The elevator stopped on the 6th floor. Three front doors lined the hallway. The agent rummaged through a bundle of keys and opened the door to Unit 601, which was directly across from the elevator. An agent with a bundle of keys. It was a rather different scene from Korea.
“The area around the canal has been Paris’s new hot spot for a while now. There are many chic cafés and restaurants, and with supermarkets like ALDI* and MONOPRIX* right nearby, as well as a bakery, it’ll be quite convenient for you to live here.”
“I’m not planning to live here, so a little inconvenience is fine.”
At Liu’s blunt reply, the agent’s lips curved up slightly.
After turning the key in what seemed like a complicated manner, the agent opened the door. Unlike the hallway, which had no light at all, the space inside was filled with natural light. It made the apartment look more spacious.
“What do you think? It’s not on the small side for a Parisian studio.”
“The size of the apartment doesn’t matter. The location is more important to me.”
There was hardly anything to look at; the spaces visible from the center were the entirety of the apartment. What was special about it was its long, horizontal shape, which allowed for some spatial division despite being a studio. And the fact that most of that long wall was a window, letting in plenty of light.
After looking around the kitchen and bathroom that occupied the north end, Liu asked with a stiff expression.
“What about Monsieur* Dupont’s apartment? Is he still unwilling to sell?”
Another apartment in the 19th arrondissement, where a couple in their late sixties lived.
That apartment was the property Liu coveted most, situated in the most perfect location. It was on the same alley as ‘The Hands,’ but not directly opposite. It was located on a slant, and the shared entrance was around a corner, making it suitable for hiding from people coming and going from ‘The Hands.’
Most importantly, Monsieur Dupont’s apartment was on the same floor as Yeehyeon’s room.
If he stood by the bedroom window, he might be able to see Yeehyeon’s flickering shadow as he moved about inside his room.
The problem was, it wasn’t for sale. Liu was the only one coveting it. The agent shook her head with a troubled expression.
“I proposed the purchase price you mentioned, but it had no effect. To be honest, I thought he’d be swayed by that price… but he won’t budge. I was a little surprised. I think it would be best for you to give up on that apartment.”
“Hmm, that’s a shame.”
Thrusting both hands into the pockets of his trench coat, Liu shrugged. It was hard to hide his disappointment. He walked to the window and looked out at the building across the street. Just as he had seen on his way in, a famous supermarket occupied the first floor of the pale blue building.
“He said it’s the first home they bought after years of renting as newlyweds, and they’ve lived there for 30 years since.”
“……”
Liu, who had been looking down at the people entering and exiting the building across the street through the thin sheer curtain, turned to look at the agent.
“Their children have all moved out, and it’s much too large for an old couple to manage… but he said he can’t leave a home that holds all the years they’ve spent together as a couple.”
It seemed there was nothing to be done, she said with a shrug.
Liu gazed at her for a moment, then turned his head back to the window. Two men who looked to be around his age were just coming out of the supermarket. The taller of the two wore a baby carrier, while the other had a shopping bag slung over his shoulder. They looked like a male Alpha and male Omega couple.
The man with the baby carrier fiddled with the baby’s foot, which was clad in a thick sock, while his other hand found and held his partner’s.
The shorter man, who had been pointing at something across the street, turned to look at his lover. The two shared a brief kiss and walked slowly down the Parisian street on a leisurely weekend afternoon.
At the sight of these complete strangers, his chest suddenly tightened as if it were being torn apart.
That kind of happy, everyday life could have been his and Yeehyeon’s. The one who had ruined it, who had shattered it to pieces, was none other than his own madness.
「Did you dream that one day you’d have a child through me?」
「…….」
「Is that why you tried to… make me an Omega?」
He remembered Yeehyeon’s eyes and face as he’d said those words. A face filled with sorrow and despair, even in that moment when he was trying to shock and hurt Liu with the lie that he was pregnant.
「I don’t need a child. I never even thought that far!」
That desperate cry had been sincere. If he had wanted a child, it wouldn’t have had to be with Yeehyeon.
Liu at the time had not been in his right mind. So much so that he had tried to use the very pheromones he despised to keep Yeehyeon by his side. Whether they were an Alpha’s pheromones or a Ghost’s, it didn’t matter.
If the me of back then had gone as far as to get Yeehyeon pregnant…
That child would have been nothing more than a hostage to keep Yeehyeon by my side. Despite being my and Yeehyeon’s child.
A chill ran down his spine. The reality of how abnormal he had been at the time hit him vividly.
Liu covered the lower half of his face with a large hand, rubbing his skin as if to crush it. He nodded, his gaze fixed on the serene backs of the two men as they walked away to the south.
“Thirty years as a couple in one house… I see. I wouldn’t have sold it either.”
After saying so in a pensive voice, Liu moved away from the window. When he turned to face the agent, his face was set with decision.
“I’ll give up on that apartment. I’ll sign for this place.”
“A wise decision. It’s vacant, so you can use it as soon as the sale is complete.”
The apartment hunt, which had lasted about a month, was finally over. The agent also looked relieved.
■ ■ ■
The purpose of his trip to Paris was clear.
To linger around Yeehyeon and capture his image with his eyes.
In the beginning, when he first started coming and going from Paris, he had focused on figuring out Yeehyeon’s daily routine.
Just as when they had lived together in Seoul, Yeehyeon’s day was extremely regular. The times he worked and the times he went out, the cafés and restaurants he frequented, were all more or less fixed. Yeehyeon was a fairly easy target to stalk.
Once he had a rough grasp of the routine, he stopped following him around one by one. Tailing someone by car in Paris, with its narrow alleys, was not easy, and he couldn’t risk tailing him on foot.
As long as he waited in a designated spot beforehand, he could see Yeehyeon with almost no failures. As if they had an appointment.
That alone was satisfying enough. And it had to be.
The day after signing for the apartment, Liu left his hotel and parked his car diagonally across from ‘The Hands.’ He was waiting for Yeehyeon to set out on his morning walk.
The nondescript, heavily tinted vehicle was suitable for hiding.
Until now, he had rented a car every time he visited Paris, but after parting with the agent yesterday, he had signed for a new car. Now that he had a permanent residence in Paris, he figured he could buy a car.
For a foreigner to purchase an apartment required complicated paperwork and administrative procedures, but that was a matter for the agent and his representative to handle. Having an apartment and a car would significantly reduce wasted time.
It would mean he’d have that much more time to focus on Yeehyeon. Liu was satisfied with his improved stalking environment.
“……”
Liu’s eyebrows twitched as he lay slumped over the steering wheel, watching the main entrance of ‘The Hands.’
Without taking his eyes off his target, he slowly sat up.
Yeehyeon, an eco-bag slung over his shoulder, was just leaving the building. It felt as if the real morning was only just beginning in the narrow, shabby alley of the 19th arrondissement. To Liu, it did. His heart began to beat fast.
“Seo Yeehyeon, good morning.”
He offered a quiet greeting to Yeehyeon, who couldn’t hear him.
Yeehyeon would surely turn the corner and stop by his regular café first. After a simple meal of a sandwich, a salad, or a piece of bread with coffee, he would set out for his morning walk.
His walking spots were usually around the canal or the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. Sometimes he went to the Parc de la Villette, and occasionally, with a face deep in thought, he would walk the two-hour round trip to the Père Lachaise Cemetery. Based on his observations so far, he was certain of it.
Liu’s car was parked on the opposite side of the direction Yeehyeon was heading, away from the regular café. Even so, the stalker’s heart pounded, worried he might be discovered.
- –
- ALDI: A German multinational supermarket chain.
- –
- MONOPRIX: A major French supermarket chain.
- –
- Monsieur: The French equivalent of Mr.
Leave a Reply