In September of 2016, I got promoted to manager within the first year of getting hired and got transferred to the head office.
The company had a dormitory as well. But living with other people made me feel uncomfortable, so I looked into studio units. I found a unit that I liked, so I signed the contract right away.
Not long after I moved into the house, I heard a woman's piercing scream.
'"Don't come near me. Get lost!"
I was playing my favorite game after work. At that moment, I thought something had happened. So I rushed outside.
"No! Get lost! Get away from me!"
"No!!"
The lady who was my next door neighbor was swinging her umbrella and screaming into thin air.
Then she quickly ran inside her unit.
"What was that?" I kept thinking and carefully walked over to her unit. But..
"Darn it. What is this smell?"
I looked around. I spotted rotten rice in front of the door. I didn't know how long it had been out. There were flies all over it.
"What is this? Maybe I shouldn't have moved here." I turned around to go back inside with this nagging feeling.
"What? What is that?"
My veranda window screen and hers were next to each other. The screen was blackened with a cluster of flies. I knew the next unit had to be the cause of this. But I had no evidence. So I decided not to open the window for the time being.
After closing the window, a new problem arose. I could hear all the sounds through the walls. At first, I thought they were talking to themselves. But when I kept listening to them, I realized I was wrong. They were talking about me.
It was after my girlfriend had come over earlier that day. My girlfriend and I were texting each other. I started to hear people talking from the next unit again.
"Did she leave? She did, right?"
"She left a while ago."
"What if she is still there?"
"Hey, I will go and check. Wait."
Then.. I heard the window open. I naturally turned toward the window that was connected between my unit and the unit next door.
I saw someone's eyes. Those eyes were staring right at me. Talking about me wasn't enough, they were watching me from the window. I was scared and furious at the same time. I had to do something about it.
(You can check out my original story. Its title is "The Reddest Red.")