Why Are You Still Chasing Me (5)
Today’s homeroom is over for now. There’s not much time left until midterms, so everyone, focus on training. That’s all. Dismissed.
Homeroom teacher Hong Daye yawned with her usual tired eyes, then waved her hand as if to say “that’s enough.”
I watched the teacher’s retreating back as she left the classroom, then quickly glanced at Soyeon’s side profile.
All day, Soyeon hadn’t said a word. She had simply kept sneaking glances at me, her eyes avoiding mine.
Her face looked especially dark, her expression stiff and closed off.
She seemed… drained?
Or maybe just depressed?
Whenever she sighed heavily and shot me those sharp little looks, she didn’t look like the usual Soyeon at all.
…So it really was because of last night.
If someone had shown up at her house and thrown a rock covered in insults, it made perfect sense why she was like this.
A normal person would have been shaking like a leaf and called the police right away.
But since it was Soyeon, it probably ended up this way.
‘I really should have said something sooner… but with the stalker still loose, I need to wrap this up fast.’
I wanted to prepare more carefully, but I couldn’t just leave her looking so worn out.
Still… she seemed fine this morning. The change started around lunchtime. Hmm.
I tilted my head for a second, then spoke to her.
“Soyeon, you okay?”
“Y-yeah?”
Don’t worry too much. I’ll find that creep who did this to you soon. With Siwoo helping, it’ll be even easier.
“Ah… Siwoo…”
Soyeon bit her perfectly shaped, soft pink lower lip.
She kept stealing glances at me, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
“……”
For a moment, she stared straight into my eyes.
I stared back at her without blinking.
Her once radiant eyes, bright like the sun, now had a cloud over them.
Soyeon spoke softly, her voice trembling a little.
“……um… Jinhyuk.”
“What?”
“……um, well…”
Soyeon twirled the ends of her hair nervously, but then forced a bitter smile and changed the subject.
“No, it’s nothing.”
That just makes me more curious. What the hell is it?
It’s really nothing. Don’t worry about it.
Is this related to today’s events? If it is, you don’t have to hide it.
It’s not related to today’s events… really.
She didn’t seem like she was lying, but I still felt uneasy.
Should I ask more?
“Soyeon, don’t—”
“Soyeon.”
At that exact moment, a cool male voice cut in between us.
Both Soyeon and I turned to the source.
It was Lee Siwoo, standing there with his usual cold, calm expression.
Siwoo spoke to Soyeon casually.
“Want to walk home together today?”
He sounded a little worried after what happened this morning.
I had something to talk to Siwoo about anyway, and it could wait until tomorrow, so I jumped in.
“Yeah, Soyeon. Go with Siwoo. Last night’s stuff happened, so you never know.”
I knew Siwoo had been loud about it since morning, so he’d probably hold back a bit for now.
With all the attention on him already, he didn’t want to draw more eyes.
Still, it gave us the perfect excuse to separate them.
“……ah, um…”
If it were any other day, Soyeon would have nodded obediently and said she’d go with him.
But right now, she kept glancing at me, unsure.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Why was she checking with me?
“……I’m fine. I have something to do. I’ll go first. See you tomorrow, everyone.”
Soyeon grabbed her bag with a bitter smile and looked at us once more before hurrying out the back door.
I blinked blankly, watching her go alone.
I never thought she’d leave like that…
Well, whatever.
‘I guess I should handle my own errands now.’
I turned toward Siwoo.
He was staring at me with a slightly mysterious gaze.
Siwoo had probably realized that Soyeon had been checking my eyes when I suggested she walk home with him.
Hey, hey. Don’t get jealous over nothing.
I’ll help you two get closer. That’s the plan.
“Siwoo.”
“Hm?”
“There’s something I need to talk to you about regarding Soyeon. Can you spare some time today?”
I whispered quietly so no one else would hear.
“……there’s one suspicious person. I want to check it out together.”
“……”
Siwoo looked at me seriously for a moment, then nodded once.
Of course. When it came to Soyeon, he was straightforward.
***
It was Sunday afternoon the following week.
“Whoa, this is Siwoo’s house?”
Choi Chang-won walked around the spacious living room with a look of pure admiration.
Siwoo was living alone now, so the only people here were a few servants and security guards.
“Hey, Siwoo. Jinhyuk? You’re here too?”
Choi Chang-won greeted us from the living room and walked over.
“Where are the others? Not here yet?”
I shrugged and answered.
We were all gathered at Siwoo’s because he had important things to tell us about what happened to Soyeon.
Since Choi Chang-won had directly offered to help Soyeon, there was no way I’d refuse the invitation.
“Did you call Kim Useong and Kim Seoyoon too?”
“Yeah.”
Of course not.
They didn’t need to be here for today’s matter.
“This is serious. Someone threw a rock with insults at Soyeon’s house and ran. If it had hit someone else…”
Choi Chang-won clicked his tongue while sitting in the living room chair.
“I never thought there’d be someone like that in our academy. Who the hell is the culprit…?”
“The culprit is Kang Yu-jeong.”
Siwoo answered calmly and without hesitation.
“What?”
“Yu Seol-hyeon helped a lot.”
“Seol-hyeon?”
“Yeah. A few days ago, she asked me to help question Kang Yu-jeong. She said Kang Yu-jeong has a thing for me, so she’d confess if I did it.”
Kang Yu-jeong had thrown that rock because she was in love with Siwoo.
If Siwoo had questioned her strongly, she wouldn’t have been able to deny it.
Even if Seol-hyeon had done it alone, she deliberately asked Siwoo to make him look better.
“I got her confession. She was just taking out her frustrations because Soyeon and I are close.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I met Soyeon separately the day before yesterday and got an apology. I’m not sure if she actually regrets it, but since Soyeon forgave her, we kept it small.”
“Already solved? Good for you.”
Choi Chang-won had been listening quietly, then suddenly shrugged as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders.
“I didn’t know Seol-hyeon would cooperate. She always hated Soyeon, right? And Kang Yu-jeong is in her group—why would she expose herself?”
“……”
“It must be thanks to Siwoo. You’re childhood friends with Seol-hyeon, so your connections are strong.”
“……”
“If you already found the culprit, why didn’t you tell us earlier? We wasted days on this.”
“Oh, right. Do Kim Seoyoon and Kim Useong know too? They’ve been running around asking people stuff, saying they’d find who did it to Soyeon.”
“……Choi Chang-won.”
Siwoo muttered Choi Chang-won’s name in a low voice, glanced at me once, then nodded and spoke again.
“There’s another person who incited Kang Yu-jeong’s actions. I’m not defending what she did, but…”
“What? Someone who provoked Kang Yu-jeong? There’s more…?”
Choi Chang-won blinked in surprise. Of course he was surprised—he hadn’t expected this.
“You found out by questioning her?”
“No. Kang Yu-jeong doesn’t even know she was provoked. She’s always badmouthed Soyeon, so plenty of people would agree with her.”
Siwoo glanced at Choi Chang-won.
“It was hard to pin it on one person.”
Kang Yu-jeong probably didn’t want to draw attention to herself while provoking, so it made sense.
Originally, she was supposed to reveal herself later as the true culprit for getting Soyeon’s affection.
“Then who’s the real mastermind?”
“Choi Chang-won, before I say that, let me give you a chance.”
Siwoo’s voice turned ice-cold.
“It’s you.”
“What? No, that’s—”
“The one who provoked Kang Yu-jeong’s hatred.”
“Hey, no way, I’m not—”
Siwoo gave me a serious look.
“You’re actually the stalker of Soyeon.”