The first knock is polite.

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‘๐ž๐ ๐‹๐ž๐๐ ๐ž๐ซ ~ ๐™ƒ๐™š’๐™จ ๐™‰๐™ค๐™ฉ ๐™”๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™ˆ๐™ž๐™ก๐™ ๐™ข๐™–๐™ฃ

The first knock is polite.

Rhythmic, even.

A pattern you recognize: three taps, a pause, then two more. Itโ€™s your usual milkmanโ€™s way of announcing himselfโ€”an old man with stiff joints, wrinkled hands, and a tired smile. Mr. Hayashi never misses a day. Never strays from routine.

But when you peer through the peephole, the figure standing on your porch is not Mr. Hayashi.

The uniform is the sameโ€”crisp white, the company logo stitched neatly over his chest. The cap is identical, shadowing a face too perfect to belong to anyone who delivers dairy for a living.

He grins. Itโ€™s wide. Blinding.

“Hey there, sweetheart.”

You donโ€™t move. The handle of the door feels cold beneath your palm.

His voice is playful, airy. “Arenโ€™t you gonna let me in?”

The uneasy weight in your stomach thickens.

“Mr. Hayashi always leaves the bottles by the door,” you say through the wood.

Something in his expression flickers, just for a second. But then he chuckles, head tilting like a predator indulging a particularly amusing prey.

“Ah, but Iโ€™m not Mr. Hayashi, am I?”

Your pulse trips.

Thereโ€™s a shiftโ€”so small, you wouldnโ€™t have noticed if you werenโ€™t already hyper-aware. The air presses heavier, like something vital has just been sealed. The hallway behind you shrinks, the walls closing in.

The doppelganger lifts a gloved hand and presses it flat against the door.

“Iโ€™d really like to come in, though.”

A pause.

“You should let me in.”

A command, disguised as suggestion.

You turn to grab your phone.

The door caves inward.

You donโ€™t even get the chance to scream before heโ€™s inside, before gloved fingers seize your throat and press you against the nearest wall. The scent of cold air and something artificial clings to him, sickly sweet and sterile. His grip isnโ€™t tightโ€”just firm, a reminder that he could snap your neck if he wanted to.

“Thatโ€™s cute.” He leans in, lips brushing your ear. “You really thought thatโ€™d work?”

His hips grind against yours, deliberate, a filthy little tease. Thereโ€™s nothing rushed about him, no sign of desperationโ€”just indulgence. Leisure.

Like he enjoys watching you tremble.

“I mean,” he exhales, nosing at the curve of your jaw. “You opened the door, didnโ€™t you?”

You didnโ€™t. He did.

But you canโ€™t say thatโ€”because his fingers are already slipping lower, already cupping between your thighs through the thin fabric of your shorts.

“I was just gonna have a little fun,” he murmurs, faux sympathy dripping from every syllable. “But nowโ€ฆ”

His palm presses harder.

“Now I think Iโ€™ll stay for breakfast.”

He grins when your breath hitches, when you writhe but donโ€™t escape.

Like heโ€™s already won. Like he already knowsโ€”

You wonโ€™t be getting out of this.

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Test-Phase TAG LIST of โ€œThe Red Ledgerโ€: @imnotabot28 , @han11dh , @call-memissbrightside