[No title provided]
After that, we walked to the dormitory in complete silence. The quiet was the same as always, but the undercurrent of emotions flowing between us felt somehow a little different from before.
When we arrived at the dorm, I awkwardly bowed my head, said we'd had a hard day, and turned to leave. Then I remembered something I'd forgotten and called out to Dina.
"Hey!"
"Y-yes?"
Dina, who had been heading to her room, jumped in surprise and reacted like a glitchy robot. I strode right up to her and thrust out my phone without preamble.
"Um, can I get your number?"
"Pardon?"
Her eyes went wide as saucers as she blinked at me. Was it too out of the blue?
"Like this morning—if one side doesn't work out and I can't reach you, that'd be a problem."
"Ah......"
Dina let out a sigh, her face tinged with disappointment, and took my phone to punch in her number. When I saved it simply as [Dina], she murmured "Ah" beside me with another sigh.
Then she hesitantly handed me her phone, and I entered my number. The phone's so tiny. Because her hands are small? The design was plain, almost stark.
I nearly entered my pre-possession number by mistake but caught myself, deleted it, and re-entered the right one. In the corner of my vision, I saw Dina fidgeting with her fingers, looking somehow wistful.
Well, can't blame her for feeling uneasy.
Dina had saved the story and key events from Akanak Star on her phone after possessing the character inside it, to avoid forgetting the plot. I was honestly tempted, but if she sent the files to me, she'd definitely notice something was up.
Smacking my lips in regret, I handed the phone back. She took it with her head bowed low and stared intently at my number on the screen.
What is she doing? She didn't seem dissatisfied or anything.
After about three seconds, Dina looked up and met my eyes.
"Thank you. May I go in now?"
"Yeah. Get some good rest."
I watched her back for a moment as she bowed slightly and headed to her room, then returned to mine.
*
Dina woke early, got ready in a flash, and waited for Siwoo in the dormitory's first-floor common lounge. Fussing over her hair out of worry that she might look odd, she was a living work of art.
A few students passing by early on blushed—guys and girls alike—as they glanced at her. But even after waiting a while, Siwoo didn't appear.
At first, she wondered why he wasn't coming. As more time passed, she started thinking maybe the problem was with her.
Does he hate going with me that much?
She moped for a moment, then shook her head and perked up.
It's a bit vain to think this myself, but I know full well how beautiful I am.
While countless people avoided her, the few who approached had all been drawn by her looks. Even those who kept their distance usually blushed when they saw her face—she knew that very well.
Though most steered clear because of her abilities, no one had ever failed to feel attracted to her appearance. Siwoo was probably the same.
She hadn't done anything to make him hate her, so there was no reason for him to avoid her.
Then... did something happen?
If he couldn't come out of his room for some reason... The ominous thought ignited like fire on dry tinder, swelling rapidly.
Her mind was already convinced something had happened to Han Siwoo. And if so, there was only one thing for Dina to do.
Whatever it was, she had to go help him right away. She strode toward the stairs but paused.
...Come to think of it, where is his room?
They'd never really talked, so she had no idea which floor or room Han Siwoo used.
"Hmm......"
She frowned slightly, pondering. With no contact info, she had only one way to find him right now.
Siwoo's in a hurry— no time to call a teacher.
Purple mana flowed from Dina's body.
I can just spread my mana and search.
The dorm was set to sound an alarm if unknown mana was detected, to prepare for attacks. But...
If it doesn't get detected, problem solved.
Her mana moved with terrifying precision and delicacy, spreading faintly to blanket the entire dormitory. Normally impossible, but her overwhelming power and talent made it real.
Found him!
On the fifth floor, end of the hall, a very familiar energy was moving about frantically.
Something must have happened!
Why else would he be moving so urgently inside his room? The mana scattered throughout the building retracted to Dina in an instant.
Judging even the stairs too slow, she teleported straight to Han Siwoo's door.
She took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock...
Bang.
The door flew open, and Han Siwoo burst out, looking like he hadn't fully woken up yet.
Dina froze in shock, but her mind raced on.
No way... he just overslept?
Then those frantic movements must have been him getting ready.
I was so worried...!
It was a relief nothing was wrong, but she resented him for making her worry.
Maybe that's why her first words came out in a voice so cold it surprised even her.
"...You're late."
Siwoo flinched hard and immediately apologized.
"Sorry."
The human heart is fickle—when someone you like apologizes humbly, your anger melts away, and you end up feeling sorry instead.
"Let's go. We'll be late."
So Dina chose to brush past it. Fortunately, Siwoo followed without a word.
But they were already quite late. Running full speed might avoid tardiness, but Dina's physical abilities weren't great, so she wanted to avoid that.
She walked briskly, then thought of a solution and stopped dead.
Siwoo, following behind, nearly collided with her sudden halt—but stopped just in time...
"......!"
Dina screamed silently. A few centimeters was plenty to feel another's warmth.
Hot breath enveloped her in an instant, and for a split second, she imagined herself in his arms.
Snapping out of the fantasy, she felt her heart pounding wildly. She turned to calm her burning face, but their closeness made it flare even hotter, like it might explode.
To hide her embarrassment, what did she do? Grabbed his hand.
"W-we'll be late like this."
The warmth of their clasped hands was on another level from before. It felt hotter than her flushed cheeks.
Realizing too late she'd done something even more embarrassing to cover her shame, Dina unwittingly gripped his hand tight and cast her spell.
Darkness enveloped them, teleporting them right in front of Shield.
"I-I need the bathroom quick!"
She yanked her hand free and bolted. Inside the bathroom, she slammed the door and panted heavily.
"Haa. Haa. Haa."
Her heart wouldn't calm down. The feel of his hand lingered. His calluses proved his hard work, and it was so much warmer than hers.
She wanted to hold it forever...
W-what am I thinking!
To cool her face, she removed her mask and splashed cold water, which helped a bit. After catching her breath, she opened the door.
Siwoo sat there spacing out, his back to her. Rushing out, his hair was a mess.
Come to think of it, he kept fussing with it on the way.
She recalled him sniffing and touching his hair while following her.
It's cute a bit messy, but he'll be embarrassed like that.
With that thought, Dina reached out to fix his hair, placing her hand atop his head.