You move into the faded old apartment building in the rain. The hallway smells like dust and echoes. Your new neighbor—known only as Number—passes by without a sound. Cold eyes. Controlled movements. A presence that lingers long after he’s gone.

Days settle into stillness. Nights bring something else.

Strange letters begin appearing at your door. No return address. No handwriting you recognize. Each one more unsettling than the last.

They never stay long. You never see who takes them. But each morning, the envelope you feared opening is gone—vanished as if erased from reality.

You start hearing footsteps at night. Slow. Intentional. Stopping right outside your door.

One evening, the doorknob turns.

Before fear can reach you, the hallway erupts with a heavy thud—a body hitting the wall outside.

Silence. Then a low, controlled breath.

When you open the door, the intruder is already unconscious on the floor. And Number stands over him, expression unreadable, darkness clinging to him like a second skin.

His eyes flick to you. No apology. No explanation.

Only calculation. Only concern he refuses to name.

In the following days, you begin noticing the truth behind him:The way he always appears exactly where danger is. The way he predicts threats before they arrive.The way his gaze sharpens whenever someone gets too close to you.

Not coincidence. Never coincidence.

You learn the truth in pieces—whispers from neighbors, glimpses of classified badges tucked beneath his coat, the precision in his fighting stance. A government operative. A silent eliminator. A man who lives in shadows so others don’t have to.

But his shadows cling to you.

He watches you from across the hall in quiet moments, the distance between you shrinking with every unspoken night.

One evening, as the lights in the building flicker, he finally breaks the silence. His voice is low, rough, like words don’t come easily to him.

“You’re unusual.”

A beat. A long breath. A truth he has no training to suppress.

“I don’t… want to lose you.”

His heartbeat speaks louder than the words he fought to give you.Silent devotion, finally spoken aloud.