nearly got killed at my office building. still not over it.

okay so I wasn't going to post this but I genuinely cannot stop thinking about it.

my office is in Gasan-dong. used to be called Garibong-dong, and if you've seen the Korean movie *The Roundup* that neighborhood is literally the real-life inspiration for it. massive Chinese and Joseonjok population there, like more of them than Koreans in some blocks. our office complex itself is fine, mostly suits. but the surrounding area is... a lot.

so it was a Saturday. I was the only one in the building for weekend duty. went down to the basement food court for lunch, ate, and was heading back to the elevator to go up to my office on the 12th floor.

that's when I noticed someone behind me.

footsteps. that feeling of being watched. I glanced back and. okay.

black mask. huge black duffel bag. enormous guy, really tall, really built, buzzcut in that specific style (think Ma Dong-seok's villain in *The Roundup*, THAT vibe). he was clearly Chinese and clearly did not belong in an office building. like not even a little bit. but I told myself I was being paranoid. this area has tons of Chinese residents, whatever.

we both got in the elevator. I pressed 12.

he pressed nothing.

he just. stood there. and I noticed he was kind of positioning himself in front of the button panel? blocking it. (the elevator had two button panels btw, one by the door and one on the left side for accessibility, so I could see from the reflection that nothing else had lit up. he genuinely pressed nothing.)

I was like okay that's weird but maybe he's going to the same floor. whatever.

and then he started FIDGETING. like pacing a tiny bit back and forth. scratching his head. and I can't explain it but you know when someone is about to do something?? that energy?? that's what it was. every single alarm in my brain went off at once.

around floor 5, I decided screw it. I hit 7. got out at 7.

he followed me off.

bro DID NOT PRESS A SINGLE FLOOR and he followed me off at 7.

the whole building is empty on weekends. floor 7 is a ghost town.

cold sweat. actual cold sweat running down my back.

I pretended to look around like I was checking for my office, bought time, then hit the down button on a different elevator (there are 3 total). I was on the phone with a friend this entire time btw, had been since lunch. honestly. if I hadn't been on that call I don't know what happens to me.

the other elevator arrived. I went to get in.

he went to get in too.

so I did the most pathetic acting of my life on the phone. "wait is this the right floor? is it this one? hmm let me check" total gibberish and I just. didn't get in.

he didn't get in either.

okay so we're both just standing on floor 7. empty building. this man is visibly anxious, visibly calculating. the vibe was someone who was ABOUT TO do something and kept losing their nerve.

eventually I got into another elevator. he got in with me. I pressed 1. he pressed nothing again.

we started going down. 6... 5...

and then he pressed 4. 3. 2.

he pressed 4, 3, AND 2. all of them. so the elevator would stop on every floor before 1 and couldn't go straight down.

I went completely white. I genuinely felt nothing for a second. he was pacing again, looking conflicted, like someone standing on a ledge deciding.

4th floor. doors open.

he got out.

I MASHED the close button. slammed it over and over until the doors shut. then I cancelled floors 3 and 2 and hit 1.

sprinted to the security guard the second I hit the lobby.

explained everything, barely coherent. and the guard was like. "I can't access the CCTV, I don't have that authority. and nothing actually happened so I can't detain anyone."

cool. great. very helpful.

so I went back upstairs to my office. alone. on the 12th floor.

and then it hit me.

he SAW me press 12. he knows where I work. what if he's just. waiting.

called the police after that.

---

I'm not going to post the full details of what happened after the cops came, partly because I handled it badly and I don't want that coming back on anyone.

but this is 100% real. I have the KakaoTalk messages I sent my friends and coworkers while I was trapped up there. the CCTV is probably wiped by now but the call logs and police report exist.

just woke up at like 3am thinking about it and had to write it down lol.