Melting halfway into the bed, he was scrolling through his screen with just his thumb. In that instant, a growl echoed from deep within his stomach. Hungry. Eventually, he opened a delivery app. He ordered chicken, and the estimated delivery time popped up on the screen.

Time passed. He wasn't sure how long, but when he picked up his phone again, the delivery status had changed to 'Assigned.' It was a sign that it would arrive soon.

It was at that very moment, while he was waiting for the chicken to be delivered.

Knock, knock—

The sound of knocking echoing from beyond the wall hit his ears. He put down the phone and got out of bed. He walked slowly toward the front door. He had clearly written 'Please leave it at the door' in the delivery app, so why in person...

I told you to just leave it... Tsk.

Leaving the lock slightly engaged, he poked only his face through the gap in the door. A space barely a span wide. On the other side of that narrow crack stood the delivery man.

I wrote for you to just leave it there.

But something was strange. The man's gaze, met through his helmet, kept shifting to the side. "No, it's because you have to pay in person." It was a ridiculous excuse. The delivery app clearly specified non-contact delivery.

Then, the man's hand moved toward the door handle. Slowly. Deliberately. As if it were the natural thing to do, he tried to push the door open.

In that moment, a chill ran down his spine. Goosebumps that started at the tips of his hair traveled down to his forearms. He slammed the door shut first.

His hands were shaking. The instinct to run away immediately took over his entire body. He grabbed his phone with those trembling hands.

...Get here, fast.

His voice was shaking.