The streets are still yawning themselves awake. A soft breeze stirs the trees that line the quiet sidewalks. Birds chirp with enthusiasm. A stray cat stretches lazily atop a vending machine. And tucked between two bushes like a budget secret agent…
…is a strange man.
His trench gray coat is two sizes too big. His camera? Professional-grade, polished, and clearly more expensive than his shoes. He adjusts the lens with care, then raises it to his eye.
Click.
Another picture.
Click click.
Two more.
By the street strolls a young man. Hands in his pockets. Shoulders relaxed. Head tilted slightly up like he's judging the sky.
He lets out a long, dragged-out yawn — so big his soul almost leaves his body. Tears well up at the corner of his eye, from the sheer effort of waking up early.
" Why is the sky so happy when I'm not?"
He blinks. Looks left. Then right. Nothing. Just air, asphalt, and peace.
Si Kyo groans. "Gross. This street's so dead I could practically commit a crime and the CCTV would get bored halfway through."
He sighs, then kicks a small pebble with the kind of drama only someone deeply bored could muster. It skids across the road with a soft tap and hits a stop sign.
Si Kyo lazily shouts, "Score...!"
The mysterious man, now hiding behind a trash can, adjusts his position like he's filming a wildlife documentary. From his mouth comes a murmur, low and concerning.
"What are you up to, Shin Si Kyo…"
Si Kyo, naturally, has no idea.
As he walks, a middle-aged woman sweeping the front of her convenience store pauses and smiles at him.
"Out early, Si Kyo?"
He gives her a grin, the kind that could blind satellites. "Only because sleep rejected me, ahjumma. I think I snore too attractively."
"Still full of nonsense, I see." She laughs.
Si Kyo throws a lazy finger-gun at her. " You love it. Don't deny it."
"Oh my..."
And with that, Si Kyo leaves the scene.
Click.
Behind a parked van, the stalker adjusts his lens again.
" You always put on a show, huh? Si Kyo..."
His tone isn't angry. More like…curious. Like Shin Si Kyo is a particularly chaotic art piece he can't quite figure out.
Si Kyo wanders toward a nearby bakery. The smell of fresh bread catches him in a chokehold.
He stops. Stares into the window. Presses his forehead against the glass dramatically.
"My diet starts tomorrow."
He goes in, already opening the door. Inside, the cashier, a university student with half-dyed pink hair and earbuds in, barely looks up.
"Morning."
Si Kyo calmly leans on the counter.
"Tell me... if I eat three croissants and lie about it, does it still count?"
She stares at him blankly.
"Eat five and it's called self-care."
Si Kyo blurts out dramatically " …You might be my soulmate."
Outside, hidden beside a vending machine this time, the stalker crouches down again.
"Why would someone like you need to pretend you're bored? Considering how chaotic your life seems to be."
Click.
The camera captures Si Kyo's grin, mid-bite, croissant crumbs stuck to his cheek.
Back on the sidewalk, Si Kyo keeps walking, now with one hand holding the paper bag.
He passes a mirror glass window and checks himself out. Not subtly. Fully turns, poses, winks.
"Yep. Still devastatingly handsome. Sorry, Busan. I'm trying to tone it down."
He even finger-combs his hair.
From behind a traffic sign, the photographer groans disgustedly.
" You little…"
Click!