Jimin kept staring at his phone. The light flashing from the post lamp outside fell on his face, making his expressions visible-the confusion, the shock, and the creeping feeling he was experiencing. It was satisfying to watch, for the one who was stalking him from afar.

He could see him so clearly.

A wide smirk stretched across his lips, his thin lips curved with that deadly dark smirk of satisfaction.

Enjoying? I'm enjoying it so much.

Just like eight years ago, Park Jimin, it's still fun to mess around with you.

Jimin's eyes widened. The grip on his phone tightened. His teeth ground together as rage built up inside him, his jaws clenched tightly as he tried to overcome his frustration.

He was playing with him again.

The weird messages, the phone calls-everything was messing with his head. On top of all that, a new maniac had entered the game.

Everything started a week ago.

Right when the first murder happened.

Jimin looked down at the screen of his phone again. He downloaded the photo to his gallery. His fingers hovered over the anonymous messenger's profile. He opened the chat. The first thing he did was save the creep's name. The second thing he did was what he should have done in the first place:

---

00:09 a.m

You:
Who's this?

00:11 a.m

Creep:
It's beginning again, Park Jimin.

---

Jimin almost lost his grip on his phone. He gagged.

"For the sake of the mother of Jesus, he knows my name?" He nearly shouted the last part.

---

00:13 a.m

You:
Who the fuck is this?
Are you stalking me?
What's the meaning of all this?

00:14 a.m

(Seen)

-----

Jimin banged his fist on the table nearby. If he was being honest, the whole thing was making him very anxious, and this person leaving him on seen made him even more insane. He glanced outside the window, which was blocked with bars. The whole place was sunken in thick darkness.

For some reason, he felt like he could hear the menacing laugh of whoever was fooling with him.

"I should block him." He clicked on the profile and scrolled to the option *Block.*

He stared at it for a while.

He wanted to block and end this craziness, but at the same time, he wanted to wait and see what it was all about. *Curiosity is making you thirsty, huh, Park Jimin?*

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

Jimin flinched. His reflexes were so quick that his free hand slid down to his pocket to grip his handgun. He quickly turned around, aiming the gun without hesitation.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, Jimin!" Namjoon's eyes widened as he saw Jimin pointing a gun at him. He gasped loudly.

"Oh shit," Jimin muttered, lowering his gun and placing it back in his pocket. "I'm so sorry, Namjoon hyung."

But Namjoon was still shaking from Jimin's sudden action. To be fair, anyone would be shaken up. Imagine one of your coworkers pointing a gun at you and nearly blowing your brains out.

"Ugh, damn, I'm such an idiot. Hyung, you alright? I'm so sorry," Jimin kept apologizing, realizing he had scared the life out of Namjoon.

"No, it's fine," Namjoon said after a minute as he recovered. His voice was a little shaky, but he understood the situation.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked. Jimin sighed and nodded.

"It's just that I keep getting these really odd messages from someone unknown." He looked at Namjoon, who seemed intrigued.

"Odd? How so?"

Jimin shrugged. "Whoever it is, they're not being specific. Sending some random bullshit that makes absolutely no sense to me."

"So you think it's just some random guy playing around with you?" the older man asked, nibbling on his chin.

"Yeah, well, I think so. Anyway, it's not important. Let's get back to work," Jimin said, sliding his phone back into the pocket of his uniform trousers.

Namjoon let out a sigh and patted Jimin's shoulder. "You know, maybe you should take a leave. You've been working your ass off these days, and it's exhausting you."

"But hyung-"

"Believe me, you need it," Namjoon cut him off right away as Jimin tried to deny it.

Jimin did want a good rest. Sleepless, restless work nights were his whole life these days. And even after all that hard work, still no results. That made him even more frustrated. Maybe Namjoon was right after all.

What he needed was rest.

"Good night, hyung."

---

I was walking out of the consultant lounge with a victorious smile spread across my face.

After all, I had been able to convince Dr. Kang and the rest to allow Taehyung to go out with me. I was set on studying his social attitudes-watching him closely would make it easier to come up with a proper differential diagnosis.

I wanted to prove that I was right.

"Y/N-ah! Hold up!" I heard my brother's voice from behind.

I heard his footsteps stumbling toward my direction. I turned back, meeting him in the long corridor in front of the doctor's restroom.

"What is it, Jin?" I asked. Seeing the worry on his face made me glance at him with concern.

"Y/N-ah, are you sure about this? I mean, I'm not underestimating you or anything. It's just..." My eyes softened as I understood that he was worried about my safety.

As usual, he was worried about me. Jin always put me first when it came to anything. My safety was his biggest concern all the time.

I smiled.

"Don't worry, brother, I'll be alright. I promise. I'm pretty sure I can handle this situation."

"What if he goes nuts and all mumbles jumbles?" I couldn't help but laugh at the way he said it.

"Oh, Jin. Stop worrying. Don't you trust me?"

He let out a sigh. "I trust you, alright, but who I don't trust is the patient. Psychiatric patients could go all koo koo...you know what I mean, right?" I held his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You don't have to worry about anything. I promise. Taehyung is a patient I can handle. I want you to trust your little sister." I looked at Jin with big, pleading eyes. He chuckled.

"Your manipulation tricks aren't going to work on me," he said as I pouted.

He sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll let you go. But won't you at least consider taking Jungkook with you?"

I shook my head. "Believe me, brother, that boy needs his sleep. He's going bananas because of all the workload, and now he's finally getting his rest after a heavy week." Jin looked bitter, but he tried to cover it up with a smile.

"Okay then, Y/N, just be careful with what you do. I really hope you know what you're doing."

After getting permission from both my brother and the consultant psychiatrist, I went to Room 95 to collect my patient-or should I say, my date, as he put it?

I chuckled, remembering what he said.

He was so hard to read sometimes.

I knocked on his door and entered. To my surprise, Taehyung was already standing near the door as I opened it. He was wearing his usual white shirt and brown trousers. He greeted me with a wide, rectangular smile, showing his pearly teeth.

"Well, someone looks very excited," I said, smiling at him.

He held his smile.

I stepped closer to him. His room looked brighter than the first days I visited him. Maybe we were already making progress. I felt proud of myself.

"Taehyung, are you ready to go out?" He nodded excitedly, like a small kid.

I thought for a while.

He deserved a freshened-up look. At least some new clothes could work on him. I had to see how he would respond to it, and I needed to monitor his behavior very carefully.

"Come on," I said, leading him out of his room.

As he stepped out of the room, his eyes winced as he was exposed to the intense lights of the hospital corridor. He gulped and swiveled his head, looking around. People walking in the corridor, nurses taking trolleys, the beeping sounds of machines-everything was starting to make him panic.

I could feel his anxiety.

"Taehyung," I called him, but he still looked stunned.

His eyes darted around, startled by all the busyness of the hospital.

"Taehyung, look at me," I said in a stern voice, knowing it was the way to catch his attention. Just as I hoped, his eyes landed on me, focusing on me.

"It's alright. It's going to be alright." I held his hand tightly.

"I'm right here. It's going to be alright."

He stared into my eyes. I looked straight into his. I could see the trust in his eyes, that he believed in me. I could see him easing up.

He nodded and held my hand.

That's right. Everything is going to be alright.

I know it's been a long time. 😭💀hope you liked the chapter. And hopefully I'll be updating this book.

Love you all ❤️