The Ryu Jaerin Stalker Incident:

An event from the end of 2013 that shocked the entire nation.
It became the reason Jaerin focused on overseas activities and developed panic disorder, making her reluctant to appear in public.

“It was well known that Jaerin attended Daejong High School, so stalking her must have been easy.”

There’s hardly anything simpler than following a student’s routine.
The perpetrator specifically targeted days when Jaerin didn’t have any scheduled activities.

“I’m starting to remember the details.”

The incident occurred when Jaerin accidentally entered an empty alley.
The stalker suddenly blocked her path.

“And it happened around Christmas.”

While everyone else was laughing and celebrating, this incident unfolded.

“Targeting an idol on break after her activities—what a despicable scumbag.”

The most troubling part was in the latter half of the future text message:

-[The perpetrator avoided capture by climbing over walls and exploiting blind spots in the CCTV coverage.]
-[Additionally, the streetlights in the alley were coincidentally out at the time, and no one saw the stalker...]

In 2013, blind spots in South Korea’s CCTV coverage were still prevalent,
largely due to budget constraints and ongoing debates about privacy infringement.

“That’s why even if someone spotted the stalker, they escaped quickly.”

In a residential area or an alley, someone could vanish in an instant.
This was the core issue.

The stalker didn’t ultimately harm Jaerin.

“To be precise, they tried to harm her, but Jaerin resisted fiercely.”

But the fact that they weren’t caught only deepened her sense of unease.
That fear became a chain that would continue to torment her.

“I have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

With that resolve, I calmly reviewed the items I had prepared.

Black gloves, black mask, black hoodie, black cap.
An outfit resembling the stereotypical criminal from Detective Conan.

“I’m not wearing spandex, at least.”

In any case, I was ready.

The mission was simple:

“Make sure Jaerin doesn’t even come face-to-face with the stalker.”

To achieve that, I needed to move discreetly.

 

BloomBell's debut song was a concept about becoming someone’s bride,
a track that warmed listeners' hearts.

However, a small number of people interpreted it very differently.

"My bride! She’s mine!"

One such individual was Song Byunggu.

Once a promising athlete,
he had fallen into alcohol and gambling, abandoning his career and spiraling into ruin.

His days consisted of doing nothing, watching TV, and drinking.

It was during one of these aimless days that he happened upon BloomBell’s music broadcast.
The performance planted a delusional fantasy in Song Byunggu’s mind.

That marked the beginning of his stalking.

This was a time when celebrity privacy wasn’t strictly protected.
It was still possible to find a celebrity’s home address online,
and random acts of violence were alarmingly common.

Song Byunggu continued to tail Ryu Jaerin,
and as Christmas approached—

By pure chance, Jaerin entered a secluded alley.

"My... my bride..."

He muttered incomprehensibly as he followed her.

Thud.

He bumped into someone.

“What the...?”

The alley was narrow but still wide enough for about five people to walk side by side.
Yet here he was, colliding with someone? It was intentional.

"Who... who are you?"

The man stood just over 180 cm tall, his physique clearly intimidating.
Even from the slight contact, it was obvious how solid his body was.

Without a word, the man took out his phone.

Tuk. Tuk-tuk.

He manipulated it with practiced ease,
then compared something on the screen to Song Byunggu.

Nod.

He nodded silently.
That air of calm confidence drove Song Byunggu mad.

“Hey, speak up!”

Thinking he wouldn’t get another chance to act,
Byunggu tried to approach Jaerin, but the man blocked his path again.

"I said, who the hell are you!?"

Byunggu tried shoving the man forcefully,

Thud!

but it was like pushing against a stone wall—he didn’t budge.

Only then did Byunggu take a closer look at the man’s appearance.

“What the hell is with his body...”

His focus on Jaerin dissipated like a mirage,
dragging him back to reality.

The man was clad entirely in black,
as if refusing to reflect any light.
The only illumination came from an old streetlamp faintly casting a glow on him.

“Hey, are you here to pick a fight? Do you know who I am?”

Even though he hadn’t trained in years, a former athlete was still a former athlete.
Experience doesn’t just vanish, and even if it fades, it still carries weight.

With that in mind, Byunggu readied himself to vent his frustration.

Click.

The streetlamp suddenly went out.

The alley, once reliant on that single light, was plunged into darkness.

Alarmed, Byunggu pulled out the knife he had tucked away for emergencies.

“Say something, you bastard!”

The silent man stared down at him with an oppressive air.
As Byunggu raised his knife, prepared to strike—

“Huh?”

His vision shifted downward.

Was my head just pushed down?

Before he could process it,

Crack!

the wrist holding the knife was twisted in an instant.

"Urgh...!"

As pain shot through him, he opened his mouth to scream,
but a wad of cloth was shoved between his teeth.

Clang.

The sound of the knife falling to the ground rang out,
followed by the crack of ribs breaking.

It wasn’t some elaborate maneuver.
Just a single punch.

A fist accurately aimed at his solar plexus took his breath away,
stopping him from even opening his eyes properly.
He tried to gag, but the cloth in his mouth prevented it.

Despite owning his own body,
he couldn’t move—crippled by fear of dying.

This fear mingled with helplessness,
making his legs give out as he collapsed to his knees.

He wanted to beg for his life,
but all he could do was cry and pray for it to end.

Huh?

Had his prayers been answered?

“...He’s not hitting me anymore?”

After the initial punch to his solar plexus, there were no follow-ups.
Just three moves: pushing his head down, twisting his arm, and one punch.
That alone had completely subdued him.

When Byunggu finally looked up,

<Don’t touch her.>

A short, clear message awaited him.
Even an idiot could understand what it meant.

But...

"What a fool."

Byunggu smirked.

The man had released his arm to type the message, leaving him free.

"You’re gonna regret this!"

Just as Byunggu grabbed his knife with his uninjured hand—

Click.

The streetlamp flickered back on,
and his vision momentarily blurred from the sudden brightness.

At the same time:

"Ahhhhh!"

A scream erupted from nearby.
People, seeing him with a knife in hand, immediately pegged him as a dangerous criminal.

“Damn it!”

Byunggu tried to flee,

Thud!

but the man blocked his path once again.

With a perfectly aimed strike to his shin, Byunggu toppled over.

"It’s done."

The man—Kim Donghu—nodded to himself,
then vaulted over a nearby wall.

"The authorities will handle the rest."

Satisfied with the outcome, Donghu walked away with a smirk.

Far away, Ryu Jaerin, hearing the commotion, turned around.

"Huh?"

She wasn’t sure what had just happened,
but something clearly had.

"That guy in black... he looks so familiar."

The thought lingered briefly before she shrugged and continued on her way.

“Even if we can’t spend Christmas together...”

She thought to herself,
“I can still bake him a cake.”

As she headed toward the department store, her steps were light.

 

The Next Morning

“Shocking! The villainous fan—Christmas tragedy narrowly avoided. Who was the hero?”
“Could this takedown be any more perfect? Experts suggest it’s likely CQC.”
“Leniency toward stalking crimes: Can we still afford to turn a blind eye?”

I read through the articles from various outlets, nodding in satisfaction.

"He’s definitely caught now."

Having incapacitated his wrist and leg, escape was impossible for him,
former athlete or not.

"Does this mean I’ve successfully prevented my first future tragedy?"

Thinking back, there were plenty of incidents I could recall.

Things I’d forgotten in my previous life because they didn’t concern me,
but now they involved the people I cared about.

If I acted in advance, I could prevent them.

"The problem is, I don’t remember everything clearly."

Of course, Simms would help fill in the gaps, so I wasn’t too worried about that.

"And I haven’t forgotten the biggest tragedy."

The tragedy in 2015.
The most important event of my life—something I absolutely had to stop.

"I have about a year left, don’t I?"

There’s an old saying about hedgehogs thinking their young are beautiful.
But this tragedy robbed me of even that sense of pride.

"My parents’ deaths."

I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t let it happen.
As I checked my schedule again,

(Link to the article about the hero who stopped the stalker)
Donghu, was this you?
Huh?
It was you, wasn’t it.

"?!"

A sudden text from Jaerin startled me.

"How did she know!?"

But I didn’t have time to dwell on my surprise.

Thump, thump, thump.

"Donghu, open up! I brought cake!"

Jaerin had come over.
It was an ambush made possible because she lived next door.

"What the... what is this!?"

I felt like my heart was going to drop out of my chest.