Surrounded by Obsession

This is... the school I used to attend? It's completely different from the school I started attending recently—the surrounding scenery is different, and most importantly, it's an all-boys school rather than a coed one. If that's the case, this must be a dream.

"Hey~! Han Jihoon~!"

What? Han Jihoon? I'm not Han Jihoon anymore. Looking over my body, I could barely see my lower half while standing, but it was definitely Han Jia's body, not Han Jihoon's. And the person standing in front of me was... Hyunwoo. Yang Hyunwoo, the friend I should never be able to meet again for the rest of my life.

"Are you sick?"

"I'm sick?"

When I ran my fingers over my eyes, they came away wet with tears. Did he think I was crying because I was in pain...?

"We can't meet anymore, so don't send me off crying at the end."

"...Right, this is probably because it's a dream."

No matter what, this was only a dream, so all these sights would disappear when I woke up. There couldn't be a female student at an all-boys school in the first place, yet here I was, entering one in a woman's body while wearing a uniform and skirt. A scene that was only possible because this was a dream...

"Goodbye, Hyunwoo."

Hyunwoo simply smiled after hearing my farewell, and all the scenery disappeared as I woke from the dream. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a hospital room...? It really was a hospital room. Had I collapsed and been brought here? I must have inconvenienced someone... Once I found out who, I would have to apologize.

"Mmm... It's so bright..."

I felt a warm touch on my hand and hot droplets falling onto my wrist. Was someone taking care of me...? Nurses usually handled caregiving, so why was this person crying...?

"Jia... Please wake up. Don't go..."

Huh...? Was that Yuna's voice? When I checked who was holding my hand, I saw Yuna.

"Yuna...? What are you doing here?"

"Jia! You're awake! Sob... Do you know how worried I was...?"

So Yuna had come to the hospital with me... But why was I in the hospital? How had Yuna brought me here? School hadn't even ended yet...

"Jia, are you really all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me, Yuna."

Yuna looked sad, tears running down her face as she worried about me, so all I could do was smile brightly at her. She must have been terribly curious about why I was sick... How was I supposed to explain this? Even if I did, would Yuna believe me and let it go...?

"Jia, is there anything I can help you with from now on?"

"It's not an ordinary illness... I don't really know myself, either. But how did you bring me to the hospital?"

"When Jia wouldn't wake up, I thought it might be dangerous, so I got help from Jinwoo, who sits behind me, and moved you to the nurse's office. After that, the teacher contacted the hospital."

I see... The school must have known that my illness was unusual, so they acted immediately. The person who knew me best was Mr. Seo at this hospital... Thanks to him, I seemed to have regained consciousness quickly.

"Thank you, Yuna."

"Was I helpful?"

"Yes, very much."

Yuna was still holding my left hand, so I raised my right hand and gently stroked her. She might have felt embarrassed or thought it was strange, but I just... wanted to do it. I was truly grateful, and she had gone this far to worry about me even though it had nothing to do with her.

"Oh, it's almost dinnertime already... Yuna, don't you need to go home?"

"Yes, but my father won't be home, and I don't want to be there with him anyway."

"Can you eat hospital food for dinner?"

Yuna nodded and said she would go tell the nurse, then left the room. The food might not suit Yuna's taste... Had she said she would eat hospital food with me because of me? But after Yuna left, someone opened the door and entered.

"Ms. Jia."

"Huh...?"

Mr. Minsu was standing there. Huh...? How had he known to come? The hospital must have contacted him too. Riding the bus home in my condition might have been difficult... Mr. Minsu must have been very worried about me, because his face looked a little grim. I had collapsed, yes, but I had merely slumped forward onto my desk. It wasn't that serious...

"Are you feeling a little better?"

"Yes, I'm fine... I seem to have worried you and Unnie, Mr. Minsu."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll wait near the hospital, so please contact me anytime."

I quietly nodded, and Mr. Minsu left the room. About two minutes later, Yuna returned, and eight minutes after that, dinner arrived at the hospital room. After we finished eating, we sat quietly without saying anything, then slowly began to speak.

"Yuna, it's late. Do you really not have to go home?"

"Yes. I don't want to go home. I want to live with Jia."

"Even so, you have to go home... Did you contact them?"

"Yes. If I didn't, it would cause even more trouble, so I texted that my friend had been brought to the hospital and that I was staying with her."

Hmm... Yuna's parents would still be worried... They wouldn't come all the way to the hospital, would they? I had decided to go home after dinner and a little rest, so I needed to send Yuna home too.

"I'm going home after I rest a little following dinner, so you should go home for now too, Yuna..."

"I don't want to go home... Can't I go to your house?"

"It's not my house, so you can't... Your clothes and belongings are all at your home, too."

Did Yuna really hate going home that much? Why...? Was she being abused? If she were being abused, there should have been injuries or scars somewhere on her body, but Yuna had no such marks and was very cheerful. She didn't seem to be suffering abuse.

"I guess it can't be helped. But can I visit your house next time?"

"Like I said, it isn't my house, so that would be difficult..."

Even though Yuna knew it wasn't possible, she kept insisting and saying she didn't want to go home. It seemed to have something to do with the past Hwang Jihye had mentioned. But that was Yuna's secret alone, so I absolutely shouldn't ask about it.

*

Phew... Jia had been taken to the emergency room on her first day of school... Fortunately, it wasn't anything serious. Because of Jia's unusual constitution and the fact that her blood pressure had dropped a little, she seemed to have fainted. I hoped today would be the last time she was brought to the hospital.

'Still, I get to go home with Jia.'

Although Jia had fainted and been brought here, fortunately there was nothing seriously wrong with her, and I could go home holding her hand, so I supposed I should consider it a decent outcome...? By the way, I heard Jia's friend had accompanied her. She had made a friend on her very first day... What kind of girl was she? Since I had to take Jia home anyway, I decided to stop by the hospital room.

"Jia~"

When I knocked on the hospital-room door, I heard Jia answer, 'Come in, unnie~.' When I opened the door, I saw Jia and a female student who was holding Jia's hand tightly and refusing to let go. She must have been a classmate.

"Wait, unnie? Jia, you have a sister?"

"Uh... How should I put it...? She's more like my guardian than my older sister."

"Jia and I have a special relationship. I'm protecting her."

Huh... Did that girl like Jia? She seemed jealous of me... Considering Jia's appearance, it was understandable that she might be jealous of someone who seemed closer to Jia than she was, but... she was still a student, so I should send her home right away.

"Um, it's late. Shouldn't you be heading home?"

"Yes..."

"Is there someone who can come pick you up?"

"Yes, there is."

Only then did the girl release Jia's hand and text someone. I took her outside to give Jia time to change clothes.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Choi Yuna."

"Oh~ You're the friend who helped Jia on graduation day, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

If she had helped Jia before, it made sense that Jia had made a friend on her first day. She must have been happy to see someone she already knew after transferring. Jia changed out of her hospital gown and came outside, and we parted ways in front of the hospital. Jia seemed to come from a fairly wealthy family, since a chauffeur rather than her parents came to pick her up.

*

Hmm... For some reason, Yuna seemed jealous of Jiyeon unnie... We even brushed our teeth together in the bathroom after eating dinner together... When Yuna said, 'We ate dinner together, so brush your teeth with me too,' she acted like a child being spoiled by her parent. She seemed to have some sort of emotional wound...

"Jia should change clothes and go home now, right?"

"Yes. I'll change, so could you step outside for a moment, Yuna?"

"Jia must still be exhausted. I'll help you change."

"No, it's not that bad, and I'm feeling much better, so don't worry."

Why was Yuna clinging to me like this...? With Unnie's help, I had Yuna step outside and changed into my uniform. After wearing the loose hospital gown, putting on a uniform that fit tightly against my body felt even stranger than it had the first time.

'I want to hurry home, wash up, and sleep. I'm exhausted...'

After changing completely and tidying up the hospital room, I opened the door and found Yuna and Unnie chatting amiably, as if they had already grown close. Unnie must have heard a rough summary of what had happened between Yuna and me.

"I've contacted Mr. Minsu. Let's go home, Unnie!"

"All right, Jia."

"Huh? Who's Minsu? What kind of man is he?"

Before Yuna's obsession could grow worse, I changed the subject by asking, 'Wouldn't your parents worry less if you went home soon too?' Only then did she let go of her fixation, and we got into the elevator. A girl who was this obsessed... It was scary... She wasn't going to kidnap and confine me or anything, was she?

'Even if she did, Mr. Minsu would rescue me soon enough...'

When the elevator doors opened, we exited on the first floor and stepped outside the hospital, where we saw two cars: a fairly luxurious vehicle whose driver called Yuna 'young lady,' and the same sedan Mr. Minsu had driven on graduation day.

"Goodbye, Yuna. See you at school tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Jia. See you tomorrow!"

Fortunately, Yuna didn't fuss any more. She obediently got into the car and went home, while Unnie and I got into Mr. Minsu's car and set off.

"How was school?"

"The girl you saw earlier is the one who helped me at graduation, and we became friends because we're in the same class."

"That's good to hear."

Mr. Minsu answered from behind the wheel. Jiyeon Unnie still seemed worried about me, but even if I said, 'I'm really fine, Unnie,' she must have been terribly shocked when she heard that her little sister had been taken to the hospital while she was at work...

"Unnie, I'll definitely come home healthy tomorrow, so you don't have to worry anymore."

"Do you know how startled I was? If Jia's blood pressure had dropped any further, the hypotension could have been dangerous."

"Yes... I'm sorry."

"No, Jia, you have nothing to apologize for."

Even with Mr. Minsu there, the atmosphere didn't become too gloomy, and we soon arrived home. After thanking Mr. Minsu, we went inside and washed up immediately. However, when Unnie said, 'It would be a serious problem if Jia fainted while washing, so let's wash together for the time being,' I couldn't wash alone... Since I had fainted once before and my blood pressure was even lower now, I couldn't imagine how dangerous it might be, so I decided to listen to her.

'I hear a lot of people die from accidents inside their own homes...'

If I fainted in the shower and hit my head, it could be extremely dangerous... I wasn't ready to die yet. After I finished washing and was drying my hair, a text message arrived from Yuna.

'Jia, did you get home safely? Nothing happened, right?'

'Yes, nothing happened. See you at school tomorrow.'

I replied right away, finished drying my hair, and placed my phone on the bedside table. Just as I lay down to sleep, I remembered the game I'd left hanging after sending a message—I couldn't even remember what I'd written. I should launch it briefly and check.

"Huh? Jia, where are you going?"

"Well... I just remembered something I need to check."

"You must be exhausted. Are you sure?"

"I'll just check the messages and come right back."

"All right, but come back and go to sleep before it gets too late, okay?"

Under normal circumstances, even words like those might have felt annoying, but considering my health, something terrible could happen if I didn't listen. I obediently nodded, entered the room with the computer, turned it on, and launched the game...!

'Ah, an update.'

Fortunately, the internet was much faster than at my old studio apartment, so the update finished quickly and the game launched. As soon as I logged in, messages from the user poiuy12 poured in, asking what had happened. After being subjected to Yuna's obsession just a few hours earlier, the flood of messages made me feel dizzy.

'The game has gotten boring, so I won't be playing for a while.'

I replied that and was about to close the game when I froze at the question, 'Which high school do you attend?' Was this person a high school student too? I was one now, but there was no benefit to revealing my personal information. I didn't answer the question, simply closed the game, shut down the computer, and immediately lay down in bed to sleep.

'Unnie seems far too worried about me...'

I didn't dislike Unnie's touch as she held me tightly, almost hugging me, and stroked me, but how should I put it...? I felt like a doll, which gave me an indescribable feeling. Thanks to that, I fell asleep quickly, though...

*

Oh! The user elfD472, who had helped me when I first started the game, had finally logged in after being absent for so long. Jinwoo, growing desperate after failing to make a friend even a month after the new school year began, messaged elfD472 to ask which high school they attended, even though there was no chance they went to the same school. But perhaps because he had sent overly clingy messages before, they closed the game as soon as they saw the message.

"Maybe they even deleted the app for checking messages on their phone, since they normally never checked messages either..."

Had I started thinking strangely because I was so desperate for a friend...? I didn't have any friends in real life, and now I had lost my online friend too. Thinking about it, should I focus on making a friend in my class at school?

'Come to think of it, what happened to Jia?'

It was a hospital ambulance, but it seemed Jia had been taken away in it. I didn't know this at the time, but an hour after the ambulance arrived, rumors spread wildly that first-year students whose classrooms were on the second and third floors had seen Jia being carried away. Jia herself probably wouldn't want that, but when she came to school tomorrow, she would likely be bombarded with questions and rumors.

'Since someone saw her being carried away, people will start spreading rumors about what kind of illness she has...'

Jinwoo had suffered through malicious rumors during middle school, so the thought made him angry. Several friends had left because of those rumors, and he had endured a difficult time in middle school. Hoping that no one else would have to suffer the same pain, Jinwoo decided to help Jia even if it was meddling, then turned off his phone and went to sleep before it got any later.

*

"Good, I got up earlier than yesterday."

The obvious reason I was getting up early was Jia, who had collapsed yesterday. If it had been a boy who collapsed, I could simply offer to buy him a good dinner and ask him to eat out with me, but I had no idea what girls liked... I should ask my sister over breakfast.

"Noona, a girl in my class collapsed yesterday and was taken to the hospital. What would be good to give her?"

"What? Are you dating her?"

"No, it's not like that..."

"It's unrequited love, isn't it? Pfft, hahaha..."

"N-No, it isn't! I'm just really worried about her!"

My sister annoyed me by laughing and saying I was at that age, but in the end, this was her answer: 'If she's someone you like, you'll have to confess eventually anyway, so observe her for a while, find out what she likes, and subtly take care of her.'

'How am I supposed to know that...? She's always with Yuna and gets dragged around by the girls. How can I, a guy, approach her?'

All I could do was sigh. This was something I couldn't solve, right? Even so, Jinwoo was so worried about Jia that he decided to secretly follow her around and observe her more closely for the time being.

'It should be fine as long as I don't follow her to the bathroom, right?'

and Jinwoo, a would-be stalker, rationalized that criminal and dangerous thought by telling himself, 'It's for Jia! It'll be fine, probably.'