Chapter 23: Shadows in the Alley

In the photo, Yehyun was opening the front door while wearing a red scarf. Judging by her clothes, it looked like a picture taken on Thursday while she was coming home from work.

From this angle, where could it have been taken? Yehyun grabbed the photo with trembling hands and looked around.

For a photo to be taken from this angle, it would have to be from that alley. Determining the location, Yehyun remembered what Yeseo had said and hardened her expression.

‘Huh? Just on the way home… I saw him checking a camera in front of the alley where we put out the trash.’

The predicted location where the photo was taken was none other than the alley where Yeseo said she saw a suspicious man.

I had walked around the house several times but never saw anyone suspicious. Could it be that the person knew my work schedule and took this photo at the right time?

What if they’re hiding somewhere right now, watching me?

“Hah.”

A sudden chill ran through Yehyun. She gasped and quickly opened the door.

“What’s wrong? Did you see a ghost? Why do you look like that?” Yeseo, who had been watching TV in the living room, asked with a worried voice as Yehyun came in looking pale.

“What’s that in your hand? A photo?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Yeseo would definitely worry more than I would if she saw this photo. Not wanting to concern her younger sister, Yehyun hastily hid the photo.

“In front of the house… I almost slipped on the way, so I got startled. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, did the neighbor spill water while watering their plants again? I saw the frozen puddle and was worried. Be careful, oppa.”

“You be careful too.”

Yehyun forced a smile to reassure Yeseo and went into her room.

Worried that Yeseo might open the door and see the photo, Yehyun carefully locked it. Then she picked up the photo with trembling hands and looked at it again.

Touching the surface, the writing seemed to be done not with a pen but with something like poster paint.

It was creepy enough that red letters were scrawled over her photo, but under the light, she could also see scratch marks on the scarf and face in the picture, as if scraped with a sharp object.

[ That’s not yours. Why are you wearing it? ]

Staring blankly at the malicious writing, Yehyun dropped the letter onto the desk.

She had thought the person lingering in front of the house was definitely that reporter. But if he were just an ordinary reporter, he wouldn’t have this much malice toward her.

“Stalker…”

Yehyun muttered softly as something came to mind. It had been said that Yijeong had a stalker. A very relentless, crazy-seeming stalker.

Since they mentioned the scarf of all things, it was clear the sender’s interest was solely in Yijeong.

Should she tell Yijeong? Yehyun raised her phone with trembling hands and opened her contacts.

[ ♡ ]

But how should she bring it up? Should she first say that she received a photo like this? Or start by saying a strange letter arrived?

Which one first? Yehyun bit her fingernails in worry.

The phone buzzed.

Just then, as if answering her thoughts, a text arrived.

[ Director Kim Jaeryun: Did you get home safely? 9:51 PM ] [ Director Kim Jaeryun: The article draft came in. Would you like to take a look? 9:51 PM ]

It wasn’t from Yijeong. But this person was also closely related to their contract.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yehyun replied to Jaeryun’s text.

[ Is Yijeong busy right now? 9:55 PM ] [ Director Kim Jaeryun: He’s probably memorizing tomorrow’s script. Why not ask him directly? 9:55 PM ]

Memorizing the script, huh. Well, she had heard filming was in full swing, so that made sense.

He was already busy. If she bothered him with this and his condition worsened, she would feel guilty.

After pondering, Yehyun texted Jaeryun.

[ I have something urgent to say, but I’m not sure if now is the right time. 10:02 PM ]

Should she tell Jaeryun first? He was the director of Yijeong’s agency and also close to him. Though their relationship was awkward, even cold, he was at least someone she could share this with.

[ Director Kim Jaeryun: What is it? 10:04 PM ] [ Director Kim Jaeryun: Is there a problem with the article? 10:04 PM ]

Hesitating for a moment at Jaeryun’s text, Yehyun typed about the unknown letter with trembling hands. Soon after sending the text, Yehyun received an urgent call from Jaeryun and headed outside.

“I’m sorry to make you come out this late.”

“Don’t say that. You did the right thing by contacting me first. Thank you, Yehyun-ssi,” Jaeryun, who seemed to have driven here in a hurry, said. “Can you show me the photo first?”

As soon as he received Yehyun’s text, he called immediately and asked if she could come out right away. There must be something bothering him for him to come so urgently. Thinking that, Yehyun obediently handed over the photo.

“… This scarf, did Kang Yijeong give it to you?”

“Yes.”

“Haa…” Jaeryun let out a deep sigh. Seeing that he seemed to know something, Yehyun quietly said. “Is it that stalker you mentioned before?”

At the mention of the stalker, Jaeryun flinched slightly. Running a hand through his hair in agitation, he said.

“… It had been quiet for a while, and he said he would back off if Yijeong had a real lover, so I thought it had settled… We were too complacent. Let me apologize first.” Jaeryun bowed his head deeply.

Flustered, Yehyun raised him up. “No, I didn’t call you to get an apology…”

What Yehyun wanted was not an apology from Jaeryun. She wanted to know who this stalker was and what they had done so far.

“You don’t need to apologize, but I want to hear about this stalker. When we signed the contract, you said I didn’t need to worry about a stalker, but this happened. Now it concerns me too, so I think I have the right to ask.”

At Yehyun’s words, Jaeryun slowly lifted his head. After thinking for a moment, he spoke. “Of course I should tell you. It’s a bit of a long story, is that okay? I know your younger sister is home alone…”

“It’s right in front of the house. That’s fine.”

“… The stalker has been following Yijeong for about two years.” Biting his lip and looking at Yehyun for a moment, Jaeryun began to talk about the stalker.

“For the first year, it wasn’t really to the level of a stalker. He just consistently sent gifts and fan letters. Except for one thing, he could have been considered a normal fan.”

“What’s that one thing?”

“… There are many fans who take pictures of celebrities, but few who secretly photograph every daily moment.”

So he was what they call a sasaeng fan. Yehyun quietly listened to Jaeryun’s story.

“But even that kind of fan isn’t that rare. What made this stalker particularly memorable was that he printed out those daily photos and kept sending them to Yijeong.” Jaeryun pressed the photo he had received from Yehyun as he spoke.

“Photos of him going to a convenience store near the filming set, photos of him meeting acquaintances. He attached letters written in paint like this. But having been in the entertainment industry, I’ve seen all kinds of people, so I thought this was tame.”

Jaeryun recalled the stalker’s letters. The stalker always wrote with a brush, as if trying to hide his handwriting. Was he doing this to be remembered? It was a bit creepy, but since it wasn’t directly harmful, they let it be.

“The stalker started showing this kind of excessive obsession around summer.”

One day, the stalker’s behavior changed. He used to always enclose photos separately, but now he scrawled paint letters directly on the photos and left them.

What the paint had smeared was none other than the name ‘Hari.’

Before the filming started, following the director’s suggestion to have a simple meeting among the lead actors, Hari, Yijeong, and a few other actors had an unofficial meeting. The photo seemed to be from that day.

‘Did he mistake them for dating?’

‘Anyway, the casting article will come out in a few days. Just leave it.’

In the photo, Yijeong and Hari were acting out a scene from the work. All other scenes were filmed indoors, but because the director said he wanted this important scene to be in a garden, just that one scene was filmed outdoors. That was the scene captured.

The two in the photo were looking at each other with affectionate eyes, like lovers. The director’s house was a private property in the suburbs, and the others were watching them from inside the building through a window. So at a glance, it looked like a secret dating scene of the two actors.

‘Seems like he was quite shocked.’

‘I don’t know how he found out and followed you there. Are you sure he doesn’t have connections at our company? Otherwise, there’s no way he knows your movements this well.’

‘He tracks down all your flights. That’s nothing.’

Yijeong had said nonchalantly, looking at the script. Yes, at that time, even Jaeryun had no idea what the stalker would do next.

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