A Crazy Stalker Who's Insanely Strong

The elevator chime rang.

And in the next instant, I was tied to a chair in my room.

"Mmph—"

It happened in the literal blink of an eye. Before I could even react, the schoolgirl slung me over her shoulder, carved through the deadbolted front door in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠single stroke, carried me inside, and sat me down in a chair. By the time I came to my senses, my wrists, ankles, and torso were already bound in tape. My mouth was sealed shut, too.

What the hell.

How is she this practiced at this? Don't tell me this isn't the first or second time she's done it.

Unbothered by any of my panic, the schoolgirl pulled my phone from my bag as if none of this were a big deal. She unlocked it without asking and went through my contacts, messages, photos, and call history one by one. She knew the password, too.

Has she been going through this phone regularly? She handled Choi Hyejeong's phone more smoothly than I could.

"Hmm. Nothing special."

Of course there wasn't. I'd been too busy just digging through the old records as it was.

She set the phone down and started ransacking the room. Drawers, the closet, even under the bed. She powered on the computer sitting on the desk like it was hers and started combing through the usage logs. She knew that password as well.

Watching her open folders and browser history without the slightest hesitation made one thing certain. This girl. She seemed close to Choi Hyejeong, but they weren't friends. Or at least, it wasn't any kind of normal close. I'd smiled and treated her like one without knowing any of that, so of course I'd set off her suspicions. A stalker, most likely. Or something in that neighborhood.

She tore through the entire room at a speed that didn't look human, then muttered under her breath when she didn't find whatever she was looking for.

"A doppelgänger?"

A doppelgänger? Those exist in this world too?

While I was still reeling, she came back over, lifting my face and turning it this way and that, inspecting my eyes, my nose, my chin.

"Doesn't seem like that either... What is this."

Then, completely casual, she reached a hand up under her own skirt.

Whoa. What are you doing. Wait!

That's a school uniform! You cannot do anything weird! Absolutely not! The world would end!

I twisted in alarm, but the chair I'd been bound to didn't budge. Fortunately, she wasn't about to do anything like that. From under the skirt, she drew a dagger strapped to her thigh.

Okay, wait — that IS weird, right? A normal girl does not keep a dagger strapped to her thigh.

Then she lightly sliced through just the strip of tape sealing my mouth.

The tape fell away. I didn't even feel a scratch on my skin.

"Uh..."

I hadn't even properly seen the dagger move in front of my face. The fact that she'd cut only the tape, perfectly, told me her swordsmanship was the real deal. My eyes caught the sliced-open front door. Had she carved through a steel door like tofu with that little blade?

I looked at the short knife in her hand, then quietly shut my mouth.

Absolutely not. No matter what happens, I cannot pick a fight with this kid.

The schoolgirl put the dagger away and stood in front of me.

"..."

Oh, come on. A question I can't answer, right out of the gate.

I'd stayed up all night digging through Choi Hyejeong's phone and messenger, and I had never found out who this kid was. Meaning I had no idea.

As the silence stretched, her eyes narrowed.

"You don't know who I am?"

"That's... Kim... no, Park... no, Lee... no..."

Every time I guessed a surname, her face twisted like she wanted to kill me, and I'd try another one. About a minute of that, and then her expression went completely cold.

"Na Yuni. That's my name."

Damn it, who guesses Na as a last name?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Na Yuni. That's a pretty name."

I repeated it, buying time. The compliment seemed to land — her expression eased a little.

If she was a stalker, she'd have some kind of obsession or affection for the original Choi Hyejeong. If I, wearing Choi Hyejeong's face, treated her kindly, maybe I could find a way out of this.

That didn't mean I could tell her the truth. The Choi Hyejeong you knew is probably dead, and what's in this body now is the soul — or maybe just the memories — of some grimy guy from another world. If I said that to a stalker, who knew what this underage psycho crazy lesbian would do.

This was a crazy stalker who'd sliced through a steel door with a dagger and tied a person to a chair. I had no idea when I might end up in the same condition as that door, so I had to play along no matter what.

Meanwhile, my phone on the table kept ringing.

"I've been having some memory problems lately..."

I put on the most frightened face I could. I didn't even need to act. I really didn't have the memories. The fear was real, too. God damn it, when she put that blade to my face I almost pissed myself again.

"I slipped in the shower. I think I hit my head, and ever since then my memory's been fuzzy."

That wasn't a complete lie, either. The first place I'd woken up in this body was the shower. I'd been collapsed under the spray, and I had no idea what had happened before that. The original Choi Hyejeong had probably hit her head then and died, or at least lost consciousness. Add in the impulsive masturbation in front of the mirror right after waking up, and the consecutive blackouts that followed, and there were more than enough abnormal events to scramble someone's memory. I'd only told the truth, so I could be confident about this part, at least.

Na Yuni stared at my face.

"Have you met anyone recently?"

"No. I don't remember much from before I went to the Hunter Association."

"When did you last see me?"

"That's... I don't really..."

"Why did your way of speaking suddenly change?"

"I told you, I hit my head..."

The more I answered, the colder her expression got. She didn't look like she believed me. If this kept going, taping my mouth shut again wasn't going to be the end of it.

Damn it, what do I do...! I told the truth...

I squeezed my eyes, letting them well up.

"It's true. There's a lump on the back of my head. If you don't believe me, feel it yourself."

A desperate bid to stay alive. Na Yuni stared at me for a moment, then walked around behind me. Fingers threaded through my hair, probing the back of my skull, then stopped on the swollen spot.

"Ah."

The lump was actually there. She pressed it a few more times before finally taking her hand away. I wasn't faking — I genuinely winced.

"Ow, that hurts. Seriously...!"

Na Yuni came back around in front of me. She studied me in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silence for a while, then muttered under her breath.

"Unni really is an idiot, though."

"..."

To be fair, Choi Hyejeong had gotten her homeschooling from the TV. But I'm different. I completed all of mandatory high school education...! I even served in the military!

"I guess it's not that weird that you'd wipe your memory falling over by yourself."

She didn't look fully convinced. But at least we seemed to have moved past the 'is this a doppelgänger monster' stage. Phew. I'd saved my life, for now.

It was a relief, sure, but I swallowed a curse at the fact that I was being called an idiot by someone who looked years younger than me.

"So why did you go to the Association?"

Guess she hadn't heard a word of the excuse I'd given in the elevator. I wiggled my bound wrists a little.

"Could we maybe untie this first and then talk?"

Na Yuni didn't answer. No sign she was about to let me go, so I had no choice but to keep explaining.

"I just went for a consultation. I had some hunter-related questions. I remembered that I'd been working as a hunter influencer, but whether I'd awakened or not, and anything about combat — that was all fuzzy. What if the agency ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠told me to fight? I don't have any combat memories. If they just threw me into a fight without checking, that'd be telling me to go die. I was genuinely scared."

This part was genuine. I had gone for a consultation, I did have hunter-related questions, and yeah, being told to fight when you haven't even awakened is terrifying.

Na Yuni leaned in until our noses nearly touched, staring into my eyes. I met her gaze with my chin up, projecting the attitude of someone who hadn't lied. I was already tied up. What was I going to do. The what, you gonna kill me? energy. I was actually scared she might, but a stalker wouldn't slit my throat in this situation... right? Right?

"Alright, Unni. I'll let you go this time. But be more careful from now on. I almost actually killed you, thinking you were some fake impersonating her."

I looked at her eyes again, wondering if that was a joke. It wasn't.

She almost actually killed me...?! Thank god. Seriously.

Meanwhile, the phone on the table hadn't stopped ringing. That was strange. Nobody had been this persistent about contacting the original Choi Hyejeong. Na Yuni checked the screen but still wouldn't let me answer.

The vibrations finally stopped after several rounds. Then Na Yuni's phone rang. She glanced at me once, then answered on speaker.

No greeting. Straight to the point. Na Yuni answered shortly.

"Yeah."

A familiar, nagging voice. Na Yuni looked over at me.

"When you sent the shoot schedule and the sponsored products earlier, was anything off?"

That's when I figured out who it was. The agency manager who'd texted me about the shoot schedule and sponsored products right before I came up to the apartment. The manager sighed.

Ah.

So Na Yuni was the agency president's daughter.

Haha.

Fuck me.

It wasn't enough that the stalker lived in the same building. She was the daughter of the president of my agency. I had a pretty good idea now why there hadn't been any trace of Na Yuni on the phone. Choi Hyejeong couldn't run, so she'd deleted the contacts and chat logs and tried as hard as she could not to think about it.

"Okay, okay. It's fine, just tell Dad I'll handle it."

Na Yuni answered like it was a hassle, then hung up. Then, looking like this was genuinely no big deal, she sliced through the tape wrapping my body.

"You're okay, right?"

"...Yeah."

What, was she going to apologize if I said no?

Once my wrists and ankles were free, I worked my stiff arms and rubbed at the tape marks. I didn't complain, and I didn't run. I'd already confirmed with my own body that she could tie me up again whenever she felt like it.

Na Yuni watched me rub the marks for a moment, then spoke.

"If you'd lost your memories, it could've been a chance to redo that disastrous first impression. And I went and ruined it again. I should've been more careful. What a shame."

"...Was it like this the first time we met, too?"

"Huh? What are you talking about. Unni seduced me — I was your fan — signed with our company, and then tried to dump me. I just scared you a little so you wouldn't do it again. You really don't remember, huh."

"..."

Choi Hyejeong, you bitch. You did that to a minor just to make it to the city from the countryside?

"I was that much of a piece of trash...?"

"Ah, don't feel bad, Unni. I deliberately led you into doing it."

What the actual fuck.

A second ago she said Choi Hyejeong used her, and now she was saying she'd made herself get used. I couldn't even tell who was the perpetrator and who was the victim. No. At least this much was certain: the girl in front of me was far more dangerous. And more of a psycho.

"...Why are you telling me that?"

That's when I understood what type of stalker Na Yuni was. The type that completely ensnares her target, then obsesses over making them move exactly as she intends.

"But I really do love you, Unni. Let's keep doing this together. I'll make you successful."

Hearing I love you from someone who'd just had me tied up and interrogated was not reassuring in the slightest. It made her scarier.

Na Yuni looked back at me from the sliced-open front door.

Ah. That's why I'd been caught without being able to do a thing. She wasn't just some awakened with a bit of extra strength. She was a high-ranking Awakened, famous enough from a young age to have a name.

"Answer me."

"Ah, yeah. Of course. Yuni. I'll crawl on my own, don't you worry. Contact me whenever you need anything. I'll just quietly do my work. With you looking after me, my life's made. Right?"

"...I can't tell if I like you better before you changed, or not."

With that ambiguous look on her face, Na Yuni left the room.

Only after she was gone did I let out a long breath. Until now, I'd thought I needed to awaken to pay off five hundred million won in debt and get out from under the agency. Now I had one more reason.

I was being loved by an insanely strong, crazy stalker.

Fuck.

I really had to awaken...!

This was how people died...!