Xinyue didn't turn immediately. Not because she wasn't afraid. Because she was.
But for her, fear didn't come out as sudden movement or panic. It came out as stillness. The kind that held everything in place for one second longer than necessary, just long enough for her brain to catch up with her body.
Her fingers tightened around her phone. The message still glowed on the screen. 'Don't look behind you.'
Too late for that. Too late for everything.
She became aware of Yuerin beside her, shifting slightly not closer, not away just enough distance to signal that she had noticed something was wrong.
"What is it?" Yuerin whispered.
Xinyue swallowed. "There's someone behind me."
That was enough. Yuerin didn't ask another question. She didn't turn either. Instead, she adjusted her stance in a subtle and natural way, so they were no longer standing side by side, but angled slightly outward. Like two people casually making space. Like two people who definitely were not preparing for anything.
Xinyue took a breath.
Then turned.
Slow.
Controlled.
The man standing behind her didn't look out of place. That was the first thing that struck her.
He wasn't dressed like a threat. No obvious weapons. No dramatic presence. Just a man in his early thirties, maybe, dressed in a dark shirt and trousers, clean-cut, composed.
Normal.
But his eyes… His eyes were wrong.
Too focused.
Too aware.
Locked onto her with a kind of quiet certainty that made her stomach tighten. He didn't smile. Didn't move. Just watched her like he had been waiting for this exact moment.
Xinyue straightened slightly. "Can I help you?" she asked. Her voice was steady, that surprised her.
The man tilted his head just a fraction. Like he was considering her. Measuring. "Yes," he said. "You can." The tone was calm.
Yuerin stepped closer now, her shoulder brushing lightly against Xinyue's.
Protective.
Deliberate.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man didn't look at her. Didn't even acknowledge the question. His gaze just stayed on Xinyue. "Dr. Lin Xinyue," he said.
Not a question. A statement.
Something cold slid down her spine. Yuerin's hand found her wrist, fingers tightening just enough to ground her.
"How do you know her name?" Yuerin asked, sharper now.
This time, the man's eyes flicked toward her briefly. Not annoyed. Not dismissive. Just… uninterested. Then back to Xinyue.
"You were seen leaving your apartment this morning," he said.
Xinyue's breath stilled.
Seen.
The word echoed.
Her mind immediately jumped…
The street.
The men.
The feeling of being watched.
"They weren't subtle," he added.
"That's not reassuring," Xinyue said.
"No," he agreed. "It's not."
Silence stretched for a second. Then she said, "If you're here to ask about a patient, you need to go through proper channels."
A lie.
A thin one. But it gave her something to hold onto.
The man's gaze sharpened slightly. "Is that what you think this is?"
"It's a hospital," she said. "That's usually what people come here for."
Another pause.
Then…
"You treated him."
Not a question.
A fact.
Xinyue felt it hit. Direct and unavoidable.
Yuerin's grip tightened again. Xinyue didn't react. Didn't confirm or deny anything at all. Just held his gaze.
"I treat a lot of people," she said.
"That one matters."
"Then you should talk to him," she said.
The man studied her for a moment longer. Then something shifted.
Subtle.
But real.
A small exhale.
A slight tilt of his head.
"You don't understand what you're involved in," he said.
Xinyue's jaw tightened. "I didn't ask to be involved."
"No one ever does." The words landed too easily. Too familiarly. Like he had said them before. To someone else.
Yuerin stepped forward now, fully placing herself between them.
"That's enough," she said. "You don't get to walk in here and question her like this."
The man looked at her again. Really looked this time. Then said, calmly… "You should leave."
Yuerin let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Excuse me?"
"You're not part of this," he said.
"I am now."
"Then you shouldn't be."
Something in his tone changed.
Not louder.
Not aggressive.
Just… final.
Xinyue stepped forward before Yuerin could respond again.
"Stop," she said quietly.
Yuerin glanced back at her.
"This isn't helping."
"It's not supposed to," Yuerin muttered.
"I know," Xinyue said. "But let me handle it."
There was a beat. Then Yuerin stepped back half a step.
Not far.
Xinyue looked at the man again. "What do you want?" she asked. A simple question.
Finally.
The man didn't answer immediately. Instead, his gaze drifted briefly to her phone. Still in her hand. Then back to her face. "You've already been contacted," he said.
Xinyue's grip tightened slightly. She didn't respond. Didn't need to, since he already knew.
"Good," he said.
The word felt wrong.
"Good?" she repeated.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it means you're still useful."
The sentence landed like a quiet threat. Yuerin inhaled sharply. Xinyue didn't move.
"Useful for what?" she asked.
The man stepped back then.
Just one step.
Creating space.
Breaking the intensity slightly.
"For now?" he said.
A pause.
"Staying alive."
The words settled into the air like something heavier than they should have been. Xinyue felt the weight of them in her chest and her throat. In the silence that followed.
"Who are you?" she asked again.
This time, the man didn't avoid it. "My name doesn't matter," he said.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you'll get."
That sounded familiar.
Xinyue exhaled slowly. "Then why are you here?"
This time… He smiled. Not warm or friendly one. Just enough to show he had chosen not to answer directly.
"Because you were seen," he said again. "And that makes you visible."
"I was already visible," she said.
"No," he replied. "Not like this."
Something about the way he said it made her stomach tighten.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," he said, "that people are going to start looking at you differently."
Yuerin crossed her arms.
"That's already happening."
The man didn't react.
Just looked at Xinyue one last time.
Then said, quietly… "Be careful who finds you first."
And just like that, he turned and walked away without a hesitation or a backward glance. Gone into the movement of the hospital corridor like he had never been there at all.
—
The silence he left behind felt louder than anything he had said.
Yuerin exhaled sharply. "What the hell was that?"
Xinyue didn't answer, one she didn't have one. Then everything in her body felt just slightly off balance now.
Because the words…
'You were seen.'
'You're useful.'
'Be careful who finds you first.'
… were still echoing in her ears.
Yuerin grabbed her arm lightly. "We need to leave," she said.
"I have a shift."
"I don't care."
"I do."
"Xinyue…"
"I'm not running," she said. The words came out of her, before she could think them through.
Yuerin stared at her. "You should be."
"Maybe," Xinyue said quietly.
Then looked down at her phone. At the message still sitting there. 'Don't look behind you.'
Her pulse steadied. Just slightly.
Suddenly, this wasn't just about being watched nor about the man who had come to her door. This wasn't even just about Ryu Taehyun. This was something else. Something wider. Something that's moving around her instead of at her.
And for the first time since last night…
Xinyue realized something she hadn't wanted to admit.
She wasn't just caught in the middle.
She was being pulled into it.
—
Her phone buzzed again.
Both of them froze.
Slowly, Xinyue unlocked the screen. Another message.
No number.
No name.
Just words.
"They found you faster than expected."
Her breath caught.
Yuerin leaned closer. "What does it say?"
Xinyue didn't answer immediately. Her eyes had already moved to the bottom of the screen.
Where a second message appeared.
Typing…
"Stay where you are."
—
And this time…
She knew exactly who it was from.