I noticed him again the next morning.
Not because he called my name.
Not because he waved.
Because he matched my steps.
I always walk to school alone. Same route. Same pace. Head down. Earphones in even when there's no music playing just to avoid conversation.
But halfway down the narrow street near the convenience store, I felt it.
Footsteps behind me.
Measured.
Not hurried.
I didn't need to turn to know it was him.
"Morning, Jisoo."
My heart skipped.
I slowly pulled one earphone out. "…You live this way too?"
A pause.
Then a soft chuckle.
"No."
I stopped walking.
He hadn't even tried to hide it.
Minjae stepped forward until he was beside me like this was normal like he hadn't just admitted to following my route on purpose.
"You walk alone every day," he said casually. "It looked lonely."
Lonely.
Such a simple word. But hearing it made something ache inside me.
Nobody's ever described my life that way before. Teachers call me quiet. Students call me boring.
But lonely?
Lonely means someone noticed the emptiness.
I didn't know what to say, so I just walked again.
He walked with me.
Not too close.
Not too far.
Perfectly beside me.
Like he belonged there.
The whole way, he kept talking softly small things about school, about classes, about how noisy mornings are.
I barely answered.
But he didn't seem bothered.
Most people give up when I stay quiet.
He didn't.
He adjusted to it.
Matched my silence instead of breaking it.
And somehow, that felt… comforting.
Dangerously comforting.
At the school gate, I finally gathered courage to ask:
"How did you know my route?"
His eyes flicked to me.
That faint smile again.
"I pay attention."
Something about the way he said it made my skin prickle.
Not curiosity.
Not coincidence.
Attention means effort.
Attention means watching.
But instead of fear, what I felt was warmth spreading in my chest the shameful relief of knowing someone cared enough to notice.
I hate that feeling.
Because attention always comes with a price.
I just don't know his yet.
During lunch, he appeared again.
Placed a milk carton on my desk without asking.
"You didn't eat yesterday," he said calmly.
I blinked. "You… noticed that?"
"I notice everything about you."
My fingers froze.
He said it so normally. So simply.
Like it wasn't strange.
Like it wasn't terrifying.
Like it was natural to watch someone that closely.
But the worst part?
My chest tightened again not from fear this time.
From the unfamiliar weight of being cared for.
And I realized something then that scared me more than his words.
I didn't want him to stop noticing me.
Minjae isn't loud.
He doesn't flirt.
He doesn't tease.
He just inserts himself gently into empty spaces in my life.
Walking beside me.
Watching me.
Knowing things he shouldn't.
And every time he does, the loneliness inside me grows quieter.
Which is exactly how dependence begins.
Not with chains.
With comfort.