A9 5

“…!”

“……”

An exchange of less-than-pleasant glances took place. As always, Suho looked at him with indifference, while Jaeyoung, for some unknown reason, sent him a friendly gaze and subtly lifted the corners of his mouth. Eventually, he gathered the hands that had been covering his face and held them reverently against his chest, his fingertips twitching as if he wanted to greet him.

Suho ignored the welcoming gesture and turned his head away. There was no need to waste what little energy he had left dealing with someone who would be of no help to him.

“Teacher, I’ll get going now.”

With those words, Suho ended his counseling session and stood up. His homeroom teacher let him go without complaint, then pulled the admissions program back up from where it had been hidden below, saying, “Go back to class and call the next student down to the office.” Suho gave a slow nod. The monitor clearly displayed a rejection mark, but he turned away as if he hadn’t seen it. That was his final shred of pride.

Even so, Jaeyoung’s constant sidelong glances bothered him immensely. Suho had no real interest in him, but somehow it felt as though a single report card had exposed all his flaws. His grip on the paper tightened unconsciously. Looking down at the sheet, already creased at the edges, Suho resumed walking. By the time he stepped out of the teachers’ office and into the hallway—

Clatter.

A sudden sound of the door opening was followed by hurried footsteps trailing close behind. Even without turning his head, Suho knew who it was.

“Um… Suho.”

A voice much softer than his own reached his ears. For a moment, Suho considered just ignoring him and walking away, but then wondered if that would only add to his karma for ignoring the main character loved by everyone. The fact that he could even think such a thing in that brief instant said everything. After all, he’d already been burned by that damn author more than once. So, reluctantly, Suho turned his head.

“What.”

Startled by the unexpectedly low tone, Jaeyoung flinched and glanced at him nervously. Yet he didn’t seem ready to retreat; swallowing dryly, he opened his mouth with a determined look.

“Uh… I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard which university you’re applying to…”

“So?”

“Are… Are you trying for Goyoung University’s Business Administration Department?”

“……”

“I-I just heard you put that as your first choice, so… that’s why…”

At the single question asking whether he was going to Goyoung University, Suho’s eyes grew cold. Startled by the sharpness in his gaze, Jaeyoung’s words began to falter, revealing his nervousness. Even that sight wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Should I just ignore him? …No, calm down. Just deal with him enough to keep the peace. That’s how I’ll lessen the karma that’s bound to come back later.

Letting out a deep sigh at the end of that brief thought, Suho spoke.

“What does it matter to you?”

At that, Jaeyoung’s shoulders flinched again.

“…Sorry, I didn’t mean to… upset you.”

“……”

“I’m sorry, Suho…”

Jaeyoung kept repeating his apologies over and over, unable to lift his head as if he were some kind of criminal guilty of treason. To anyone watching, it would have looked like Suho had been the one bullying him, when in reality, it was Jaeyoung who kept clinging to him and refusing to let go. Suho frowned slightly as he looked down at Jaeyoung, who was a head shorter than him. He had no idea what was going on in that round little head of his. Not that it mattered; Suho didn’t have the mental room to concern himself with Jaeyoung right now anyway.

Maybe it would be better to just cut the conversation short. Jaeyoung wasn’t exactly dense, so if Suho gave off even the slightest hint that he didn’t want to talk, he’d probably back off on his own. But still, Suho couldn’t completely ignore the question. Like it or not, the karma the original Im Suho had accumulated still lingered as his own debt to pay.

“I put Goyoung University as my first choice. The rest are all Hanguk University.”

With no other choice, Suho opened his mouth again. His answer lacked enthusiasm, but Jaeyoung suddenly lifted his round head as if he hadn’t expected a reply at all.

“…I see.”

There was something subtly strange about the look in his eyes. Though he was clearly trying not to show it, there was an undeniable trace of hope and delight shimmering there.

What the hell is that look supposed to mean?

Feeling uncomfortable under Jaeyoung’s bright gaze, Suho instinctively leaned back a little. Even as he avoided looking directly at him, his mind was turning. What was with that expression? It looked innocent enough, but something about it felt off… Could it be that Jaeyoung was happy that he applied to Goyoung University? Even though Jaeyoung knew perfectly well that he wanted to go to Hanguk University? Did he actually chase him down the hallway just to confirm that?

Fuck, one bad Suneung and everything starts going to shit.

Suho muttered a curse under his breath and let out a hollow laugh. From what he’d heard, Jaeyoung had done better than usual this time. Back in the September mock exam, he’d barely scraped by the cutoff for Goyoung University’s Business Administration Department, but now his score was high enough to apply comfortably. If he wanted to aim higher, even Hanguk University wasn’t out of reach. In other words, Jaeyoung’s score, who had always ranked below him, was now almost the same as Suho’s own miserable result, caused by a marking error.

“…Ha.”

His mood plummeted. Whether Jaeyoung had done well on the exam or not wasn’t Suho’s concern. It was ridiculous that he had followed him all this way, puffed up with excitement at the thought that they might go to Goyoung University together.

Does he have some kind of inferiority complex toward me? I mess up the exam, lower my application choices, and that makes him happy?

Suho bit the soft flesh inside his cheek as he stared at Jaeyoung. If he didn’t, harsh words were bound to slip out of his mouth at any moment.

Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, Jaeyoung shrank back and glanced nervously at Suho. His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“Uh… um, Suho.”

Jaeyoung fidgeted with his hands clasped over his chest, as though he had something to say but didn’t know how to start. Even that timid sight didn’t sit well with Suho; it only made things worse.

Suho barely managed to swallow down the curse rising in his throat and released the inside of his cheek, which he’d probably chewed raw by now. He had no more reason or patience to stay here. All he could think about was leaving this place as quickly as possible.

“If you’ve got nothing to say, I’m leaving.”

Whether he took the counseling well or not didn’t matter. With that, Suho turned to leave. He took a step to put distance between himself and Jaeyoung, when—

“W-wait, Suho…!”

Thin, urgent fingers grabbed Suho’s sleeve. The grip was so tight that the fingertips turned white, and even his small jaw tensed visibly. Unable to shake him off, Suho froze mid-step and lowered his gaze to the hand clutching his sleeve.

What the hell is this now? What words will he use this time to turn my insides upside down?

“What is it.”

“…!”

Caught off guard by Suho’s unexpectedly sharp tone, Jaeyoung snapped his mouth shut and widened his eyes. The expression might have looked pitiful to an onlooker, but Suho found it far from pleasant. Either way, there was no chance that face would look nice to him.

“What’s with holding someone back and then keeping your mouth shut again?”

“W-well, so—”

“Don’t stammer. Say it properly. If you grabbed someone who was leaving, it must be something important, right?”

Suho deliberately projected an intimidating air. Though he demanded a straight answer, the chill in his voice carried the unspoken warning, ‘Say one more word and don’t think about leaving quietly.’ Naturally, Jaeyoung shut his mouth even tighter than before. Eventually, as if frightened, tears began to gather under his wide eyes.

But so what? Did he really have to care about someone who was happy that he was going to Goyoung University?

Suho wasn’t the kind of person with a generous heart. Ever since he’d fallen into this novel with no ties to anyone, he had put himself first above all else. Of course, he didn’t plan on pushing things any further. If he forced the fragile main character into tears because he couldn’t control his emotions, the karma piled up over time would ricochet back at him many times over. He should not push him any further. After all, there’s that saying.

‘It’s not that you avoid shit because you’re afraid of it, you avoid it because it’s dirty.’

He let out a hollow laugh at his own ridiculous thought. Jaeyoung, as if pricked by something, shuddered and trembled, his lips quivering. Oh no, Suho realized. He had unintentionally created an intimidating atmosphere. He smoothed his slackened mouth and pointed, expressionless, at the small hand still gripping his sleeve. No more words were necessary. The gesture to let go should have sufficed.

But for some reason, Jaeyoung only shifted his gaze around and did not release his hold. Even knowing that Suho disliked being held like this, he did not seem willing to let go. The reason was completely unknown. Suho had not bullied him or done anything like in the original story to warrant this. He could not think of any reason for being held like this.

Whatever the reason, Suho no longer had the patience to deal with him.

After all this, even the author should take the circumstances into account.

After a long string of thoughts, fatigue hit him, and Suho closed his eyes, sighing deeply. He hardened his expression and lifted his arm to shake Jaeyoung off when—

Step, step—

Footsteps echoed on the stairs. As the sounds grew closer, an inexplicable sense of déjà vu washed over him, and he instinctively turned his head. But the moment he did, before even confirming who it was, he immediately regretted it.