Formless

‘Hello, sunbae.’

‘Yeah. Hi.’

Seo Kangwoo, a junior in the same department. Someone who could brighten Heeun’s entire day with nothing more than an ordinary greeting.

Seo Kangwoo carried an air of mystery. He seemed to get along with everyone, yet there was always a subtle distance about him. Even when he smiled, there was something cold and unsettling in his demeanor.

To Heeun, who was indecisive and timid in every way, Kangwoo seemed incredibly cool.

There were countless rumors about Seo Kangwoo, he was a chaebol heir, a gangster, or an aspiring celebrity. None of these could be confirmed, and Heeun found even his secrecy to be alluring.

Heeun’s feelings hovered somewhere between love and admiration. Just watching Kangwoo made him happy. He wanted to see him a little more, for a little longer. He wanted to know him better.

That desire twisted into something wrong in an instant.

Heeun, regretting the brief greeting they exchanged when they ran into each other by chance, found himself aimlessly following Kangwoo’s broad back. This feels a bit strange, he thought briefly, but justified it by saying he had only been heading to the convenience store, just like Kangwoo.

Thus, stalking began with surprising ease.

I was heading that way too. I’m not following him. And even if I am, it’s not a bad thing, is it? But following him all the way home… That’s too much. I can’t do this again. Wow, Kangwoo really lives in a nice house. I bet no one knows he lives here. Only I know.

When the thought occurred to him that this was a crime, the sweetness of the secret he had discovered was too overwhelming to resist.

After that, Heeun began rationalizing again. I’m not planting hidden cameras, I’m not taking photos, I’m not sending strange messages. I haven’t caused Kangwoo any harm. I’m just watching him.

He hated himself and felt guilty toward Kangwoo, who didn’t know anything. But he couldn’t stop. The moments spent watching Seo Kangwoo were too sweet, too blissful.

Usually, Heeun would secretly follow Kangwoo around outside of class hours. After classes ended, he would head straight to Kangwoo’s house, feeling disappointed that they didn’t share many classes together.

When Heeun arrived at Kangwoo’s house, he would hide behind a street tree and wait endlessly. If nothing unusual happened, he could usually spot Kangwoo walking his dog around 8 PM. However, Kangwoo didn’t always appear. If someone else came out instead, it meant Kangwoo wasn’t home.

Heeun had made a promise to himself: he would only watch Kangwoo at school and at home. If Kangwoo didn’t come out by 8 PM, Heeun would linger for a while before heading to his part-time job. In other words, his stalking hours were limited to the time between his free periods or the end of his classes and 8 PM.

For nearly a month, Heeun’s dinner had consisted of just a single cream bread.

In fact, three days ago, he had even started eating cream bread for breakfast. Although it broke his routine, the thrill of discovering that Seo Kangwoo went jogging at 6 AM was worth it. With about a week of observation, he would know for sure if Kangwoo jogged daily.

This was how Heeun gradually crossed the lines he had set for himself.

And today.

Two of Heeun’s scheduled tutoring sessions were suddenly canceled, so he stayed in hiding near Kangwoo’s house longer than usual. Staring blankly at the towering mansion behind the high wall, he imagined with excitement, Could that lit window be Kangwoo’s room?

He genuinely didn’t realize it was past 11 PM. Wandering near someone’s house close to midnight felt too much like serious stalking. Of course, the standards for stalking were always arbitrary.

Startled, Heeun called for a taxi. This affluent neighborhood didn’t have bus routes, so he had no choice but to use a taxi to reach the bus stop about five minutes away.

While watching the approaching taxi through the app, the large gate of Kangwoo’s house opened. Kangwoo stepped outside.

At that moment, Heeun crouched carefully in the shadows to observe him. With his hair neatly swept back and dressed in a perfectly fitted suit, Seo Kangwoo looked slightly different from how he appeared on campus. He was simply… flawless.

The rumor about him aspiring to be a celebrity didn’t seem far-fetched at all. But instead of an idol or a model, he looked more like an actor from a masterpiece film. The way he gazed indifferently could easily become iconic.

Just then, the soft sound of a car engine reached Heeun’s ears. Worried that it might be his taxi, he frowned briefly but then sighed in relief upon seeing a sleek black foreign car pull up in front of the gate.

The black car stopped, and Kangwoo got into the back seat before it smoothly drove off.

On this night, dressed so stylishly, where could he be going? Heeun briefly thought about it, then frowned as a place came to mind. A club. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like the only place he could be headed.

He hadn’t heard anything about Kangwoo going to clubs, though. If Kangwoo went to one, everyone would be staring at him, right? He’s tall, his shoulders are broad, so he’d stand out even from far away. How would he dance? I want to see it.

A sudden impulse surged up inside him. Before he could suppress it, the taxi arrived. Heeun got into the taxi and said,

‘Follow that car.’

The taxi driver looked at Heeun curiously, but when Heeun said something about his girlfriend possibly cheating, the driver’s eyes lit up, and he diligently followed the car.

Instead of heading toward the city, Kangwoo’s car veered toward the outskirts. As fields came into view and the area grew more deserted, the taxi driver glanced at Heeun anxiously. But after observing Heeun’s thin figure, he seemed reassured. He probably looked harmless enough.

When the car ahead came to a stop, Heeun got out of the taxi as well. The fare was over 50,000 won. He regretted it but decided to enjoy it now that he had come this far. His heart raced with anticipation, thinking he might get to know the side of Kangwoo that no one else knew.

It didn’t seem like he had been noticed. From the way Kangwoo and two other men walked without looking back, it seemed like Heeun had remained undetected.

The car had stopped in front of a small factory, and the three men entered in turn. Heeun, hiding behind a truck covered in dirt, cautiously peeked out and followed them after checking their movements. The door was open, making it easy to slip inside.

Heeun had a bad feeling as soon as he entered the factory. It would have been much better if he had noticed the strange atmosphere earlier, like when the car had been heading toward a quiet area or when he had faintly heard their conversation.

He saw Kangwoo standing with his back turned, expressionless, surrounded by several men. In front of him, a man was kneeling.

“Please, spare me…”

Begging for his life.

Heeun’s mind had been a bit off lately. He wasn’t sure when stalking had started to be a problem, but he knew his thoughts about Kangwoo had been growing more and more twisted. When he first sensed something dangerous, he should have left the factory instead of hiding behind a wooden box. He should have called the police from the start, not eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Alright. I’ll, I’ll tell you everything. Please, spare me…”

“If you say one more useless word, I’ll take your other hand. Do you think you’ll be able to eat properly then?”

The dull sound Heeun had heard earlier was probably the sound of a hand being crushed.

Heeun’s breath came out in sharp gasps as he covered his mouth. He felt chills run down his spine. Was this the secret of Kangwoo? His mind went blank.

What should I do? What should I do? I should sneak out now. No, I need to report it to the police first. What was the police station number again? I need to search it online…

His white hands gripped his phone, trembling.

No one knew Kangwoo was this kind of person.

Amid the fear and terror, Heeun didn’t realize the thrill that was subtly beginning to sprout.

In his panic, Heeun couldn’t focus on the conversation. When he finally managed to remember the police station number and sent a text, he had just peeked through the crack in the box to observe the situation again when he heard the voices.

“I’ll send it all at once.”

“Wait, please! Young master!”