𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑴𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒕

The soft sound of rain slowly covered the entire city in a cold mist.

It was exactly 2:13 AM.

On the 7th floor of an old apartment building, one room was still glowing faintly in the darkness.

Only the blue light from a laptop illuminated the room.

And sitting in front of it was — 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐.

22 years old, Silent, Emotionally distant.

Almost disconnected from the world.

Dark circles rested beneath his tired eyes as if sleep had abandoned him weeks ago. Empty coffee mugs were scattered across his desk — some half-finished, some untouched.

Lines of code moved across the laptop screen, but his attention wasn’t really there.

His phone kept vibrating.

“Eomma Calling…”

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 looked at the screen for a second… then flipped the phone over without answering.

On the wall beside him hung an old framed photograph.

In it, a little smiling girl stood beside a younger version of him.

But the glass frame was cracked.

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐’s eyes stopped on that picture for a few seconds before he looked away.

As if he hated remembering the past.

TING.

His phone vibrated again.

This time, it wasn’t a call.

It was a text message.

Unknown Number.

Normally, 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 ignored unknown texts.

But for some reason… he opened it.

“You still don’t sleep at night, do you?”

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 frowned slightly.

No profile picture, No name.

Just an unknown international number.

He didn’t reply immediately.

Probably spam.

But five seconds later, another message appeared.

“Your coffee is getting cold.”

His hand froze.

Slowly, he looked at the untouched coffee mug beside him.

The room suddenly felt strangely silent.

He quickly checked the door.

Locked, The window? Closed.

Then who was this?

For the first time, he typed a reply.

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐: “Who are you?”

Typing…

Then suddenly the typing disappeared.

No reply.

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 was about to put the phone away when another message popped up.

Unknown: “Don’t look outside the window.”

He instantly stopped moving.

His heartbeat felt heavier.

Naturally, people always do the exact thing they are told not to do.

And 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 was no different.

Slowly, he pulled the curtain aside.

Outside… there was only rain.

Empty roads, Street lights, Darkness, No one.

He exhaled deeply.

“Stupid prank…”

he muttered while sitting back down.

But then—

The phone vibrated again.

Unknown: “Good. You didn’t see me.”

This time, his heartbeat genuinely sped up.

The Next Morning ☀️

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 had finally fallen asleep around 9 AM…

Only to be woken up at 11 by the annoying sound of the doorbell.

“HYUNWOO! OPEN THE DOOR!”

It was his best friend — 𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖.

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 was the complete opposite of him.

Loud. Funny. Social.

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 opened the door with a sleepy expression.

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 walked inside and immediately said,

“Bro, are you a human or a vampire? You sleep during the day and come alive at night.”

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 ignored him.

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 looked around the messy room.

“Coding all night again?”

“Hmm.”

“Or overthinking?”

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 stayed silent.

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 sighed.

He knew 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 wasn’t always like this.

Two years ago, he used to smile.

He had dreams, Friends, A normal life.

Then suddenly something happened…

And after that, he pushed everyone away.

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 changed the topic.

“By the way, college reunion tomorrow. You’re coming.”

“No.”

“Bro, you say no every single time.”

“I said no.”

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 rolled his eyes and dropped onto the sofa.

Then his gaze shifted toward 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐’s phone.

A notification glowed on the screen.

Unknown: “Don’t tell 𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 the truth.”

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 frowned.

“Who’s that?”

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 instantly grabbed the phone.

For the first time, his expression looked disturbed.

𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒖 noticed immediately.

“Everything okay?”

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Then slowly said—

“…I think someone is stalking me.”

Same Night 🌙

The night felt darker than before.

And this time, 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 couldn’t sleep at all.

He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.

His phone rested beside him.

2:13 AM.

Exactly the same time.

The phone vibrated.

Without hesitation, he opened the message.

Unknown: “Today you looked at that photo for 7 seconds.”

A cold feeling ran through his body.

He immediately looked at the broken frame on the wall.

The little girl.

This was impossible.

Was there a hidden camera?

A device?

He jumped up and searched the entire room.

Under the desk.

Behind the shelves.

Near the curtains.

Nothing.

His breathing became heavier.

The phone vibrated again.

Unknown: “Stop trying to find me, 𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐.”

Unknown: “You already know who I am.”

With trembling fingers, he typed:

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐: “WHO ARE YOU?!”

This time, the reply came instantly.

Unknown:

“I’m the one…

you forgot two years ago.”

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐’s eyes widened.

Two years ago…

The exact time when his life completely changed.

The incident he never talked about with anyone.

Suddenly, the phone screen went black.

Battery dead.

And at that exact moment…

He heard footsteps in the corridor outside his apartment.

Slow, Heavy, One…

After another.

𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐 froze.

The footsteps stopped right outside his door.

Silence.

Then— Knock Knock.

And a girl’s soft voice whispered from outside—

“𝑯𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒐…

you finally read my messages.”