“Then why are you telling me now?”
"that…!"
“What is it?”
“You keep… keep catching my eye.”
“Because it got trampled on…? What…what does that mean…?”
"N... You keep!! Keep... coming closer to me..."
"No, then you can't even make friends...?"
“Do you know why I always come to school at the same time and sit in the same seat?”
"...What is it?"
"I live by the routine set by the surveillance team my father put me under. Because someone is watching my actions, I never think about becoming close to anyone."
And Sanghyuk thought to himself.
'I'm afraid you'll be in danger... This will be your first and last act of rebellion.'
"Ah.. So you're just going to give up like this? No matter how scary your father is, this is just too much... How can you live like that?!"
"Huh.... I see"
Sanghyuk bowed his head for a moment, catching his breath through the grass, and gazed at her silently. Sunlight swept across his face, but his expression was shadowed.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"Today's events have already been reported to my father, and you're probably under investigation as well. That's... my fault."
Hannah thought to herself.
"Is what I'm hearing real? How can this happen in the 21st century?"
"Hannah, should we do a play? We need to change the game before those people come."
"theater?"
"Yeah. You and I, we're just acting like it's something that happened between school friends."
'That's the only way to protect you... right now.'
"What are you going to do?"
"You're a stalker who follows me around. I'm just an extremely annoying student... right?"
The moment Haena saw it, anger welled up in her.
“...Wow!! You want to get behind me? Why am I your stalker!! Ugh!!”
"Shut up!! We're hiding right now, aren't we?"
"That's why...;; Do we really have to do such a ridiculous play....;;;"
Sanghyuk said calmly.
"This is the best way. It should look like a simple incident between school friends. That way, you'll be safe, and I'll... get through it without any problems."
Hannah nodded with a deep sigh.
“…Okay. I understand. Are you going to let me off the hook just this once?”
"If you say one... two... I'll yell at you and tell you to stop following me, so you can pretend to be disappointed and go home, okay?
"okay.."
One... two...
"Hey, Kang Hae-na!!! You stop following me around, I'm really... really sick of it."
"M... What are you tired of? G... Okay!! What are you going to do if you're tired of it?"
".... Stop it.... This is really my last request."
"... Oh, hold on, okay, just for today, I... I'll go, you're lucky, Lee Sang-hyeok!!"
From that day on, the two continued to perform ‘plays’ at school.
Hannah acted as a stalker, deliberately approaching Sanghyuk and pretending to talk to him.
Sanghyuk tried to distance himself from Haena by deliberately acting annoyed in his eyes and speech.
Even during breaks, Hae-na deliberately kept her distance, and even at lunch, whenever she encountered Sang-hyeok, she deliberately turned her face away. Sang-hyeok remained in the same spot, at the same time, staring out the window. His actions were once again completely aligned with routine.
Hannah honestly wondered how long this play would continue.
'So... when can I talk to you again, Lee Sang-hyeok...'
Haena's heart was strangely fluttering, but she held it in silence because it was a play for Sanghyuk.
As the play progressed, the suspicious man appeared again near the school.
He was peeking out the classroom window to check on Hana and Sanghyuk.
After a while, he took out his cell phone and spoke in a low, mechanical voice.
“Target A… No routine abnormalities. Report complete.”
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And the next day, Sanghyuk didn't show up at school.
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Continued in the next episode >>