The awkwardness and discomfort I felt around Seon Woo Jin at the amusement park naturally faded away with time.

However, his appearance here was unexpected, so I was startled.

Surprised, I spoke.

“What are you doing here?”

Then, Seon Woo Jin showed me his phone screen.

Sung Ji Chan the Stalker

[Hey, Lee Ju Eun is acting weird again, I think she’s going to cause trouble. Go follow her.]

“……”

Wait, what do you mean by ‘again’? When did I ever cause trouble?

As if reading my expression, Seon Woo Jin raised an eyebrow.

“Chun Ja. Have you no conscience?”

“……”

That’s when I realized.

Just as I thought of the Three Stooges and Yoo Hee Na as troublemakers, they also saw me the same way…

With an annoyed look on his face, Seon Woo Jin stuffed his phone into his pocket.

“Whatever you’re here for, you’ll probably cause trouble if left alone, so let’s just go.”

He then gestured with his chin in the opposite direction of the school gate.

“What are you doing, not coming?”

I hesitated for a moment.

Ah… Well, I didn’t come here for no reason either.

I was thinking of going back, but now that I actually had to, I felt a bit reluctant.

‘I haven’t done anything yet.’

I glanced at the gates of Hae Sung Boys’ High School. Male students in high school uniforms were pouring out en masse.

‘I want to grab one of them and ask.’

The original plan was to pretend to be Ryu Tae Geon’s fan club and get information from the Hae Sung students. I don’t know if Ryu Tae Geon actually has a fan club, but… I came here thoughtlessly thinking there might be one in this neighborhood.

‘So… I should go back now.’

Now that Seon Woo Jin was here, today’s operation was already a lost cause.

I turned my head slightly. Seon Woo Jin was still staring at me intently.

‘I have no choice. I’ll come back later.’

I nodded and followed behind Seon Woo Jin.

That’s when it happened.

“Wait!”

Someone roughly grabbed my bag strap from behind.

“Ah!”

“You’re that girl from last time!”

What?

I turned around to see who the man was.

The man was… huh?

“…It’s that crazy bastard.”

I blinked in surprise.

That’s right. The man who stopped me was none other than the guy who catcalled me, leading to my entanglement with the Three Stooges.

Wow, I’m seeing him again here.

Come to think of it, he was from Hae Sung High, right?

I marveled at the makjang development that started again.

The man spoke with a triumphant face.

“You’re in trouble now. Do you know how embarrassed I was because of you that day? Today, I’m going to…”

At that moment, Seon Woo Jin turned around.

The man flinched belatedly upon seeing his face.

“Eek, eeek!”

He gets scared so diligently every time… It’s really rewarding to tease him.

Seon Woo Jin frowned at the man and pulled me towards him.

“Why are you attracting weird things again?”

I know, right…

At this point, I think I’m a magnet for stalkers. Is this the fate of a possessed person?

Seon Woo Jin thought for a moment, then frowned slightly and opened his mouth.

“Don’t tell me you came to meet him?”

Are you crazy?

Fortunately, my expression seemed to be enough of an answer, so Seon Woo Jin didn’t ask further.

The man looked at us, then spat on the ground.

“Tsk, annoying bastards… Wh-what are you looking at!”

No… I thought he would have run away by now, but I’m surprised he’s still here.

I guess he hasn’t learned his lesson even after what happened last time. Does he think this is his home ground?

Seon Woo Jin seemed to find it bothersome to even deal with him, so he just glanced at the man once and said to me,

“You have nothing to say to that jerk, right?”

“Huh? Y-yeah.”

“Then let’s go.”

At that, the man shouted as if having a fit.

“Wh-what did you say? Hey! Are you ignoring me right now!”

Seon Woo Jin ignored him and turned around. I obediently followed behind him.

I slightly turned my head to peek at what the man was doing.

‘He’s just talking and not making a move.’

He acts tough, but I guess he’s still scared to face Seon Woo Jin after all.

The man waved his arms and yelled something.

“Hey, if I catch you guys next time, I won’t let you off easy! XX. Ptooey.”

At that moment, a good idea occurred to me.

“Hey, Seon Woo Jin.”

I urgently tapped the shoulder of Seon Woo Jin who was walking ahead. Then I pointed at the man.

“Grab that bastard for me.”

[This is the timeline separator]

And so, I kidnapped the guy from Hae Sung High.

‘Why am I doing this?’

The thought suddenly occurred to me, but I ignored it. I felt like I would regret it if I came to my senses.

I guess I’ve been tainted by this novel too… I started feeling strange.

“Ugh… What are you trying to do to me!”

The man, tightly tied to a chair with a rope, shouted. I spoke irritably.

“Ah, please be quiet for a bit.”

“Wh-what did you say!”

It seemed like he would make more noise, so I just covered my ears and went over to Seon Woo Jin.

Seon Woo Jin was sitting on a chair abandoned in a corner of the abandoned building, spacing out.

As I approached, Seon Woo Jin looked up. Our eyes met.

“Ju Eun.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I say one thing?”

“What?”

“You’re… the weirdest person I know.”

“……”

I ignored him and sat on the chair next to him. Seon Woo Jin said,

“Let’s try to live normally, please.”

To think the day would come when I’d hear those words from him.

I never thought I’d hear that from one of the most abnormal characters in this novel.

‘Let’s not pay attention to it.’

I let it go in one ear and out the other.

The place I was in right now was the abandoned building where Yoo Hee Na had been kidnapped before.

After we grabbed the man on the street earlier, we knocked him out and brought him here.

How did we knock him out? When Seon Woo Jin struck somewhere, he suddenly went limp.

‘…How exactly did he do it?’

I was curious but didn’t ask. As long as it helped, it’s fine.

‘Well then, what do we do now?’

I sat on the chair and stared at the man who was still ranting.

‘I should ask him about Ryu Tae Geon, right?’

Judging by his behavior, he seems to be a low-ranking member who doesn’t know much… But there should still be some information he knows since they go to the same school.

‘Anyway, let’s see if there’s anything that could be a clue to the happy ending.’

After roughly organizing the questions in my head, I approached the man again.

“First, your name is…”

I looked at the name tag on the left side of the man’s chest and frowned.

“Kim Deok Pal?”

It was an annoying name that sounded like it belonged to a comedic extra character.

Sometimes there are kids with names like this who try to be funny even though they’re not, wasting screen time.

‘I’m afraid he might secretly try to get more screen time.’

I really hope I don’t see him anymore in the future.

“…Well, whatever. Anyway, Mr. Kim Deok Pal? I have something to ask you.”

At my words, Kim Deok Pal flared up.

“Wh-what! What’s wrong with my name!”

“Ah, I said it doesn’t matter. Don’t waste screen time and listen to what I’m saying.”

I went straight to the point.

“Mr. Kim Deok Pal, are you by any chance close with Ryu Tae Geon?”

“Focus?”

That damn ‘focus’ again.

Kim Deok Pal looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“…Why are you asking about Focus?”

I answered nonchalantly, not hiding my displeasure.

“Because I want him to be happy.”

“Liar!”

It’s true though.

But Kim Deok Pal, unable to understand my deep intentions, thrashed around and exploded.

“You brought Sick Boy here and you’re talking about happiness? Don’t make me laugh! You came here to fight, didn’t you?”

“Oh.”

I exclaimed in admiration.

“You recognize him?”

“Of course I do!”

Kim Deok Pal said arrogantly.

“I may look like this, but I was part of the 8th Hae Sung Action Unit! You think I wouldn’t recognize one of the Three Stooges?”

You didn’t recognize them last time…

The person who couldn’t recognize Sung Ji Chan that day and ran away in a hurry after finding out later was none other than the brazen Mr. Kim Deok Pal.

By the way, wasn’t Choi Yu Han the action unit leader?

It was clearly mentioned in the original work that Choi Yu Han was the leader.

‘Kim Deok Pal is probably lying.’

Unless there are two action unit leaders at Hae Sung High.

At that moment, Seon Woo Jin, who had been listening to the entire conversation, suddenly intervened.

“Lee Ju Eun.”

I turned my head towards Seon Woo Jin.

“A guy like Ryu Tae Geon was your type?”

Another misunderstanding has started. I’m too tired to respond to each one now.

“My type?”

Seon Woo Jin raised an eyebrow as if dissatisfied. I don’t know what he’s so upset about… Ryu Tae Geon isn’t actually my type anyway, so it doesn’t matter. I spoke to Kim Deok Pal again.

“We didn’t come here to fight.”

“I don’t believe you!”

He’s really a tiresome person.

“I don’t care if you believe me or not. If you want to go back quickly, cooperate a little.”

At that, Kim Deok Pal shut his mouth.

Finally, some peace and quiet. I started the interrogation in earnest.

“First, about Ryu Tae Geon… So, Mr. Kim Deok Pal, are you close with Focus or not?”

Kim Deok Pal opened his mouth hesitantly.

“…W-we’re close.”

I don’t really believe him, but I nodded for now.

“That’s good. Then do you know what Ryu Tae Geon likes?”

“What?”

“Mr. Kim Deok Pal, what do you think would make Ryu Tae Geon happy?”

“Happy? Were you serious about that?”

“Yes.”

I said calmly.

“I sincerely wish for Ryu Tae Geon to be happy.”

So that I can go home.

But as expected, it was as expected.

“I-I don’t know about that stuff! Even if I did, you think I’d tell the enemy?”

I anticipated this, but he’s really unhelpful. Should I provoke him and see if he takes the bait?

I said sarcastically, trying my best.

“You just aren’t close with him, so you don’t know, right?”

“N-n-n-no, that’s not it!”

Kim Deok Pal shouted in a panic.

“I’m telling you, I used to be the 8th leader of the Hae Sung Action Unit!”

“Wasn’t that a lie?”

“No!”

Kim Deok Pal flared up.

“It’s not a lie! I was originally the action unit leader!”

I found it hard to believe.

‘Sounds like a lie…’

No matter how much of a villain Hae Sung High is, Ryu Tae Geon doesn’t seem stupid enough to have someone like this as the action unit leader.

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Kim Deok Pal. Then Kim Deok Pal gnashed his teeth as if filled with anger.

“…This is all because of that bastard.”

That bastard?

I reflexively perked up my ears.

Kim Deok Pal spoke with an indignant expression.

“If only that bastard hadn’t suddenly transferred here…”

That’s when it happened.

“Ah, so you were here.”

A new voice appeared inside the abandoned building.

I flinched for a moment.

Footsteps echoed in the quiet building. Someone was approaching, one step at a time.

‘Who is it?’

For some reason, my body tensed up.

I slowly turned around.

“I’ve been looking for a while.”

Finally, the man reached me.

He smiled brightly.

“Hello.”

The identity of the unexpected guest was none other than Choi Yu Han.