Afraid to Take the Elevator

The two of them closed their eyes and kissed.

At that moment, Han So-yeon's soul seemed to have flown away, her heart felt like it had stopped beating. She was acting completely on autopilot.

A few minutes later, her soul returned to her body, and her rationality regained the upper hand.

She shuddered suddenly, then gently pushed against Su Yang's shoulders and stepped back, her eyes hazy.

After a moment of silence, she awkwardly and shyly looked away. Su Yang took a deep breath and asked, "So... do you still want to watch the movie?"

"No... I think we're good. It's already past three."

"Alright, if we're not watching, let's head out."

They both got up, put on their shoes, grabbed their bags, and walked out of the room.

On the third floor, Su Yang paid for the beer and then pulled Han So-yeon along as they left.

On the street, both of them still seemed a little lost in thought, especially Han So-yeon, whose mind was still replaying those few minutes from earlier.

Su Yang held her hand, but neither of them spoke for a while.

They soon strolled to the parking lot, and a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Su Yang broke the silence and turned to look at Han So-yeon. "It's raining. Get in the car, I'll take you home."

"Okay!"

Fifteen minutes later, the car pulled into the parking lot of Tianhe Oriental Residences in Xu Hui District.

Su Yang got out, closed the door, and handed the car keys to Han So-yeon with a smile. "You go on up. I won't walk you in."

Actually, there were two reasons Su Yang didn't want to walk her up. First, the neighborhood was very safe—even the parking lot was lavishly decorated, bright and filled with security cameras everywhere.

Second, he was afraid that if he went up, he wouldn't be able to hold himself back.

Han So-yeon bit her lip, hesitating as if she wanted to say something.

"Something on your mind?" Su Yang asked.

"I... I'm kind of scared to take the elevator alone."

"What?"

"I don't know why, but my mind is full of those scary images from the horror movie earlier, so... can you walk me up?"

Hearing that, Su Yang couldn't very well say no. He nodded with a smile. "Alright, let's go."

Two minutes later, the elevator reached the 15th floor. Su Yang walked Han So-yeon to her door and said again, "You're home. Go on in, get some rest. See you tomorrow."

Han So-yeon nodded. "Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Su Yang smiled and turned to leave.

But just as he turned, Han So-yeon grabbed his arm from behind. "Su... Brother Su Yang."

"What's wrong?" He turned around.

"Well, um... maybe you should just stay over tonight. I still have that psychological shadow. I'm a little scared being alone."

"You're scared in your own place?"

Han So-yeon nodded. "Yeah, I'm afraid if I hear any sudden noises when I'm trying to sleep, I'll scare myself to death."

"That won't happen. There's no noise coming from anywhere."

"Don't leave, okay? It's raining outside now too." Han So-yeon stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and shook it gently, switching into full on coaxing mode.

Seeing this, Su Yang scratched his head and gave a helpless smile. "It's just that my luggage is still at the hotel. I like to shower before bed, and I need a change of clothes tomorrow."

"Then how about I go back to the hotel with you to grab your stuff, or... we could just sleep at the hotel directly." Han So-yeon had made up her mind as she stared at Su Yang.

Hearing that, Su Yang's eyebrow twitched. He paused for a couple of seconds, then let out a sigh. "Ah... forget it, it's too late to be running around. I'll just stay here tonight. I'll go back to the hotel tomorrow to change clothes."

"Great!" Seeing that Su Yang agreed to stay, Han So-yeon immediately beamed with joy and linked her arm through his as they walked into the apartment.

Bang, the door closed. They arrived in the living room.

Su Yang looked at Han So-yeon, who was clinging to him, and said, "Go wash up and get some rest. It's pretty late."

"Okay, I'll shower in the bedroom. You can use the one out here."

"Got it."

Han So-yeon let go of Su Yang and trotted off toward her bedroom.

Su Yang shook his head, pulled out a cigarette, and walked to the balcony to light it.

A few minutes later, he finished his smoke, went into the bathroom, stripped down, and took a quick shower. After that, he came back to the living room and sat on the sofa, playing with his phone.

Girls usually take longer in the shower. After more than ten minutes, Han So-yeon finished washing up and walked out wearing a white camisole nightgown.

"You're done?" She looked at Su Yang.

He nodded. "Yeah. Why did you come back out? Go to sleep already."

"Just checking what you're up to."

"Nothing much. I'll sit for a bit and then sleep."

"I have two spare bedrooms that are both usable. You can pick whichever one you want. The sheets and covers are all laid out. No one's ever slept in them."

Su Yang smiled. "Okay, I know. Go on, get some sleep."

"Mm-hmm." Han So-yeon replied, took a sip of water, and headed back to her bedroom.

A faint sound of a door closing came from her room. Su Yang sat for a few more minutes, then got up and headed toward the guest bedroom.

He casually opened one of the doors and walked in.

The room was tidy and clean, with no signs of anyone ever having stayed there.

That's how it is living alone—too many rooms for no reason, but you have to have them.

Su Yang walked to the bed, took off his clothes, and pulled back the covers before lying down.

It was already 4:20 in the morning by then. He didn't bother looking at his phone anymore, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

A few minutes later, just as he was drifting off into a hazy doze, a sharp scream suddenly rang out, followed by a flurry of hurried footsteps.

The commotion yanked Su Yang back from the brink of sleep. He sat up with a jolt.

No sooner had he sat up than a knock sounded at the dark bedroom door.

Thump thump thump! Click!

The front door swung open from the outside. "Su Yang!!"

Han So-yeon shouted his name as she burst into the bedroom. Barefoot, she ignored everything else and dove straight into Su Yang's arms.

"Hey? What's wrong?" Su Yang instinctively wrapped his arms around her.

"I... there's someone in my bedroom!"

"What? Someone? Are you sure you didn't just doze off and scare yourself with a dream?"

"No! I'm positive—I heard a noise behind the curtains in my room."

Hearing this, Su Yang frowned slightly. "This is a high-end complex. There are security cameras everywhere, and they patrol 24/7. Who would have the guts to sneak in here... wait, no, that doesn't add up. This is the 15th floor! It's even less likely."

"You probably misheard. Or maybe some bird or insect hit the railing outside."

"I don't know, but I don't dare go back over there!" Han So-yeon trembled, buried in Su Yang's arms.

"It's fine, it's fine. Let go of me—I'll go take a look."

"No, don't you leave!" Han So-yeon clung to him even tighter.

"Come on, you have to let me check. If I don't look, how will we know if there's actually something there?"

"I'm so scared!"

"What are you afraid of? I'm right here. Relax." Su Yang patted her back, then gently eased her away.

He got up, slipped on his slippers, and started to head out.

Han So-yeon grabbed his arm. "I... I'll come with you."

"Aren't you scared?"

"I'm even more scared staying here alone!"

"Ha, alright then. Hide behind me."

The two of them walked out of the bedroom. Su Yang first turned on the living room light, then took Han So-yeon's hand and led her toward her bedroom.

He couldn't be bothered to listen with his ears—he went straight to the system.

—System, other than me and So-yeon, is there anyone else in this apartment?

[Negative.]

After getting his answer, Su Yang smiled and led Han So-yeon into her bedroom.

The room was spacious, with a sleeping area, a walk-in closet, a bathroom, and a balcony. The automatic curtains were closed, hiding whatever was behind them on the balcony.

Su Yang strode over quickly.

Skreeek, skreeek.

Suddenly, an unpleasant sound came from behind the curtains.

Han So-yeon was so startled she jumped in place, let out a shriek, and lunged at Su Yang, clinging to him and screaming, "Aah! Who's there?!"

Su Yang listened carefully, then laughed. "It's okay, it's not a person."

He stepped forward, yanked the curtain open, and saw a bat about the size of a palm lying on the balcony floor.

"Aaah!" The moment she saw the thing, Han So-yeon scrambled furiously and leapt onto the bed.

"Whoa! You scared me!"

Between the bedroom and the balcony was a large sliding glass door.

It was open about three feet. The balcony was open-air, and since a light rain was falling, it wasn't unusual for an odd creature or two to wander in.

Su Yang looked at the bat, which lay motionless on the floor, its squeaky cry indeed a bit spine-chilling.

It was enough to give anyone the creeps—let alone a woman; plenty of men would get goosebumps too.

Su Yang turned around, grabbed two tissues from the nightstand, then looked at Han So-yeon, who was crouching on the bed. "It's fine, it's just a bat. I'll get rid of it."