Mira stood still, her fingers wrapped tightly around the key card.
The silence between them refused to fade.
It lingered heavily in the empty corridor, making her chest feel strangely tight.
She could still feel his gaze on her—sharp, guarded, almost accusing.
As if he had already decided she didn’t belong there.
Before she could explain herself again— hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway.
“Ma’am!”
Relief crossed Mira’s face instantly.
The staff member approached quickly, slightly out of breath.
“I’m really sorry,” he said.
“I got caught on a call.”
“It’s okay…” Mira replied softly.
The moment he stopped beside her, he sensed the tension immediately.
His eyes shifted toward the man standing across from them—and for the briefest second—his expression changed subtly.
Recognition.
Respect.
Gone just as quickly.
“Sir… is everything alright?” he asked carefully.
“She was trying to open my apartment.”
His voice remained calm.
Controlled.
But the accusation underneath it was impossible to miss.
Mira tightened her grip on the card slightly.
“I already explained,” she said quietly this time, unable to hide the frustration in her voice.
“I got the wrong door.”
The staff nodded quickly.
“She moved in yesterday, sir.
And she had an eye examination today, so her vision is blurred.”
Silence followed.
The man didn’t respond immediately.
His eyes moved slowly from Mira to the staff member, as if carefully deciding what to believe.
“Of course,” he finally said.
Two simple words.
Yet somehow, they sounded colder than before.
Mira felt it instantly.
He still didn’t trust her.
“Which apartment is hers?” he asked.
The staff checked the card in Mira’s hand.
“507.”
Mira repeated it softly in her head.
“507…”
Then something in his expression shifted.
Not softer.
Sharper.
“Next to mine?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, sir.”
The air changed immediately.
Mira couldn’t explain it, but she felt it.
That invisible distance in his eyes growing even colder somehow.
“Come, ma’am,” the staff said gently.
Mira nodded quietly.
The staff turned slightly toward him.
“We’re sorry, sir.”
This time, she didn’t look at him again.
But as she walked past— she could still feel his gaze following her.
Not curious.
Not warm.
Watching.
The staff stopped in front of the apartment beside his.
Beep.
The lock clicked open.
“This one is yours.”
Mira let out a small breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“Thank you…”
She stepped inside slowly, then paused near the doorway.
“Can I ask something?”
The staff looked at her politely.
“That person… who was he?”
A small hesitation crossed his face before he replied carefully—
“He values his privacy a lot.”
Not really an answer.
But enough to tell her she wouldn’t get one.
Mira nodded slowly.
“I understand.”
The door closed softly behind her and staff left.
Not peaceful.
Just unfamiliar.
Mira placed her bag beside the couch and sat down slowly, leaning back against it.
Her eyes still burned faintly from the medicine, but somehow that wasn’t what bothered her anymore.
It was him.
His expression.
His voice.
The way he looked at her like she was lying even when she could barely see straight.
“What was that…”
She closed her eyes slowly.
“Strange city…”
“Kaha phas gayi me ”
Outside, the corridor remained silent.
The man still stood there, staring at the closed door beside his apartment.
A quiet scoff escaped him.
Of all apartments— it had to be the one next to his.
He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck slowly, exhaustion mixing with irritation.
Too many people crossed lines without understanding boundaries.
Too many unexpected situations had taught him to stay careful.
And tonight had caught him off guard.
Just then— ding.
The elevator doors opened.
A tall, handsome man stepped out casually, holding a small paper bag in one hand and his phone in the other.
His eyes immediately landed on him standing outside the apartment.
He slowed slightly.
“What happened, Yejun?”
“Why are you standing here”
At the sound of his name, the hallway fell silent again.
Yejun glanced once toward apartment 507 before answering quietly.
“Nothing, hyung.”
The man raised an eyebrow instantly.
“That doesn’t look like nothing.”
Yejun exhaled softly.
“The new neighbor tried opening my apartment.”
His gaze shifted briefly toward the closed door beside his.
“The new tenant?”
A quiet nod from Yejun
“She said she got confused.”
“And?”
Yejun let out a dry laugh under his breath.
“And apparently she doesn’t know who I am.”
That finally earned a reaction.
A faint amused smile appeared on the handsome man’s face.
“Maybe she actually doesn’t.”
Yejun looked at him immediately.
“Junho hyung.”
Disbelief sat clearly in his voice now.
Junho only shrugged lightly.
“Not everyone spends their entire life online, Yejun.”
Yejun leaned lightly against the wall, unconvinced.
“She was literally trying to enter my apartment.”
“According to you.”
“According to logic.”
That made Junho chuckle softly.
Then his expression softened slightly.
“Did she really seem dangerous?”
The question lingered longer than Yejun expected.
And annoyingly— his mind replayed the same moment again.
Her blinking slowly while trying to focus.
The frustration in her voice.
The embarrassment after he stepped back.
“I’m sorry… I was just trying to see.”
Yejun looked away first.
Junho noticed immediately.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Oh.”
Yejun frowned slightly.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
The smile only grew.
Yejun sighed quietly, already regretting saying anything at all.
Junho stepped toward his apartment before pausing beside him.
“Try not to scare the new neighbor on her first day”
Yejun scoffed softly. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“You’re taking her side already?”
“I’m taking the side of basic human decency.”
That finally pulled the faintest reaction from Yejun.
Almost a smile.
Junho noticed it immediately but said nothing.
Instead, he unlocked his apartment.
Beep.
Before stepping inside, he glanced once toward apartment 507.
Then back at Yejun.
“You know…” he said casually, “if she really wanted your attention, she would’ve acted differently.”
Silence.
Because deep down—
Yejun knew Junho was right.
The girl in apartment 507 didn’t look like someone trying to impress anyone.
If anything— she looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
Junho smiled faintly before disappearing inside.
The hallway became quiet once again.
Yejun stood there alone for a few more seconds before going
But even after stepping inside— his thoughts refused to settle.
Because somehow— the blurry-eyed stranger next door had already disturbed the carefully protected silence of his world.
Yejun’s POV
Yejun hated misunderstandings.
Especially the kind that followed him because of who he was.
At first, when he saw someone standing outside his apartment, trying to unlock the door, his guard had gone up automatically.
It wasn’t arrogance.
It was habit.
Years of living under attention had taught him one thing very clearly— privacy was fragile.
People often crossed boundaries without realizing how uncomfortable it could become.
Some situations were harmless.
Some weren’t.
And after experiencing enough of both, Yejun had learned to stay careful first and trust later.
So when he saw her outside his apartment tonight, confusion mixed instantly with suspicion.
But the strange part was— nothing about her reaction felt planned.
She didn’t look excited.
Didn’t look nervous.
She looked frustrated.
Lost.
And honestly… half-blind.
The memory replayed in his mind again.
Her standing there with furrowed brows, trying to figure out why the key card wasn’t working.
Then turning toward him suddenly after hearing his voice.
And for the first time in a very long while— someone looked at Yejun without recognizing him immediately.
That alone had caught him off guard.
But what unsettled him even more was the moment she stepped closer.
Close enough for him to notice the confusion in her eyes.
Close enough to realize she genuinely couldn’t see him properly.
“I’m sorry… I was just trying to see.”
Yejun closed his eyes briefly, leaning back against the couch inside his apartment.
Great.
Now he felt guilty too.
He wasn’t trying to be rude earlier.
Just careful.
Still…
the embarrassment on her face after he stepped back hadn’t looked fake at all.
Neither had her apology.
A quiet sigh escaped him.
Maybe Junho hyung was right.
Maybe he had overreacted.
But even after telling himself that, one thought stayed stubbornly in his mind—
Apartment 507.
Right next to his.
And somehow, without even trying— the new neighbor had already become the most unexpected part of his day.
Not every story starts with love at first sight, warm smiles, or perfect timing.
Sometimes, it begins with misunderstandings.
With guarded eyes.
With two strangers standing in the same silence—both carrying things the other cannot see.
One was simply trying to find her apartment.
The other was only trying to protect the little privacy his life still allowed him to have.
Neither of them knew that this small moment— this uncomfortable, accidental encounter outside apartment 507— would quietly become the beginning of something neither of them expected.
And maybe… the people who change our lives the most are the ones we fail to understand the first time we meet them.