Honestly, it was a turn of events he never saw coming. All Seo Jae-ha had hoped for was some kind of solution or advice on why he couldn’t sleep—not a confirmation of the pervert’s true identity. Worse yet, judging from what the shaman had said, it felt like that pervert had been telling the truth all along.
I mean, seriously—who in their right mind would believe that off the bat? Jae-ha grumbled to himself. Why the hell would someone that important be running around naked pulling a pervert stunt? If the guy had shown up in normal clothes and said all that, he might have been a little more inclined to believe him. Maybe.
He went home with a mess of thoughts and fell asleep, only to be awakened not long after. The nightmares—after just a single night of respite—had returned with a vengeance, as if they’d never left.
His clothes were soaked in cold sweat. Jae-ha ruffled his hair in frustration. It was the familiar start of another sleepless night.
Tossing and turning through shallow sleep, he finally dragged himself to school for morning classes. Of course, he looked like a complete wreck.
Thud. As he dropped his bag on the desk, Jihyang’s eyes widened.
“What the heck? Are you sick?”
“Nah, just didn’t sleep well.”
“So, what happened at the fortune teller’s? Didn’t they say anything?”
Jae-ha responded flatly.
“Didn’t really help.”
“Ugh, scam artist?”
“Not that. They actually nailed a few other things.”
“Like what?”
“Told me I’ve got a great fate. Said I’ll live a worry-free life.”
“Ahaha, really?”
Giggling, Jihyang gave him a playful pat on the shoulder and offered a cheerful wish that it’d come true. But seeing how clearly worn out he looked, she quickly offered some mercy by holding out the coffee she’d been drinking.
“Want some?”
He’d been desperate for caffeine anyway. Taking the cup, Jae-ha unscrewed the lid and chugged it. The cold drink hit him just right, jumpstarting his foggy brain.
“Thanks.”
“Wow, you really drank all of it? What happened to your conscience?”
“Left it in my dream, I guess.”
As he handed back the now-empty cup, Jihyang gave him an incredulous look and raised her fist. He let her tiny punches land lazily on his shoulder.
That’s when a voice came from nearby.
“Um…”
They both turned toward it. A girl sitting one seat over from Jae-ha looked a little flustered as she held out a can.
“I, um, somehow ended up with an extra coffee. If you don’t mind, would you two like to have it?”
“Oh… thank you.”
Jae-ha, being the closer one, instinctively accepted it. Jihyang bowed her head in gratitude as well. The girl, who looked freshly twenty at most, hesitated for a second, then cautiously asked,
“Um, but, by any chance…”
“Yes?”
“Could I ask what cologne you’re wearing?”
Her voice trailed off into a murmur—Because it smells really nice…
Jae-ha blinked slowly.
“I don’t wear cologne.”
“Oh, I see. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s nothing to apologize for…”
The girl awkwardly nodded, then gave a small bow before sitting up straight and going back to tapping on her phone like nothing had happened. Her calm demeanor made Jae-ha and Jihyang return to their usual positions as well.
“Being next to Seo Jae-ha is like a coffee magnet. You’re literally a walking freebie.”
“What are you even saying?”
Jae-ha lightly scolded her and cracked open the can. He poured the coffee into the empty cup, still full of ice, and Jihyang gave him an exaggerated bow in thanks.
After finishing the last few sips left in the can, Jae-ha leaned back heavily in his chair. Even with the caffeine kicking in, the accumulated exhaustion made his body melt into drowsiness.
It wasn’t the first time this had happened. People asking what cologne he used was a question that popped up now and then in his life. About 80% of the time, it was flirtation—but surprisingly, the remaining 20% were genuinely just curious, like that girl earlier.
What made it strange was that, while Jae-ha took decent care of his appearance and liked dressing up, he never used cologne. He found it a hassle, and the fact that cologne had an expiration date just made things worse. After tossing out several barely-used bottles, he had to admit that he just wasn’t the type to consistently use fragrance.
Still, with so many people bringing it up, he had to admit—something about him must smell. But what the hell were they picking up on? His shampoo? But he used the same stuff everyone else did…
“Do I smell?”
At that, Jihyang leaned in and sniffed. Jae-ha lowered himself a bit for her shorter frame, and she managed to get her nose just up to his collarbone.
“Not really? But it does smell kinda fresh.”
Jihyang, apparently unbothered, gave a half-hearted reply. Jae-ha straightened up with a soft hmm of acknowledgment. Well, it’s not like they were asking because he smelled bad, so there wasn’t really any reason to worry or try to fix anything.
Class was, as always, boring. It had only been about ten minutes since the professor’s droning, monotonous voice began filling the lecture hall, and already, several students had their heads buried on their desks.
Jae-ha did everything he could to fend off the wave of drowsiness creeping in. But for a mere undergrad, holding out against a veteran professor’s soporific assault was no small feat—especially on a day like this when he was already running on empty.
“Where you going?”
“Bathroom.”
Eventually, he stood up. A splash of water on his face might help shake him out of this fog.
Jihyang, busy scribbling notes, barely waved him off. Even while distracted, she didn’t take her eyes off the blackboard—now that was some real concentration. As expected of a model student.
The hallway outside was quiet, as it was still lecture time. Jae-ha leaned over the sink in the bathroom and let out a long sigh. A few splashes of cold water to the face helped clear the haze in his head.
“I seriously need to do something about this…”
At this rate, sleep deprivation was going to kill him. So much for that “worry-free life” prediction… then again, an early death would technically mean fewer hardships.
Maybe he should check out another shaman. If he offered enough money, someone would probably perform a proper ritual. Maybe he should hit up Yoon-taek again…
As he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone—clinging to what remained of his awareness—
Thud. His heart gave a violent jolt.
‘What the hell?’
His eyelids fluttered slowly. The outer edge of his dark pupils deepened. A strange, creeping sense of wrongness spread throughout his body, pulsing in sync with his heartbeat. Time itself seemed to stretch unnaturally. The cold of the marble beneath his palms went dull in an instant, and a sensation like floating—weightless, disconnected—wrapped around him.
Blink. His mind wavered, then abruptly snapped back into clarity.
“……”
Frowning slightly, he looked around, feeling like he’d just woken from a dream. But nothing seemed out of place. He was still alone in the empty bathroom, cheeks damp with leftover water. The strange, surreal atmosphere had completely vanished.
‘…Was I imagining things?’ He took a breath, and that’s when—
“Sunbae!”
A firm grip suddenly yanked him by the waist.
His body, which had been moving forward, was jerked back violently. He stumbled, and something solid pressed against his back. The jolt snapped him out of his haze like a bucket of cold water.
“Gah…!”
He sucked in air like someone resurfacing from deep underwater, his chest expanding sharply. A beat later, his surroundings came into focus.
Deep navy waters shimmered slowly before his eyes. The breeze brushed against his damp cheeks. Jae-ha blinked again, finally recognizing where he was.
He stood just steps away from the lake next to campus—so close the water lapped gently just ahead of him, glinting darkly even beneath the glaring midday sun. He had long since crossed the temporary safety fence meant to keep people out. One more step and he would’ve fallen right in.
He had just been in the bathroom inside the building. How the hell did he get here? His memory was a complete blank. It was like he’d been possessed.
“Are you okay?”
A voice called out from behind him. It sounded slightly shaken, but strangely familiar. Jae-ha turned to see who had saved him.
“You… are you a stalker?”
The pervert shot back indignantly, as if genuinely offended.
“Excuse you! I go to this school too, you know.”
“…Really?”
Now that he looked, the guy was wearing a plain sweatshirt and had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. If this was a disguise, it was an oddly elaborate one.
“Thanks. I could’ve died just now.”
The lake was fairly large, but the school didn’t invest much in landscaping, so the area always felt barren. As a result, hardly anyone came around. Right now, there wasn’t a single other soul in sight—just Jae-ha and the pervert. Suspicious circumstances or not, if it weren’t for him, Jae-ha might have fallen in and drowned for real.
But instead of replying, the pervert kept his arms wrapped around Jae-ha and turned him around to face him. His intense gaze scanned every inch of Jae-ha’s body like a stern doctor mid-exam, and those large hands began sweeping across his face.
