Lingering Vertigo
After the counseling session, I faced my homeroom teacher for being late. The bespectacled teacher seemed put off by my disheveled state and simply told me not to be late again before wrapping things up. Skipping the first-day power struggle had been the right call. If I'd played along meekly, he would've unloaded on me. Bonus: I didn't hand over my phone either. The fact that he let it slide made me wonder if my unexpected compliance had thrown him off.
The dizziness hadn't fully subsided, but it seemed to be taking a brief respite—no throbbing for now. On my way back to class, break time rolled around and students began spilling into the hallway. The aftereffects of the sleeping pills still lingered, so I pushed through the crowd with a grimace.
"It's not surveillance, it's just..."
"Are you two his servants? My head hurts, so get out of my face, my unloved juniors."
I didn't want to deal with them, but they looked like they had something to say.
"What is it? I can't play with you right now. I'm not feeling well."
"Do-hun sunbae said... about Na-rin noona— I mean, sunbae... and you, Hae-in sunbae..."
"Ah, the student council president's name was Do-hun? Not that he's Eun Na-rin's boyfriend or anything. We've only known each other for two days. Same with you guys."
The dizziness threatened to return. I had things to do, but this pointless... It had only been two days at this school. Two days since meeting everyone here.
"Ha... your name... right, Jun-woo? Call me hyung instead of sunbae. I don't even want to hear 'sunbae' from you, kid."
"Yes... hyung-nim."
After barely recalling his name, I answered with clear distaste.
"Tell Kim Do-hun this: stop sending his juniors to do his dirty work and talk to me directly. And that creepy stalker vibe he gives off around Eun Na-rin? It's obvious."
"...?!"
Both juniors just stared with wide eyes. These two would probably spend their whole lives following orders without question.
"I don't know how he found out about me and Na-rin sunbae yesterday, but Eun Na-rin isn't going to like Kim Do-hun. You two should stop playing his loyal dogs too."
With that, I walked down the hallway. The two stood frozen behind me, unsure what to do. I had no interest in people who seemed content to stay trapped in their shells. Even if he was the grandson of a successful businessman, compared to the prosecution, he was nothing more than a low-level errand boy. Though the prosecution office was now...
Before the dizziness worsened, I stopped thinking and headed straight for the classroom.
Classroom. I finally reached my seat. The moment my classmates saw me, they all flinched. The girls dramatically closed their eyes, and the guys looked unnecessarily scared. Idiots.
As I sat down, I realized I still couldn't remember my old classmate's name, so I changed the contact to "Classmate A." Just as I was about to call, he beat me to it with perfect timing.
"Really...? Your mother... Ah, never mind. Are you free today?"
"Yeah. I've got plenty of time today."
My parents had gone to my grandfather's grave in the countryside, so they probably weren't in Seoul right now. Dad had barely managed to make time to go down... This Sunday was the first real personal time I'd had in a while. Unfortunately, I still had things to take care of.
"Then... want to meet at my place after?"
"Huh? Your place? What about your family?"
"Everyone's gone... on a trip. Except me."
Classmate A suggested we meet at his house. There was a hint of loneliness in his voice.
"Alright."
"Really. I'll tell you everything I know... Hae-in, I really need your help..."
He'd always been the type to chatter about other people's business, but his tone was unusually serious. I hung up. This time, it wasn't the wavering reed-like guy I knew—it felt like he was carrying something he couldn't handle alone. First, I had to finish what I needed to do.
Lunchtime seemed to be approaching. While I was staring blankly at the old Aqua Life magazines stacked on my desk, trying to endure the dizziness, lunch break arrived. Everyone was leaving the classroom. I had no appetite for school lunch anyway. Besides, I'd already grown tired of those tropical fish magazines.
How did he even get my number? I ignored the shameless order and messaged Eun Na-rin instead. A reply came back immediately. I chuckled briefly, then closed my eyes to forget the dizziness for a moment. It didn't help much—I opened them again quickly. The vertigo still felt like it was lurking behind me, waiting.
Once my vision cleared, Kim Do-hun and his group were standing in front of me. Do-hun looked like he wanted to ask how I dared ignore him. He seemed to have spent even more time with sleep lately.
"You startled me, standing there like a walking corpse. Everyone's making a fuss."
Kim Do-hun just glared at me in silence. It was obvious he was holding back from throwing a punch—his fists were clenched tight.
"Speak. Why did you come to me?"
Just two days of knowing this student council president, and the fatigue was already making the dizziness worse again.
"Oh Hae-in. You and Eun Na-rin sunbae yesterday..."
"How did you guys find out about me and Na-rin sunbae? And Kim Do-hun's letting his lackey speak for him again."
If he had a problem, he should say it himself. Kim Do-hun gestured for his followers to stay quiet. Then he opened his mouth.
"I told you... You're an unwelcome guest who came here because of school violence, so I have an obligation to know your every move."
"Hah. Is that your flimsy excuse as student council president? No, you just want Eun Na-rin's attention."
For a moment, he showed a murderous glint in his eyes, but quickly composed himself into a calm expression. The smile remained, but the anger in his gaze only grew more pronounced.
"Not just Na-rin sunbae, but all students need protection..."
"Wrong. You're just too scared to face me alone, so you're hiding behind your group and trying to intimidate me."
"What... what did you say? These aren't my group, they're the student council..."
"More like Kim Do-hun's personal guard disguised as the student council."
In an instant, their expressions turned cold, their eyes like those of predators. They had no intention of improving their behavior, yet they claimed they didn't want to hear it... A difficult bunch to deal with.
"You...!"
"All you do is stare at those fishy-smelling fish books..."
"Not just any fish—ornamental fish. Tropical fish, if you prefer."
I cut off Do-hun's lackey quickly.
"Speaking of which, I keep plecos at home. Cleaning fish."
Kim Do-hun and his group just stared at me silently. I stood up and looked down at them as I continued.
"Those fish spend all day shitting everywhere. Just like you student council members."
At that, Kim Do-hun looked up at me, his rationality seemingly snapping.
"You... do you even know what kind of background I have?"
"Yeah, I looked it up briefly. Your grandfather and father were summoned by the prosecution and investigated by my father. Extensively."
Kim Do-hun's hands looked ready to burst. His group surrounded him, perhaps to prevent violence.
"Na-rin sunbae mentioned there are obsessive guys out there. Looks like you're one of them."
The chaebol heir was about to explode with rage but barely held it in, glaring up at me.
"...There's no way I'd be that persistent..."
"Your guys are sticking close to you like they're worried you'll cause some incident. Must have a history, huh?"
"You... don't even think about approaching Eun Na-rin, got it?"
"Na-rin sunbae isn't your property. You know you really look like a criminal, right?"
Do-hun glared at me while suppressing his irritation, then kept staring at me until he finally lowered his head and left the classroom. His group followed anxiously, worried his explosive reaction might escalate further.
A bad connection. I needed to find the truth, but now a leech had attached itself.
"Ha......"
I sighed and shoved the magazines that had been sitting on my desk into my locker.
— Click.
DM Industrial Development. The company Kim Do-hun's grandfather had grown into a conglomerate in the 2000s. Its history was short, which was why it had even created a school foundation... but it had a record of shady dealings that had once embarrassed my father. Leeches, the lot of them. Of all places, I had to be assigned here...
While reading the magazines, I got bored and started looking up this school on my phone instead. The information only fueled my paranoia further. It was as if being framed as the perpetrator of school violence... might be connected to some bloodline background...
Once again, dizziness seized my head. I nearly collapsed but managed to throw myself onto a nearby desk.
— Thud.
It must've looked ridiculous. With one hand pressing my head and the other on the desk, I stood up. Whether from the vertigo or not, hallucinations began to appear. Was this still a side effect of the sleeping pills?
An old friend was approaching me. Gong Na-rin. She always smiled warmly... Her long brown hair, softened by sunlight, made me frown. Her bright figure grew more and more...
I had to run. I knew it wasn't the real Gong Na-rin, just a hallucination, but my body wasn't normal. The dizziness was encouraging it, trying to choke the breath out of me.
"Hae-in, Oh Hae-in. Are you using another girl to replace me?"
Even her voice... reached me. Gong Na-rin's plain blue eyes... slowly.
"Let's die together."
"You... you too... stop!"
"Hae-in!"
Gong Na-rin—no, Eun Na-rin—was hugging me... Not blue eyes, but purple ones filled with worry looked at me...
"Haa... It was Na-rin sunbae."
Eun Na-rin was worried about me, her hand on my head. Around her were students who seemed to be her friends—all of them concerned.
"I heard a sound while passing by... I'll take you to the nurse's office for now..."
My second meeting with Eun Na-rin. All I felt was guilt for startling her so much.
"I couldn't sleep, so I took sleeping pills... I must've taken them wrong..."
Supported by Eun Na-rin and her friends—third-year seniors—I headed to the nurse's office. The dizziness... I hoped it would stop by the time I went home later...