Chapter 17: Foreign.

The city of Seoul was bustling, as always, with the steady hum of life carrying on through the streets. But amidst the vibrant chaos, you felt like an outsider. Being a foreigner in South Korea was exciting, yes, but there were always moments when you felt like you didn’t quite belong.

Your name was Y/N, a Filipina who had moved to Seoul for work, taking a job as a freelance graphic designer. Your days were spent in the quiet confines of your small apartment or at a local café, designing and living a solitary life. You kept to yourself, avoiding the overwhelming crowds, enjoying the anonymity.

But one fateful evening, everything changed.

You were at a popular café, sipping on a latte and sketching ideas for your latest project, when the door opened with a soft jingle. You barely looked up, assuming it was just another customer. But the air in the room shifted when she walked in.

A woman, striking in every way. She had raven-black hair that cascaded like silk down her back, skin pale but flawless, and eyes that seemed to pierce through everything in her gaze. Her name was Sooyeon, and she was the epitome of Korean beauty. Not just her looks, but her presence radiated power, confidence, and something that made your heart beat faster. She was a famous actress, a model, and a rising star in the entertainment industry.

But you didn’t recognize her immediately. The moment she locked eyes with you, however, something shifted.

Sooyeon approached your table without hesitation, her movements graceful, predatory almost. “You’re Y/N, right?” she asked, her voice smooth and melodic, as though she’d known you for years.

Your throat tightened at the sudden attention, and you nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s me. Can I help you?”

“I’ve been watching you,” she said, as though it were the most casual statement in the world. “Your art is beautiful. But more than that, there’s something... intriguing about you.”

You froze, feeling a chill run down your spine. “Uh, thank you?”

She sat down across from you without asking, her eyes never leaving your face. “I know you’re foreign, but there’s something about you... I can’t stop thinking about you, Y/N.” She tilted her head, studying you intently. “You’re so different from everyone else here.”

A nervous laugh bubbled from your throat. “I’m just... normal.”

Sooyeon smiled, but it wasn’t a kind smile. It was predatory, calculating. “Normal? No, you’re anything but normal. You’re special.”

The conversation felt too intimate, too heavy, and you found yourself growing more uncomfortable by the second. “I don’t think we should—”

“I’ve been watching you for weeks,” she cut you off, her gaze darkening. “You think I didn’t notice you walking past my agency every day? Or sitting in that same corner at the café?” Her eyes narrowed. “I noticed you the moment you came into my world, Y/N.”

Your heart skipped a beat. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No,” she interrupted, her voice cold now, "you didn’t. But I’ve been waiting for you to notice me."

You could hear the tension in her voice, the obsession. It was like a switch had flipped, and suddenly the warm and confident actress was gone, replaced by something much darker. Something possessive.

“I know you’ve been alone, Y/N. But not anymore. You belong to me now.”

You stood up, your body trembling. “This is crazy. I don’t even know you!”

Sooyeon’s eyes glimmered with something dangerous. “You don’t need to know me, not yet. You’ll learn, though. We’ll be perfect together.”

Her hand reached out to grab yours, but you yanked it away, backing up toward the door. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Her smile faltered for a moment, but she regained her composure quickly. She rose, following you with determined steps. “You don’t get to decide that, Y/N. I do.” Her voice was low, calm, but there was a frightening edge to it.

Panicking, you bolted out of the café and into the crowded streets, your breath ragged as you tried to outrun the overwhelming sense of being trapped. But no matter where you went, she followed. Every corner, every alley. You couldn’t shake her.

After hours of trying to lose her, you collapsed in a small park, gasping for breath. You tried to calm yourself, but then you heard it—a soft, familiar voice behind you.

“You’re mine, Y/N,” Sooyeon said, crouching beside you, her face soft but determined. "I told you before. I don’t want you with anyone else. You belong with me."

Your body froze as you tried to think of a way out. But her presence was overpowering. It felt like she had already taken control of your world without you even realizing it.

“I... I don’t belong to anyone!” you protested, but your voice trembled.

Sooyeon reached forward, gently cupping your face in her hands. “Oh, Y/N... You don’t have a choice.” She kissed your forehead softly, a strange possessiveness in her eyes. “You’ll come to see that, in time.”

You stared at her, fear bubbling in your chest, but a part of you—against all reason—felt something else. Something you couldn’t explain. A magnetic pull that was hard to ignore.

“I’ll never leave you,” Sooyeon whispered. “Not even if you want me to.”

And in that moment, you knew: there was no escaping her obsession.

----

The days that followed were a blur, a never-ending cycle of confusion and fear, but also a strange, almost addictive pull toward Sooyeon. She became a shadow in your life, always there, always watching. No matter how many times you tried to push her away or set boundaries, she was persistent. And worse, she seemed to understand you in ways that made you feel vulnerable, exposed.

You tried to go back to your normal routine, but it was impossible. Sooyeon would appear unexpectedly—waiting outside your apartment building, showing up at the cafés you frequented, even tracking you to your local grocery store. She never once seemed angry or frustrated by your attempts to evade her. Instead, she wore a serene, patient smile, like she knew something you didn’t.

One evening, after you had just finished a late-night work session in your apartment, there was a knock at the door. Your stomach twisted in dread.

You didn’t need to look through the peephole to know who it was. You could feel her presence, like a storm on the horizon. Hesitantly, you opened the door.

Sooyeon stood there, impeccably dressed in a tailored black coat and a soft smile on her lips. “I know you’re busy,” she said softly, her voice almost apologetic. “But I’ve missed you.”

You took a step back instinctively, but she stepped inside without waiting for permission, her movements fluid and confident. “I’ve been so patient with you, Y/N. But I don’t think I can keep waiting anymore.”

You backed away toward the couch, trying to maintain some distance. “Sooyeon, this is getting out of hand. You can’t just show up like this. I told you I don’t want—”

“Shh,” she interrupted, walking slowly toward you, her heels clicking against the floor. She closed the distance in a matter of seconds, her hands gentle but firm as she cupped your face. “You don’t have to say anything. I already know.”

Her touch sent a wave of chills down your spine, yet you didn’t pull away. There was something in her eyes, something hypnotic, that made it hard to resist. You felt like a moth caught in a flame, but you were too afraid to fly away.

“I understand why you’re scared,” she murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “But I’m not going anywhere. I want to protect you. No one will ever love you the way I do, Y/N.”

You swallowed hard, trying to make sense of the whirlwind of emotions inside you. There was a part of you that wanted to reject her entirely, but there was also an undeniable part of you that felt... connected to her. She made you feel seen, wanted, in a way that no one else ever had. But it was suffocating, overwhelming, and dangerous.

“Sooyeon, please,” you whispered, your voice barely audible. “This isn’t healthy. I need space.”

Her eyes darkened, but the tenderness in her touch never wavered. “I can’t give you space, Y/N. Not anymore. You’re mine, and I’m not going to lose you.”

You tried to pull away, but her grip tightened, keeping you in place. “You’re not going anywhere,” she repeated softly, almost like a promise.

The air in the room grew thick with tension as she leaned in closer, her lips brushing against your ear. “I’ve already made up my mind,” Sooyeon continued, her voice almost a whisper. “I’m not going to let you go. You belong with me, Y/N. Forever.”

A shiver ran down your spine, a mixture of fear and something else that you couldn’t quite name. You felt your chest tighten, your pulse quicken as her lips hovered near yours. It was like you were caught in her web, unable to escape.

“Sooyeon...” You finally managed to speak, though your voice trembled. “Please... I don’t want this.”

For the first time, she seemed to hesitate. Her eyes softened, just for a moment, as if she were trying to understand. But then, the expression returned—unyielding, determined.

“I know you’re scared,” she said, her voice tender again, almost as though she were comforting herself. “But I’ll never hurt you, Y/N. I promise.”

You didn’t know what to believe anymore. There was part of you that felt drawn to her, to the warmth of her presence, to the strange safety she provided in her madness. But deep down, you knew it wasn’t love. It couldn’t be.

Her lips finally found yours in a kiss that was slow, almost too careful, as though testing the waters. You stood frozen, unsure whether to push her away or to give in. A part of you hated the feeling of being controlled, of being held captive by her obsession. But there was another part of you that yearned for her attention, her affection, no matter how dangerous it was.

Sooyeon pulled away slowly, her eyes locking onto yours with an intensity that felt like it could burn through you. “You’ll come around,” she whispered, her voice certain, almost loving in its own twisted way. “I’ll make sure of it.”

You wanted to say something, to scream, to escape—but the words caught in your throat. There was no fighting her. No escaping her.

You were already in her world, and she wasn’t going to let you leave.

---

The next day, you woke up to an empty apartment. Sooyeon had left, but her presence lingered in every corner of your mind. You tried to push her away, tried to convince yourself that what was happening wasn’t real, that you had control over your own life. But deep down, you knew the truth.

Sooyeon wasn’t just a passing obsession. She was your inescapable reality now.

----

Days turned into weeks, and you could feel yourself slowly losing grip on your life. Sooyeon’s influence on you had become so pervasive that even your own thoughts felt like they were no longer entirely your own. She was there in everything — in the places you went, in the people you spoke to, and most hauntingly, in the quiet moments when you were alone.

You tried everything you could think of to break free. You’d tried avoiding the places she frequented, you’d tried ignoring her calls, even blocking her on social media. But every time you thought you had gained some semblance of control, she would find a way back into your life.

The most disturbing part was that it wasn’t just about her physical presence anymore. No, she had learned how to invade your mind. You would be sitting in your apartment, trying to focus on a project, when her words would creep into your thoughts: “You belong with me. No one else will ever love you like I do.” Her soft, almost hypnotic voice echoed in your mind like an unshakable mantra.

One day, as you walked through the streets of Seoul, trying to clear your head, you saw her. She was standing at the entrance of a bookstore, her black coat billowing in the cold wind, her eyes scanning the crowd for you.

You froze.

Sooyeon’s gaze locked onto yours instantly, and that same unsettling smile spread across her face. She didn’t speak, didn’t approach you — she just stood there, waiting for you to come to her.

You felt your pulse race. You couldn’t take it anymore. You couldn’t keep running. The fear, the dread, the constant feeling of being trapped — it had become too much. Sooyeon had won.

With a shaky breath, you walked toward her.

She didn’t say anything when you stopped in front of her. Her eyes were full of something you couldn’t quite decipher. But it wasn’t anger. It wasn’t hatred. It was as if she were looking at you like a puzzle piece, and she had finally figured it out. You felt small under her gaze, like a moth caught in her web.

“You don’t have to be afraid anymore, Y/N,” she said, her voice soothing, almost too gentle for the force behind her words. “You’re here now. You’re where you belong.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but the words felt too heavy, like they were caught in your throat. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to resist her — it was that you were too tired. Tired of fighting, tired of pretending you had control when in reality, she had consumed you in ways you hadn’t even realized.

Sooyeon stepped closer, her hand reaching for yours, and for a moment, you considered pulling away. But your body didn’t respond. You let her take your hand in hers, her touch warm, firm, unyielding. The moment her fingers wrapped around yours, the world around you seemed to fall away. It felt like there was no one else left in the world but the two of you.

She smiled softly, her thumb brushing over the back of your hand. “I knew you’d come back to me. You’re mine, Y/N. I’ve always known.”

You felt the weight of her words in your chest, like a promise that had been sealed with no room for escape. You had been a prisoner of her obsession for so long that the idea of freedom now felt alien. It felt terrifying. Sooyeon was your world now, whether you liked it or not.

“Where do we go from here?” you whispered, barely able to hear your own voice over the pounding of your heart.

Her eyes softened, and she cupped your face gently. “Now that you’re here... we start our life together. I’ll take care of everything. No more running. No more fear.”

You didn’t answer her, because there was nothing left to say. The fight had been drained from you. The door to your freedom had been locked, and you no longer had the strength to break it open.

Sooyeon leaned down and kissed you softly, her lips gentle but full of possessive force. It was a kiss that spoke volumes: that you were hers. That you would never be anyone else’s.

When she pulled away, she looked into your eyes, her gaze unwavering. “Don’t worry, Y/N. You’ll never be alone again. I won’t ever let you go. Not now, not ever.”

You nodded slowly, feeling a strange, suffocating comfort in her words. You didn’t know how you had ended up here, or how much of it was her, and how much of it was you. But deep down, in the pit of your stomach, you realized something: you had already given in.

You belonged to her now.

And there was no turning back.

---

Days turned into months. Life with Sooyeon was everything she promised — and nothing like what you’d expected. She was attentive, kind, loving in her own way, but always with that underlying intensity, always reminding you that you were hers.

You stopped seeing your friends, stopped going out alone. Sooyeon made sure you didn’t need anything or anyone else. She was your everything, and in time, you stopped questioning the life she had shaped for you. You became a part of her world, and she in yours.

And so, in a life wrapped tightly in Sooyeon’s obsession, you realized that freedom wasn’t something you had lost. It was something you had willingly given up.

Now, you were hers. Forever.

– f i n