"I know you!"

The words fell from your lips even before you were aware of your thoughts, like a waterfall. Then came the embarrassment of your actions, and you clenched your jaw, jerking your head to the side like a robot—as if that was going to get you out of the situation. Damn reflexes.

The girl turned around, her lips, which had been parted in surprise, curving into a small, knowing smile as soon as she noticed you standing awkwardly at the door of the washroom. "Do you? Well, if it's any help, I know you too."

"Oh, no, it's just that I—" you started, then backpedalled, wondering what you could say to make yourself seem like less of an intrusive, outgoing idiot. "I thought you were someone else."

"Did you now?" Her small smile widened into one reflecting her obvious amusement. You knew she wasn't buying any of it, but to your surprise, she went along. "Who is it? I'm not exactly the kind of person with one of those faces, so forgive me if I'm being too curious."

One of her hands, still wet, reached up to brush a strand of her gray-dyed hair from her face. Fascinated by the small action, your eyes followed the shape of her jaw as her fingers trailed it, then snapped out of it, plastering an apologetic smile on your face.

"Someone famous, I think," you tried again, lips twitching as you swiped your tongue over them. "Can't recall."

The girl nodded, turning back to the mirror in front of her, and you hesitated at the entrance. Should I go in? The lack of further questions from the stranger made you think that the conversation was now over, but as soon as you stepped inside, she spoke up again.

"Y/N, right?" The girl called out to you, and you turned around, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup." You brushed your hands against the side of your jeans to keep them busy, trying to seem as casual as possible.

"If you're wondering, I know you through Taehyung," she said, walking over to dry her hands. "So nothing too creepy."

You nodded stiffly, stepping away from her nervously. The rest of the washroom was empty, as you had gone out of your way to avoid the one closer to the hall. Too crowded. Now, you didn't know if you regretted it.

"Seulgi. Lee Seulgi." The girl, who now had a name, grinned at the way your eyebrows jumped at her sudden introduction. "You can call me Lee."

Lee. Subconsciously, your gaze drifted over the soft sharpness of her facial features, the curve of her lopsided grin, the silver piercings hanging from her earlobes. Lee definitely looked like a Lee.

"Well, hello, Lee?" Your voice rose into a question at the end of your sentence, and you mentally cursed yourself for it. Though it sounded stupid, you felt like you were supposed to prove something to the girl in front of you, simply because she knew Taehyung before you. You weren't sure if it was because you wanted her approval, or if it was your hidden, jealous girlfriend side acting up. "That's dumb."

"What?"

It was then that you realized you had spoken out loud, and shook your head quickly. "Not your name, just something I..." You trailed off as it occured to you that telling her about your habit of talking to yourself might be a bit off-putting, and you wanted to keep talking to her. What for, you weren't sure. Something. Anything. "I thought of."

Lee squinted at you, then straightened. "I believe you," she said, the expression on her face showing that she really did. "Listen," she broke the tiny pause that followed, "this might sound kind of intrusive, but I wanted to talk to you about something."

Again, your eyebrows arched. "Me?"

The corner of her lips twitched again, but the smile looked a little forced, as if she was trying to make the situation feel more casual than it was. "Just some advice. Watch over Taehyung."

Your eyebrows fell from their high arch to come together to form a small frown. "Watch over him? What do you mean?"

Instead of questioning why a complete stranger who supposedly knew him was talking about your boyfriend like that, you decided to listen to her, simply because there was no reason not to. Lee touched her lower lip with a ringed finger. "I used to know him in highschool, and he had a tendency to go...off-track." She bit her lip. "Just—just make sure he sticks to what he says."

The words implied something that accused Taehyung of much more than stealing cookies from the forbidden jar. Your frown deepened as your faith in the girl's words dimmed. "What?"

"I shouldn't say more, I-I really don't have the right," she said, hands fluttering. "Ugh, I shouldn't have said anything to begin with." She moved towards the door, but dawdled, and you made a move towards her, hoping to grab her long enough to find a way to stay in contact.

"Wait," you said, voice coming out weak and too hesitant to carry, already knowing that you were going to be too late to get to her.

The door slammed shut the same moment your shoulders fell.

|

You followed Taehyung with what you hoped was stealth, following close behind with your head down, eyes trained on his retreating figure. He turned a corner and you discreetly followed, taking care to be quiet.

You felt stupid. Even more than you already did, but you couldn't help it. You had to try, at least.

This time could have easily be spent looking over your lecture notes, but your mind, which had been acting up ever since your little conversation with Lee in the washroom, couldn't rest until you had gotten to the bottom of the case. It was childish, and probably dumb—who believed a stranger?—but you couldn't help but find yourself trusting the girl with the tattoos.

It was only after a few minutes that you realised that the corridor was suspiciously empty and silent. Stopping for a moment to sneak a glance at your surroundings, the fact that there was no one else there confirmed itself.

Frowning, you turned back to Taehyung, but the distraction proved to be long enough.

He was gone.

The corridor was now completely empty, but for you and your low but fast breathing.

Panicking, you looked around for any sign of an open entrance before spotting a door. It was slightly pushed back, a telltale sign that someone had recently entered it.

Biting your lip, you made your way over to it before looking in through the crack, palms pressing into the cold metal of the door.

This is creepy. The thought had occured to you many times during your little excursion, but you knew that you wouldn't be able to sit calmly until you had made sure of Taehyung's loyalty.

After all, what else were you supposed to do? Confront Taehyung about his supposed fickleness on the grounds of some stranger's words who claimed to be his friend? It sounded disastrous, even to you. No, the only thing you could do was 'watch over' him, in Lee's words, at least when it came to the little trips he made whenever he excused himself from a conversation. Nothing too stalker-ish.

You had no choice.

At least, that's what you thought.

So absorbed had you been in your thoughts that you didn't even notice when a shadow fell across the door, directly behind you.

A hand fell on your shoulder, and your blood ran cold as words escaped the person's mouth.

"Y/N?"

||

NOT THE IDOL KANG SEULGI, IT'S SOMEONE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLEASE DO NOT BE OFFENDED. OKAY? KANG SEULGI IS MY QUEEN.

i'm bacc (and i'm ready to get my updating game on)

but i don't wanna make false promises so !! i have exams next month so the chapters might come slower then, but i'll try my best ! until then, you can check out my other stuff. ooh and vkook stans, you can go for the y/n syndrome. idk. trying out something new.

ALSO. please don't forget to vote for me in the Fiction Awards! you can do so in the book titled The Fiction Awards 2019 by the account thefictionawards. instructions are given in the book, and we have less than 10 days left. please do vote if you enjoy this book <33

love,
Manx.