At first, Ra-hee thought it was just coincidence — seeing Byun-woo near her class during break, or catching him walking behind her after dismissal. But the pattern didn't stop. He seemed to show up wherever she went.
The first time she felt uneasy was after cram school. She turned around and saw him half a block away, pretending to check his phone.
That night, she told her friend Do-ra everything.
"Maybe it's nothing," Do-ra said, but her voice was tight. "Still… I think we should tell someone."
By the next morning, Do-ra had try to speak to Jin-ho, the head boy of the school, Ra-hee felt like she could breathe again.
When Jin-ho finally listened to Do-ra, he didn't look alarmed at all.
"That's just how boys act," he said, shrugging. "They follow the girl they like around. It's normal."
Ra-hee stared at him, waiting for a different answer — a promise to help, or at least to talk to a teacher. Nothing came.
On the way home, she kicked a pebble down the sidewalk, her chest tight.
If everyone thought it was normal, then who would believe her when it didn't feel normal?