A9 8

It was a painfully naïve voice. No matter how much he tried to ignore it, the trivial chatter kept grating on his ears.

“Hey, you know what Ju Seonghun said? He said Kang Minhyuk picked a fight with Lee Jaeyoung in the teachers’ office hallway, saying it was upsetting for the fiancé who was listening.”

“But still… Isn’t it kind of weird? Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable hearing about engagements when they’re not even adults yet?”  

“Well, yeah, but I guess they didn’t think there was anything to lose even if it got out. Both families are major corporations. You’d think they would’ve considered that.”

“True. With families like that, what’s there to worry about… Besides, it’s not even a legally binding engagement yet, so maybe that’s why.”

A brief silence followed the words of a kid whose name Suho couldn’t even remember. Soon, there was the rustling of something, then a quick glance cast his way before the conversation continued.

“But isn’t Kang Minhyuk acting kind of strange lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s been all over Im Suho these days.”

“Ah… yeah. I didn’t think he’d actually go around bringing up the engagement out loud like that.”

“If you think about it, though, is Im Suho any better? He clings to someone one moment, then goes around meeting whoever he wants without any shame.”

“And after three months, he dumps them, saying he got bored.”

“But come on, isn’t it the fault of those who went for Im Suho even though they knew what kind of relationship he had with Kang Minhyuk?”

“They’re all out of their minds. Kang Minhyuk, Im Suho, and everyone tangled up with them.”

Yeah, who could possibly be in their right mind?

Ever since becoming Im Suho, he had lived as if half-dreaming. Suho let out a sigh so deep that his back, pressed against the desk, rose and fell. Perhaps noticing that small movement, they stopped talking about him. Awkwardly changing the topic, their conversation faltered again and again. In the silence, awkward laughter mixed in, making Suho, who was eavesdropping against his will, feel even more uncomfortable.

“…Ha.”

Suho let out a shallow breath and pushed himself up from his desk. As if they had been waiting for it, all eyes turned toward him. One by one, mouths closed, and he could hear the sound of people swallowing. Whatever. Suho knew very well that unless he tossed out fresh bait, the gossip would soon sink and fade away.

Even so, he couldn’t shake off the unpleasant feeling, so he stretched his arms for no real reason. Then, as if to make a point, he stood up abruptly, cleared his throat, and spoke to the class president sitting beside him.

“Class president.”

The class president, who had been quietly focused on essay practice until now, tilted his head slightly.

“I’m skipping the next class.”

“Again?”

“I’ve already met the required number of class days anyway. If the homeroom teacher asks, just say I went to the infirmary because of a headache.”

Of course, he had no intention of actually going to the infirmary. Suho shrugged and put on his navy fleece jacket with a languid expression. Once he zipped it up neatly and started walking, the eyes of his classmates shot toward him like arrows. One step under their cruelly curious stares. Another step beneath their base, prying glances. By the time he stood at the door, everyone was already watching him.

Even though they had clearly been talking behind his back, their faces remained utterly indifferent. Each whispered their own judgments, and a few even tossed out crude, mocking comments loud enough for him to hear.

“…Ha.”

Suddenly, his stomach churned. Suho took a sharp breath and yanked the door open.

Bang! The sound was so loud it seemed to shake the hallway. Startled, one of the students let out a short scream and cursed at him, but Suho didn’t care. He simply kept walking briskly down the corridor.

“…So annoying.”

Everything felt suffocating. The gazes directed at him, the air of the classroom thick with curiosity, and even himself, desperately trying not to show the slightest crack. Some Alphas even released pheromones tinged with mockery toward him. Their constant provocations were starting to give him a headache.

“…Should I really go to the infirmary?”

At the moment, that seemed like the only place where he could rest comfortably. The gym was another option, but with the weather this cold, going outside would be miserable. More than that, he didn’t want to end up wallowing in self-pity on the way there.

Suho stood blankly in the hallway, shoving his hands into the soft pockets of his jacket as his large eyes blinked slowly. A chill brushed past him, and he turned his head, staring out the window at a tree stripped bare of leaves.

“Yeah, the infirmary sounds best.”

In this freezing winter, what other place could compare? Maybe after a short nap, his head would clear up. As if making up his mind, Suho gave a small nod and started walking. He tried to quicken his pace, but his strides were still small.

When he arrived, the infirmary was completely empty. Perhaps it was the designated ventilation time, because every single window was wide open, and the warmth he’d been hoping for was nowhere to be found. Suho stepped inside without hesitation and straightened the curtains fluttering in the wind, then carefully closed each window one by one. Finally, he pulled down the shade over the window facing the hallway, creating a perfectly sealed, private space.

Looking satisfied, Suho let a faint smile spread across his face and walked toward the bed at the far right of the room. The neatly arranged beds were where the main characters had once forged a tender connection. What was that episode again? If he remembered right, it was when Jaeyoung, worn out from all the bullying, had fallen asleep as if he had fainted on the bed on the left, and Minhyuk had secretly come to see him, gazing down with a storm of conflicted emotions. …Could something like that have happened again even after he possessed this body?  

“…Somehow, I feel like it could have.”

Feeling oddly uneasy, Suho turned his steps toward the bed on the right instead. For some reason, he didn’t want to go near the ones the two main characters had used. When he pressed down on the mattress, the freshly washed blanket rustled pleasantly. The texture was soft enough that, for a while, he forgot why he had come and just kept running his fingers over the fabric.

Regaining focus, Suho quickly pulled the blanket over himself, wriggled a bit, and settled in the middle of the bed. It would’ve been nice if there had been an electric heating pad, but he wasn’t about to ask for more. The air was chilly, yet once he wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, it felt like a snug, cozy cave, comforting in its own way.

He rolled the fallen blanket around his body and turned onto his left side. Almost immediately, the tension drained from his body, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. A long yawn stretched his lips.

“Just ten minutes… I’ll nap for ten minutes.”

Before the words were even finished, his eyes gently closed. Perhaps it was the pleasantly soft texture, but the throbbing in his head gradually subsided. Feeling at ease, Suho’s body relaxed completely. Slowly, his breathing settled into a quiet, steady rhythm.

* * *

Creak.

The door to the infirmary opened carefully. Into a space where no one was expected to come, a pair of uninvited feet stepped in. The sound of footsteps entering changed when their owner spotted Suho sleeping soundly, becoming quiet and deliberate, as if not to wake him. Soon, those feet stopped neatly in front of the bed.

“…Im Suho.”

A calm voice fell softly beside Suho’s head. Either he was sleeping more deeply than expected, or he simply didn’t hear it, because there was no response. It was the first time seeing Suho asleep, completely defenseless. The one who was always on edge, always keeping his distance, now lay there with his features relaxed, eyes closed in peace. It was strangely unfamiliar. He probably had no idea someone had come to find him. That must be why he could show a face like that.

After standing there for a while, the visitor quietly moved and sat down on the bed across from Suho’s. Holding his breath so as not to disturb the deep sleep, he slowly studied Suho’s face. Beneath the closed eyelids, the long lashes cast faint shadows, giving off a subtly delicate air. Below them, the small nose moved with even breaths, and the slightly flushed lips drew his eyes in—especially those small lips.

“……”

He blinked slowly as he looked at the peacefully sleeping Suho. His quiet contemplation stretched on longer than expected, showing no sign of ending.

* * *

A dim light settled across his eyelids. Reacting to the chill that came with it, Suho’s lashes trembled faintly. He curled up within the lingering warmth under the blanket, resisting the slow return of consciousness. When he finally cracked his eyelids open, his vision filled with hazy blurriness. Still half-asleep, his pupils unfocused, he blinked several times to chase away the drowsiness and glanced toward the clock hanging on the infirmary wall.

6:27 p.m. It was well past dismissal time.

“…What the hell.”

Had he really slept that long? Unable to believe he had fallen asleep so deeply on a bed far less comfortable than his own, Suho tilted his head slightly and slowly lifted his upper body. The blanket slid down along his body in a soft rustle. The cold air of the unheated room rushed in as if it had been waiting, bringing him a little closer to full awareness.

Then, a sudden sense of déjà vu made him turn his head toward the bed on the left. Something felt off. Had the blanket always been that wrinkled? Or had someone come and gone while he was asleep?

“Anyway, seriously, no one bothered to wake me up? It’s been at least three hours since I disappeared.”

Muttering in a voice still thick from sleep, Suho smacked his lips and rolled his shoulders. By now, he should have been fully awake, but the drowsiness clung stubbornly to him. In the end, he let himself fall back onto the bed, pressing his left hand over his heavy eyelids as they began to drift shut again.

I should leave. If it is going to be like this, it would be better to just go home and sleep…

But despite his thoughts, his body showed no intention to rise from the bed.

After some time had passed, a sudden wave of warmth washed through him. Maybe his condition had worsened, or maybe it was simply from lying too long on the hard mattress.

Suho lowered the hand covering his eyes and felt around his face, lightly patting his cheeks as if to check something. Then he opened his eyes fully and drew in a deep breath.

He figured it was time to stop lazing around. His body didn’t feel great either, so it was really time to get up and leave.