Chapter 208
Chapter 208
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: You're Not... That Bad Either
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***
Glacia was acting strange.
I needed to bring up the joint lecture this Friday, but I couldn't seem to find the right moment.
Glacia seemed to have calmed down, yet... she kept showing a strange attitude, as if she were in a bad mood.
It kept breaking the good flow of our conversation.
'I shouldn't... get too hasty.'
I composed myself, thinking there was still plenty of time.
Tap, tap.
Once the hay in her hand was gone, Glacia naturally dusted off her hands and stepped aside.
“Your turn.”
“...Yeah.”
Replying, I now skillfully held out the hay into the enclosure.
As I even gave the hay a little wiggle, I saw one of the rabbits approach.
The rabbit that came up to me felt quite familiar.
Nibble, nibble!
As it quickly nibbled away at the hay, I realized it was the same rabbit that had eaten from my hand last time.
So I smiled faintly and slowly brought my other hand over.
“What are you doing?”
Despite Glacia's surprised voice, I stroked the head of the rabbit, which continued to eat the hay without hesitation.
And just as I expected, the rabbit didn't run away from my touch but accepted it, making me feel a little happy.
Stroke.
Nibble, nibble!
The sight of my hand stroking its head and the rabbit nibbling the hay strangely overlapped. Seeing that, my worries simply melted away, and I felt purely happy.
It struck me again that cuteness is a cheat code.
A reason to feel good for no reason at all. That's what cuteness had.
Then I turned my head and saw Glacia staring blankly at the rabbit enjoying my touch.
'She was just watching the rabbits earlier, too. Has she never touched one herself?'
Figuring that was probably the case, I opened my mouth.
“Want to try petting it?”
“...M-Me?”
Her reaction was clearly different from usual. I nodded.
“This rabbit has been quite docile with me, both last time and now. It should be fine if you pet it too.”
"Th-Thank you."
Her eyes sparkling at my words, Glacia immediately started to reach out her hand.
In response, I gently moved my hand.
I was planning to move it aside to make room for her to pet the rabbit's head, but...
Shift!
“...?”
I was surprised by the change. The rabbit gently shifted its body, following my moving hand. It was as if it wanted more of my touch...
“Han Cheon-seong. W-What should I do?”
Even though Glacia asked me, seemingly desperate to touch it, I was in a difficult position myself.
Just in case, I gently moved my hand to the side again.
Shift!
The rabbit reacted the same way, moving its body to continue receiving my touch.
Nibble, nibble!
And yet, it kept munching on the hay with gusto.
It was absurd, as if the hay tasted best while being petted by me.
“...What should I do about this?”
Even as I said it, I honestly felt good.
It really felt like the rabbit liked me, which made the little creature enjoying my touch seem even cuter.
But it made me lose face after what I'd just told Glacia.
Unwilling to pull my hand away from the rabbit that seemed to enjoy my touch so much, I spoke.
“Um, how about... you just place your hand on top of mine?”
Before I could even process it, I had blurted out something foolish.
But I couldn't take it back, so I put on a brave face and looked at Glacia, who, to my surprise, hesitated.
'Even for Glacia, this must have been a bit too much.'
She had grabbed my hand plenty of times, but now that I was telling her to do something similar, she seemed flustered.
But that thought didn't last long.
Slowly.
As Glacia carefully placed her hand on top of mine, my body seemed to freeze.
'Is she really doing this?'
As our hands overlapped, Glacia unintentionally drew closer to me. With the distance between us now significantly reduced, her eyes met mine.
“...Then I'll just pet it a little, just for a moment.”
“Y-Yeah...”
Even as I replied, I felt an indescribable strangeness.
...I thought I'd said something really stupid, but since Glacia actually went along with it, I was at a loss for words.
Gently...
As Glacia's pale hand, layered over mine, began to move in a stroking motion, I unknowingly gulped.
She moved with extreme care, trying not to apply any pressure, petting the rabbit indirectly. But I could feel it all through my own hand, so I couldn't tense my hand either.
...Her hand moved over my stiff one to pet the rabbit, and because they were layered, I could hardly tell if she was petting the rabbit or caressing my hand.
“...”
“...”
And so, in silence, we continued the absurd act.
The act of petting a single rabbit with our hands layered over each other.
Even during this, Glacia's gaze wasn't on me. She was looking at the rabbit, her hand barely touching it, with a genuinely pure, happy smile... I found myself staring at her before I quickly lowered my gaze to the rabbit as well.
“...”
I barely managed to steady my wavering heart.
Glacia was only acting this way because she liked the rabbit. So I shouldn't read any more into it.
Stroke, stroke.
At the slightly more deliberate caress, I momentarily bit my lip and shook my head.
'This is just an act to pet the rabbit, nothing more.'
Right, that's all it is. I tried hard to erase any other thoughts.
After a strange time that felt both short and long, the rabbit, having finished the hay, turned and left without a second thought.
“Ah.”
At the disappointment in Glacia's voice, I flinched for some reason. As her hand gently lifted from mine, I carefully withdrew my own.
“Glacia. From now on... you should try it yourself. I'm sure there's a rabbit that will accept you.”
As I spoke awkwardly, Glacia gave a slight nod.
“I'll try that. But actually, the last time I tried, all the rabbits ran away as soon as I reached out. So I was content with just watching... Thank you for letting me pet it like this.”
“It's nothing...”
As I replied, I felt even stranger.
'Thank you for letting me pet it...?'
Was my mind in the gutter? Even those words sounded so strange. I blankly shook my head, trying to suppress the breath that wanted to escape.
“Wow.”
“...I'm so jealous.”
Hearing other voices, my gaze instinctively shifted. There, a few female students were watching us with peculiar expressions.
“Ah, sorry if you overheard us.”
She apologized immediately, and I just shook my head blankly.
“No. It's fine.”
I didn't know what was fine, but I felt even more awkward. And then, far too late, I realized.
'No way...'
Did those people just see... what Glacia and I were doing?
No, come to think of it, it wasn't just them. I could feel that most of the other students near the rabbit enclosure were covertly glancing our way, and a wave of shame washed over me.
'What in the world did I just do?'
What did I tell Glacia to do? Everyone nearby must have heard me...
“Han Cheon-seong?”
“...Huh?”
“Let's go see the other animals.”
Despite it all, Glacia's calm voice made me move my body as if it were creaking.
And the stares of the other people following me were absolutely dizzying.
...I was already filled with dread, wondering what kind of rumors would start circulating about me now.
*
After continuing to look at the animals in a state of shame, we headed to a cafe that was now all too familiar.
Clink.
As she set down her cup, Glacia's strangeness had mostly faded. She now seemed like her usual self.
So I thought now was the right time.
“Glacia. There's something I need to tell you first.”
“What is it?”
“It's about... the lecture scheduled for this Friday, assuming lectures resume this week.”
As I continued speaking calmly, I felt I was finally getting to the main point. I needed to coordinate with her so that I could take Leonhardt's place on Friday without any issues.
“Friday? You mean the joint lecture?”
“That's right. When we form groups, I'd like you to call my name directly. The A-Class students get first pick, right?”
“Oh? Okay. In fact, I'm grateful you brought it up first.”
Glacia agreed so readily that a small laugh escaped me.
“That's a relief, then. And as you know, my only connections in A-Class are you, Leonhardt, and Yumia.”
I was just thinking that I should get my body in perfect condition by Friday.
Suddenly, I saw Glacia's brow furrow.
“Hey, Han Cheon-seong.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
I took a sip of the tea in front of me and nodded. Glacia, uncharacteristically, hesitated.
She looked like she had something to say but couldn't quite bring herself to say it.
...Finding that odd, I calmly waited for her to speak.
“You know, today. Actually... I wasn't waiting for you at the park.”
“What do you mean?”
I blinked as I listened to her.
'You weren't waiting at the park?'
But we definitely met at the park.
“The truth is, I went to the infirmary hallway to see you.”
“...You did?”
I was surprised by her unexpected words, and also curious. If that was the case, she could have met me sooner by waiting there. Why did she go back to the park?
“And I saw you. With Yumia.”
At Glacia's carefully spoken words, I looked at her calmly.
Even if I was with Yumia, I had nothing to feel guilty about. I was just granting her a request.
“What about it?”
As I answered nonchalantly and met her eyes, I saw a flicker of uncertainty in her gaze.
Finding that even stranger, Glacia let out a small sigh.
“Why were you and Yumia holding hands? You two aren't even friends. And I've never seen Yumia act like that with anyone other than Leonhardt."
At her follow-up question... I paused, and then a short, incredulous laugh escaped me.
I couldn't really deny that Yumia and I weren't friends, but what she said after that was just too funny.
“Glacia. Are you perhaps... misunderstanding something?”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Yes. Even if we were holding hands, it was only because I granted a request she had. Yumia held my hand as a way of saying thank you. There was no other meaning behind it at all.”
I couldn't help but laugh as I explained it so calmly.
So that's why she asked so cautiously. She seemed to have misunderstood my relationship with Yumia. I guess, from an outsider's perspective, it could have looked strange.
'Still.'
There are some things you can misunderstand and some you can't. How could she possibly misunderstand something about me and Yumia?
“Glacia. You know by now, don't you? What kind of relationship Leonhardt and Yumia have...”
I couldn't help but keep laughing as I added to my explanation.
“Well, yes.”
Seeing Glacia reply awkwardly made me laugh even more.
“In the first place, with a guy as amazing as Leonhardt around, would Yumia even bat an eye at me? You can see it too, right? With such a great guy by her side, how could Yumia possibly have eyes for me?”
Even as I said it, I honestly believed it was objectively true.
I don't think I'm lacking or have low self-esteem, but still, I can't compare to Leonhardt.
I just hadn't paid much attention before. The rumors circulating about Leonhardt were all extraordinary.
I'd frequently hear rumors about how he was confessed to by female students in his class almost daily... or how students from other classes would purposely come to A1-Class just to see him.
Unlike me, who was only surrounded by all sorts of malicious rumors, he was strangely in a different league.
Stroke.
Seeing Glacia silently stroke my face, I couldn't help but chuckle.
Well.
'In this world, Leonhardt is the most handsome, after all.'
Honestly, I didn't even feel the urge to be jealous of his looks.
In this world filled with Western features, my face isn't considered ugly. Still, it's probably a bit far from most people's tastes...
"You're not... that bad either.”
Hearing her quiet voice, I froze.
“Not that bad?”
“Yeah... You don't need to put yourself down like that... You're actually... No, never mind. It's nothing.”
She stopped mid-sentence and quickly averted her gaze. I blinked blankly as I watched her.
Then I just gave an awkward nod.
"Thanks... for saying that."
I never thought Glacia would say something like that to me...
I never expected it at all.