The Stalker Returns
The classroom buzzed with chatter as students clustered together in their usual cliques.
"Hey. How'd you do on the practical exam?"
"Me? Felt like I completely bombed it."
"Then maybe you should've studied harder, huh?"
"Nah, the teacher who made the test was a total psycho."
By now, the practical exams at Elphon Academy were over for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Except for me.
A few of the students glanced my way, tilting their heads in confusion.
"But why's that guy taking a retest?"
"You didn't hear? There's a tie for first place, so they're doing a ranking match."
"Who's tied with him?"
"Some guy named Kane from the Kayen family."
"Wait... what?"
The unexpected voice that cut in belonged to Jeong Hayeon.
"Uh, why? What's up?"
"N-nothing at all."
"Do you know him, Hayeon?"
"No way. Never even heard the name before."
"Really?"
"...Yeah."
"But weren't you two at the same cram school?"
"...Just because we went to the same place doesn't mean we know each other."
"Fair enough. Still, you don't look so good. Are you feeling sick?"
"Huh? No? Why would I be? I'm totally fine."
But despite her words, her hands had started trembling violently. The shaking had begun the exact moment she heard the name Kane. Her claim that she didn't know him was obviously a lie.
Lunchtime arrived, and the classroom emptied out as students headed to the cafeteria. Everyone except me and Jeong Hayeon.
I was sprawled across my desk, too drained to move. Might as well catch some sleep.
Creak—
The front door slid open. Footsteps approached Jeong Hayeon's seat. I cracked one eye open to take a peek. It was Kim Minseo.
"Hayeon."
"...Y-yeah?" Jeong Hayeon jumped, startled.
"Why are you still here instead of eating? Are you sick?"
"No, it's not that."
"Then what's going on?"
"It's just... I heard Kane is taking the transfer exam for Elphon Academy."
"...What? For real?" Kim Minseo's face hardened.
"Hold on, maybe we shouldn't talk about this here. There's someone else in the room."
Jeong Hayeon shot a quick glance in my direction.
"Oh, don't worry about him. He's fast asleep."
"Is... is he?"
"Yeah. So don't stress. Anyway, that lunatic is seriously trying to get in here?"
"...Yeah. He's taking the transfer test right now."
"Whoa, but didn't he get slapped with a restraining order against you?"
"...He did."
"And they still let him enroll?"
"Apparently. I looked it up. As long as he keeps a certain distance from me on campus, it's allowed."
"That's insane. How could you avoid running into someone inside the academy? Is it even possible to maintain that distance here?"
"...It's not."
"So he's transferring here on purpose, knowing that?"
"...Probably."
Jeong Hayeon's hands began shaking like leaves in a storm.
"Hayeon." Kim Minseo gently took her trembling hands in her own.
"...Y-yeah."
"Do you have anyone to walk home with today? Isn't this the day you go back to your family estate?"
"...No."
"Why not? You always walk with Radeon. Can't you go with him?"
At those words, Jeong Hayeon glanced at me before answering.
"Haha. It's... complicated."
"I don't know the details, but wouldn't it be better to walk with someone today? That psycho..."
"It's fine. Nothing will happen if I go alone."
"Hayeon, please try to walk with one of the guys. Ask anyone. What if that creep follows you?"
"I... I can't really do that."
"Why not?"
"Even if I just casually ask someone to walk together, guys tend to think it means I like them."
"Ah..."
"I've had so many confessions after one innocent walk home that it's just awkward now."
"Being pretty isn't always a blessing, huh?" Kim Minseo let out a deep sigh.
"Then what about walking with the other girls? That should be safer."
"Haha..." Jeong Hayeon gave an awkward laugh.
"The truth is... I'm not really on good terms with the girls in our class."
"What? You always seem so close."
"That's just on the surface. Behind my back, they talk a ton of trash about me."
"Why would they do that?"
"Probably because all the guys are nice to me and like me. They're jealous."
"...Ugh. What a bunch of nasty bitches. At least Jiyun isn't like that."
"Yeah, that's true."
"Then just walk with her."
"She has an important company meeting today."
"And I can't walk with you either... Hayeon, do you really have to go to the family estate today?"
"Come on, don't worry so much. Nothing's going to happen. I already have the restraining order."
"Still... just be careful, okay?"
Before long, the sunset painted the sky outside the Elphon Academy windows a deep orange. Creak— One by one, students rose from their seats.
"Man, today was exhausting. Let's get back to the dorms."
"Want to order pizza once we're there?"
"Won't the dorm supervisor catch us?"
"Not if we're careful, dumbass. There's a secret route."
Ten minutes later, the noisy chatter had completely faded from the classroom. I was just about to stand up when I noticed Jeong Hayeon, who sat to my left, still frozen in her seat.
"..."
I could easily guess why. Kane was a massive trauma for her. He'd been stalking her exclusively since their cram school days—nearly seven or eight years now.
Kane was actually the illegitimate son of the Kayen family. By tradition, the Kayen family didn't recognize bastards as true members. But Kane's illusion magic was simply too exceptional to ignore. The family head had given him one condition: he would be accepted into the family if he never visited his mother again.
Kane had agreed. He never saw his mother after that. The affection he never received from her twisted into a warped obsession with Jeong Hayeon. He tried to force the love he craved from his favorite girl.
The problem was that it was entirely one-sided. Jeong Hayeon had zero intention of giving him any affection.
"Hmm..."
I glanced at her. She was still shaking, clearly terrified.
I can't just ignore this and leave.
She was one of the key supporting characters in this world. When the demons invaded later, she'd become incredibly valuable. The only issue was... how to bring it up. Casually suggesting we walk together felt awkward.
"Ugh..."
I mulled it over for a long time. There was really only one way.
"Hey."
I called out to Jeong Hayeon.
"...."
She didn't respond. It seemed like dark thoughts were swirling in her head, so much that she hadn't even registered my voice. I reached over and poked her shoulder.
She whipped around in surprise, then let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was me.
"...Ah, you scared me. It was you? I thought it was that crazy bastard and nearly had a heart attack."
"Who's this crazy bastard??"
"...You don't need to know. It's my problem."
"...Hey. Want to walk home together today?"
"No." Her answer was immediate.
"Why not?"
"You don't need to get involved."
"Does this have something to do with Kane stalking you?"
"....How do you— what are you even saying?"
"Why? Am I wrong?"
"....No, you're right, but how did you know? The only person I told was Minseo."
"...."
"...Did you investigate me or something?" She glared at me with a cold expression.
"...Now you're treating me like a stalker too."
"Then how else would you know?"
"I overheard it by accident. During lunch."
"...What? So you weren't actually sleeping back then?"
"Yeah. It just happened to reach my ears."
"....Sigh." Jeong Hayeon frowned deeply.
"I really didn't want anyone else finding out about this."
"So? Are we walking together or not? Your call."
She narrowed her eyes at me.
"...Why would you walk with me? It's not like my safety is any of your business."
What the hell was she talking about? Not my business? Without her, the story couldn't progress.
"What do you mean it's not my business?"
"...H-huh?" Jeong Hayeon stammered, flustered.
"I said, what do you mean it's not my business what happens to you?" I stared at her with a serious expression.
Without Jeong Hayeon, the main storyline couldn't move forward. If she disappeared, this world's future would cease to exist.
She seemed thrown off by my reaction, her eyes darting around nervously.
"...I mean... it was just a figure of speech..."
"...Don't say things like that so casually from now on. Of course what happens to you matters to me."
"...O-okay. Sorry. That was a slip of the tongue."
For some reason, she apologized to me.
"So, are we going together or not? They're about to lock the classroom."
I slung my bag over my shoulder as I spoke. Jeong Hayeon stared at me for a long moment. The silence stretched on. Finally, she nodded as if she'd made up her mind.
"...Then just for today. Let's walk together."
Her voice was barely louder than a whisper.
"Sure."
"But don't get the wrong idea."
"What wrong idea?"
"I mean... it's not because I like you or anything... Um... yeah. It's purely because of that Kane guy's stalking. So don't misunderstand."
Who said anything about that?
"I'm heading out now. Hurry up and follow."
She scrambled after me in a rush.