The Clear-Eyed Lunatic

Dark circles had claimed the area beneath Yoon Dae-eon’s eyes as he trudged through the university’s main gate. It was only natural. Last night, he had been forced to stay up until dawn, meticulously reviewing a file Seon Ji-ha had sent titled: First_Love_Candidate_List.xlsx.

Exchanging phone numbers and seeing him pop up as a “New Friend” on the messaging app had seemed fine at first. After getting home, Dae-eon had simply sent a polite, junior-to-senior greeting: ‘Hello, Senior Seon Ji-ha. This is Yoon Dae-eon! :)’

The ‘1’ next to the message disappeared in less than a minute. The reply came in under thirty seconds.

[Senior Seon Ji-ha]: Hello. This is Seon Ji-ha. I am sending the spreadsheet file I mentioned. Please review and reply. 9:32 PM

[Dae-eon]: Got it! But please send it through the chat instead of email~~ 9:34 PM

Since Seon Ji-ha’s texting style felt as rigid as a brick wall, Dae-eon intentionally used an uncharacteristically bright tone. He had never held a job, but he imagined this was what it felt like to deal with a demanding boss.

True to form, Seon Ji-ha replied in less than a minute.

[Senior Seon Ji-ha]: First_Love_Candidate_List_(1-10).xlsx

[Senior Seon Ji-ha]: Sent. Please check candidates 1 through 10. If you recognize anyone, check them off and send it back. I will send the list from candidate 11 onwards once I finish organizing it. 9:35 PM

[Dae-eon]: Ah.. okay.. 9:36 PM

Offline, the man was at least quiet. On the app, however, he was purely transactional and so clinical that it felt like Dae-eon would be scolded if he didn’t comply immediately. With a trembling hand, Dae-eon opened his laptop and launched the file.

He nearly choked.

The spreadsheet contained detailed descriptions of ten people. Candidate Number 1, for example, looked like this:

[1. Kim XX]: Gray hoodie. Black pants. Black backpack. Wearing AirPods (appears to only be wearing the right one). Entered Building 114 around 1:15 PM. Left at 6:34 PM. Reason for entry: Teaching Assistant for Professor Park. Likely running an errand. Recessive Alpha. Note: No specific reason to enter the student lounge.

Dae-eon knew the man wasn’t normal the moment he mentioned a spreadsheet, but he hadn’t imagined it would be organized with the precision of a professional stalker. He had barely finished reading the first entry when another notification popped up.

[Senior Seon Ji-ha]: Have you checked it? 9:40 PM

[Dae-eon]: Still reading… 9:42 PM

[Senior Seon Ji-ha]: First_Love_Candidate_List_(11-20).xlsx 9:48 PM

‘Why even ask if you’re just going to send more before I answer?’ Dae-eon thought about leaving him on read, but Seon Ji-ha was relentless.

[Senior Seon Ji-ha]: I do not believe Candidate 1 is the one. I consulted Professor Park and learned Candidate 1 was with him from 3:00 PM until 5:30 PM. What are your thoughts? 9:50 PM

Dae-eon spent the entire night debating with Seon Ji-ha to eliminate candidates. By dawn, they had only managed to get through the first ten. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Dae-eon’s own name was not among the first ten.

By then, one thing was undeniable.

Seon Ji-ha was serious. Dead serious.

“Yoon Dae-eon!”

“Huh?”

“Why do you look like a ghost? Class doesn’t start for ages.”

Oh Dong-chol ran up and slung an arm around Dae-eon’s shoulder. Deprived of sleep thanks to Seon Ji-ha, Dae-eon actually wobbled under the light touch. Dong-chol pulled back in alarm.

“Whoa! Are you sick?”

“No… I’m not. Actually, yes. I’m sick. I can’t do class today.”

“Eh? Then go see the professor. It’s Professor Park for the first period, right? If you show him your face and tell him you’re going to the hospital, he’ll mark it as an excused medical absence.”

Dae-eon’s ears perked up at the golden tip. Dong-chol smirked and patted his shoulder.

“This is top-tier info, just for you. Don’t tell Kim Ye-jun. He’s the type to abuse it.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Dong-chol!”

Dae-eon headed into Building 114 with a slightly lighter step. He needed sleep. His brain felt like mush from analyzing CCTV data points all night. He planned to get the excuse, go home, sleep, and then figure out how to handle the lunatic.

The plan worked perfectly. Professor Park, seeing Dae-eon’s genuinely ghastly complexion, immediately gave him permission to leave.

“Time to go home and crash……”

“Excuse me.”

Dae-eon, who had been stretching as he exited the faculty office, nearly jumped out of his skin at the low voice. He turned to find Seon Ji-ha standing right behind him. Today, he was wearing yet another dark plaid shirt.

Dae-eon struggled to catch his breath. The man was like a ghost—he moved with zero presence.

“Senior Seon Ji-ha?”

“Hello……”

“Ah, yes. Hello. You’re here early.”

The transactional, brick-walled texter from last night was gone. The man in front of him hesitated several times before finally clutching his backpack straps and asking:

“……Are you busy today……?”

Dae-eon was busy—or rather, he was supposed to be. Thursday’s schedule only had this one morning class. Usually, this meant he could sleep in and enjoy a long weekend starting Friday. But he didn’t want to tell Seon Ji-ha he was free. He had literally feigned illness to escape his orbit.

“I might be a bit bus—”

“Yoon Dae-eon! I heard you’re skipping class because you’re ‘sick’!”

Dae-eon’s head whipped around. Kim Ye-jun was marching toward them. A string of curses Dae-eon usually never used bubbled up in his throat.

“You should’ve shared a pro-tip like that with me,” Ye-jun said, completely oblivious to the tension. “I had to squeeze it out of Dong-chol.”

‘That big-mouthed traitor,’ Dae-eon thought, cursing his friend.

Ye-jun finally noticed Seon Ji-ha. Realizing he was a senior, he gave a curt nod. “Oh, hello. Didn’t realize you were there.”

“Hey, be more polite to your senior……”

“I seriously didn’t see him. Man, you have zero presence,” Ye-jun shrugged, then vanished into the faculty office to try his own luck at skipping class.

Left alone again, Dae-eon looked at Seon Ji-ha with a look of pure defeat. Since his “illness” had just been outed as a ruse to skip class, he couldn’t exactly claim to be busy anymore.

“I’m…… not busy. No.”

“Really? That’s a relief…… Then, would you like to come with me?”

“Where?”

Seon Ji-ha smiled. At first, Dae-eon had thought it was a shy smile. Now, after seeing his data-driven obsession, it looked like the smile of a clear-eyed lunatic.

“Communicating only via text last night felt a bit… limiting. How about we go to my place and have a discussion?”

“A… discussion?”

“I’ll buy you lunch, too……”

‘Lunch isn’t the problem here!’ Dae-eon wanted to scream. But Seon Ji-ha was already looking at him with those pleading, earnest eyes.

“Fine…… Let’s go.”

“Really? Th-thank you…… Follow me.”

“Wait, Senior, don’t you have class?”

“Oh, I don’t have classes on Thursdays.”

If he didn’t have class, why was he at Building 114? Before Dae-eon could ask the logical question, Seon Ji-ha answered.

“I just came here today… to pick you up……”

“……You know my schedule, too?”

“I checked the freshman timetable……”

Seon Ji-ha smiled bashfully, as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do. Dae-eon was now certain. That wasn’t a shy smile—it was the grin of someone who had completely lost the plot. No sane person would smile that proudly while admitting to stalking someone’s schedule for a “kidnapping.”