The Stockholm Syndrome

Separated through Space and Time

Sohyun eyes were locked on the bouquet of yellow flowers. Baffled at the sudden confrontation, she froze; sat immobile; inert to her reflexes.

Handing over the overs, he tilted his head slightly, asking, "Do you remember me?" His curious gaze eagerly looked for an answer in her petrified eyes. Receiving a silent treatment from her, he took his seat beside her. As her knitted eyes stared at him, he showed his boarding pass for her reference with a smile and comfortably settled beside her.

Sohyun's breath struck, her hands clenched the bouquet in the act of trying to compose herself.

He observed her hands and said with a smile, "I went through a lot trying to get that bouquet on board... And it's even more difficult to get yellow acacia and yellow tulips flowers in this season, and still I found it for you...", looking at the flowers proudly he said, "A secret love and a hopeless one... I think that fits us, doesn't it?"

The smile and the attitude of him, raged her. Mustering up her courage, she uttered, "You want me to be mindful of things that a stranger gives me?"

But he seemed rather calm and composed with her words. He explained calmly, "You want to know who I am?", he posed the question decoding her question to his likes. And he voluntarily answered himself, "A fan of yours! Biologically speaking, I'm a male... in his late twenties; 6 years, 4 months and 11 days older than you to be precise! We met once in the airport... not this one...", he knitted his brows trying to recollect, "If my memory is right, you were travelling to LA at that time..."

Her eyes widened at the recollection. And he smiled reading her expression. Clenching her teeth to calm herself down, she uttered, "Don't you have any other work to do besides this?"

"Oh! You're are asking about my profession?", he spoke casually, "I'm sort of a freelancer..."

"Have you heard of a popular internet slag called, 'Get a life'?", she asked him in a calm demeanor.

"If I don't have a life, would you lend me yours?", he paused and waited for her response. Not getting any, he exulted at his own joke. Not dropping the wide smile of his, he continued, "By the way, why do you never wonder 'why'? I prepared a good story for that, you know?"

Sohyun scoffed and looked him in the eyes saying, "People like you have only one story to say, right? 'I was in a slump... down and out like a lifeless and hopeless being... And suddenly and somehow, I (celebrity) awakened your passion for living and you're now doing the stalking or whatever you call it as 'observing from a distance' or 'protecting me'. It's that story, right?"

He gave a quick smile while clapping and said, "Wow, you nailed it! How? Did you just see my life unfurl in my own eyes?" He paused for her reaction, but she held a poker face. "That's why I like you... From the first time I saw you, I know you'd become a great actress..."

"What you're doing is so wrong...", with a straight face she warned him.

"I never followed you, I never gave you unwanted gifts, I never paid you unwanted visits, I never stalked you... though I'm afraid all those might happen! I never did any of those, so what's so wrong? Sending you bouquets? I'm sure you don't have pollen allergy..." On seeing her not convinced by his answer, with a sarcastic smile he said, "Things you do in life without any guilt is never wrong!", he paused for a thought and continued, "Kim Taehyung..." Sohyun expected him to mention that name so, she trained her consciousness to not react to it. Expecting a reaction, he broke the news, "Some of his fans know about you two... And so are some of yours!"

"And?", she uttered nonchalantly.

"I've been told to protect-", a smack landed on his head from someone behind. The smack was accompanied by a commanding voice of a woman, "Yah!!!!"