My Neighbor's Disturbing Secret

My roommate shut the door when our eyes met.

A sense of dread overwhelmed me. He was just peeking at this point, sure, but what if he were to get more aggressive?

Frightened at the mere thought, I quickly returned to my room and ordered pepper spray online.

The delivery took a few days. I considered my situation, and then I locked my door with a hanger, following the guides I read online. That way, he would not be able to open the door from the outside.

I cowered under my sheets, secretly praying that he was a cowardly scoundrel.

The next few days went by peacefully. He was quiet at night. Neither did I ever catch him spying on me again.

I gradually let my guard down. Life seemed to return to normal.

On Saturday, I could finally sleep in, and it felt good. I thought about going to look for my best friend to go shopping and have a feast.

I opened the door and headed out, but it was then I froze when I saw what was happening on the balcony.

"What are you doing? That's… That's sick!"

He smirked lewdly, not at all embarrassed that I caught him in the act. "The only reason you're hanging it on the balcony is to seduce me, right?"

He looked me up and down and snickered ominously. "Congratulations, you've succeeded. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

What sort of sick mongrel was he?!

I subconsciously took a step back and bit my lip. Facing his predatory stare, I turned and ran back to my room.

My heart was pounding hard. I was terrified.

No. I could not stay there any longer. I quickly changed my clothes and headed to my best friend's house.

When she heard my stories, she cursed and called him a pervert. However, since he did not do anything concrete, it was pointless calling the police.

I stayed with my best friend until Sunday afternoon when I had no choice but to head home. I had work on Monday and my clothes and work badge were all at home.

"Don't be afraid. If he still dares to harass you like that, tell me. I'll get my boyfriend to beat him up!"

With my best friend's consolation and the delivery of the pepper spray that just arrived, I was much more at ease.

He did not seem to be home when I returned.

While I was doing my laundry and putting it into the washing machine, I could not seem to find the stockings I wore on Friday. I could not locate them even after a round of searching.

Not knowing why, I found myself in front of my roommate's room. I reached out to open the door but realized it was locked.

I pulled back my hand, not knowing what to feel. Perhaps I misplaced those stockings somewhere.

…

I was fast asleep late at night when I heard my roommate returning home. This time, he was quiet in his room.

I fell asleep.

A long while later, I heard a loud thud. The sound of the water bottle falling to the floor woke me up instantly.

I groggily looked at the door to see it was ajar. I could roughly make out a dark figure standing by the door.