Chapter Text
“How’s your vacation so far?”
Her friend, Ayako, gives a hum as she ponders a response to Reia’s question, swirling her coffee cup around a little “Mostly good. Naoki and I went on a small trip together.” She smiles at the memory, before sighing “But you know how my parents are.”
“They still disapprove of him?”
“Yup.” Ayako sighs again “Complaining about social status, as usual. It’s like they can’t see how much he means to me.”
Reia frowns “Honestly, I think they just don’t want to see it.”
“You’re probably right… They’re probably just trying to delude themselves that it’s only a phase and we will break up eventually.” Ayako throws her hands into the air “Not like we’re making our future plans together already! No. Just a phase.”
Reia offers a sympathetic smile.
“Sorry for venting. It’s just so frustrating.” Ayako exhales and takes a small sip of her coffee “I love my parents, I do, but sometimes all their expectations can feel a little…”
“Suffocating?”
Ayako nods then leans back in her chair “Thanks for listening to my rants, Reia. I know it’s probably not always fun.”
Reia holds up a hand “Don’t worry. Besides, you were one of the few who supported me when I needed it the most. I want to support you too.”
Ayako places a hand over the one that’s still on the table “Never feel like you owe me support, okay? With everything you were going through, you needed someone and I was happy to be that person. That’s what friends are for.”
“I know.” Reia smiles “Don’t worry. I don’t feel obligated to support you because I owe you or anything. You’re my friend, so even if our struggles may be different, I’m glad I can provide a listening ear.”
Ayako returns the smile “I’ll always be there for you, Rei.”
“Thank you.” Reia says softly, gently squeezing Ayako’s hand.
Returning the gesture before pulling her hand away, Ayako leans back “Enough about me. How has your new job been?”
“Overall, I’d say it’s a positive experience.” Reia wraps both of her hands around her cup “You’ve received my texts.”
“I did, but I want a little more detail.” Ayako leans forward “You talked a lot about your coworker. Shin, was it? Is he cute?”
“Ayako!”
She laughs at Reia’s indignant expression “You know I’m just teasing.”
“Still, having you say such a thing so bluntly threw me off.” Reia mutters, choosing to hide her expression by taking a sip of her drink “I suppose he’s cute, but…”
“I know. You’re not looking for anything.” Ayako smiles empathetically.
Reia nods “I would like to do some healing before I actually get back into the hectic world of dating.”
“You’ll have no problems once you get back. You were pretty popular on those apps. Can’t say I blame the guys.” Ayako winks “Though I’ll gladly set you up with someone.”
“That would be preferable if that time ever comes. Dating apps are a mess that I would like to avoid if possible.” Reia laments, remembering her days on them. Ayako is right that she had no problem landing matches, but even the quality ones rarely stuck after a first or second date. She always assumed it had been because she was always a little... different. Most of her friends are from her studies, sharing many of her odd interests.
“Hit me up when I need to start looking for someone. I need to handpick the finest man for my dear friend.” Ayako smiles “Of course I already have the finest, but that’s a very biased judgement.”
Reia chuckles “Of course. I promise I’ll let you know if I ever feel ready.”
“Great! And otherwise we can just become crazy neighbours.”
“I thought that was our plan A?”
“Good point. We’ll become crazy neighbours anyways and we’ll see about finding you a man. Now, tell me more about your cute coworker.”
Knowing Ayako doesn’t mean anything serious by the teasing, Reia feels comfortable enough and starts recounting the story of Shin finding her bracelet.
~*~
“It’s this late already?” Reia wonders aloud, eyes wide when she looks up at the dark sky.
She hadn’t meant to lost track of time. After parting ways with Ayako, Reia had grabbed dinner before heading to the library and spent the rest of her day apparently. If the librarian hadn’t practically kicked her out, she would probably still be there. She really ought to set an alarm when she goes there.
“So much for not hyper-focusing.” She laments with a sigh, peering into the dark street lit only by the street lanterns. For now, her immediate surroundings are illuminated by the lights inside the library, but those will likely turn off soon too. She takes a deep breath “It’s fine, Reia. The apartment building is only 15 minutes if you walk fast. Nothing will happen in the meantime.”
Hadn’t she thought that before? She had been walking home with him after going to a cafe. At the time, she had thought that she was safe. Little did she know how wrong she had been. That fateful night had changed everything; threw her life upside down and destroyed everything she held dear.
Taking another deep breath to prepare herself, Reia takes her first steps into what feels like total darkness compared to the comforting brightness of the library.
Her mind may be ridden with anxiety now, but even before enduring enough trauma to last her a lifetime, maybe two, she had always hated the dark. For as long as she can remember, she has had a tendency to see danger lurking in the shadows surrounding her. As a child, she even had a little light to chase away the worst of the darkness. When it ran out of batteries one night, it had been almost impossible for her parents to calm her down again. She ended up staying with them in their room that night. It’s such a distant memory now.
She tenses when she steps on something, finding only a pebble when she lifts her foot to check. She exhales and mutters “It’s literally just a piece of rock. What were you expecting?”
She honestly doesn’t know what exactly she was expecting, but it was definitely worse than a mere pebble.
One of the street lanterns ahead is defective, leaving a dark patch in the sea of light. There’s still more than enough light to see, but Reia still tightens her grip on the strap of her bag, which she has been clutching the whole time. Her mind is already running through different scenarios, mostly going over old ones she had tried to bury. She should know better than to stay somewhere past sunset.
When she enters the bubble of darkness surrounding the defective street lantern, she swears she hears a twig snap behind her. She glances over her shoulder. Her eyes widen. A silhouette.
Someone is following her!
After her initial moment of stupor, Reia wastes not a single second and starts sprinting.
She doesn’t have a clear goal in mind other than to get away, even though she had mentally planned out a course of action earlier. She can feel her heartbeat pounding in her head. No sound exists beyond the blood rushing through her veins. Her legs burn and so do her airways, but she doesn’t dare slow down.
She doesn’t look over her shoulder, afraid of what might happen if she does. She can’t afford to slow down or stumble and fall. She has to keep going!
Reia skits to a halt at a familiar building. She doesn’t waste any time getting inside. The bell rings.
“Welcome- Reia…?” Shin’s tone immediately shifts from the polite but flat customer service voice to one laced with confusion and a hint of concern.
“Just… let me hide.” She manages to say between rapid breaths. Panic or exertion, she doesn’t know.
Shin doesn’t react immediately, but it doesn’t take long for him to tell her “Go to the back. I’ll be right with you.”
She manages to nod, making her way to the back as fast as possible with the consequences of her physical exertion catching up to her. She doesn’t even sit down on the bench, instead putting her back to the lockers and sliding down, as she has done so often in the past. A habit, she assumes.
She wraps her arms around her legs, pulling her knees close to her chest and resting her forehead on them, making herself as small as possible. The acidification of her muscles is fully setting in now. Her breathing is still fast, no matter how much she tries to force it to slow to make as little noise as possible.
Although her heartbeat is still loud, she overhears Shin talking to someone. Is it him? Has he found her? Is he going to hurt Shin? Why did she lead him here?! If something happens it will be all her fault!
The talking stops and not long after, the door to the back opens. The footsteps stop for a moment “Some customers just came in.”
It’s Shin’s voice. The worst of her racing thoughts calms a little. She dares to release the breath she was holding.
He doesn’t say anything after that and she doesn’t lift her head yet either, instead directing her focus to calming her breathing. She feels something hit the lockers and knows he’s there while she tries to gather her bearings.
When she eventually feels collected enough – she has no idea how much time has passed – she quickly wipes her tears, although there’s no erasing the redness of her eyes. Then she slowly lifts her head, finding it’s already hurting. There’s movement in the corners of her eyes and, after a second of processing, she recognizes the paper cup in Shin’s hand.
She finds herself smiling through her tears a little, clutching the cup in her hands after taking it from Shin. She hadn’t realized how much her hands are shaking – not just her hands, but her entire body. She quickly averts her gaze so he doesn’t see the fresh tears gathering in her eyes, the emotions getting to her.
He doesn’t say anything yet and she can’t quite bringing herself to either. She takes a sip of the water, followed by a deep breath.
There’s no talking herself out of this, isn’t it? There is no way to explain away her running into the store late in the evening, exhausted and obviously panicked. She must seem crazy to him…
She had hoped to not have to tell anyone about the recent past… Most people don’t care about it anyways. They just… brush her off and tell her to get over it. That it wasn’t so bad and she’s just overreacting.
It hits her that she has grown quite fond of Shin, realizing that it would hurt her if he turns out to be like everyone else. She hadn’t intended to get so close, even if she wanted to get to know him. He’s only her coworker after all. She doesn’t want to dump her trauma on him. He will probably think she’s overreacting too…
Her anxious thoughts make way for a memory, a positive one this time. She recalls his awkward kindness when she explained her nightmares to him. Then there was the situation with her bracelet. Even she considers herself overly attached to it, but Shin hadn’t seem fazed. His genuine kindness, while usually not on full display, has been a pattern in their interactions. Maybe, just maybe, he will respond with empathy rather than dismissal. After all, isn’t he looking after her now? Without even having any explanation for her erratic behaviour?
“It’s… a bit late to come bursting in.” Shin starts the conversation, talking slowly as if he’s considering every word before he he says it.
“It is.” She agrees, glad to find herself able to speak properly despite the occasional sob “I apologize for that.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She can’t see his expression, but he must be frowning “Reia, you don’t seem to be okay…”
“Astute observation.” She tries to joke, but it falls flat. She sighs “It’s a long story.”
“People don’t really come in at this hour. I have time.” He pauses, before adding “I know we said ‘no deepest, darkest secrets’, but…”
She’s acting far too weird to not explain anything? She owes him?
She glances up at him for a moment, afraid of what she might find in her expression. However, rather than indifference or disgust… she finds concern.
She looks away again, but starts gathering her words.
“I didn’t move to this city recently for no reason…”
Of course, Shin would have no idea that she lived somewhere else before, but it seems like a good way to begin her explanation. He stays silent, not interrupting with comments or questions. That gives her the courage to keep going.
“I moved because I was being stalked.” When the admission leaves her lips, she feels a weight pressing on her chest. Saying the words aloud always makes her feel worse “I tried to pursue legal action first, but my case was dismissed because he hadn’t been violent yet. I was desperate and running out of options, so I uprooted my entire life and left hoping he couldn’t find me again.” She takes a shaky breath “I… I don’t know if it was him, a stranger or even just a figment of my imagination, but I thought I was being followed on my way home.”
Shin speaks up now “So you came here?”
“I thought it would be better than going to my apartment straight away, so he wouldn’t know where I lived. But now I might have led him straight to my place of work.” She tightens her grip on the paper cup “He showed up at my work last year…” She frowns “I’m sorry for potentially putting you in danger.”
He doesn’t respond right away, but then sighs “Seriously, worry about yourself first in a situation like this.”
“Huh?”
“To your stalker, I’m just some random employee of a store. You’re his target.” Shin scoffs, though it doesn’t seem malicious “I’m in very little danger compared to you.”
That’s… true. Still, she can’t help but feel if something were to happen to Shin, it will be on her.
“Besides, the people who just came in were two women.” He sighs “Your stalker is a ‘he’. So hopefully, you might still be safe.”
“I hope you’re right…”
At the very least, her stalker didn’t enter the establishment. Besides, there’s still the very real possibility that it’s all in her head, given her trauma. Hopefully it is. That would mean that he hasn’t been able to find her and is still clueless. She would rather be considered crazy than face him again.
Shin gets up “I have to get back to work, but you can stay here longer… just to be safe.”
Right, it would be best for her to stay hidden for a little while in case it wasn’t her imagination. Otherwise she would be leading her stalker right to her apartment building. The thought alone is enough to fill her chest with anxiety.
He gives her a piece of paper “If you want, text me when you get home safe.”
Reia nods, taking the paper he scribbled his number on and carefully putting it in her pocket. Shin is about to leave when she calls out his name. When he looks back at her she says “Thank you… For looking after me and for listening.”
He seems unsure how to respond to her gratitude, blinking, before he mumbles “It’s nothing.”
It might be nothing to him, but to her it means everything. She hopes he realizes that.