Midnight Love

Chapter 7

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I see is the key I found the day before. I take it and examine it. It's a golden key and a car key with no branding. I decide to keep the key in my bag and bring it with me if I encounter the person again. In my pyjamas, I grab some cornflakes and gaze out the window. I'm remembering my 'date' with Chul from yesterday evening. It made me smile as I remembered the compliment he gave me. I open my laptop and look over the notes I took in the meeting yesterday. I'm desperate to solve this mystery; I could work on it for hours.

When my apartment's doorbell rings, I rush to the door and peer through the small hole to see who it is. The landlord. 'What brings him here?' I tell myself. I'm hesitant to open the door because I know how irritating he can be. 'I'll be there,' I say. When I open the door, I see the landlord and a few other people standing behind him. A cake is held by an older woman, and drinks are held by a man. 'Uh hello?' I ask, perplexed. The landlord laughs and walks into my apartment.

'Jia! Today is your welcome party,' he declares. I stand there in my pyjamas, watching everyone come into my apartment. 'Uhm, haha, so nice, but you know I have to work.' I try to sound friendly. The landlord takes his phone and examines it. 'However, I checked your calendar and you're free today,'

'Wait? 'How did you gain access to my planner?' I ask. It didn't bother him, and he began cutting the cake and filling drinks for everyone. I'm just sitting on my sofa, taking deep breaths, not knowing what to do next. When I texted Jimin a picture of what was going on in my apartment, she responded with laughter. 'Would you like a piece, Jia?' an older woman asks. I nodded and accepted the piece of cake. It tastes delicious, and the strawberry filling inside gives me a sense of calm.

While the uninvited neighbours laugh and talk, I open my laptop and try to concentrate. I created a document on my laptop with all of the information I discovered about this snake person. I can't stop thinking about the key while writing my first news article. I take it out and play with it a few times. What cars have no logo on the key, I look up on the internet. But I'm unable to discover anything. I'm considering turning in the key to the police, but I also want to meet with this person and talk. Perhaps it isn't my concern, or he/she/they are having a bad day. I take another deep breath as the elderly lady approaches and takes a seat next to me.

'Jia, 'You didn't introduce us to your boyfriend?' She asks. I give her a puzzled look. 'I believe you saw someone else; I don't have a boyfriend,' I say. Everyone in the room looks at me as if they've never seen anyone dating or in a relationship. 'Jia! 'We saw you with Chul!' says a woman dressed in designer clothes. I feel embarrassed and begin to blush.

'Chul is such a sweetheart! He is always willing to assist me in cleaning up my garden,' The older lady says. The entire room begins to discuss him, and I am sitting on the sofa, trying to figure out how to tell them. I don't have time, and I have to leave in a few minutes.

I go to my room to get ready for tonight, and the older woman follows me there. 'Where are you going, Jia?' I take a look at her. 'I'm sorry, I'm just not in the mood for a party right now, I'm working on my article and I'll be out later,' I say. The grandmother laughs and approaches me.

'You just need to tell us,' she says. I take a seat on the bed, and she takes a seat next to me. 'One thing you should always remember in life is that when you don't like or want something, say it; that's how your life will go better,' According to Grandma. I exhale deeply and smile. 'You can call me Halmi; I live next door; if you need anything, just come over and I'll do my best,' I smiled and hugged her. She appears to be someone I can truly trust and share things with. She exits my room, and I hear her telling everyone to leave and return later.

I look at the time when I'm finally alone in my house and realize it's time to find an outfit and get ready for our fancy dinner. When I opened my closet, all I saw were boring clothes, and I forgot Jimin had told me to go shopping. To make the look a little chicer, I decided to wear a nice long-sleeved red top with a necklace. After an hour, I take my bag, but before leaving the house, I insert the keys from yesterday. I shut my door and go downstairs, where Eunji and Binna are waiting for me. 'Jia! you're looking good,' Binna remarks. Eunji smiles as he looks at me. 'You can literally wear anything and look good with that body,' Eunji says. I blushed shortly and thanked them.

We took a taxi to the restaurant and talked about our daily lives in the car. Binna discusses her date. 'Are you dating anyone, Eunji?' I ask. Eunji stares me down with her eyes wide open. 'Jia! 'I'm taking a break from dating, long story short, but all the guys I dated...were kind of k-news,' she says. Binna bursts out laughing. 'She even dated my brother,' she says. Eunji turns to face Binna. 'You don't have to tell my entire life right now; that's for later,' Eunji says. We entered the restaurant and proceeded to the door.

'Hello, Table for Three?' The waitress asks. Binna took care of everything, and we both walked to a table by the restaurant's window with a beautiful view. 'It's really nice here,' I say. We took the menu and started searching for something to eat; of course, I know what I'm going to order. 'What are you going to take?' Binna asks. 'Bulgogi!' I say loudly. We all place our orders as the waitress arrives.

'Jia! We didn't ask about your love life, did we?' Eunji asks. I take a deep breath and look out the window. 'It's a little complicated, I dated someone at home but he's not the one for me,' I think of Chul. 'Are you seeing anyone else?' Binna wants to know. I blushed and remembered my 'date' with Chul from yesterday. 'How come you're blushing?' Eunji asks. I look at my phone's camera and realize I'm blushing. 'And then there's this guy...'

Our food looks delicious when the waitress arrives with it. We all take pictures for i********: on our phones. 'This is food!' laughs and says Eunji.

While we eat, we gaze out the window at the beautiful view. It is raining outside, but with all of the lights, cars, and shops, it appears magical. 'Seoul is stunning!' I say. 'I don't understand people who only wear black clothes...' Eunji says while looking out of the window. I look outside and see the person. 'Wait!! That's the one!' I say. That's the person, I take my bag and run outside. I ran quickly, but he kept up. 'I've got your key!' Wait!' He continues to speed up.

This person comes to a halt and stares at me. Because of the mask and hat, I can't see the eyes. I notice the person getting closer and closer to me. 'Please leave me alone,' he says. This time, I can clearly see and hear that it's a man. He snatches the keys from my hands and walks away angrily. 'A simple thank you is enough?' I say. I decided to follow him because he was just walking.