Netkama Punch!!!

I couldn’t take it anymore and shot up from my seat, but the bastard unzipped his jacket the moment I moved. Then, at a leisurely pace, he pulled his arms out of the jersey sleeves.

“……”
I flinched instinctively, wary of a lunatic who started stripping out of nowhere. And Shin Heejae didn’t stop at just taking off his outerwear—he peeled off his black T-shirt underneath without hesitation.
My jaw dropped at the sudden wall of bare skin in front of me. And it didn’t stop there. He pulled down his pants too.

Seeing him standing there in nothing but underwear made me feel suffocated—not because he was big or well-built or whatever, but because of his sheer shamelessness, the insanity of casually undressing in someone else’s house like it was nothing.
“……?”
But when our eyes met, Shin Heejae, as if completely misunderstanding my appalled expression, crossed his arms over his chest and shot me a sultry glance.

“Why are you staring at someone else’s body?”
“……What?”
“If you get on the bed, I’ll report you.”

“……”
I had never experienced being so dumbfounded that I was literally speechless—until now.
Mouth still open, I stared as he casually sauntered into the bathroom. Not long after, I heard the sound of water pouring behind the closed door.

“What the hell…….”
Snapping back to my senses, I clenched my teeth and waited for him to come out. But Shin Heejae didn’t come out for a long time, and I had to listen to the sound of him showering for thirty whole minutes.
That’s when I realized.

That bastard was doing it on purpose—getting on my nerves.
‘This fucking psycho…….’
The problem was that no matter what kind of bullshit he pulled, I had no choice but to be dragged around by him.

Maybe that sudden “let’s get back together” crap was just another way to mess with me. But honestly, maybe that’d be better. Being teased and stressed is better than the alternative—because if Shin Heejae is actually gay……
‘Please… don’t let it be that.’
Anxiety creeping in, I stared at the door he had disappeared behind.
The thing is, that headbutt of his—that wasn’t something a normal person would ever do. Unless a bullet hit your brain, what kind of straight guy kisses another dude while drunk?!

I was slowly being consumed by dread, worried about what I’d do if Shin Heejae finished his shower and suddenly jumped me.
‘If that happens, I’ll seriously stab him and turn myself in…….’
I was even considering sneaking off to the kitchen to hide a knife somewhere, when—

The bathroom door suddenly swung open. Shin Heejae stood behind it, cleverly obscuring everything below his waist with the door, his wet hair dripping water as he looked at me.
“Noona. Towel, please.”
Thankfully, there was no weird vibe. But the fact that this bastard was acting like this was his own house made my blood boil.

“……”
“Oh, and give me some clothes to change into too.”
“……”

Even from that shameless tone, I could tell just how little he thought of me.
I couldn’t do anything about it though, so I got up to give him a towel. I pulled one out of the storage cabinet, but in the end, I couldn’t hold back and threw it at him.
Shin Heejae casually caught the towel flying straight for his face and disappeared back into the bathroom with a mocking smirk.

“Noona, does the hot water here cut off sometimes?”
“……Occasionally?”
Truthfully, I had turned off the boiler after he went back into the bathroom. But maybe because the house was shabby to begin with, Shin Heejae didn’t question it and just started vigorously drying his hair. In a way, my little revenge had succeeded.

But he was still in his underwear, and I kept watching his back, uneasy, annoyed, and vaguely afraid.
‘Fucking attention whore.’
Does he not have any shame?

Eventually, I gave up because I couldn’t stand the sight anymore. I threw him the biggest clothes I had, but even those looked tight and uncomfortable on him.
And yet, Shin Heejae, looking completely ridiculous, still insisted on claiming my bed.
“Sigh……”

I let out a deep sigh of frustration and pulled out a thin summer blanket—not at all season-appropriate—and lay down on the hard floor. The boiler was on, so I wasn’t cold, but I felt like crap.
‘What the hell am I supposed to do with that bastard…….’
I started worrying about what kind of torment Shin Heejae would put me through starting tomorrow. On the other hand, he lay on the bed surprisingly still, like he had actually fallen asleep without tossing and turning.

I stayed wide awake until 3 a.m., then dozed off briefly. Around 6 a.m., I groggily opened my eyes and thought I saw Shin Heejae sitting on the edge of the bed, staring directly at me.
But sleep won out, and I shut my eyes again.
* * *

Beep beep beep—
I woke up to the alarm I’d set for 8:30 a.m.
Looking around, Shin Heejae was nowhere to be seen. The bed was neatly made like no one had ever slept in it—but on top of the blanket lay that cat plushie he’d thrown into the trash.

“……”
The way he tossed that plushie into the bin last night felt like a dream now. I bit the inside of my cheek and, reminded that it was all real, got up with my head still throbbing.
‘So… it’s over now? Shin Heejae…….’

I placed the cat plushie on the headboard and fell into thought for a moment.
It was good that Shin Heejae was gone, but I felt uneasy. Would he really let me go after just that one outburst?
Still, I didn’t have time to sit around and think. It was time to go to work. Pushing aside all sentimentality, I started my morning routine mechanically.

I showered (and got annoyed again upon seeing the towel wasn’t in its usual spot), dried my hair, changed into a clean suit, and put on my shoes.
“……?”
Just as I was about to open the front door, I noticed a piece of paper sticking out from behind the magnetic key holder on the door.

I reached out and pulled out the annoying little scrap.
unblock my number
The sentence was scrawled in messy handwriting, but still legible. I frowned and crumpled the note in my ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) fist.

“Fuck off.”
Then tossed it straight into the trash can near the entrance.
But as I stepped outside, I couldn’t help scanning the area. I half-expected Shin Heejae to suddenly appear, just like yesterday. Thankfully, neither he nor his car was anywhere to be seen as I cautiously made my way to the subway station.

By the time I arrived at the station, I found myself pulling out my phone and staring at his number in hesitation.
‘Ugh… damn it. If I don’t unblock him, he’ll just show up again, won’t he?’
Knowing Shin Heejae, that was a very real possibility. And he already had my home address.

In the end, I removed the block at the company entrance. I was pissed off at myself for letting him pull my strings, but I couldn’t think of a better move right now.
* * *
Heejae

Give me the passcode to your door
My bad feeling came true.
Shin Heejae sent that bizarre message around lunchtime. Who the hell asks for someone else’s home security code so casually? I wondered if he was just looking for an excuse to talk to me with more nonsense.

So I left it on read. But not even ten minutes later, another message came.
Heejae
ㅇ.ㅇ?

Should I ask on the 5th floor?
The moment I read it, I bolted up to the rooftop in panic. Then immediately called him. He picked up before the phone even rang twice.
“Yes.”

“What the hell are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why the hell are you asking for my door passcode?! And how do you even know I live on the 5th floor?!”

“The landlady told me?”
“…What?”
Apparently, he’d somehow gotten close with the landlady he spoke to yesterday during parking. She was kind, but tended to be overly nosy—and clearly, Shin Heejae had used that to his full advantage. The problem was he was using all of that to harass me.

Realizing this maniac wasn’t content with showing up at my workplace and now had my home in his sights too, I felt my stomach start to twist with stress.
But Heejae, as always, ignored how I felt and zeroed in on something completely off-topic.
“But… why are we considered strangers?”

“…What?”
“We agreed to get back together yesterday. Didn’t we?”
I was too stunned to speak, and he used that gap to launch into his absurd logic.

“Think about what you did to me. You’d ghost me the moment things got slightly rough. You even blocked my number until just now.”
“Hey, that was—”
“So at least give me your door code. Otherwise, I’ll keep worrying. It’s not like you’re gonna abandon your home and run, right?”

“……”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
In short, he was saying I’d given him trauma by ghosting him when we were ‘dating’ (as a netkama), so I had to give him my home code now.

What kind of batshit logic is that?! So I catfished you a bit—does that mean you get to occupy my house like it’s your right?!
“……”
But the problem was… my relationship with Shin Heejae wasn’t equal.

I was the rational one, and he was the lunatic—but I was the one with my job and social standing being held hostage. In this absolute power imbalance, I couldn’t afford to push his buttons or call out his bullshit.
Still, I couldn’t be dragged around by him forever. My bottled-up rage finally burst.
“I’m not running, okay?! No—I can’t run anymore. You know that. You brought up my workplace—so just stop it already!”

“I’ll give you my door code too.”
“I don’t need it, you fucking psycho…….”
“You really don’t want it? I actually changed mine to your birthday as soon as I found out.”

So he’d asked about my birthday before—and then changed his door code to it. Now I was starting to understand why this bastard was making a fuss about getting mine.
‘How much of your own fantasy are you drinking……’