A stranger was living in her apartment. She had no idea.

okay so I wasn't going to post this but it's been haunting me and I need people to read it.

Jieun gets off the subway at like 11pm. Another late night at work. Heavy feet, dead tired, the whole thing. She gets home, kicks off her shoes, collapses on the couch.

And then.

Something feels off.

She can't explain it exactly. Just. things are slightly out of place. The kitchen stuff scattered. Items that should be where she left them... aren't. She checks every room. Nobody there. Doors all locked. She tells herself she's just exhausted and goes to shower.

The shower helps a little. But not really.

She's grabbing a drink from the fridge when she sees it. A shadow moving past the kitchen window. She runs over, looks outside. Nothing. Just branches in the wind.

(spoiler: it was not just branches in the wind.)

She calls her friend Hyejin, voice already shaking. "Something weird keeps happening, I'm scared, where are you."

Hyejin goes "okay bestie, maybe get a CCTV camera?" and honestly. good advice.

Jieun locks her bedroom door, grabs the baseball bat from under her bed (she has a baseball bat under her bed which. okay. good instincts.) and barely sleeps. A plate crashes in the kitchen at some point in the night. She does not investigate further.

Next day she gets cameras installed. Living room, kitchen, front door. She feels better.

That night the cameras show nothing. But she can HEAR things moving in the living room.

Then a few days later she comes home and the smell hits her immediately. Wrong smell. She checks the bathroom and the bathtub is half full of water with strands of hair floating in it.

SHE HAD NOT RUN A BATH.

She calls the police. They come, look around, find nothing, tell her to be careful. Thanks guys really helpful.

That night she checks the CCTV footage before bed and.

she sees him.

A man. Just. wandering through her kitchen. Moving into her living room. Casually. Like he lived there.

She calls the police again, hides in her room, and waits.

They find him in her closet.

He had been sneaking in while she was at work and LIVING IN HER APARTMENT. Eating her food. Using her bathroom. Sleeping god knows where. For days.

He got arrested. They never fully figured out how he got in or why he chose her.

And now Jieun checks her locks two, three times every single time she comes home. Looks around every room before she relaxes. Always.

The bat is still under the bed.