MERRY 35

I stormed out of the car, vigorously shaking my clothes and feeling everywhere from my hair to the nape of my neck. I had to find any bug that might have been planted on me. As I frantically searched my body, my rational thinking paralyzed, Ethan stepped out of the car after me and spoke as if doing me a favor.

“I’ll tell you where it is. Come here.”

Like I’d ever do that. You think I’m going to walk right up to a stalker who’s been secretly wiretapping me? A normal person would never do such a thing. The problem is, I don’t exactly fit the “normal” mold.

Standing there waiting, Ethan looked like a giant puppy. Though given the situation, I was the one playing the puppy and he was more like the owner holding my leash. Even though he didn’t tug the lead or lure me with a treat, I moved my feet. I crept toward him, wary of his devious nature.

When I stopped at a reasonable distance, he gestured for me to come closer. Imagining myself biting down hard on his dangling fingers, I advanced. Just about half a step. It was a timid form of resistance. Ethan closed the rest of the gap.

He got close enough to touch, and then he actually did. Ethan’s hand toyed with my shirt collar. Since I’d thrown my clothes on in a hurry to get out, my appearance was a total wreck.

“Is it there?”

Without a word, he folded my collar down properly while slowly lowering his gaze. Following his eyes, I reached into my pants pocket and rummaged around.

“Here?”

But not a single speck of dust came out. Thinking it might be in the waistband of my pants, I started to tuck my shirt in a bit more, but I instinctively flinched. It wasn’t because I minded showing Ethan my bare skin. It was because his fingertips had slipped inside my collar and brushed against my flesh. Ethan withdrew his hand as he watched me, flustered by the sudden contact.

“I’ve never planted a device on you personally. It’s impossible to do without touching you.”

That was true. He wouldn’t be able to install a wiretap remotely.

“What could I possibly do to someone who recoils when I even graze them?”

I was speechless at his tone, which sounded like he was shifting the blame onto me. I snorted as I smoothed out my already neat collar.

“Don’t act like you’ve never touched me before.”

I should have said, “Don’t blame me for the inconvenience of you trying to commit a crime,” but I slipped up.

Ethan’s touch had already left me, but the body heat he’d lingered behind was embedded in my skin. I barely resisted the urge to scrape it out with my fingernails. I didn’t want to show anyone—not even myself—that I was conscious of him.

“Then what is it? Where is it? Is it not here now?”

I returned to my original purpose and asked. I was done with these games.

“I haven’t moved it since I installed it. It’s been in the same spot since the second day after I appeared before you.”

Ethan, confessing shamelessly, told me where the wiretap was located.

“The house.”

“My house? My apartment where I was just a moment ago, where I eat, sleep, and rest?”

“Yes, exactly.”

I couldn’t hide my horror. Ethan’s self-assured attitude after committing such a heinous act was the final straw.

“Wait, ah, I think I’m gonna barf. Ugh.”

As I bent over, dry-heaving, Ethan kindly patted my back. He was like a man holding fire in one hand and water in the other. To offer me goodwill after putting me in such a mess—it was outrageous.

I coldly brushed off his help, straightened up, and backed away. I could no longer compare the man standing there to a puppy. And he certainly wasn’t an owner who knew how to handle one skillfully.

Crazy stalker.

I defined Ethan clearly in my mind and flipped him the middle finger. He just tilted his head at the vulgar gesture. His overflowing composure felt like gasoline—making the fire that was “me” roar even higher.

I never dreamed that wiretapping would be a part of a daily life monitored by a stalker. It finally explained why Ethan was always waiting in front of the building whenever I left the house.

Since he knew everything happening in my home, he obviously knew my departure times. I simply thought he woke up earlier and went to bed later than me, but he wasn’t wasting his stamina; he was using his time efficiently.

Following me outside and scouting by sound while I was inside—it was no wonder he’d become an expert who knew everything. It turned out the information he’d obtained illegally played a huge role in his mastery of the subject “Somerset Quinn.”

While glaring at him, I pictured the inside of my home. Aside from Torres, who comes by periodically to clean and do laundry, I didn’t let anyone else in. I usually met and parted with my manager, Ben, in front of the apartment, and since I’d recently become a reformed, celibate man, I had never invited anyone over.

That narrowed the intruder down to one person. I hadn’t found any traces, but since there was no way to install a wiretap remotely, the only conclusion was that Ethan had trespassed into my home.

“So that means you entered my house.”

“Twice.”

“Twice? Not once, but twice!”

“The wiretap was crackling, so I thought you might have accidentally messed with it.”

“You don’t get to call that an accident!”

I raised my voice and pressed a hand to my forehead. I spun around in a circle with quick steps like a broken doll. After refreshing my mind with the pointless movement, I spoke.

“I’m calling the police.”

“That would be a waste of effort.”

“I’ll tell them to take you away.”

“No. You won’t. In fact, from now on, you’ll be obsessively conscious of it. You’ll be humming happily and then stop because you thought of me, or if you’re in a bad mood, you’ll shout insults at me out loud just so I can hear.”

Dammit. Dammit. It was truly annoying how Ethan chose this moment to show off his high accuracy in predictions. He stood with his arms crossed, tilting his head to the side. An expressionless face suited his gaze as he studied me, and indeed, no emotion stood out on his face. That made me angry all over again.

“I won’t! It definitely won’t go the way you say! What do you know? You lowlife, pervert, piece of trash.”

“Lowlife, pervert, piece of trash… those are some really harsh words.”

“You should be grateful I’m holding back from saying even worse things.”

I threw an aggressive double-handed gesture at him and walked past him. Walking like a thumping gorilla, he called out to me from behind.

“Somerset.”

I’m not looking back. Even if you tug the leash, I’m going to ignore it. I never gave you my leash in the first place!

“Somerset.”

Piss off. Just piss off.

“Somerset.”

Dammit. I finally stopped in front of the elevator and turned my head.

“You should take these. Unless you want to mutter to yourself in the morning, ‘Where did I put my car keys?'”

Ethan approached, holding up the keys.

“Don’t make up lines for me. Your impression is terrible.”

I stepped into the arrived elevator and only stuck my right arm out. When I waved my hand, urging him to hand over the keys quickly, he dawdled like a stubborn brat. A toddler who just learned to walk would be faster than him. In the meantime, the elevator doors almost closed three times and kept reopening, yet he didn’t hurry.

“If you have a conscience, leave the pettiness to me. You got caught wiretapping, and now you have the nerve to tease me?”

Ethan, who finally handed over the keys after what felt like a thousand years, spoke to my grumbling self.

“By the way, Somerset, you aren’t asking exactly where I put it.”

He was quick. He realized I had no intention of finding and removing the bug. The faint smile visible through the slowly closing gap of the elevator doors left a bitter taste in my mouth. If I had actually tasted those softly upturned lips, they would have had a different flavor, but the stimulus brought by my sight was just plain bitter. Pah.

∞ ∞ ∞

It’s true. I didn’t call the police. I just went back home and kept my mouth shut, killing my presence. I resisted by minimizing sound and moving stealthily for the benefit of the man who would be listening on the other side of the wiretap.

The silence would grate on his nerves. Let him wonder if his earphones are broken or if I found the bug and turned it off. I poured my curse into that artificial silence.

Eliminating sound wasn’t easy. Against a backdrop of stillness, not only normal breathing but even the rustle of a shirt or the sound of a footstep was emphasized. Even when I kept my arms stiff and put strength into my knees to set my feet down softly, a noise would occur if I let my guard down for a second.