89) Chapter 15. ……It Was Warm (2)

I woke up late on Sunday.

Probably because we stayed up pretty late last night.

There is an official lights‑out time, but it’s not like the military—no one goes around checking if we’re actually asleep.

A lot of students here have famous parents, and many staff members are former heroes. If they scolded kids over something trivial like that, it’d probably be awkward facing their colleagues later.

And it’s the weekend. The dorm staff probably want to relax too.

As for me—

Even though I woke up later than usual, I still couldn’t move for a while.

Because Soi and Chae-yi were stuck to me on both sides.

They weren’t hugging me, but I couldn’t move at all. If I moved even a little, my arm would end up brushing from their chests down to their stomachs.

Seriously, why does Soi cling to me like this every night but still hold a grudge about what happened during sparring?

The way she talks, it sounds like she just wants an excuse to touch my chest.

…Was her pride really hurt that much? Should I apologize properly later…?

“Even like this, you’re saying it’s not uncomfortable at all?”

“Hehek.”

A sudden voice startled me.

I turned my head and saw Hyeonji standing beside our bed.

She had already washed up and dried her hair—she looked completely neat and ready for the day.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You can’t even move in the mornings, though?”

“Yeah…”

“…If you say so, I guess I can’t argue.”

Hyeonji tilted her head, looking vaguely dissatisfied.

“Th‑Then… do you want to try it too, Hyeonji?”

Flinch.

For some reason, Soi and Chae-yi both twitched at my words.

Huh? Are they awake?

Maybe Hyeonji thought the same, or maybe she just found my suggestion weird, because she raised an eyebrow.

“Try what?”

“I‑If you stick close like this… it feels comforting.”

“…Really?”

She asked—not because she was curious, but because she didn’t know what else to say.

“…I’ll pass.”

She sighed and stepped back.

“And if you’re awake, go outside. That Nam Jinwoo kid is waiting for you.”

“Nam Jinwoo?”

I blinked.

Hmm.

In the original story, by now Hyeonji and Jinwoo should’ve been pretty close.

They weren’t on bad terms now, but they weren’t “close” either. Just classmates.

We didn’t know much about each other.

But Jinwoo was waiting outside? For who? Me? Why?

I tried to sit up—

Squeeze.

Soi and Chae-yi tightened their grip on my arms.

My shoulders were… well, buried in several ways.

Seriously.

They’re always like this, so why…?

Under Hyeonji’s puzzled stare, I couldn’t meet her eyes and looked away.

*

Once I squirmed a bit, the two finally let me go.

Well, “let me go” is generous—they probably just woke up. Yeah. It only looked like they were releasing me.

I got up, opened the curtains, and looked outside. Jinwoo really was there.

Not in her uniform—she was wearing loose, baggy casual clothes.

She didn’t dare approach the girls’ dorm, so she hovered awkwardly at a distance.

She looked up at the window, met my eyes, panicked, turned around, and walked away.

After walking a while, she looked back, met my eyes again, flinched, and changed direction.

“……”

Does she… know what a smartphone is?

We exchanged numbers yesterday when we went out, I’m pretty sure.

“You’re going out?”

“Uh, yeah. I think I should…”

When I turned around, Soi and Chae-yi were standing right behind me, asking at the same time, and I shrank a little.

I treat them very differently from how I treat people I consider “below” me in the food chain.

Maybe that’s why I’m trying to maintain my connection with Jinwoo—because I need someone lower than me.

…Not that I plan to do anything to her.

Still, it’s kind of admirable. Some people only hang out when it’s convenient and then pretend they don’t know you afterward.

In my previous life, I was usually like that.

You know—chatting and having fun while hanging out, but once home, thinking, Did I talk too much nonsense? And then feeling too awkward to message first, so the relationship fades until you’re just coworkers again.

Jinwoo probably isn’t bold enough to message a girl first, but at least she came all the way to the dorm.

If we didn’t go out today, what would she do?

“Okay. Then I’m coming too.”

“Me too.”

Soi and Chae-yi said.

“Uh, yeah.”

I had a feeling they’d say that.

They’re so overprotective.

*

“What are you doing?”

“Hyah!?”

I couldn’t see Jinwoo at first when we stepped outside, so I wondered if she’d gone back to the boys’ dorm.

But then I spotted her crouched far away in the parking lot.

She was definitely taller than me, but somehow she looked small like that.

Actually, even at the amusement park, she didn’t seem as tall as I remembered. On the first day, her eyes were a bit above mine…

She practically jumped like a spring when I spoke.

In front of her sat a cat.

A beautiful black cat.

It didn’t look like a stray. Stray cats usually have messy fur or dirt stuck to them.

“What were you doing?”

“Oh, just, n‑nothing, just… there was a cat.”

If someone says “just” twice in one sentence, it’s suspicious.

“Hi.”

“Meow.”

The cat answered.

Well, it's not like it understood me. It was probably just reacting.

Or maybe it was answering. I heard that when people talk on the phone, cats meow to keep them from feeling awkward talking to themselves. If you think of it that way, it is an answer.

“Is it yours?”

“N‑No. I just met it yesterday.”

“Really?”

As I crouched down in front of it—

“Hsssss!”

The cat suddenly puffed up, bared its teeth, and sprang up.

Then it bolted away.

“Ah.”

Does it hate me that much?

It answered me just fine earlier, so why—

“Rua!”

While Jinwoo and I blinked in confusion at the cat’s sudden escape, I heard someone calling my name.

I turned and saw Chae-yi running toward me, waving.

She and Soi had started bickering on the way out of the dormitory, which was why I had spotted Nam Jinwoo first and left them behind.

The reason they were arguing was, for some reason, about bringing me into the shower with them.

Not about whether they should bring me in, but who would get to go in with me.

No, seriously, I’m not doing that.

The dorm showers aren’t even big. They’re not designed for two people to shower together. And it’s not like the school would install love‑hotel features in the dorms.

“What were you doing?”

“Nothing, there was a cat.”

“A cat?”

“It ran away.”

At that, Soi and Chae-yi drooped their shoulders in disappointment.

Come to think of it, we’ve never had a pet.

Our house is big enough for one.

But I don’t know if I could take care of one. I can barely take care of myself.

Even Hyeonji, who came out with us because we were going, looked oddly disappointed. It was kind of funny.

“So anyway.”

I turned back to Jinwoo.

“Why were you waiting?”

“Huh? Wh‑What? I wasn’t!”

“You were. You were waiting.”

“…Rua sure talks smoothly in front of Nam Jinwoo.”

“Seriously. She’s so eloquent.”

“Uh… yeah.”

I shut my mouth as Soi and Chae-yi flanked me and teased me.

But I can’t help it.

In a food chain, the one on top is always confident in front of the one below.

Of course, that means I’m their prey.

“…Ahem.”

Jinwoo stared at me with her mouth slightly open, so I cleared my throat.

“So, what are we doing today?”

“Uh…”

“You didn’t even plan anything?”

“See? Rua really opens up when it’s Jinwoo.”

“I want Rua to tease me too…”

These girls, seriously.

Do they have to comment on every sentence?

Not that I can complain.

I’m their food, after all.

“……”

Hyeonji was watching from a distance with narrowed eyes, so I looked away again.

In the end, we didn’t do anything special on Sunday.

We stayed at a café all morning, ate lunch, went back to a café, then ate dinner.

We spent more time staring at our phones than talking.

But Jinwoo seemed satisfied, so… I guess that’s good.

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Pub: 22 Apr 2026 09:53 UTC

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