Handsome Guy Upstairs, Mind Your Influence

I couldn't sleep.

Because downstairs, it started again: "Ah... ooh... mmm..."

It's one thing to go at it seven days a week, but thirty days a month without a break? Doesn't she ever get her period?

Unable to take it anymore, I knocked on my upstairs neighbor's door.

A handsome guy wrapped in a bath towel, showing off an eight-pack, opened the door with soaking wet hair.

"Can I help you?"

I tossed him a bottle of Stamina Boost Pills.

"Be careful you don't wear yourself out!"

Timid Corporate Drone VS. Righteous Police Officer

1.

The handsome guy squeezed the bottle of Stamina Boost Pills, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me.

I muttered, "Why be a person when you can act like a dog in heat all day?"

The handsome guy called me a psycho, tossed the Stamina Boost Pills out, and slammed the door.

Fine!

Tit for tat. I may not have a man, but I've got my own tools!

I went home, took out my newly delivered Ceiling Thumper, and decided we'd see who could outlast whom.

'You can moan and groan, and I'll just go BANG BANG BANG. Neither of us is getting any sleep.'

I don't know if my gadget worked, but the rest of the night was actually quiet. I hugged my blanket and slept soundly, feeling completely satisfied.

After so many sleepless nights, it was rare to get such good rest. My alarm went off three times before I finally woke up.

With my hair down and a piece of toast in my hand, I rushed toward the elevator, shouting, "Wait, hold on!"

I dashed into the elevator and thanked the tall man who'd held the door for me. When I looked up, I froze.

The man was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs... wasn't this the same guy who opened the door last night?

But damn, this guy was undeniably gorgeous.

'His dark circles are a little heavy, though. Makes sense. Overexertion gives you dark circles.'

'It's a terminal case.'

The man had clearly recognized me too and pointedly moved away.

I couldn't be bothered with him either. The moment the elevator doors opened, I shot out ahead of him.

After a long day as a Corporate Drone, I came home exhausted, only to have to revise a proposal. At eleven-thirty, I was just about to go to sleep.

The man-made "soundtrack" started right on time.

I gritted my teeth, set up the Ceiling Thumper, and declared war.

Just as I was putting in my earplugs and cranking the Ceiling Thumper to its maximum frequency, there was a knock at my door.

I opened the door to find the handsome, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted guy with the dark circles standing there.

"Miss, have I done something to offend you?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "Aren't you... at home with your girlfriend, you know...?"

He looked even more stunned. Just as he was about to speak, that ecstatic soundtrack got even louder.

The man's brow furrowed. He suddenly understood the whole situation, and his face instantly turned red.

"It wasn't you?" I was so embarrassed.

"I'm single!" The man rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So, you caused all this ruckus to get revenge on me?"

'Awkward. So the noise wasn't from upstairs.'

He stressed the word "me" so heavily, as if afraid I wouldn't realize I'd misunderstood and targeted the wrong person for revenge.

I put on a goofy grin, because it was the only way to make things less awkward. "Right, I'm so sorry! I misunderstood!"

"It's fine," he said, rubbing his brow again. "Just don't do it again."

"Okay! Take care! Good night!"

I shut the door with a huge smile plastered on my face, which vanished the instant it was closed.

I was so pissed!

I'm the one who's been suffering as the unwilling "audience," yet I'm the one who ends up looking pathetic!

Ugh, this concert has been giving me insomnia, and I went and blamed the wrong person with such self-righteousness!

And I spent a fortune on a Ceiling Thumper, only to use it on the wrong person and disturb an innocent, handsome guy!

Such a hot guy, single, living right above me... I might have had a chance at a beautiful encounter... but now, it's all just a phantom, like a popped bubble!

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I puffed out my chest and marched down to the floor below.

I knocked on the door of the apartment directly below mine. The heavy, rapid THUD THUD THUD conveyed my determination!

'May the one who started all this be cursed to have no children!'

The person who opened the door was a woman in a silk nightgown with a cigarette dangling from her lips. Her flushed face still held a seductive look, broadcasting her unfulfilled desires.

The woman looked me up and down with heavily made-up, smoky eyes, then tilted her head up arrogantly. "Who the hell are you? What do you want?"

I noticed that the moment she opened the door, the sounds stopped.

'Looks like I came to the right place!'

My confidence surged. I met her gaze without fear. "Hey, can you keep it down? You're wailing all night long. I've heard eighteen different versions of your moans already. That's a public nuisance, you know? You may not want to sleep, but other people do!"

She laughed contemptuously, took a drag from her cigarette, and blew the smoke into the air in front of my face. "Why sleep on such a fine spring night? Only women without men sleep. Oh, you must not have a man, right? Are you jealous of me? Hehehe... Well, if you're that lonely, why don't you join us? Knocking on a door this late at night, you must be pretty interested, right?"

Blood rushed to my head. For the first time in my life, I had the urge to hit someone. I wanted to claw that face of hers, caked in cheap makeup, to shreds.

So, I put my hands on my hips and unleashed a lifetime's worth of finely-honed insults.

"I'm talking to you, woman! Were you born without a mother to teach you any manners? Did your mom give you that body just so you could trash it like this? Do you think every woman is just like you?"

I didn't know if she was actually a prostitute.

To be honest, I didn't want to curse her out like this, but she started it.

I'm no saint. I can't just take an insult without fighting back.

I got more and more worked up as I cursed, my mind full of insults, but my voice slowly trailed off. At some point, two tall, burly men had appeared behind her. They were wrapped in bath towels from the waist down, staring at me with a look that was both confused and greedy.

'I knew it. How could she go at it all night, every night?'

'Turns out there's more than one leading man.'

One of the men stroked his chin and gave a nasty smile. He reached out and grabbed my arm. "Well now, this girl's not bad. Is she a new one? So pretty, and young, so fresh... C'mon, little sister, come play with us!"

I was scared stiff. I didn't have the strength to break free. All I could do was struggle to back away while widening my eyes, trying to look fierce.

The other man grabbed me too. I was completely overpowered. Just as I was about to be dragged into the room, with the woman watching with a provocative and eerie smile...

Suddenly, a hand steadied me and pulled me back.

I was already drenched in sweat.

I turned my head. It was the handsome guy from upstairs.

He shielded me behind him, his cold, sharp gaze sweeping over the three people in front of us.

The three of them were obviously not happy. One of the men spat. "Who left their fly unzipped and let you out? What kind of punk are you, daring to ruin my fun?!"

Having just escaped disaster, I started to worry. Sure, the handsome guy was in great shape and a head taller than the other two, but those guys were so fat and flabby they looked like they could fracture my bones just by sitting on me.

'Is he any match for them?'

And then, he gave me a perfect demonstration of what it means to "subdue the enemy without a single fight."

He pulled a folded ID from his pocket and flipped it open. The two words "People's Police" nearly blinded me.

He was a cop!

I had the sudden urge to call him "Uncle." Yes, even as a grown woman, seeing a police officer still makes me want to call them "Uncle."

"Right now, I have reason to believe that illegal prostitution is taking place here. Open the door immediately and cooperate with my search."

He stood in front of me like a mountain, and this mountain was crushing the three people opposite us with its immense, imposing presence.

The trio, who had been so belligerent just moments ago, were now as docile as rabbits, not daring to breathe too loudly as they stepped aside.

He turned to look at me, his face cold. His expression startled even me.

'I'm a law-abiding good citizen!'

"You go back upstairs. I'll stand guard here. I've already contacted my colleagues; they'll be here soon."

"Okay."