Encounter

This feeling. There is no mistake

I'm being followed"

[Three weeks back, September 6th, 2025]

It had been 24 hours since I received that suspicious email and I have long forgotten about it. Sticking to my boring yet peaceful routine, I bought the Dlightcola and purchased some vegetables to make curry in the convenience store.

It's not good for my health to buy dinner at the convenience store every day so 4 days a week I try to cook my dinner. But thanks to that girl and the email this week I am going to cook for 3 times only.

After coming home and taking a quick shower, then changed into my hoodie and relaxed for a while.

"Ah I forgot the eggs"

I realized I had forgotten to buy eggs, which I had planned to use for making an omelette for a late-night meal.

So I went out to buy eggs I locked the door and climbed down and made my way to the store.

No one was walking on the road outside my apartment, And I found myself alone going to the store.

After a minute I began to hear someone's footsteps coming from behind me making me aware that I am no longer alone and someone is behind me. The sound of that person's footsteps was peculiar and heavy But that doesn't matter to me anyway so I quickly made my way to the store and bought the goods and went home.

[September 7th, 2025]

I closed the door of my room and made my way to school. As I walked, I began to see my school gate and the road was bustling with students and then *tap*

Among the crowd, I began to hear the same peculiar footsteps that I had heard yesterday night.

"Huh? This sound, I heard it yesterday as well. Was it a coincidence?" Without turning my head or stopping, I continued on my way to school.

[After school]

I quickly made my way home and crossed the school gate and walked alone and after I travelled a few metres *tap* it started again.

"Again?" I thought, a puzzled expression slightly showed on my face as I continued walking While making sure to maintain my composure.

The days went by,

Day by day, day by day, day by day

Whenever I go out, I can able to sense and hear those footsteps behind me. From home to school or coming back from school, going out on weekends, going grocery shopping. Even walking among the crowd

Regardless of the time, I could always hear those footsteps behind me.

That's when I started realising that an irregularity that should not exist in my day-to-day life has entered and then...

[Present day - September 26th,2023]

I came to conclude that

"*SOMEONE IS FOLLOWING ME*"

"Who is it? Why are they following me? More importantly, what is their motive? "

My head was filled with these thoughts but I remained cool on the outside to avoid that person becoming aware of my knowledge.

Without stopping anywhere I simply came home and after a fresh up and sat on my sofa and started figuring out how to deal with him.

"They are just footsteps. Why are you getting so worked up over it? You can hear them everywhere when you go out. And aren't all footsteps the same?" You might be asking me, and it perfectly makes sense.

I would have agreed with your question If I was in middle school. But now I find it hard to believe that.

Because We can able distinguish the footstep sounds and identify the details behind them and I am able to do that. This factor is going to help me in identifying and confronting the stalker.

When I disconnected myself from relations and friendships after starting middle school, all the time I spent alone is not meaningless. I became a keen observer and started observing my surroundings and learned the sound variations around me and I gained the ability to distinguish sounds *very accurately*

There are many sounds that we can able to identify easily, suppose you are at the beach, you can easily identify the sound of waves, While walking on the road upon hearing *a beep* you can able to tell it's a vehicle horn without a second thought.

These sounds are very easy to identify but when it comes to identify a person through his footsteps is a whole different level.

Even though you can able to say you can hear footsteps but identifying a person through their footsteps is not an easy feat.

There is a way to compare footsteps and identify which person is making that sound.

The wavelength, the sound intensity, the walking pattern, and the time intervals between each footstep - everything matters when comparing footsteps.

Every parameter will help you in identifying the person. But there are some limitations,

Every person creates a distinct footstep sound when wearing different types of footwear. When someone wears sandals, they produce a unique sound, and when they wear shoes, the sound is different.

There might be similar sounds but they are just similar and not the same.

"Isn't that an obvious thing?" You are absolutely right. It's an obvious thing.

But when it comes to identifying whether a person is stalking you or not, this fact plays a crucial role and helps you in identifying him. And fortunately, the person who is following me didn't change his footwear in all these days which worked in my favour.

After many days of repetition, I became familiar with the footsteps of the person following me to the point where I could easily identify his footsteps even amidst a noisy crowd.

Another reason I can identify the footsteps is that they started suddenly all of the sudden.

I am sensitive to sudden changes and it makes me aware of the change for a certain period. when we talk about the

Footsteps and after I became aware that someone is following me I can't simply ignore it. Of course, there are other footsteps that I hear in my daily life like my classmate's footsteps but this case is wholly different from that because, whenever I went out I was able to hear them.

I can't determine clearly whether it's a man or a woman but I can definitely able to tell that person is wearing loafers by the sound he is making and judging by the intensity and walk pattern, the person is most probably a man and he is keeping a fair distance between me as the sound he is producing is low but heavy. the time interval between each footstep is less than average.

The average number of footsteps people take per second is typically around 2 to 3 steps at a normal pace. This can vary from person to person based on their pace.

But this particular person is taking barely 2 steps per second which suits well for a person who is following someone. I tried to be as nice as possible but maybe I should admit that he is a stalker irrelevant to his reasoning.

These details are enough for me to deduce this much and conclude that he is following me.

"Now, it's time to finally see him."

Up until now, I haven't taken any actions that would make him aware of my knowledge of his existence. However, if I turn my head to see his face I don't know what he might do and I might miss my chance to catch him, and even worse he could abduct me.

So I came up with a plan to take a look at him without making him alert.

But before that, I should confirm his existence once more.

[September 27th, 2025]

It was Saturday and a day off for my school so it's a perfect day to confirm it.

I went out in the morning wearing a T-shirt with a black color jacket on it, and wearing jeans on the bottom and I walked in front of the fashion malls in Tokyo.

*tap*

"Perfect! He is following me"

I decided to stop and take a look at the shirts that were placed inside the shop. I stood in front of the shop, facing the glass. As I had expected, the footsteps also stopped.

"It stopped," I thought.

After standing there for a brief two minutes, I decided to move on. Just a few seconds after I resumed walking,

*tap*

"Just as I expected, he is watching my actions".

Whenever I stop, the footsteps also cease. This confirmed without a doubt that there is a stalker following me.

"Now then, it's time to see how he looks"

I came across a park and went inside the toilet and took out my mobile opened the back camera and kept it in my back pocket so the camera can record whoever walking behind me. This is the plan I was talking about earlier.

He must be walking at least ten metres away from me so he may not be able to notice that I am spying on him.

Then after I left the park, I took the same route as I came to the park and headed towards the shopping malls,

As usual, after a few minutes, I entered the main streets and I started hearing the person's footsteps.

My phone kept on recording the whole session while I was out.

Upon arriving home, I immediately opened my phone and checked the recorded video of my back.

The footsteps of that person were definitely audible, but I couldn't see any suspicious individuals. There was a couple walking behind me, a middle-aged man engrossed in his mobile phone, and a group of teenagers, among other people. However, none of them seemed to match the sound of that person's footsteps.

It was at that moment, the person who is responsible for the peculiar footsteps entered the frame.

All of a sudden, I became alert and watched the video carefully, feeling a jolt run down my spine.

"It's matching, the sound matches with the footsteps" I uttered

As I suspected, it was a man. He appeared to be young and was wearing a hoodie with headphones on his head. Although he was far from the camera, I couldn't make out his expression. However, what caught my attention more than anything else was the fact that he was undeniably looking in my direction. After that, the focus of the lens became more clear, giving me a better sight and then I looked at his legs and there I saw...

HE IS WEARING LOAFERS.

who wears loafers in that outfit? But, regardless, all the checkboxes are ticked. There is no mistake He is the guy who has been following me.

My expression turned into a smirk

"Bingo."

I decided to confront him tomorrow, but before that, I would like to take a look at his appearance properly.

[The same day 7:30 pm]

I went out to the convenience store, and as usual, I could hear his footsteps. While walking, I took out my mobile phone as I approached the store and opened the camera. I put it on selfie mode and stopped, pretending to be scrolling. The footsteps stopped as well. I tilted my camera to my right side, zooming it to 2x, and then I saw the person standing behind me. To my surprise, there was a delinquent? He is standing near the vending machine, with yellow hair and piercings glowing on his ears.

With one hand holding the phone, I tilted it downwards to see his shoes there I saw...

"Loafers? " I thought briefly while surprised

What's going on? Where is the person following me? I'm certain they must be visible in my camera. Why is there a delinquent here wearing loafers and is it that person who is making the exact same sound with the same pattern?

My mind was filled with these thoughts as I assessed the situation.

I kept my phone in my pocket and decided to walk past the convenience store and started walking, Incidentally, footsteps also began again.

Then I realised, slowly as my expression turned into a smile I started speaking with a low voice,

"I see. Disguise huh"

[September 28th, 2025]

Today I decided to confront him, So I came at night and repeated the same routine as yesterday morning and walked in front of fashion malls at 8 pm. This time I am going to see his face with my own eyes.

I threw my purse deliberately making sure he doesn't notice it and I crouched down to retrieve it.

"The moment he stops, I will get up and start walking towards him then I will take a good look at his face". I thought to myself

While crouching, I was waiting for the moment when the footsteps stop.

But, the footsteps didn't stop. It continued and became louder and louder than usual.

He isn't stopping. Is he approaching me? I didn't expect that.

The loafers came into my vision, he is now standing right in front of me. I turned my head upwards to take a glance at him. The man stopped and look at me and started speaking.

"What's up, young boy? " The man asked

"It's nothing. I just dropped my purse" I stood up while speaking, trying to maintain a calm demeanor.

This time office worker disguise huh

He is taller than I expected and is holding a bag in his right hand and wore a suit and his hair is dyed black again and he look like he is in 30s.he appears to be like an office worker who is going home from his office.

"Um... Are you going home from your office?"

"Yes, Fortunately, my overtime work didn't take much longer"

Caught him.

"Even though it's a day off? " I spoke as I glared at him with a smirk on my face.

Let's see how will you answer.

"In adult life, there will be days where we should work even on days off, this is one of those days" The man replied instantly.

"Tch," I thought internally, frustrated by his quick reply.

"I see, being an adult is tough"

"That's right. Well I should better get going"

The man turned around and began walking briskly, increasing the distance between us.

For the first time, I found myself standing behind the person who had been following me all these days. It's ironic, because this time it's me who is pursuing his identity and purpose.

I am sure he will follow me again. With that thought, I turned back and started walking.

I came to the streets and headed towards my apartment

*tap*

"Here he is"

[Third person point of view]

The man who had been following Araki appeared behind him and cautiously continued to follow. Araki turned the corner towards his apartment and vanished from the man's vision.

The man was wearing the same outfit as before, holding the same bag. The difference now was that he was wearing glasses and had changed his tie, altering his appearance.

As the man reached the turning point and turned,

"Yo," Araki stood there, speaking while leaning against the wall.

[Araki P.O.V]

"Haven't you gone home yet? I thought you finally got some time off." I said, sarcastically.

"W-Who are you? Have we met before?" the man asked hastily.

"Playing dumb, are we? Didn't we just meet earlier? Right, Overtimer-san, or should I call you STALKER-SAN?" I spoke while glaring at him.

"S-Stalker? W-What are you talking about? And besides, what is a kid doing outside so late at night?"

"You can change your appearance in such a short time heh that's impressive. But if you change your footwear, your disguise would be perfect."

The man fell silent, a serious look washing over him as he looked down.

"First, you were a headphone boy, then a delinquent, then an office worker, and now office worker 2.0. It must be hard to maintain your disguises."

Suddenly, my expression turned cold, and with a piercing look, I asked

"So why are you following me? Isn't it time already to confess everything, what is your purpose?"

The man started shaking. Is he scared? crying? For real?

"Mmmmm"

I started hearing murmuring sounds from the man, and then...

"Hahahahahahhahahahahahahahah,"

all of a sudden, the man burst into laughter. If you ask me how was he laughing, It was an evil laugh. Tension filled my mind, and I quickly put my guard up and took a stance to prepare for the worst.

The man threw his glasses and put his hand on his head, ripping off the mask he was wearing while loosening his tie. He has a handsome face and looks like he is in his 20s.

"Good grief (yaare yaare), you caught me, huh? Or rather, you knew it right, from the very start, don't you?" he said, smiling.

"Well, yeah, you're not wrong. By the way, is this how you really look?"

"Who knows"

The man smiled and started speaking formally,

"Sorry for the inconvenience I've caused you Araki Ryota-kun. Don't worry I don't mean to do any harm. Well then, Let me introduce myself, Nice to meet you or else Nice to meet you again I guess. I am Kurogane Tatsuya from DreamLink Corporation. I am here to invite you to participate in the experiment."

"DreamLink Corporation?" My eyes widened as I uttered, realising that I had heard that term somewhere before.

"Experiment? Invite? Why does this link feel so familiar? Déjà vu? No, I definitely saw those terms together before. Am I forgetting something?"

As I closed my eyes, the email I received on September 5th flashed before me, and I remembered,

"That email?!"