"Haaah~" Emily stretched her arms out. Her back hurt, her joint ached, her limb stiff, and her legs numb. Looking all around her, the only source of light came from her computer, even the moon was clouded and gave her no illumination.

The time on her phone was half past midnight. She was prepared to stay until morning in the office to finish her overdue work before holiday came, but it seemed she finished it faster than she estimated. She turned her computer off and stood up, preparing to go home.

The room was large with many desks, computers, and a lot more desk accessories. Some of which were dolls or figurine. During the day it was cute and all, but at night it was far from it. Being watched by their unmoving face and unflinching gaze wasn't the most pleasant of an experience. Not to mention what little light inside the room was reflected on their eyes, making it glow and sending a chill down her spine.

The fatigue must be getting to her. She stayed in the office a few times before, and she never had any problem with any of the doll or figurine. Or maybe it was the effect of a horror movie she watched two nights ago. In the movie, a woman was terrorized by a killer doll in her office. The doll, unable to feel pain or injured, stalked and followed the woman relentlessly.

She sighed. She knew she shouldn't have agreed when her boyfriend asked, though she also realized that hindsight was 20/20. No longer able to tolerate the uncomfortable atmosphere, she quickly headed towards the exit.

It was wide open. The glass door leading to her office room was opened, but no one was there beside her. "Hello?" She called out, hoping for someone to return her call.

But no one answered.

"Bernard?" She called out the name of the sweet old security guard that patrols the floor every few hours, but silence returned her call once again.

It was bizarre. It was an unwritten rule for anyone to close the door after entering or exiting, even Bernard and the janitors weren't exempted from that rule.

Something wasn't right. Something was terribly wrong.

Her heart thumped loudly as she smashed the close button on the elevator. Even though the air was freezing cold, sweat trickled down her brows. It wasn't just her feeling, her body also felt the raw abnormality of the situation.

Just when she was about to let out a sigh of relief as the door closed, a hand appeared and it slid open again. Her heart jumped and she wanted to scream, but the voice refused to came out from her throat.

"Excuse me." An unfamiliar handsome young man entered the elevator with her. His hair was dark and cut like the latest trend, a perfect match for his stylish black jacket. His face was young enough for him to just enter college, but his bearing was like an adult. "Working overnight?" The young man asked with a charming smile, a contrast to his imposing tall figure.

"Y-yeah." She tried to hide her fear and panic with a forced smile. She wasn't used to acting or lying, so her smile hid nothing. It even added to the impression that she was scared and powerless.

The silence was unnerving. The young man did whistle and hummed the latest pop song, but his indifferent attitude made her extremely wary. They were still on the 24th floor, it will take a while before she reached the basement. She mustered her courage and asked. "S-so, what are you doing here?"

"My dad worked here. He's sick today and has to return home early, but then he remembered he forgot something important and asked me to fetch it for him." The man raised the bag he carried with his right hand. He also showed her his father ID card that he used to get access to the office. "But I got lost and have to search a few other office rooms before finding his."

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"Ohh." That explained why the door to her office was opened. That solved one of her questions, but it added a whole lot more. Why must he fetch it tonight at this hour, he could easily do so the next morning. The man's easygoing attitude suggested that he wasn't in a rush which meant the bag he was carrying wasn't something urgent. There was no need to get it this late at night.

After checking again, the young man had no resemblance with the photo in the ID. And she didn't remember anyone looking like that working on the same floor as her.

She watched the floor number again. It was eleven, only halfway.

She couldn't take it anymore, her knees were shaking. The man standing next to her was too suspicious, and he lied too. What use was him lying to her? Was he maybe a thief? But then she remembered the recent news of the serial kidnapping of young women.

She slowly moved to the corner near the door.

Seventh floor.

"Is something wrong?" But the young man caught her strange behavior.

"N-no." She wanted to hide her fear and suspicion, but her face was pale as snow, and the answer that came from her mouth was a weak wail.

Fourth floor.

Just a little more. If she can reach the lobby, there are at least three security guards there she can ask for help even at night. She's been eyeing the button for the first floor. She didn't press it yet. If the man knew she was getting off at the first floor instead of the basement like she originally intended, he might decide to act faster and knock her out.

The man suddenly turned his body. She didn't realize it before, but his arms were big and filled with muscle. If he caught her now, there's no way she can escape it.

First floor.

She quickly pressed the button. "Wait!" The man caught her left arm and pulled her closer, but she won't go without a struggle. She stomped the front of his shoes and slammed her elbow on his crotch, causing him to let go of her arm.

She slipped through the opening as the door slid open. The man can't follow her yet with that condition. "Help! Help!"

There was no one. The lobby was empty save for her.

"W-what?" Where are all the security guards? She didn't want to think the worst possibility, they were taken out.

"Wait! Don't run away!" the man finally came out from the elevator and started shouting while running after her.

Without thinking, she ran to the nearby fire exit and to the basement where her car was parked. She has to get away before he fully recovered.

‘Keys, keys, keys, where the hell is my goddamn car keys!’ She rummaged through her bags, but her racing heart and trembling hand didn't help.

She finally found something. Something cold and hard and metallic. She pulled it out and- She screamed as she bumped into something. Something tall and sturdy.

She froze, unable to raise her head up. How can he, who should be writhing in pain, not only come there faster than her but also stood as if nothing wrong had happened.

No. the pants. The color of the pant was different. The jacket too. "H-" She wanted to ask this person for help, but a rising sense of dread stopped her. This was worse, so much worse than before. If before she only felt uncomfortable and a little scared, fear was now injected directly to her heart.

For some unknown, maddening reason, her head moved up to look at the person's face. Deep in her mind, she knew it would be a bad decision, that not knowing was better, but her head moved on its own.

The eyes. Sunken with dark circles around and folds under it. His gaze blanks like a doll. And his skin pale and rough like a corpse. She couldn't hear his breath, and she had this feeling that he wasn't alive. There's no way the man who stood in front of her was alive.

"I'm sorry." His voice was hoarse and ugly, and disgusting to hear. He stuffed a towel to her mouth. Pungent odor assaulted her nose like an ice pick. Her mind became clouded and dizzy.

No. No. Not like this.

Somehow able to muster the last of her strength, she sent her knee to his crotch and clawed his cheek with her nail. Yet the man didn't react even as blood was drawn. No matter how hard she clawed or hit him, he didn't even flinch. Not reacting.

Her limbs started to lose strength and her vision turned dark. And soon, there was no power left to struggle. So is this it, she thought. Is this the end?

The towel covering her nose and mouth suddenly disappeared, pulled away by some powerful and unknown force. "Ahhhhhh!" She opened her mouth as wide as possible and sucked all the air her lungs could possibly handle.

But it was still too late. Whatever was in that towel had entered her body and was about to knock her unconscious.

"Not only did you not listen, you even hit me for protecting you," The sound of a manly sigh entered her ears. "What a crude woman."

Through her hazy vision she somehow able to catch a glimpse of him, the young man from before. His broad back facing her. He protected her, that much what clear.

He walked away from her, still wearing his black jacket and jeans, but something else seemed to wrap around his body. She could not see it clearly but it was definitely there. Like an invisible armor around him, pure white and untainted