episode_0045

045

“Today’s homeroom ends here. With the midterm exams coming up soon, everyone should focus on training. That’s all for today.”

Homeroom teacher Hong Daye, as always, yawned with tired eyes and quickly waved her hand as if to dismiss us.

After watching the teacher leave the classroom, I glanced at Soyeon’s side profile.

Until all the day’s events were over, Soyeon quietly glanced at me without saying a word.

Her expression was unusually dark and stiff, almost as if she had no energy.

What should I say?

Does she look tired?

Or does she look depressed?

Occasionally sighing deeply and stealing glances at me, Soyeon seemed completely different from her usual self.

“…Is it because of what happened last night?”

If someone with ill intentions came to my house and threw a rock with curses written on it, I could understand why Soyeon would feel so drained.

If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn’t just feel tired but would also be shaking like a leaf and would have reported it to the police immediately.

But since it was Soyeon, it probably ended with her feeling this way.

“I should catch Soyeon’s stalker sooner rather than later, without wasting any more time.”

I wanted to be more prepared, but I couldn’t just leave Soyeon, who seemed so drained, alone.

“But she seemed fine this morning, didn’t she? Her condition worsened drastically from lunch onwards… Hm.”

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak to Soyeon.

“Soyeon, are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll find the person who did this to you soon. It’ll be easier with Isiwoon’s help, right?”

“Ah… Isiwoon…”

Soyeon hesitated for a moment, nibbling on her lower lip.

She seemed like she wanted to say something, or was hesitating, looking at me with uncertainty.

“…?”

For a moment, she looked straight into my eyes.

I, too, calmly met Soyeon’s gaze.

There were clouds in her eyes that were once as bright as the sun.

With a vague expression, Soyeon bit her lip lightly.

“…Jinhyuk.”

“What?”

“…Um, well…”

Soyeon, who seemed tense, twirled her hair in circles.

But she forced a smile and changed the subject.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Why do you stop in the middle of a sentence? Now I’m even more curious. What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s really nothing.”

“Is it related to what happened today? Don’t hide it for no reason.”

“It’s not related to what happened today… really.”

It didn’t seem like she was lying.

Then what could it be? It’s bothering me.

Should I dig a little deeper?

“Soyeon, don’t…”

“Soyeon.”

At that moment, a handsome man’s voice interrupted us.

When Soyeon and I turned to look at the source of the voice, Isiwoon was looking at us with a blank expression.

Isiwoon casually spoke to Soyeon.

“Do you want to go home together today?”

He seemed a bit worried, probably because of what happened this morning.

Actually, I had something to tell Isiwoon today, but it could wait until tomorrow, so I decided to listen to what Isiwoon had to say.

“Yeah, Soyeon. Go with him. There was an incident last night, so just in case, you know.”

Of course, he must have known about the commotion related to Soyeon since this morning, so he would keep his distance for a while.

I don’t know why Soyeon is watching my every move, but I can use it as an excuse to stick with Soyeon and Ishiwoon.

“……Ah, that.”

Normally, I would have just nodded and said, “Okay, let’s go together,” but Soyeon was subtly gauging my reaction.

I hesitated for a moment, puzzled by why she was watching me.

Why is she watching me?

“It’s okay, I have something to do today. So, I’ll go first. See you tomorrow, guys.”

With her bag slung over her shoulder, Soyeon.

She glanced at us with a bitter smile and then quickly walked towards the back door of the classroom.

I blinked my eyes and watched her back as she walked away.

I didn’t expect her to leave alone like that……

Anyway.

“Well, since it turned out like this, I should take care of my own business.”

Suddenly turning my head towards Ishiwoon, I noticed that he was looking at me with a slightly subtle gaze.

When Ishiwoon suggested that we walk home together, it seemed like he realized that Soyeon had subtly watched my reaction.

Hey, hey. Don’t be jealous of every little thing.

I’ll help you two get closer.

“Ishiwoon.”

“Yeah.”

“I have something to say about Soyeon. Can you spare some time today?”

I whispered very quietly so that the other kids wouldn’t hear.

“There’s someone I suspect. I want to check it out together.”

Ishiwoon looked at me with a serious gaze for a moment before nodding.

It seemed like he thought it was related to Soyeon, one of the male protagonists.

***

Coming Sunday afternoon.

“Wow, is this Ishiwoon’s house?”

Choi Changwon exclaimed, looking around the narrow house.

Currently, Ishiwoon was living separately from his family, so besides a few servants and security guards, he was the only one living in this house.

“Hey, Ishiwoon. Oh, Jinhyuk, you’re here too.”

Choi Changwon greeted us warmly as he walked towards us in the living room.

“So, where are the others? Haven’t they arrived yet?”

“They’ll be here soon.”

I shrugged my shoulders in response.

The reason we gathered at Ishiwoon’s house today was because Ishiwoon had something important to say about what happened to Soyeon.

Since Choi Changwon mentioned directly that he wanted to help Soyeon, we had no choice but to accept Ishiwoon’s invitation.

“Did you invite Kim Yuseong and Kim Seyoon too?”

“Yeah.”

Of course not.

They’re not needed for what’s going to happen today.

“Man, that’s scary. Throwing a stone at someone else’s house and running away. What if someone else got hit.”

Choi Changwon clucked his tongue as he sat in the living room.

“I never thought there would be someone like that in our academy. I don’t know who the culprit is….”

“The culprit is Kang Yujung.”

Ishiwoon replied calmly.

“What?”

“Yuseolhyun helped.”

“Yuseolhyun?”

“Yeah. Kang Yujung was suspicious, so she asked me to help her investigate. Kang Yujung has a lot of interest in me, so she said she would confess if I asked her.”

In fact, the reason Kang Yujung threw a stone with insults written on it at Soyeon’s house was because she had a crush on Ishiwoon.

If Ishiwoon strongly questioned her, she couldn’t deny it.

Actually, Yuseolhyun could have investigated alone, but she deliberately asked Ishiwoon to do it to make him stand out more.

“First of all, I was able to get a confession. It was just a venting out of frustration because Soyeon and I are close.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. And two days ago, I met Soyeon separately and received an apology. I’m not sure if that person is truly remorseful, but since Soyeon forgave them, I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“What? It’s already resolved? That’s good.”

Listening quietly to Lee Siwoon’s words, Choi Changwon suddenly shrugged his shoulders as if a weight had been lifted off.

“By the way, I didn’t expect Yoo Seolhyun to cooperate. She seemed to dislike Soyeon subtly, right? And Kang Yujung is probably one of her group members, so why would she reveal the truth.”

“….”

“Is it all thanks to you, Siwoon? You’re quite well-connected, Siwoon.”

“….”

“But if you found the culprit, couldn’t you have told us earlier? We’ve been struggling for the past few days for nothing. Oh, right. Do Kim Seoyoon and Kim Yuseong know about it? They’ve been searching everywhere, saying they’ll find those who did that to Soyeon.”

“….Choi Changwon.”

Whispering Choi Changwon’s name softly, Lee Siwoon glanced at me for a moment before nodding and pursing his lips.

“The culprit who instigated Kang Yujung’s behavior is different. Of course, that doesn’t justify Kang Yujung’s actions.”

“What? A culprit who instigated Kang Yujung’s behavior? I can’t believe it…”

Choi Changwon blinked in surprise, showing his bewildered expression. It’s understandable that he’s surprised. He didn’t expect such a revelation.

“Did you find out while questioning Kang Yujung?”

“No. Kang Yujung didn’t even realize she was being manipulated. And she often spoke ill of Soyeon, so there were quite a few people who would support her.”

Lee Siwoon subtly made eye contact with Choi Changwon.

“So it’s difficult to pinpoint one person.”

Since Kang Yujung was expected to be exposed at some point, she must have been manipulated subtly without revealing herself. It was natural to say that.

Originally, Kang Yujung probably intended to reveal herself as the culprit later on.

To win Soyeon’s favor.

“So, what about the real culprit?”

“Choi Changwon, before you say anything, let me give you a chance.”

Suddenly, Lee Siwoon spoke with a cold gaze.

“It’s you.”

“What? No, that’s…”

“The one who instigated Kang Yujung’s resentment.”

“Hey, don’t joke around. What do you mean?”

With a serious look in his eyes, Lee Siwoon spoke again.

“In reality, you’re Soyeon’s stalker.”