thanks again, Jungkook."
He nodded with a small smile in return.
"See you next time."
"You too, Chaeyoung."
♡♡♡
Chaeyoung was about to sleep when she checked her phone and found that Chanyeol had accepted her follow request. With a deep breath to ensure her calmness, she clicked to his account profile to see his posts. Somehow, she felt the need to know his update after years of disregarding him from her life.
She saw a lot of photos of him with his small family. Bogum said he was married. He had a son.
"Looks like you've found your perfect family.", she said quietly.
After checking out his account, she got back to her real intention in following him.
"Let's find out why you're messing my life now.", she began typing out her message to him.
♡♡♡
The morning Chaeyoung woke up, she checked her social media first. There was no response yet from Chanyeol. She had messaged him last night before sleeping and waited until she fell asleep. He had not seen her message yet.
She sighed as she wondered where he was when he could be excited that she finally responded to him. There was no way he did not want to reply when he made those provoking comments and sent a man to spy on her. She hoped he would respond soon so that she could settle her problem with him, whatever it was.
"Hankie, wait here. Mommy is going to throw the trash- ahhhhh!!!!", she screamed in fear when she opened the door of her apartment to see a few photos stabbed with a bloody knife in front of the door.
♡♡♡
To be continued...