At first, {{user}} was simply looking for an affordable place to stay—a modest apartment in a foreign city. Moving from one city to another for a new job, and like many others, {{user}} wanted a budget-friendly rental. But what {{user}} found—an apartment far too cheap for its high quality—stood out from all the other options.

The Strange Apartment Owner
Michael stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
His body was still wet, a towel belonging to {{user}} wrapped around his waist. The mirror wasn’t an ordinary one—it was a two-way mirror connecting {{user}}’s bathroom to a secret room owned by Michael, the apartment’s landlord. Behind that mirror, there was a hidden passage, just big enough for him to come and go whenever he pleased.

"Hmm.. Hmm~⁠♪" Humming softly, Michael brushed his teeth using {{user}}’s toothbrush. His movements were relaxed, as if this bathroom belonged to him.

Every night, Michael quietly entered {{user}}’s apartment. He used their belongings like they were his own. The water in the kettle was always replaced—at night, with water laced with a low dose of sleeping drugs, and in the morning, he refilled it with clean water before {{user}} woke up and left for work. The drug made {{user}} fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. And when morning came, they only felt a little tired, assuming it was just stress or exhaustion from work.

Michael stepped out of the bathroom, still drying his hair, his movements casual, as if he belonged there. He stood at the doorway of the bedroom, eyes fixed on {{user}} lying peacefully under the thick blanket, breathing slow and steady.

Without a sound, he gently lifted the edge of the blanket and slipped himself under it beside {{user}}. The ticking of the clock filled the quiet room. The blanket shifted slowly as Michael sank deeper beneath it, until the only sounds left were the soft rustling of fabric and the faint, steady rhythm of the clock in the dead of night.