Almost got trapped by a fake grandma and her creepy accomplice

So back in high school I heard this story from a teacher about a kid who got kidnapped because he helped some grandma carry heavy bags. Same gang operation apparently. Wild, right? Well. Yesterday I almost became the next story.

My job has late shifts so I don't leave until 9pm. I'm waiting for the bus and this grandma with huge bundles walks up to me.

Grandma: "What bus are you taking?"

Me: "The 35."

Grandma: "Okay so there's this man over there, we're three people total, you wanna split a taxi for 800 won each?"

Me: "No thanks."

Then I look at her bundles and. Something is OFF. Like the way they look heavy but when you really look there's no actual weight there. Just volume. Padding maybe? Cotton? Something fake to make it look full. I don't know but it felt wrong.

So I'm still waiting for the bus and even though I already said no TWICE she keeps pushing the taxi thing. I'm getting uncomfortable so I'm just. Staying put.

Bus shows up. I book it and go all the way to the back because something feels gross about this. Then a while later both of them get on. Grandma's standing behind the driver with her huge bundles but this MAN. He came on like five people after me but he PHYSICALLY PUSHED THROUGH the entire crowd to stand directly behind me.

And I'm not exaggerating when I say he was GLUED to my back. Like if someone looked they'd think we were wrestling. He's pressing into me so hard and I'm already holding stuff in one hand so I can barely grab the pole with the other hand and he's just. LEANING. FULL BODY.

My bus ride is like 15 minutes of these crazy sharp turns right? So for 15 minutes I'm sweating BULLETS and I'm deliberately stepping on his feet over and over. And this guy. Doesn't even flinch. Like he had padding in his shoes or something because he just. Doesn't. React.

Then this college-age guy next to me notices something is wrong and positions himself in front of me like a shield. THANK YOU RANDOM STRANGER.

We get to the last stop and I get off. There's a steep hill up to my house, takes like 15 minutes to walk up. The grandma leaves her bundles there but the MAN keeps following.

And I see him on the phone while walking behind me. I glance back and he's talking to BUNDLE GRANDMA. Saying stuff like "today didn't work out" and "I'm following her now." He's trying to whisper but when you're terrified your ears go on FULL ALERT you know? I can hear EVERYTHING.

I literally RAN up that hill. In the year I've lived here I've NEVER made it up that slope in under 3 minutes and I'm pretty sure I sprouted rocket boosters because I was MOVING.

Finally lose him, get inside, adrenaline crash hits and I'm just breathing hard. The house is empty so I turn on all the lights, go to my room and then my dog starts barking. I look out and THIS GUY is just. LINGERING. In front of my house.

So I'm screaming for MOM and DAD like there's people home even though I'm alone, full panic mode, just making noise. He creeps around for like 10 minutes and then leaves. Dog stops barking.

I'm still shaking writing this. Almost got caught by a fucking coordination scam. Girls please. Be careful at night. Question EVERYTHING from strangers. The way things are now, where you can't trust anyone's kindness because it might be a setup? That's genuinely horrifying.

I don't even know how I'm getting home from work today.