Chapter 24 — The Campus ‘No-Stalking’ Agreement

The air in the Literature Department’s seminar room was thick with the scent of floor wax and the mounting anxiety of mid-terms.

Professor Han Yoon-seok, a man who possessed a legendary level of perceptiveness regarding literature but a catastrophic lack of awareness regarding student safety, stood at the podium. He leaned back, adjusting his glasses, his gaze drifting over the small class.

His eyes lingered on the third row. There sat Han Jae-in, looking as though he had aged five years in the last three weeks. Flanking him were Seo Yuri, the vice president of the student council, and Min Chaerin, the department’s most energetic social butterfly. In the shadows of the back row, Kuroe Hana sat motionless, her eyes fixed on the back of Jae-in’s head like a heat-seeking missile.

The professor chuckled, a dry, academic sound. "I must say, I am impressed by the… dedication of this year’s cohort. I see the same faces together in every lecture, every café, even in the halls after hours. It’s heartening to see such academic synergy."

Jae-in felt a cold sweat break out on his lower back.

"However," Professor Han continued, a playful glint in his eyes, "let’s try to keep it within the bounds of sanity, shall we? I’ve had reports from the janitorial staff about students lingering in the stairwells and near the faculty offices until midnight. Let’s make a pact: No stalking each other for the rest of the semester. Focus on the texts, not the classmates. It’s an official 'No-Stalking' agreement."

The class laughed. It was a joke. To the other students, it was a lighthearted comment about overzealous study groups. To Jae-in, it was the sound of a starting pistol for a race toward madness.

He could practically hear the gears in the girls' heads grinding as they reprocessed the professor’s "order."

'An official directive from faculty,' Yuri’s internal voice sharpened into a high-priority memo. 'Stalking is defined as illicit surveillance. If it is labeled as "stalking," it is a breach of student conduct and a threat to my social standing. I must pivot. I will not follow him; I will simply be where he is going before he arrives. It’s not stalking if it’s "pre-arranged logistics."'

'No stalking?' Chaerin’s thoughts were a frantic, wounded flutter. 'Is he talking about me? Does the professor think I’m scary? I’m not scary! I’m a childhood friend! Childhood friends don’t stalk; they accompany. It’s a habit! We’ve always been like this! If I stop seeing him, my heart will stop. The professor is trying to kill me. He’s trying to kill our love!'

'Stalking: improper term,' Hana’s mind rumbled with a cold, rhythmic pulse. 'Stalking is predatory. My actions are protective. However, the objective has been compromised. The "observer" status is now a liability. Transitioning to "open guardianship." If I cannot watch from the shadows, I will watch from the light. I will become his visible shield.'

Professor Han dismissed the class, unaware that he had just forced three apex predators to change their hunting strategies.

As Jae-in packed his bag, the girls didn't move. They waited for him to stand. It was the same ritual every day, but today, there was a strange, vibrating tension in the air. They had formed a temporary, silent ceasefire based on the professor’s words. They wouldn’t stalk each other—they would just all converge on the same point with devastating transparency.

"Jae-in," Yuri said, her voice a model of composure. "To comply with the professor’s request for 'sanity,' I have decided that we should walk to our next location in a formalized manner. No lingering. No shadows. Just a direct, professional transit. I will accompany you to ensure no one… 'stalks' you."

"I'll walk on your other side!" Chaerin cried, leaping to her feet and grabbing his arm. Her thoughts were a mess of: 'If I’m touching him, it’s not stalking! It’s physical contact! Contact is the opposite of stalking! He’s my boyfriend in my head, and boyfriends don't mind their girlfriends holding on for dear life.'

"I will walk behind," Hana’s voice came from the back of the room, startling the few remaining students. She approached with slow, deliberate steps. 'Open visibility. I am not a ghost. I am a fact. A fact that stands six feet behind Han Jae-in at all times.'

Jae-in sighed, his shoulders slumped. "Guys, the professor was just joking. You don't have to take it so literally."

"A joke is a social mask for a structural concern," Yuri replied, her eyes narrowing as she mentally mapped out the hallway. 'He thinks I’m a stalker. I must prove I am a Partner. Partners have schedules. I will send him a Google Calendar invite for the walk to the cafeteria.'

[Invitation: Transit to Lunch. Organizer: Seo Yuri. Location: Walking beside Han Jae-in.]

Jae-in’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn't even have to look at it.

As they stepped out of the classroom, the "Ceasefire" began. To any outsider, it looked like Jae-in was being escorted by the campus elite and a bodyguard. It was a parade of obsession that felt more public and more humiliating than the subtle following of the previous weeks.

They reached the main hallway, a narrow artery of the Literature Department. Because of the crowd, the girls had to stay close.

"Oh!" Chaerin squeaked, pretending to trip over a perfectly flat floor tile. She fell against Jae-in, her chest pressing firmly into his shoulder. "The professor’s words… they made me so nervous, my legs are like jelly! Hold me up, Jae-in-ah!"

'He caught me! He’s so strong,' her mind sang. 'This isn't stalking. This is "accidental support." The professor can't ban accidents. I should trip every five minutes. I’ll turn the whole walk into a series of falls.'

Yuri’s thoughts flared with irritation. 'Inefficient. A clumsy display. If she continues this, she will impede our transit time. I must provide a more stable counter-weight.'

Yuri reached out and took Jae-in’s other hand—not a romantic hand-hold, but a firm, administrative grip, as if she were leading a child through a busy airport. "Stay steady, Jae-in. I’ll ensure we maintain a consistent pace. Efficiency is the best deterrent for unwanted attention."

'His hand is warm,' Yuri’s mind whispered beneath the logic. 'I should never let go. If I keep holding him, I always know where he is. No GPS required. No stalking. Just... tactile management.'

Behind them, the sound of heavy boots echoed. Hana was walking with military precision, keeping exactly two paces behind Jae-in’s heels. Whenever a student tried to pass them, she would step slightly to the side, blocking their path with her shoulder, forcing them to take the long way around.

'Obstacle removed,' Hana thought as she nudged a bewildered freshman into the lockers. 'Perimeter integrity: 100%. If I am visible, the "stalking" accusation is void. I am a sentinel. Sentinels are honored. Stalkers are shunned. I am honored to be his shadow in the light.'

Jae-in felt like he was being moved by a specialized transport team. He tried to pull his hand back from Yuri, but her grip was like a vice. He tried to nudge Chaerin off his arm, but she only clung tighter, her thoughts looping about how "safe" she felt when she was "bonded" to him.

"You guys are being… a lot," Jae-in said, his voice flat.

"We are being 'less extreme,' as per the agreement," Yuri corrected him, her eyes fixed forward. 'I have already suppressed three impulses to follow him into the restroom. I am exercising incredible restraint.'

"Yeah! We’re following the rules!" Chaerin added, her eyes bright and slightly crazed. 'If I follow the rules, he’ll reward me. Maybe he’ll give me a kiss on the cheek. Or a ring. A ring is a rule! The rule of marriage!'

They reached the courtyard, a wide-open space where the "stalking" agreement was put to the test. Usually, the girls would hang back or watch from a distance. Now, they clustered closer.

"I need to fix your collar," Hana said, suddenly appearing in front of him.

She reached out with her calloused hands and straightened the lapel of his coat. Her thoughts were a static-filled void of: 'Must touch.

Must mark. Ensure he is prepared for the environment. I am his armor.'

"And your hair is a mess from Chaerin leaning on you," Yuri said, using her free hand to brush his bangs away from his forehead. 'I am the one who maintains his image. I am the one who makes him presentable to the world.'

"I’ll fix his tie!" Chaerin cried, shoving her way into the middle.

For a moment, Jae-in was completely surrounded. Three sets of hands were on him—adjusting, smoothing, clinging. The scent of Yuri’s perfume, Chaerin’s strawberry lotion, and the faint, metallic scent of Hana’s leather jacket overwhelmed him.

'Mine,' Yuri thought. 'Ours,' Chaerin corrected. 'Protected,' Hana finalized.

It was an ecchi-comedy nightmare. Jae-in stood frozen as they "maintained" him in the middle of the courtyard. Students passed by, whispering and pointing.

"Is that Han Jae-in?" "Man, I wish I was him." "It looks kind of… intense, doesn't it?"

Jae-in’s eyes met Sunhee’s as she walked toward the library. She stopped, looked at the tangle of limbs and obsessive grooming happening in the center of the courtyard, and her jaw dropped.

"Jae-in? Are you… okay? You look like you're being dismantled," Sunhee said, her voice filled with genuine concern.

The three girls stopped instantly. Their heads turned in unison to look at Sunhee.

'The Interference,' Yuri thought. 'The Predator,' Chaerin’s mind hissed. 'The Target,' Hana noted.

"He is being maintained," Yuri said, her voice dropping an octave. "As per the professor's request for sanity. We are ensuring his well-being in a transparent, non-stalking manner. Don't you have a library to be in, Sunhee?"

'I will assign her to a group project with the most difficult students in the engineering department,' Yuri’s mind planned. 'She will be too busy with blueprints to ever see the sun again.'

Sunhee blinked, her eyes darting from Yuri’s smile to the way Chaerin was currently trying to hide her face in Jae-in’s neck. "Right. Sanity. Totally. I’ll just… I’ll go. Good luck, Jae-in. You look like you need it."

Sunhee bolted.

"See?" Chaerin giggled, pulling back but keeping her hand firmly in Jae-in’s pocket. "We’re being so normal that even Sunhee is impressed!"

Jae-in looked at the sky. He wanted to tell them that "normal" people didn't have Google Calendar invites for walking. He wanted to tell them that "normal" people didn't use their backpacks as area-denial weapons. But he knew it wouldn't matter.

The "No-Stalking Agreement" hadn't fixed anything. It had just removed the last bit of distance he had. Before, he could at least pretend they weren't there when he couldn't see them. Now, they were making sure he always saw them. They were hiding in plain sight, using the rules of the university to justify their presence.

As they reached the cafeteria, Yuri finally let go of his hand—only to point to a specific chair she had already wiped down with a disinfectant wipe.

"Sit," she said. 'I have optimized the seating for maximum visibility and minimum intrusion.'

"I'll get the trays!" Chaerin said. 'I'll get him the extra-large portion. A full stomach makes him docile.'

"I will watch the perimeter," Hana said, standing behind his chair like a silent, brooding statue.

Jae-in sat down, the weight of their attention pressing on him like a physical burden. He realized that the professor’s joke had been a curse. By trying to ban stalking, he had accidentally legalized possession.

The thoughts in his head were a roaring, joyous chorus of victory. They weren't stalkers anymore. They were "companions." They were "guardians." They were "partners."

And Jae-in was simply the territory they had agreed to share.

He picked up his chopsticks, his hands still shaking slightly from the "grooming" in the courtyard. He looked at Yuri, who was smiling at him with terrifying pride.

"You're doing so well, Jae-in," she said.

'He is mine,' her thoughts echoed, louder than the clatter of the cafeteria. 'And the best part is, the professor told me to stay this close.'

Jae-in took a bite of his rice, tasting nothing. He realized then that in Seiren University, the rules didn't protect you. They just gave the madness a more formal name.