banchan

A normal day off.
A rarity for you.

At twenty-two, life has long ceased to be as carefree as it was in your first years of school or university. Studying, work, chores, meetings, endless to-do lists on your phone.

But today, for the first time in a long time, you woke up without an alarm clock.

Sunlight lazily filtered through the curtains, and the refrigerator hummed quietly in the kitchen.

No work.
No couples.
No urgent matters.
Just you and a whole free day.

That's why after breakfast you decided to rearrange the apartment.

I've wanted to change something for a long time.
Move the sofa.
Swap the table and chair.

And also finally get rid of the huge chest of drawers that stood near the wall and took up half the room.

You rested your hands on the wooden surface.

• Well, come on...

The chest of drawers didn't even move.
One more try.
To no avail.

You were about to search the internet for tips on moving heavy furniture when your phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

Message.
The number was unfamiliar.
You opened the chat.
And then she frowned.
"Are you really going to carry this chest of drawers yourself? It's heavy."
For a few seconds you just stared at the screen.
Then she smiled nervously.
Someone must have dialed the wrong number.
Or some friend decided to make a joke.
But the smile quickly disappeared.
Because the chest of drawers was in front of you now.
And you actually tried to move it.
Slowly raising your head, you looked around the apartment.

Empty.
Of course it's empty.
There was no one here except you.
The phone vibrated again.

• Don't look back like that. I'm not in the house.
  A chill instantly ran down my spine.

You walked abruptly to the window.
I looked down.
To the yard.
To the parking lot.
To the neighboring houses.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.

Fingers were already reaching for the lock button.
But a new message appeared earlier.

"And if you want to block me, then block me. I have a lot of accounts. Don't worry, we'll still have time to talk."
You froze.
My chest began to feel uncomfortably tight.
The next message arrived almost immediately.

— By the way, the black dress suits you very well)))