The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind Him

"Tsk."

The man clicked his tongue.

He peered from his vantage point, inwardly cursing the weird guy who kept staring at him. The d*mnable guy seemed close to the b*tch, and he couldn't find the right timing to get to her. There was just no opening he could take advantage of. He had been lucky to find her while he was in the area, but as expected, it would be hard to get close when there were so many people around.

'Never mind,' he comforted himself. He could just keep watch for a couple more days. There was bound to be a time when she would be alone in one of these days. If he could teach her a lesson, then he could handle a little bit of patience.

The filming went on for hours, and his composure whittled away with every minute of inaction. By the time they packed up and disbanded, a scowl decorated his face that was hidden by a black face mask.

He watched as the girl was led to a black car, that same f*cking annoying guy hovering over her so protectively.

He hadn't expected the girl to have a bodyguard. Did his warning scare the b*tch? She even went so far as to hire a bodyguard. Stupid rich b*tch! This was why girls like her needed to be taught a lesson, he thought. F*cking high and mighty b*tches, always looking down on good guys like him.

Without wasting any time, he mounted his motorbike and trailed after the car from a distance.

After some time, the car finally stopped in front of an apartment complex.

It was a gated community, and any vehicle that wanted to enter had to have proof of residence or be registered into the security roster. It was a relatively exclusive community which made visitors and guests quite rare.

"Tch!" the man clicked his tongue again for the nth time. He would need to devise a plan to sneak into the complex, or try to catch her outside.

Instead of giving up and returning home, the man decided to loiter for a bit. He circled around the complex several time, taking note of the goings-on. He watched attentively as people came and went through the entrance.

Anyone who fancied entering the building was required to face the security guard at the entrance. A resident would flash their apartment keycards to enter, and non-residents had to sign in and receive a visitor's pass.

He observed as several deliverymen came and dropped things off at the security booth, and those delivering smaller items such as food was allowed entry while those delivering bigger goods left the parcels to the security guard.

A plan slowly formed in his mind. Perhaps the best way to sneak in was to pose as a deliveryman, but he wasn't familiar with the addresses enough to do it. He needed to know at least one address from the building, or find out the numbering system of the houses and make up a random address.

"Tch..." he clicked his tongue. So much work! This d*mned b*tch...

The more he had to wait, the more he wanted to make her pay for his hassles. It was her fault for being so rude to him in the first place!

The man's face warped as he thought of all the things he'd do to the girl once he gets his hands on her.

.

.

.

While the man was stuck in his twisted reverie, another man observed him from the windows of one of the apartments.

"Found anything interesting?" Yeo Ri asked the man who was scrutinising the outside so intently. He had insisted upon entering her home out of the blue, and after listening to his excuse, she decided it was okay for him to intrude.

"I think he's trying to break in. I noticed that he's been following you since earlier, but he seems to be the stupid kind, and is unrelated to Ji Yeong Gi and the organisation behind him." His methods were too unsophisticated and obvious, he thought; like an amateur who didn't know how to hide his trails. Though, the fact that he was able to find out where they were was impressive enough.

"Ha." Yeo Ri let out a laugh at his direct insult. "How are you going to deal with him? I don't want my brother to find out about this, or he'll worry."

"Shall I hand him over to the police or should I send our men to get rid of him?"

Yeo Ri seemed entertained by his suggestions, pondering what he meant by 'get rid of him'. Judging by his previous methods, it definitely wasn't something as dark as 'permanently erasing his existence from the face of the earth', but it was probably enough to make sure the shady guy wouldn't approach her anymore, like those guys who tried to kidnap her previously.

"Hm, I don't know." The girl laid down comfortably on the sofa, swinging her legs indolently. "Is he worth the effort?" Yeo Ri wondered if it would be more fun to leave him be. Perhaps play around for a bit? Her fingers twitched, and the urge to let 'something' out began coursing through her veins. Would it be possible for her to deal with him herself? She was in need of a nice little punching bag.

"He's stalking me for some reason. If he's not on Ji Yeong Gi's side, then why would he go after me? Secretary Kwon, do you know?"

Kwon Tae Yang paused to mull over his answer. "Perhaps it is related to a certain message I received on your social media account." He briefly went over the incident, recounting the messages that led to a certain netizen's abrupt hate towards the girl. "I'm not sure if this stalker is the same guy, but it doesn't hurt to be more careful."

"You didn't think of telling me this earlier?" Yeo Ri frowned. She didn't even notice a single thing since he already deleted the messages from her logs.

"I'm sorry, miss. I didn't think he'd go so far, and I didn't want to burden you since your work is already stressful enough," he sincerely apologised.

"So you wanted to help me reduce my stress?" she asked wistfully.

"Yes."

"Hm..." the girl hummed as she closed her eyes.

Yeo Ri opened her eyes and turned to look at the man. She spoke to him with a soft and inviting tone, "Then, will you do anything to help me?"

Despite her affectionate act, Kwon Tae Yang could not help but feel chilled after looking at her mien. Something dark was brewing within her amused, glittering eyes and sugary smile.

But still, he found himself going along with her request.

"Yes," he affirmed with a determined nod.

Anything for the little lady, he mused.