Chapter 144. Stalking
Chapter 144. Stalking
"Time flies."
"It really does~"
Laila's OT ended, and time slipped by.
The Lunar New Year holiday in between came and went quietly.
We visited my uncle's house, shared a family meal, and made small talk.
"Laila, today's the day, right?"
Laila was busily sorting through clothes and getting ready.
I watched her, quietly stirring my coffee.
She nodded, her face a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
"Yes! The semester finally starts today! They said all of us in the same class take the same courses, right?"
I nodded at her words.
Next semester, she'll probably be suffering through a brutal course registration war...
"They say the second semester is the real deal... I'm curious."
Every sentence ended on a note of excitement.
Then I suddenly remembered a conversation we'd had before. I had cautiously asked if she'd like to move closer to the school, at least while she's attending.
Laila had firmly shaken her head and said this:
- This house is the first home we lived in together. I like this better.
"Hero, I'm off!"
Today, Laila's smile was even more radiant as she waved.
Her expression was light, like a high schooler's, and bright, like a child's.
Holding my coffee cup in one hand, I waved back with the other.
"Take care."
— Click.
The door closed, and the entrance fell silent.
A few seconds of stillness.
Then I slowly exhaled and nodded.
"Should I get going too...?"
Soon, I turned and headed for my room.
I stood in front of the closet, pulled out an achromatic jumper, put it on, and added a wide-brimmed hat and a mask.
"The first class is definitely..."
Muttering to myself, I stood in front of the front door.
I grabbed the doorknob and paused for a moment.
"Th-this is... just because I'm worried about Laila. Obviously."
---
An early March morning.
A clear sky, faint sunlight, and a fresh breeze brushing the tip of my nose.
The cold was gradually dying down, and now a cool wind was blowing.
"Ah, please stop here!"
At Laila's urgent call, the taxi pulled up in front of the school's main gate.
"Uh, miss... if you get out here, it's a bit of a walk to the lecture hall..."
"It's fine!"
After politely thanking him and paying, she closed the car door and turned around.
The last time she came here for freshman course registration, she'd had to check the building and then rush back because of her broadcast schedule.
So today, she deliberately arrived 30 minutes earlier than planned.
Because she wanted to look around the whole campus.
"Wow..."
Her gaze darted left and right.
Posters plastered all over the campus, banners strung between buildings.
And inside, countless club booths.
"Are all of these clubs...?"
Laila had asked Song Hoon before.
What 'clubs' were.
- Um... they're like mercenaries looking for a party in a guild.
She was dumbfounded when she found out the truth later, but it wasn't exactly wrong.
Laila strolled through the campus alone.
A flower this beautiful always attracts bugs.
"Excuse me... are you a foreigner?"
A clean-cut male student approached and spoke in a soft, friendly tone.
"If this is your first time on campus, I could show you around..."
"No, it's alright. I'll pass."
Without losing her smile, she firmly shook her head.
A moment later, when Laila arrived in front of the building, another student approached her.
"Um, if you don't mind... could I get your number..."
This time, she lightly lifted the ring on her ring finger.
The sunlight caught it, making the delicate ring sparkle.
"I have a fiancé, so I can't."
Her tone was cool and definitive.
But it wasn't rude.
"Big sis!"
As she entered the building and climbed the stairs, a familiar voice called out to Laila from behind.
"Ah...!"
A classmate she'd gotten close to at the freshman welcoming party.
She approached with quick, short steps, her hair fluttering.
Like an excited puppy, she ran up with a delighted face and naturally linked her arm with Laila's.
"Hehe... it's been a while."
"Aish~ big sis, you can speak casually to me! I'm the younger one here!"
Laila just gave a slight smile and nodded. Park Hyo-jung then started chattering away, talking about the travel destinations she'd visited during the break, the cafes she went to with friends, the pretty clothes she bought...
Laila simply listened quietly to her cute rambling.
"Big sis! Let's sit over there!"
A reasonably inconspicuous spot in the middle.
Park Hyo-jung gently poked Laila's shoulder.
"Big sis... look over there."
Following her whispered gaze, I saw a corner of the lecture hall.
A male student was lying face down on the desk, his hoodie pulled over his head.
"That's the senior who was hitting on you last time."
Laila's eyes trembled slightly at those words.
The rude gestures, the vulgar tone, the feeling of him forcibly grabbing her sleeve.
"You know... there are tons of posts up on Everytime right now, right?"
Park Hyo-jung carefully went on.
"Like sexual harassment and stuff... they say he hits on anyone as long as their face is even a little pretty."
Laila tilted her head for a moment.
As she stared at him, she felt it.
Strangely irregular breathing.
A body forced to lie flat, pretending to sleep.
He was lying low because of the rumors circulating in the department, too.
'He's reaping what he sowed...'
"Well... there are also rumors that he bribed a professor, or did drugs, but... I don't think those are true."
Park Hyo-jung whispered for a while, then glanced around once.
"Ah, and I also heard this somewhere... there's a lot of talk about that senior's father's company too."
"Company?"
"You know... talk of tax evasion, embezzlement, bribery? I don't know if it's true. I just saw it on the school community."
As Laila listened to her, something struck her as odd.
"But he's a senior. Why is he taking the same class as us?"
"He got an F and is retaking it."
Park Hyo-jung shrugged and shot an openly disgusted look toward him, lying face down in the distance.
"Getting an F in a freshman major course... at that point, he just didn't attend at all... he's complete trash."
And not long after, the door opened and a professor entered.
A neat shirt, a tie, and a somewhat young-looking middle-aged man.
"Alright, nice to meet you all. I am Jeong Ho-seok, and I will be in charge of your major foundation class this semester."
A calm voice.
But within it was an unmistakable charisma.
"Today is OT, so we won't be having class! First, I'll take attendance."
There wasn't a student in the world who didn't love hearing there'd be no class.
The professor began calling out names one by one, and the students raised their hands or answered. Then, it was someone's turn.
"Park..."
In that instant, the professor's voice became subtly sharper.
Laila didn't miss the look in the professor's eyes during that brief moment.
Faint but undeniable disgust.
An emotion of being fed up, with no expectations left.
"You're a senior, and you're retaking this again?"
The professor spat out the words with a sigh.
A professor with a good reputation was openly rebuking him.
"Ah, well then, for this semester, our class will..."
Laila was concentrating on the curriculum for the upcoming classes.
And from beyond the classroom, someone was watching her.
A large, suspicious(?) man wearing a hat and a mask...
---
"Wow, the campus really is huge..."
It was already big.
Since it was the largest university in South Korea to begin with.
"How did I attend this place before...?"
Song Hoon headed straight for the lecture hall Laila had told him about.
Since there were plenty of people around him similarly wearing hats and masks, he could avoid suspicion.
'That's definitely...'
The girl holding Laila's arm, smiling brightly and chatting about all sorts of things.
It was definitely the girl Laila said she'd gotten close to at the freshman welcoming party.
'That professor was still here?'
The professor's brief course introduction ended, and Laila and Park Hyo-jung came out.
And Song Hoon carefully followed behind them.
'That bastard was...?'
Occasionally, people tried to get her number, but Laila refused them sharply, as if she had no interest whatsoever.
Of course, a few students confident in their looks persistently challenged her...
"I'll be a married woman soon."
An unblockable move.
Even Park Hyo-jung next to her was startled.
'Ah, the school cafeteria here isn't great...'
I casually entered the cafeteria they went into.
I paid the same way and sat at a table a short distance away, intensely focused on their conversation.
"Big sis... people keep staring at you from all around, and some are subtly following you."
"Hehe, I don't really mind."
"Wow... is this the composure of an alpha female?"
Song Hoon, afraid of getting caught by Laila, fixed his attention on her and shoveled spoonfuls of rice into his mouth.
But unfortunately for Song Hoon, there was someone watching him with growing suspicion.
He was so intensely focused on Laila that he didn't notice anything else.
"Shall we go now?"
Laila and Park Hyo-jung left, and Song Hoon stuck to them again.
"Big sis, want to go to the restroom together?"
They headed for the restroom, and Song Hoon leaned against a corner nearby, waiting quietly.
— Tap tap.
"Hey there!"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm waiting for my girlfriend..."
"Why do you keep following us?"
I lowered my head to look down and saw only Park Hyo-jung, unsure where Laila had gone.
"Look, there's a misunderstanding..."
"You've been following us since earlier! Are you a stalker?"
Her voice drew the surrounding gazes toward us.
And she was gripping my wrist tightly so I couldn't run away.
'Ah, I was screwed...'