“Are you a stalker?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure, but it definitely feels like there’s one─”
“Is it Miss Yena?”
“……”
Well, Yena is technically a stalker.
When I first moved into this house, Yena followed me around to figure out my identity.
Of course, she got caught quickly, and we resolved it through conversation.
Yena looked a bit awkward.
“That was, um… a mistake, right…?”
“Usually, you don’t accidentally stalk someone.”
“Oh, anyway! There’s definitely a stalker around. Just not me.”
“A stalker, huh…”
It’s not surprising to have a stalker attached to me.
After all, I’m a celebrity that even people who aren’t in the Deoen scene have probably heard about.
Celebrities always attract stalkers or paparazzi.
That wasn’t anything new, even back in my days as a Saintess.
However, my living situation wasn’t just any normal house.
“A luxury apartment with a Han River view.”
If you aren’t a resident, getting into the apartment complex is incredibly difficult, especially going inside the actual apartment.
It’s not like I’m out and about, so having a stalker is ridiculous.
“If an outsider was coming in and out of the apartment, wouldn’t we have been notified? I thought they monitored everything through CCTV.”
“Well, that’s true. But I don’t think it’s an outsider.”
“…?”
Then…
“Are you saying it’s an insider? A resident of the apartment?”
“Exactly. The culprit is inside the apartment.”
“What? Then is it Miss Yena?”
The only person who could be a resident and a stalker is Yena.
When I said that, Yena scrunched her brow and made a whooshing sound.
“No! Not me!”
“Hurm Lily…”
“As you know, Miss Lily, any deliveries or packages here get screened downstairs first.”
“That’s right.”
“That means unauthorized outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering. So, if you haven’t noticed someone acting ‘suspicious,’ it must be someone from inside.”
“……”
“I’m not 100% sure, but pretty confident—”
“When did you see them?”
“Hmm… about a week or two ago?”
Hmm.
Yena popped a small snack piece that was beside the skewers into her mouth.
Even though I frequently make Celestial Skewers, I don’t just eat those all the time.
“Miss Lily, you live on the 17th floor. But I know most of the people living on the 17th floor, you know? It’s not like I was trying to, but I ended up visiting your place often…”
“That sounds like a stalker’s excuse.”
“…Haaak!”
“…Haaak!”
Yena’s second rebellion has begun.
Yena’s second assault was fiercer than the first, but she could not escape my one-handed grab.
In the end, Yena hung dangling from my hand, continuing to speak.
“…So there are a total of four units on the 17th floor. Lady Lily is in apartment 1703, to the left are 1701 and 1702. To the right is 1704, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve caught glimpses of those people’s faces while passing by… but recently, I’ve been seeing someone I’ve never seen before on the 17th floor.”
“Someone you’ve never seen?”
“Not exactly their face, though. Hmm… How should I put this? They seem to be lingering around?”
Yena made a thinking face, resting her chin on her hand.
Although she was suspicious, it seemed she wasn’t 100% sure.
“Something’s off. Are they intentionally hiding their appearance? Or are they waiting for someone?”
“Did you contact the management office?”
“Not yet. I felt suspicious and looked back, and not long after, the person suddenly went into 1701.”
“Then isn’t that just someone living in 1701?”
“No, no, no. I know the person living in 1701, and it wasn’t them. The body type was completely different.”
“Um…”
“What if they’re just visiting like me? That could be the case, but why would they keep walking back and forth outside? They could just go in.”
“Definitely sounds suspicious.”
They are not an outsider.
Given that they entered 1701, it was clear they had business on the 17th floor, but why they were loitering in the corridor was a mystery.
If they were lingering around without any business on the 17th floor, it might be worth contacting the management office.
However, since they had already entered a home on the 17th floor, no one would say anything about them wandering around the corridor.
On the contrary, it’s this cat living on the 12th floor that comes to visit the 17th floor that seems even more suspicious.
“Um.”
“Meow?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.
“What does that person look like?”
“They wear a black hat and a mask. Anyway, they’re a woman…”
“A woman?”
“Yeah. They had their hair tied up, but they were definitely a woman.”
A female stalker, huh…
Somehow, Yena comes to mind.
“The clothes were pretty normal. Just summery clothes? They didn’t show much skin.”
“Didn’t you see their face at all?”
“I couldn’t see it from the front. Even if I had, they were wearing a hat pulled low and a mask.”
“Um…”
“I don’t think it’s yet serious enough to report… but wouldn’t it be better to be cautious? What if they suddenly burst into my house or hit me from behind, bang!”
“It doesn’t seem serious enough to report… but isn’t it better to be careful? What if someone suddenly barges into my house or slaps me on the back of the head?”
Yena swung the now-empty skewer stick through the air.
In modern times, especially in the middle of a luxury apartment, it seems hard to believe such things could happen, but you never know.
Despite the good security, having met so many crazy people, it wouldn’t be surprising for anything to happen now.
“I guess I should be aware. Thank you.”
But a stalking woman living in the same apartment… who could it be?
—
“…Is she inside?”
Apartment 1701.
The unknown door that Yena had been wary of slowly opened.
The person who opened the door was Aisha, a woman with dark brown long hair.
Originally living on the 12th floor, she began visiting the 17th floor frequently after learning that Lily lived there.
Lily lived in Apartment 1703.
And next door, in Apartment 1701, was the house of a former teammate Aisha had lived with during her pro days.
She too had retired from pro sports, but because she traveled abroad so often after retiring, she was home less than her place was empty.
Thanks to that, she was able to come and go freely without actually living on the 17th floor.
“It feels like we meet almost every day. At this rate, isn’t there something going on?”
Lily often met Yena.
Usually, Yena would visit Lily’s place, but it wasn’t uncommon for Lily to visit Yena’s home either.
Whatever they were doing inside, it was clear they met frequently.
Aisha carefully stepped out of Apartment 1701.
Bang! Ding ding~
The door closed, and the silent hallway welcomed Aisha.
Due to the excellent soundproofing of the luxury apartment, both internal and external sounds didn’t carry.
In truth, she had no intention of spying on Lily.
She already knew that Lily had a close relationship with Yena, a fellow broadcaster, but had no desire to dig into that.
Aisha had been a professional.
Whether she was the fan club president of the Sword Saint or held negative feelings towards Lily, she understood the existence of ‘broadcasting’ and ‘celebrities’ better than anyone.
Naturally, she was well aware that prying into such private matters was considered almost taboo.
Moreover, Deoen’s pro-gamers not only appeared as their characters but also showed their real selves on broadcasts, exposing their private lives heavily.
The main reason she had retired was largely due to such exposure.
“…Is she not coming out today?”
Because even though I knew where Lily lived, I had chosen to ignore it.
‘Until that day comes.’
The day I met Lily in the PVP arena and witnessed ‘Cutting the Sky’ swordsmanship.
The emotions I felt then weren’t jealousy or anger from a series of events, nor was it amazement at her overwhelming strength.
It was regret.
‘The regret that I still lacked understanding of swordsmanship.’
The sword technique known as Cutting the Sky was closer to ‘perfection’ than any swordsmanship Aisha had learned.
The ultimate realm that one could reach with a sword.
That’s why I humbled myself and went to Lily’s Academy to request her teachings.
As I diligently learned swordsmanship, one curiosity arose.
‘What does this woman do in reality?’
I knew she was special.
Talent, skill, appearance, knowledge… She was perfect in almost every aspect, to the point where rumors circulated that she was an alien.
Of course, the alien bit was a total lie, but there was no doubt she was as exceptional in reality as Deoen.
This curiosity was a pure one, unrelated to Sword Saint… big brother.
“…Damn it.”
For some time now, Aisha hadn’t sought out the Sword Saint anymore.
Her head was now filled with other curiosities.
Aisha stared blankly at the firmly closed door of Apartment 1703.
Recently, Yena had started paying attention to this place.
She claimed to be careful, but unless she had skills like Deoen, it wouldn’t be possible to hide it indefinitely.
This version of Aisha was just an ordinary college student (who dropped out).
‘…The timing isn’t right. It would be nice if I could go to a café like before.’
Just nine days ago, Lily frequently visited cafés, but lately she had become busy and was holed up at home.
Aisha decided to fix one of her ‘99 Contemplations about Lily (27 of which are currently done)’ while holding the takeout food she had disguised. She turned and headed back to Apartment 1701.
Thud! Ding ding~
27. It seems that when busy, she doesn’t even go to cafés nearby (real Lily seems to have a surprisingly high aversion to inconvenience). +Have they become closer?
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