It was 7:30 AM.
This was my standard time of arrival. The classroom was completely empty, which was the only reason I bothered showing up this early in the first place. I preferred the silence.
Before the herd of loud, energetic teenagers arrived to fill the room with biological noise, the classroom was actually quite peaceful. The morning sunlight filtered through the large windows, catching the faint dust motes suspended in the air. I sat at my desk in the back row, enjoying the brief, undisturbed sanctuary.
A few minutes passed. Then, the sliding glass door at the front of the room rattled open.
I glanced up. Hori Seiji walked in.
This was highly unusual. Hori typically arrived exactly five minutes before the homeroom bell rang. He was a creature of strict habit. Maybe he had a change of heart about his morning routine, or perhaps he had a specific, unavoidable objective today. Given his rigid personality, it was likely the latter.
He walked down the aisle, his posture as impeccable as ever, and sat down in his chair at Row 8, Column 5. He placed his bag on the floor, sat up straight, and stared at the empty whiteboard at the front of the room.
I ignored him and looked down at my desk.
"The class decided to form study groups," Hori said out of nowhere. His voice cut through the quiet room like a knife.
I did not respond. I kept my eyes on the desk.
"As preparation for the midterm exams," he continued, completely unbothered by my silence. "I shared the notes I've written during the first month. The rest of them didn't write anything down during April, so they are entirely useless on their own."
That was unexpectedly generous of him. It seemed the threat of the Seat Economy had finally forced his hand. He was likely sharing his notes because our collective failure would result in his own downfall or the permanent consequence to the class. It was an act of pure self-preservation disguised as teamwork.
"However," Hori added, his tone dropping into a dark, irritated register. "There are three guys who flatly refused to participate in the study group."
He revealed the names. Sugimoto Ken, the muscular delinquent who spent lectures sleeping. Igarashi Kanji, a loudmouthed boy who spent his time bragging about things he did not actually own. And Utsuroda Haruki, a guy who constantly tried to make jokes that no one laughed at.
I recognized the three of them perfectly. They were a triad. Three extroverts who operated purely on impulse, and they were the type of people who were incredibly hard to deal with.
I continued to ignore him. I had no interest in the academic suicide of those three.
But Hori did not look away. I could feel his stare piercing the side of my head. It possessed the same intensity as a laser level used in construction—perfectly straight, unblinking, and mildly annoying. He was clearly waiting for a response, and he was not going to stop staring until he got one.
I let out a quiet, internal sigh and turned my head to look at him.
"Maybe they are confident in their academic ability," I said, offering the most logical, albeit highly unlikely, excuse. "We never had a single written quiz during April. So we don't know yet if they're capable or not. Perhaps they study efficiently at the dorm."
Hori scoffed. It was a harsh, condescending sound. "They openly told the whole class they're not good with academics. They bragged about the fact that they hate studying. If we let them be, they will fail the midterms. If they fail, they will default on their rent, and our class standing will be irreparably hurt."
He paused, his jaw tightening so hard I thought he might crack a tooth.
"I'm forming a study group with them," Hori said, the words sounding like physical poison in his mouth. "I will be tutoring them myself."
I blinked. I could not help but think this was a terrible idea. Hori possessed zero patience and absolute disdain for anyone he deemed intellectually inferior. Putting him in a room with three loud guys was a recipe for a fistfight, not an academic breakthrough.
"Can you really convince them to join?" I asked.
Hori slowly turned his head. He checked the sliding glass door at the front, and then the door at the back, ensuring both were completely closed and no early arrivals were lingering in the hallway. Once he confirmed the perimeter was secure, he looked back at me.
"Of course not," he stated bluntly. "They are fools and exceptionally hard to deal with. They resent me because I'm smarter than them. But I have someone who's going to help me convince them."
"I see," I replied, turning my attention back to my desk. "Good luck to that someone who's going to do the job."
"Good luck to you, then," Hori said smoothly. "You are that someone who's going to help me."
I paused. I slowly turned my head back to him. I analyzed his statement in my mind.
He's crazy.
How is he thinking I could do it? I lack the basic social skills to execute that kind of task. I could not even manage a standard self-introduction without making the room awkward. Approaching three loud, aggressive boys and convincing them to sit down for a tutoring session is probably the worst possible assignment for someone like me.
"I respectfully decline," I said simply.
"This is for our class," Hori pressed, his eyes narrowing. "If you won't help me, I will make you regret it. I will follow you around. I will follow you to the cafeteria. I will stand next to you during your break time, and I will sit with you during lunch. I will completely destroy the silence in your environment."
I stared at him. That would be burdensome.
Is he bluffing?
I looked at his expression. He did not look like he was bluffing.
What if he's serious?
"That would make you a stalker," I pointed out, maintaining my flat tone. "A guy relentlessly following a quiet girl around the school. That would be very bad for your own pristine image."
"I do not care," Hori said, his voice completely devoid of hesitation. "I do not care if I am labeled as a creepy pervert by the entire school for the next three years, as long as I reach Class A."
I stared at him in mild disbelief. This guy is completely crazy. He was a student who prided himself on his superiority and elite status. Yet here he was, calmly stating his willingness to become a registered social deviant just to force my cooperation.
"Those three people are guys," I argued, trying to find a logical exit to this conversation. "I'm a girl, you know. It would be incredibly awkward if a girl like me approaches three scary guys out of nowhere. Why don't you do it, since you are a guy?"
"That's exactly why you should do it," Hori countered without missing a beat. "Because you are a girl. I am a boy. They view me as an arrogant rival. They won't listen to a single word I say. But you... they might listen to you simply because you are a girl speaking to them. Idiots are simple like that."
This is ridiculous.
Before I could point out the flaws in his gender-based psychological warfare, the warning bell rang, signaling the start of homeroom. The conversation ended. Students began filtering into the room and filled the space with noise.
I thought the issue was temporarily paused. I was wrong. The stalking began immediately.
When the bell for the morning break rang, I stood up from my desk to go to the vending machines in the hallway. I wanted to buy water. I walked out the door. I heard footsteps about three meters behind me.
I stopped. The footsteps stopped.
I looked over my shoulder. Hori was standing there, his hands in his pockets, staring blankly at the lockers.
I walked to the vending machine. He followed. I paid and pressed the button. The bottle dropped. I picked it up. Hori stood right next to me. He did not buy anything. He stood in my peripheral vision, radiating an aura of intense, judgmental pressure.
During lunch, the situation escalated. I took my tray to a secluded, quiet corner of the cafeteria, hoping to eat my meal in peace. I had just picked up my chopsticks when a tray slammed down onto the table directly across from me.
I looked up. It was Hori.
He sat down. He crossed his arms and stared directly at my face.
"I will follow you around. I will destroy your silence," he recited, repeating the exact words from the morning in a deadpan, robotic monotone.
A group of girls at the neighboring table stopped eating. They glanced in our direction, whispering behind their hands.
"Is he staring at her?" one of them muttered.
"That's so creepy," another answered back.
Hori heard them but he did not even flinch. He kept staring at me, fully embracing his new identity as a cafeteria creep. I ate my food in complete, agonizing silence.
After class finally ended at 3:30 PM, I packed my bag and immediately left the building. I walked down the paved path toward the dormitories. The afternoon sun was warm. The campus was crowded with students heading to their clubs or to the mall.
The crunch of gravel under my shoes was accompanied by a second set of footsteps. Step for step. Pace for pace. He was treating this like a military escort mission.
I stopped walking. I thought about the variables.
This is causing a lot of complications. People around us might start rumors if I don't take immediate action on this.
'The quiet girl from Class D has a stalker,' or worse, 'Those two are secretly dating.'
Both scenarios are catastrophic.
I turned around. Hori, who was following closely behind, had already stopped in his tracks the exact moment I did.
"Are you really going to do this, Mr. Stalker?" I asked, looking at his entirely unbothered face.
"I'm going to do this until the morning of the exam," Hori replied calmly. "As I told you, I don't care about being called a creepy pervert. I'll stand outside your dormitory door if I have to."
I looked at him. The energy required to endure his psychological harassment for the next two weeks would far exceed the energy required to just talk to the three to join the study group. It's a simple calculation of caloric expenditure.
I let out a small breath. "Fine. I'll do it."
Hori did not smile or change his facial expression at all. He had secured his asset, but he required no emotional validation.
"Tomorrow, after class," Hori instructed. He checked his watch. "Class ends at 3:30. Factoring in the walking distance and minor preparations, gather them in the library at exactly 4:00 PM."
Having delivered his orders, he simply turned around and walked away toward the dorms, leaving me standing alone on the path.
I watched his retreating back.
This is a big hassle.