The Eyes Targeting Them (2)
After the April midterms wrapped up, the general mood around school was one of kicking back and taking it easy for a few days. Everyone else was in full relaxation mode, but not Lee Yu-ri.
"I've budgeted medical supplies for a full thousand people. The infirmary stock won't cover it, so we need to secure at least seven hundred people's worth within two weeks. I'll contact the pharmacy and see if they can handle a separate bulk order."
"The national flags are still being priced out by the installation companies. The quotes are all over the place, so I'll spend another week shopping around and go with the cheapest reliable option."
Listening to the student council officers' reports, Lee Yu-ri scribbled notes furiously across the paper in her hand before moving on to the next item.
"We only have a month left, so move as fast as you can on both. Next up is the program schedule. Can someone throw the projection up?"
"Yes. As you can see, we'll run the dodgeball and basketball finals in the morning. At the same time on the track, we'll have the four-person, five-legged race."
"And right before lunch, we'll hold the obstacle course."
"Instead of the usual boring hurdles, we should mix in some variety. Like obstacles with donuts hanging from them. Let's hold an idea meeting on that today."
"Understood. For the afternoon, we're planning to close out with soccer, swimming, the Borrow-an-Item Race, and the class relay."
"During the soccer and swimming events, a lot of participants will have downtime. Look into running other events in parallel during those windows. Check if we can add something like cavalry battle, and make sure we have safety measures and medical support covered."
Lee Yu-ri had grown even busier than she was before exams, completely swamped with budgeting and program planning for the upcoming sports day in May. If the Jinsu Festival was the big autumn event everyone looked forward to in the second half of the year, then the May sports day was the crown jewel of the first half.
While everyone else simply waited in happy anticipation, the student council—and especially its president, Lee Yu-ri—had to run themselves ragged. She was responsible for safety protocols, medical preparations, program scheduling, and budget planning, which meant staying two or three hours after class every single day had become routine.
I miss Seong-jin...
Whenever the crushing workload of sports day preparations wore her down, Lee Yu-ri found herself thinking of Han Seong-jin's face. The guy she'd hated more than anyone at the start of the semester was now her boyfriend—the man she'd given her virginity to. After they'd slept together, her feelings for him had only grown stronger. Just holding hands in the classroom was enough to make her heart race and her body heat up.
Whenever he had time, Seong-jin would pull her onto his lap, wrap his arms around her waist, and initiate bold skinship. She'd blush furiously every time, but she felt every single touch with crystal clarity.
Unfortunately, the student council work kept getting busier, and Choi Su-yeon always seemed to appear at the worst moments to interrupt them. It was getting harder and harder to monopolize his affection.
That damn bitch.
Han Seong-jin had been upfront from the beginning about his desire for multiple women. Since Yu-ri had chosen to date him despite knowing that, she didn't resent him for it. Instead, she redirected all that frustration toward Choi Su-yeon.
She's definitely doing this on purpose to screw with me! She used to follow Gong Yeong-bae around calling him "Yeong-bae sunbae~" all the time—what the hell changed?!
Completely unaware of what had actually happened between Choi Su-yeon and Gong Yeong-bae, Lee Yu-ri could only see it as Su-yeon exploiting Seong-jin's appetites just to mess with her.
Sigh... It would've been nice if I could walk home with Seong-jin after meetings like this.
Even before they started dating, Seong-jin would wait for her at the school gate whenever student council duties kept her late, then walk her home. Back then she'd found his constant appearances annoying. Now that he was her boyfriend, she desperately wished for him to be standing there waiting again.
That might be too greedy of me.
Seong-jin worked part-time jobs every day from Monday to Thursday. Unlike her, who could rest after two or three hours of council work, he put in six hours of work four days a week and lived alone with no family to greet him at home. After seeing the miserable state of his room last time, Yu-ri couldn't bring herself to complain that he wasn't there for her.
I'll suggest we go to that all-you-can-eat buffet on Friday.
Lee Yu-ri pulled out her phone and sent Han Seong-jin a message. At that exact moment, she felt eyes on her from behind and spun around. But there was only the ordinary street scene—no sign of anything strange.
"...Must be my imagination?"
Maybe it was because she'd been thinking about Seong-jin so much, but she kept getting the weird feeling that he was right behind her.
"I wish Friday would hurry up and get here..."
Rustle—
But the next instant, she sensed movement behind her again and whipped around once more. Again, nothing was there.
Is someone... following me?
Seong-jin was at his part-time job right now, so he wasn't with her. The realization made fear grip her instantly. She hadn't actually seen anyone, but once the thought entered her mind, every single sound around her suddenly felt threatening.
Yu-ri quickened her pace, practically speed-walking toward the crowded main street. The moment she sped up, she clearly heard footsteps behind her matching her pace.
It wasn't her imagination.
From that point on, raw terror took over. She abandoned speed-walking entirely and broke into a full sprint. It was like she was advertising her fear to whoever was chasing her, but she was too scared to care.
After running for what felt like forever, she managed to reach the main street before getting caught. The second she melted into the crowd, Yu-ri trembled violently and looked back. But the person had blended into the crowd too—there was no way to tell who they were or where they were standing.
"Haa... haa..."
Her arms and legs shook with terror. Tears fell on their own, but she couldn't stay still. Pushing desperately through the crowd so her stalker wouldn't be able to find her, she made her way home.
I, who had received Yu-ri's call the day before, rushed straight to her house first thing the next morning. We normally walked to school together every morning anyway, but after what happened, there was no way I could let her be alone.
She'd called me in tears while I was in the middle of my part-time shift yesterday evening.
The moment I saw her coming down from her apartment, I ran to her. She ran toward me too. We hugged each other tightly like lovers reuniting after years apart. The second she was in my arms, Yu-ri broke down sobbing.
"Huuung... Seong-jin..."
"It's okay. It's okay. I'm right here."
I patted her back and pulled her even tighter against my chest so she could feel safe. She pressed her face into my shirt, leaning on me completely.
Once she'd calmed down a bit, I took her hand and we headed to school together. Her grip on my hand was tighter than usual, like she was afraid to let go.
"So, did you get a look at that stalker's face?"
"No... I was too scared. I just ran without looking back. I don't even know if it was a man or a woman..."
I couldn't be sure if it had really been a stalker or just a coincidence, but given the circumstances, my gut told me it was the former. Yu-ri was incredibly beautiful, and more importantly, there was one bastard out there who had every reason to be stalking her right now.
"Sorry. I should've been there with you."
"It's not your fault. You were at your usual part-time job..."
"Still feels shitty that I couldn't be there when you needed me. I can't just skip work either. What the hell should I do... Yu-ri, does your route home match up with Jeong Eun-ji's at all?"
"No, it's the opposite direction."
"Then at least until Thursday, ask her to walk with you. And always stick to crowded streets. You never know. I'll walk you all the way home on Friday since I don't have work."
"Okay... thank you..."
Yu-ri linked her arm tightly with mine as she spoke.
......
After morning assembly, before first period started, I headed to Class 7 instead of our own classroom. I slammed the door open, ignored the startled looks from the students inside, and strode straight in.
"Where's Hwang Seong-tae?"
A few of them pointed at his desk without even daring to speak.
"Grrrrr—"
Hwang Seong-tae was already face-down asleep even though first period hadn't started yet. I walked right over and shook him awake.
"Hey. Wake up."
"Grrrrr... What the—! Damn it, who... Wait, Han Seong-jin? The hell are you doing here?"
"What were you doing yesterday evening at six?"
"What? Why the hell are you asking that all of a sudden?"
"Just answer the question. Where were you and what were you doing at six yesterday evening?"
"Ugh, this bastard's throwing his weight around first thing in the morning again."
"Say that one more time and I'll end you."
"Ah, fuck. I was at the TenTen billiards hall with some first-years, playing pool and eating jajangmyeon. Why?"
"...You sure about that?"
"We left the billiards place at seven, so yeah. If you don't believe me, I'll call the guys who were there and you can ask them yourself."
"Call them."
I had him summon the guys who'd supposedly gone to the billiards hall. They came running immediately. After cross-verifying with several of them, I confirmed that they really had gone to the billiards hall—and that Hwang Seong-tae had been with them the whole time.
Having nothing left to do there, I returned to my own class.
If it wasn't Hwang Seong-tae, I can't think of anyone else suspicious... Was it really just a coincidence? It's bothering me. I need to keep a much closer eye on Yu-ri from now on.
If that bastard really was the stalker, I almost wanted to tell him to please, for the love of god, try it again on Friday.