Chapter Text
It's been thirty minutes since I waved goodbye to my cousin and left her house. Thirty minutes of walking down constant dark streets and taking unnecessary turns.
The man behind me has been following me for thirty minutes.
I'm terrified, as what I assume everyone would be in this kind of situation. I knew I should have taken Nao's offer on letting her drive me to the train station. After noticing that there was a strange man following me, I took so many turns that I have no idea where I am now.
The blurry image of a map presented on the screen on my phone doesn't really help. There are tears forming in my eyes, causing my phone to seem nothing but a blurry light as it sits in my shaking hands.
I should call somebody, but there's absolutely no one to call. It's half past nine in the evening and Nao would probably be asleep by now as she's got a job interview the next morning.
To top it all off, the rest of my friends and family are on a two hour bullet train trip away from here. Tokyo is such a big place and all I want to do is return back into my nice, warm apartment back in Osaka.
I hear the man breathing heavily behind me, his steely gaze piercing right into my back. I try my hardest to suppress a shiver and I try not to make it obvious whenever I wipe a tear from my face.
It's empty. Why is this part of Tokyo so empty? All I see are drunkards wandering the streets and people rushing home so quickly that I can't get a hold of them to help me.
That's when I turn a random corner and I nearly heave a big sigh of relief at the sight. Just down the street, under the dim light of all the street lamps, I see a group of people. I don't really think about it, all I know is that these people can probably help me and I instantly jump at the opportunity to get away from the man behind me.
I rush over, my heartbeat in my ears as I approach the first person I see. I notice absentmindedly that they are all wearing masks, so I don't really see their faces, but I don't really care about that.
All I want is to be safe, safe, safe.
Before I could latch onto the man and try my best to subtly let him know I'm in danger, I'm stopped by two other men. They put an arm between me and the man I was going to approach, glaring at me and telling me off.
My heart freezes because the syllables and words falling from their lips sound unfamiliar and different. They're not speaking a language I understand — they're speaking Korean. I nearly freak out at the thought.
I instantly sink into myself as they wave me off, and even with the language barrier, I can still tell that they are telling me to walk away.
I feel the stalker distantly staring into my back, and that's when I start to get desperate. I finally begin to process the scene in front of me, realising that there is a filming camera and a few people on their phones with books and tablets.
I notice that there are about thirteen people present. A man with a camera, two women with bags and two other men — the men who stopped me from approaching another man. The camera seems to be filming the eight other men in front of them, and I then notice that I have seemed to gain their attention.
I must have stumbled into an important film session of some kind, but I don't really care. I need to get away. I want them to help me.
"Please help me," I tell them in my second language. When they don't respond, my heart sinks. Despite that they don't understand Japanese, I'm at least a little relieved when they seem to notice the fear in my tone.
I try not to make it obvious to my stalker that I'm asking for help. I don't want him to approach me whatsoever.
By now, I think I have the whole group's attention. I notice the men who are being filmed are subtly looking over, but they're still interacting with the camera and to each other. It kind of looks like they are live streaming.
When the two men who stopped me give me looks of confusion, I try in English, "I need your help." I'm shaking even more now, my hands coming together as a plea, "Please help me."
Upon living in Japan for nearly a year now, it's not often that I speak in my native tongue. I just really hope that at least some of them understand English so I can let them know that I'm being stalked.
The word 'help' must have been something they all understood, and the two men share a look before giving me concerned glances. They open their mouths, struggling to form sentences in English, and I really wish I was anywhere else but here right now.
But then I look over their shoulders. A man apart of the group that's being filmed begins to walk over. He's young, I notice, unlike the two men I've been trying to communicate to. Actually, I realise that the men who are being filmed are all quite young, while the men and the women surrounding them seemed to be middle aged.
When the younger man approaches, I nearly cry in relief when he asks me in English, "What's happening? Are you okay?" Before I can respond, he turns to the older men and speaks to them in Korean. They respond back, and then he nods and looks at me again.
This is when I burst. "I'm sorry," I absentmindedly realise that I'm whispering, voice full of fear and desperation. "I need your help. I'm—" A sob catches in my throat.
I can't really see the man before me, he's wearing a black mask and big black hoodie, but I would be stupid not to notice how pretty his eyes are.
The warmness in them eases some of the tension in my shoulders, but my heart still continues to beat loudly in my ears, fear swirling in my own eyes.
"Woah, it's okay." He places a hand on my shoulder, and the gesture makes me relax a bit more. "Here, breathe. Tell me what's wrong."
I do as he says, breathing in deeply, and squeezing my eyes shut. I pause, taking a moment to collect myself, before I meet his eyes again and whisper, "I'm... I'm being stalked. Please help me."
I watch as his head snaps up, an alarmed look crossing his features as he casts his gaze behind me. From the way his eyes narrow over my shoulder and the way he instantly steps between me and the man, I figure he's realised my situation.
That's when my heart catches in my throat, but not from fear like it's been doing so for the last few moments, but from surprise as the man wraps an arm across my shoulders and pulls me against his side, rubbing a comforting hand up and down my arm.
I should be running. I should be pushing him away. But from the way he squeezes me and protectively keeps me close to him, I can't help but immediately relax in his comforting embrace, breathing softly as I try to stop the racing of my heart.
He's talking to the other people in Korean now, and I assume he's letting them know about the situation. The older men look bewildered and startled when the man with the pretty eyes had suddenly pulled me close to him, but upon hearing him offer an explanation, their own eyes peer behind us and they nod in acknowledgement.
The man looks down at me, and even behind the mask I can see that he's smiling. "You're safe now. Don't be scared anymore. We got you."
I nod, feeling a bit more eased. I return his smile with a grateful one of my own. "Thank you so much," I tell him. "I'm sorry if I was disrupting something."
I glance up over toward the film session to see that the other seven men are back to what they were doing, interacting with the camera and making jokes.
"Oh, no," The man quickly says, shaking his head. "You were in danger, so don't worry about that. It's a good thing we were here for you to ask for help."
I nod again, briefly taking note of the accent behind the man's English. Actually, I start to realise that he seems to be very familiar to me, but I can't seem to put a finger on where I've seen him before.
I then watch as he casts me another grin, and then his gaze flickers back behind me. I refuse to look, but upon the way his eyes narrow and linger, I instantly understand what he's doing.
He's glaring at my stalker, sizing him up and letting him know not to come close. I nearly melt at the gesture because that's absolutely unnecessary and I'm sure the stalker would have just walked away anyway upon realising that I'm not going to be alone any time soon for him to continue to stalk me, but this man here had the effort to actually subtly tell the creep to back off and to glare darkly at him.
It maybe made me blush just a bit.
After a few seconds, his eyes follow something and then they linger for a moment more until he suddenly catches my gaze again with a grin, as if he wasn't just glaring harshly just a second before.
"He's gone now," he tells me, and then my heart jumps to my throat. I quickly will myself to actually look behind me, turning around and—
Empty. The street is empty.
I nearly cry, my hands coming up to my mouth as I let out a small sob. Relief just washes over me, and my shoulders slump, all the fear that's been picking at my skin for nearly an hour disappears in an instant.
The man lets me go, and I bite my lip, fighting off the urge to cry. I don't, even though the tears that's been slipping from my eyes for a while now are still fresh on my cheeks.
"Are you okay?"
I look back at the man who was kind enough to wrap an arm around me and make me feel safe, and I nod sharply, sighing. "Thank you," I tell him earnestly. "Thank you, really."
He's grinning again. "You don't need to thank me. That must have been really scary, huh?" When all I do is nod, he doesn't seem bothered by it. He pauses, and then asks, "How long has he been following you for?"
I wince at the thought. "Nearly an hour."
"An hour?" He looks horrified now, surprise colouring his features. "For that long? He must have really been stalking you then. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," I shrug, rubbing my arms a little. "It's my fault for thinking I should walk alone at night."
"It is pretty late," He says. "Do you have somewhere to be?"
"The train station," I reply.
He turns to the others who are with him, who's been watching us the entire time, and speaks to them briefly. At something they said, he looks surprised, and he looks at me once again.
"Apparently the closest train station is not even close to where we are. You were going to walk to the train station?"
"I was trying to evade the man stalking me," I mumble weakly, offering a lame shrug. "I got lost."
The man nods. "That's okay. Do you have somewhere to be? We can drop you off there."
"I was heading home. I live in Osaka." I look a bit embarrassed as I say, "It's a two hour and thirty minute train ride."
"What?" His jaw drops. I seem to be shocking him quite a lot. "You'll be there by midnight. Do you live at least close to the train station when you get there?"
"No. I was going to catch an Uber or something," I quickly tell him and from the way his face pales, I know he doesn't agree with my travel plan whatsoever.
He purses his lips in thought, then he holds up a finger. "Wait just a second," He says and then turns back to what I assume are his colleagues and begins to speak with them in Korean once more.
I stand there, feeling a bit out of place. I can't help but look behind me again because I can't shake off the feeling of someone staring at me from behind. I sigh shakily, turning back around.
While the man talks to the older men and women, my gaze travels over toward the younger men being filmed. They're laughing, hitting each other and enjoying themselves, talking to the camera and waving. I can't really see their faces because of the masks, but even then I can still tell they're grinning.
Despite the joyful attitude and happiness they are giving off, I can still see the subtle looks of concern and curiosity that they are throwing my way, and I feel a little bashful that they are worried over a random stranger such as myself.
When I manage to catch a few of their eyes, I smile and wave at them, giving them a thumbs up. A giggle leaves my lips when they grin back before they turn back to the camera, deciding that I am okay.
They seem very nice.
"OK," The man with pretty eyes nods, and then swirls around to face me again, a grin back on his face. "Before I say anything, I'm Chan."
"Oh." I'm a bit taken aback as I didn't even consider introducing myself before. I quickly tell him my name and he nods, taking my hand and shaking it.
"Nice to meet you!" He tells me happily, trying my name on his tongue, and I can't help the way my smile widens. "Okay, to tell you the truth, my managers and I don't think it's safe for you to go home this late at night."
I purse my lips. I want to tell him that I can handle it and that I can take care of myself, but thinking back to the stalker, I know that what he's saying is correct. It's not safe.
"So," He goes on, clasping his hands together. "We think it's a good idea for you to come back to our hotel with us. Just for tonight, and then we can drop you off at the train station in the morning."
I'm startled at the sudden offer, shock exploding across my features. My heart's been beating at a fast pace for the whole night, but right now, the speed of my heartbeat is fast for a whole different reason.
I start to get a little bashful and uneasy. "Stay with you? At a hotel?"
"With us," Chan quickly corrects, and I can see the tips of his ears go a little red. "With us. You'll have your own room, of course. It's just that we think it's safest for you this way."
I feel like shrinking inside my hoodie, extremely embarrassed. "I don't know. I don't want to be a bother."
"You won't be. Don't worry. We can easily get you back home. It's just a place for you to stay the night," Chan tells me. He seemed so confident about the offer before, but now he seems a bit sheepish.
I think over my options. Option one is that I could get my own room at a motel or something, but even then I have no money with me at the moment. Option two is that I could go back to Nao's place, but I know she's probably asleep right now and I don't want to disturb her.
Option three is to go to a hotel with Chan, a nice and handsome stranger, and stay with him and these other strangers that don't even understand my language.
I wonder why this situation had to happen to me.
"If you're not comfortable with that, I completely understand," Chan rushes in once again when I continue to stay silent for too long with a pinch in between my eyebrows. I lift my head, and now I can see the redness of his ears. "We just don't want anything dangerous to happen, that's all. It's already almost happened, and we don't want that."
I notice that he seems to be very prominent with the word 'we' as he speaks, and I try to fight off the warmness slowly reaching my cheeks.
"I get it," I tell him, pausing for a moment. "As long as I'm not disturbing anything or causing any problems, then I'll be okay with it."
"Great!" Chan says with a smile. "You won't be causing any problems, it's fine. You'll have your own room, well... At least I think so." Before he can continue, Chan quickly turns to his managers and asks them a question.
They talk for a moment more, and I watch curiously when a young woman suddenly joins the conversation. She's younger than all the other staff, but maybe a bit older than Chan and the others, and she's the one holding a makeup kit. She looks to be in her late twenties.
After sharing a few words with Chan and the other men, she turns to me with a smile. "Hi! Do you speak Japanese?"
I'm taken aback by the sudden change in language, and upon hearing the familiar vowels and consonants, I smile brightly.
"Yes, I do! I thought no one here could understand Japanese."
"Oh, I do! I'm Mayu. I'm kind of like their interpreter and translator for this trip."
I nod, but I scrunch my nose a little. I want to ask why she didn't come up to me when I first approached speaking Japanese, but I assume that she probably didn't hear me. It would have been a bit more helpful if she heard me, but the situation is over now, and there's no point in dwelling on it.
I also ponder about what she last said, the idea of her being a translator for 'them' sitting weirdly on my tongue. It's as if she works for them as a translator, which means they're obviously not a group of friends or family. I wonder who they are if they need a translator when travelling countries.
Then it hits me — they speak Korean. I blink a little when I realise that the group of boys being filmed have a high chance of being idols.
Mayu speaks before I can think any longer. "We didn't book enough rooms for you to have your own, so you'll be staying with me and Yeri if that's fine with you," She explains, gesturing to the other woman who smiles and bows her head a little. I do the same.
Mayu turns back to me. "She doesn't really understand Japanese, so if you need anything, just ask me and I'll be able to help you."
"Thank you so much," I quickly say, taking her hands and flashing a smile, which Mayu returns with one of her own.
"It's really okay! I think the boys are finishing up their live now and then we'll be able to go."
I nod, and turn toward the boys. Chan is back with them now, having returned during my conversation with Mayu, and they're all interacting with the camera.
As they talk, I purse my lips and think for a moment, before leaning in toward Mayu and asking, "Are they Korean idols?"
"Oh, yes," Mayu responds. "Have you heard of Stray Kids?"
Upon hearing the name, I finally recognise where I've seen them from and I clasp my hands together. "Oh! Yes, I have! I've seen them on my social media feed quite a lot recently."
I look back toward the boys, watching them laugh and enjoy themselves, and I can't help how my heart bursts in my chest. Stray Kids! I can't believe I ran away from a stalker and happen to come across them. I start to feel a bit excited after realising who they are.
After all, I've known them for a while. I've seen a few of their performances and listened to their songs, so of course I'll be excited to see them in person. They are right there!
Wow, how lucky am I?
Mayu turns and gives me a thoughtful look, and I can't help but be feel little bit intimidated under her gaze. She seems to notice my uneasiness because she quickly smiles.
"Sorry, it's just that you're handling this surprisingly well. Most people would be screaming and asking for selfies by now."
I giggle a bit, shaking my head. "I mean, I would love a selfie or two from them, but they seem to be busy right now. They are very handsome though."
"Right?" Mayu laughs a little and I laugh along with her. "I would totally be falling for them if I didn't have a husband already."
"You have a husband? You seem so young!"
"I'm thirty-one," She responds, grinning in amusement at my reaction. "I don't think I'll be hired if I didn't have a husband actually. They kind of don't want idols getting together with staff."
"Ah," I say, nodding. "That seems fair."
Mayu is smirking now. "Why? I saw you talking with Chan earlier. Did he tug on your heart strings?"
I can't stop myself from flushing red and I quickly reach up to cover my face. "No! Don't tease me!"
Mayu throws her head back and laughs, then reaches over to place a hand on my shoulder. "I'm only kidding! Actually, we're quite happy that you're not reacting over dramatically. If a big scene were to play out during a V-live, there would be a lot of rumours going around online."
"I thought so, that's why I didn't want to say anything," I tell her, offering a bashful smile. "But this is pretty exciting. I can't believe it!" Then my face goes red, and I can't stop myself from fiddling with my hair and leaning in to whisper, "Chan hugged me too."
Mayu lets out a small squeal at this, clasping a hand over her mouth. "I saw that! Aw, it was so cute. It was really nice of him to do that too! Being stalked must have been scary."
I shiver a bit, hugging myself. "It was, and Chan really helped me out. I'm glad he speaks English. I knew he sounded familiar with his accent and all."
"He is a big sweetie," Mayu giggles. "I didn't expect him to hug you though! Chan just doesn't hug anyone, unless he thinks they're cute."
"Oh goodness, don't say that. You're making me red," I have my hands over my face now, blushing and Mayu only continues to squeal quietly.
When I glance up, I notice that the boys are wrapping up and waving goodbye to their viewers, and my heart rate absolutely picks up. If they're finished, that means they'll approach me. That means they'll talk to me! All of them! Stray Kids!
I don't think I'll be able to handle that.
But when I continue to watch them and as the camera goes off, I freeze when they all begin to slowly turn toward me, my breath hitching in my throat. Chan is talking to them, probably letting them know what happened and who I am, and when I meet his eyes and he flashes me a handsome grin, I die.
Him and Stray Kids begin to approach me, and all I'm doing is standing there like an idiot and screaming internally.
Oh god, what do I do?