The Stalker in the Shadows
"Let's check your homework."
The moment I brought up the homework, the students, who had been holding their breath in silence, let out a collective groan. Judging by their reactions, I didn't even need to ask—they hadn't done it.
"Guys, did I give you something impossible?"
At my question, a male student named Junho took the lead. "Teacher, honestly, ten pages was way too much."
"No, not that."
I had assigned ten pages of workbook problems, but there was a much more important assignment. "I'm talking about the streaming homework. Did you guys stream?"
The official mass-streaming period was over, but streaming was essential to maintain their chart ranking. Even if these ten students didn't stream, it wouldn't have a massive impact on the rankings, but as the saying goes, "little drops make a mighty ocean."
"Teacher..." The students looked at me with pitying eyes. "You really seem like an otaku."
"Calling an otaku an otaku doesn't deal any damage, you know."
"Didn't you get scolded by the director last time because of this?"
"If I let something like that break me, I wouldn't be a true fan."
"Wow... that sounded really like an otaku just now."
They acted disgusted, but they clearly enjoyed teasing me about being an otaku. Looking at their expressions, they were all grinning like mischievous kids. While it was true that I was sincerely trying to convert them, it was also a strategy to become a teacher they felt comfortable with. In this day and age, students find the old-school, strict type of teacher intimidating. You need to be a bit lighthearted and playful for students to like you and follow your lessons. Of course, that’s under the assumption that I actually teach properly when it’s time to teach.
"Anyway, don't listen to other songs with those expensive wireless earphones. Listen to our La Stella's songs."
"Because of you, Teacher, my playlist is already full of La Stella songs."
This time, a female student named Seyeon held up her phone screen. Her playlist was packed with La Stella tracks. 1st EP, 1st single, 2nd single. The instrumentals were missing, but that was still excellent.
"That's my Seyeon."
Seyeon beamed.
"So, Teacher, about today's homework..."
"That's one thing, and this is another. Take out your homework."
"Aaaah, Teacheeeer!"
"Acting cute won't work."
If it were the students acting cute, I might have just let it slide, saying, "Oh, how cute," but my standards for aegyo had already been raised too high. If you want to melt me with aegyo, bring me Su-a! Bring me Su-a!
After five minutes of clearing the air, we dove into the lesson. Today's class was nothing special. We went over the workbook problems I’d assigned, and I used the materials I’d prepared to explain the concepts of quadratic equations and quadratic functions. Finally, I handed out a short quiz I’d made myself, and with that, the high school class was over. Since the middle school class had finished earlier, all that was left was to head home.
"Bye, Teacher!"
"Yeah, see you later."
"Goodbye, Yujun Teacher."
"Yeah, you too, Hayoung. Get home safe."
I greeted each student as they flowed past me in the hallway like a tide and headed toward the office. I immediately started packing up to leave. I wanted to pack quickly before any of the other teachers could strike up a conversation. I tried to escape swiftly because there were teachers who often suggested going out for drinks. They say that’s part of social life, but my social life in the academy office and at group dinners was enough. I had no desire to sacrifice my personal time to build friendships. I’d much rather go home, rest comfortably, and watch YouTube to indulge in my fandom.
It was the moment I grabbed my bag and headed for the elevator.
"Yujun Teacher!"
Oh, no. I heard a voice calling my name. I turned around. A woman with short hair, dressed in a neat casual suit, was trotting toward me. Kim Yeji, the English instructor. She was one of the teachers who often suggested drinking. And she was the ignorant woman who had once looked at my idol and said, "You watch that stuff?"
I could forgive her for treating me like a nerd and insulting me a hundred times over, but I couldn't forgive her for looking down on my idol and calling her "that stuff."
"Are you heading home now?"
"Yes."
"So..." Kim Yeji dragged out her words. It seemed like there was something difficult for her to say. I always politely declined her invitations for drinks. She had been quiet lately, so I thought she’d given up, but was she starting again? However, contrary to my expectations, what came out of her mouth was something I never could have imagined.
"...Be careful."
"Pardon?" I blinked at her, confused. "Be careful of what?"
Kim Yeji glanced around. The students had all gone home, and the other teachers were still in the office. We were the only ones in the hallway.
"...A while ago, I saw someone following you, Yujun Teacher."
"What? Who?"
"I don't know, either. If it had happened once, I would have thought it was my imagination, but... I've seen it more than once. I'm just telling you because it seems like you don't know."
It was a very sudden story. Stalking. It was something I had never worried about in my life. Stalking victims exist regardless of gender. I once saw an article online that said 25% of stalking victims were men. One in four. It wasn't a small number. Still, I thought it had absolutely nothing to do with me. Of course. I hadn't lived my life so poorly as to earn someone's grudge, and I’d never had a relationship deep enough with anyone for that to happen. And I wasn't exactly handsome enough for someone to follow me around. If my face were that good-looking, I would have had a girlfriend at least once by now. Seven unrequited loves. Seven confessions. Seven rejections. 777. I hit the jackpot of heartbreak.
When I was a vibrant teenager, I was a hopeless romantic dreaming of passionate love, but now, I poured all that passion into my favorite idol. ...Dating just isn't in my nature. Anyway, back to the point. The idea of someone stalking me was impossible.
"They were in the dark and had a hat pulled low, so I couldn't see their face, but it was a woman."
"A woman?"
The story became even more like a fantasy. "She had a small build, and her hair went down to her waist."
Suddenly, something that happened at a fan signing event a few days ago crossed my mind. On my way back, someone had secretly taken photos of me. I didn't have physical evidence, but the circumstances proved it. That person had also been a woman with very long hair. Why? I didn't know the reason. Considering she was wearing a hoodie sold only to La Stella fans, it meant she was a fan of La Stella like me... That was the only information I had. The only fan I contacted and befriended privately was Jjuyuni. I had heard Jjuyuni was a woman, too. But she had never met me. Just as I didn't know her face, it was natural that she didn't know mine. Unless we had actually met at least once. And Jjuyuni had no reason whatsoever to stalk me.
"I'll be careful. I didn't know, but thank you for telling me."
I thanked Kim Yeji politely and went down to the first floor. As soon as I stepped out of the academy building, I looked around. It wasn't completely late, so there were quite a few people around. Among them, I didn't see anyone who matched the description Kim Yeji had given. Small build, hair down to the waist. There was no one looking in my direction or acting suspiciously.
...It’s scary for no reason. Even though no one is watching, I feel like I'm being watched. I started walking at a slightly faster pace than usual. Let's not wear earphones today. Listening to music on the way home is part of my daily routine, but after hearing something like that, could I walk home peacefully while listening to music? Let's think happy thoughts. Let's think positive thoughts. Am I scared? A little bit. Even if the other person is a woman, it’s terrifying to think about what she might do. You never know. Maybe she’ll suddenly jump out from behind and stab me. Or maybe she’ll hit me on the head with a blunt object, knock me out, and kidnap me.
I decided to think only happy thoughts to shake off the fear. My commute home is always exciting. How could the road home after finishing work not be enjoyable? There’s that, but what really makes my heart race is the low-probability hope. The academy where I work is located between La Stella's agency and their dorm. I'm not a sasaeng fan. It’s just a coincidence. A pure coincidence. I have hope because there’s a lottery-winning chance that I might run into Su-a on her way home from the office. Of course, I’ve been working at this academy for over a year and have never run into her once. But having hope is an individual's freedom, right? They're in an active promotion period right now, so maybe she's sleeping for tomorrow's schedule? Thinking that, I headed to the parking lot.
Since the academy building doesn't have a parking lot, I use one a little further away. It’s a good thing the academy supports parking fees as part of my transportation costs; if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket, the expenses would be no joke. I love you, Director.
I don't like driving late at night, but if I take public transportation from Seoul to Paju, I wouldn't get home until well past midnight. Sometimes I’ve missed the last train and spent nearly 40,000 won on taxi fare. So, I have no choice but to drive my own car. It’s a domestic SUV I bought used for a low price.
I arrived at the parking lot. There were no suspicious signs on the way here. A stalker? As expected, there’s no way someone like that would be attached to me.
"...Still."
As the saying goes, "Check the extinguished fire again." I walked out of the parking lot. And it was the moment I turned the corner.
-Thud!!
I bumped into someone who had been running toward me.
"Ouch...!" The person I bumped into fell backward and landed on their butt.
"I'm sorry."
I apologized reflexively and reached out a hand to the woman who had fallen. And then.
"Oh...?"
A hat pulled low. A black mask covering almost her entire face. A small build with long hair reaching below her waist.
"...Stalker?"
The moment the woman who was about to take my hand heard the word "stalker," she shoved my hand away, scrambled to her feet, and ran away.
"...H-hey, stop right there!"
Stunned for a moment by the fact that there really was a stalker, I started chasing after her two beats too late. What was I going to do if I caught her? I didn't know. But if I let her go, that person would just stalk someone else again. I needed to catch her, give her a piece of my mind, or drag her to the police station.