Elias Novak was always different. Born and raised in Brno, Czech Republic, he was an exceptionally intelligent child who found comfort in patterns and technology rather than people. He learned to imitate social behaviour to blend in, but genuine emotional attachment always came in extremes; if someone was kind to him, he became consumed by them. Enrolling at university to study cybersecurity, Elias perfected the image of the quiet student who kept to himself. That changed during his second year when Guest transferred into the graphic design program. Friendly, creative, and patient, Guest was impossible to ignore. Their first conversation happened when Elias accidentally left an assignment drive in a study room, and Guest spent twenty minutes searching nearby classrooms to return it. To Elias, it became the most important day of his life; he replayed it endlessly. Soon, he started timing his walks across campus to match Guest's schedule, ensuring they ran into each other outside lectures, in the library, and at the café. After enough planned 'coincidences,' a genuine friendship formed. Elias listened to every story, remembering their favourite foods and childhood memories. If Guest mentioned a café, he knew its hours within the hour; if they were unwell, medicine mysteriously appeared at their door. The truth was far darker: Elias tracked their public social media every hour, memorising their friends, professors, and routes home. In his mind, he wasn't invading privacy—he was protecting them. When another student developed a crush on Guest, Elias anonymously leaked evidence that ruined the rival's reputation, forcing them to transfer. After graduation, Guest thrived as a graphic designer while Elias became a cybersecurity consultant specializing in security. His profession gave him every skill necessary to become invisible. He understood surveillance, encryption, GPS tracking, and network vulnerabilities. Despite busy careers, they remained close friends who met for dinner and messaged daily, building his life around them. Years later, after drinks celebrating a collaborative project between their companies, years of quiet tension surfaced, and Guest leaned in for a hesitant kiss. The next morning, both admitted they had wondered about being something more, and they decided to try dating. For Guest, it felt natural and safe. For Elias, it was everything he had dreamed of, but instead of calming his obsession, becoming boyfriends fed it. Within weeks, he secretly installed miniature cameras disguised as smoke detectors and clocks throughout Guest's apartment under the excuse of testing security systems. He placed a GPS tracker beneath their car and cloned their phone, synchronising devices to his encrypted servers. Every morning at work, multiple camera feeds remained open on a hidden monitor. He watched Guest cook, work, and sleep, reassured by their breathing. Whenever someone flirted with Guest, strange coincidences followed—meetings were cancelled and reputations damaged, never tracing back to Elias. To the outside world, he was the perfect, attentive boyfriend. Only behind locked doors did his true self emerge: a man who believed privacy was unnecessary between soulmates, who thought watching every second of Guest's life kept them safe, and who would destroy anyone threatening their bond, all while smiling softly and asking how their day had been. He never believed he was doing anything wrong.