Chapter 27
I could feel Siwoo's body stiffen for a moment, but he didn't reject Dina's touch—he accepted it. As she gently smoothed down the stray strands of his hair, Siwoo slowly turned his head to look at her. Only when their eyes met did Dina realize what she'd done. To her, it had just been fixing his messy hair, but to anyone else, it might look like she'd simply been stroking his head.
"…What are you doing?"
At Siwoo's words, Dina instinctively averted her gaze.
Did I cross the line?
They'd spent plenty of time together since enrollment, but they still weren't close enough to call it friendship. If anything, it felt more awkward than with a total stranger… What if she'd ruined things and he hated her now? The thought of being disliked by the first person she'd ever wanted to befriend terrified her. Her fingertips trembled pitifully.
I don't want him to hate me…
With that in mind, she offered an excuse.
"W-well, you kept fiddling with your hair earlier, so…"
"Huh? My hair?"
"Y-yeah… So I thought I'd fix it for you… D-did it bother you?"
Her voice shook as she spoke, like someone who'd committed a grave sin. But contrary to her fears, Siwoo smiled.
"It was bugging me anyway. Thanks."
His smile and gentle tone melted away her tension like snow in spring.
Phew… Looks like he doesn't hate me…
As she sighed in relief and beamed back at him, something fluttered deep in her chest. For some reason, she suddenly couldn't look him straight in the face anymore. Without thinking, she pressed a hand to her chest and turned her head away.
A strange emotion she'd been noticing lately was rampaging wildly inside her.
F-first, I need to sit down!
Dina's seat was right next to Siwoo's. Even sitting, there was still about a head's worth of height difference between them. As she sat and tried to calm her racing heart, the door burst open and two Class S students entered. That woke up a girl who'd been dozing facedown at her desk ahead of time.
But why… Why was Siwoo's gaze fixed on her?
Another unfamiliar feeling bloomed in her chest. This was the same emotion she'd felt intensely whenever Siwoo was with that girl Scarlett.
She glared at him coldly—until he turned and their eyes met. Siwoo startled at the sight of Dina, then suddenly flopped facedown on his desk, pretending to sleep.
"……."
She stared at him for a moment before following suit, resting her head on her desk and closing her eyes.
The teacher soon arrived and class began, but none of it registered in Dina's mind. She looked more focused than anyone, but she already knew all this material—no need to pay attention. More than that, though…
Why does Siwoo keep looking at other girls?
If he's going to stare at other girls, why not look at me, right here beside him? Her thoughts had wandered completely elsewhere.
I don't like it.
The woman who'd taught him swordsmanship, Scarlett who'd synced with him during the entrance ceremony test, that girl Kania he kept glancing at…
Siwoo's lived under strict surveillance and control since he was little. I'm the only one who can truly understand him.
She could empathize with his pain, understand it, hold him through it. That's why she wanted all his gazes, all his attention, directed at her. She wanted him to spoil her rotten, to lean on her alone. She was confident she could embrace and comfort him anytime.
So why…
We're not even close yet—why does it feel this awkward…?
How could she get closer to Siwoo? Lost in those thoughts, class ended before she knew it. Glancing sideways, she saw Siwoo spacing out too—clearly lost in his own head.
For now, at least during supervision duty, we should always commute together.
The more time they spent together, the more chances to bond, and just being around each other would build inner closeness.
"…Not going?"
Siwoo hadn't caught her words and asked back.
"Huh?"
"Are we… not heading back together?"
"Oh."
He doesn't not want to go together, right?
If he did, her whole plan to get closer would crumble. Thankfully, he stood, slipped on his outer coat, and prepared to leave.
"Let's go," he said, striding ahead.
She let out a silent sigh of relief and followed wordlessly. Then, a rustle came from the bushes beside the path.
"Eek!"
Startled, Dina let out a weird yelp and plastered herself to Siwoo's side. Something kept moving in the grass before popping out.
"…A cat?"
I screamed over just one little cat…?
Her face flushed with embarrassment. While Dina stewed in mortification alone, Siwoo approached the cat. After observing it briefly, he slowly extended his hand to pet it without scaring it off.
Dina gasped at the sight of his face. In that moment, his expression was gentler than she'd ever seen.
She stared blankly at him, mesmerized.
…He's never made that face at me…
Jealousy surged unbidden, and she strode up to his side. Siwoo looked at her in surprise. He seemed to ponder something for a second.
"Eep?"
He grabbed her wrist and gently pulled.
What? What? What?!
Powerless against his tug, the distance between them shrank in an instant. Her mind went blank, thoughts evaporating.
Plop.
A soft texture brushed her fingertips. Dina, who'd squeezed her eyes shut without realizing, peeked them open. At the end of the hand Siwoo had guided was the cat.
The cat meowed meow~ as if begging for pets, gazing up at her.
Just a little…
She tentatively scratched under its chin with her fingers. The black cat closed its eyes blissfully at the touch. Emboldened, Dina petted it more confidently.
Come to think of it… this might be the first time I've seen a cat in real life.
Until now, she'd only seen animals online. First time seeing one, first time touching one. That alone lifted her spirits, and she lavished pets on the cat.
So cute… I want to take it back and raise it, but dorm rules probably don't allow pets.
As she petted it with a tinge of regret, a warm, heavy hand suddenly rested on her head.
She knew whose it was instantly—her petting stopped dead. The cat meowed in protest: meow~
That warm hand stroked her head oh-so-gently once. Then it hesitated, pulled away abruptly as if brushing off dust, and Siwoo spoke in a trembling voice.
"Ahem, you had some dust in your hair…"
"Uh, o-okay…"
What was that? What? WHAT?!
What did that tenderness in his touch mean?
I have no idea!
Her heart pounded like mad. She stroked her own hair, reluctant to lose the lingering warmth where his hand had been.
If only he'd petted me a little longer…
Deep regret lingered. Siwoo quickened his pace as if something urgent had come up.
"If you're not coming, I'm heading off first!"
"W-wait, I'm coming too!"
Siwoo walked briskly ahead. With their height difference, Dina had to trot to keep up. But a goofy smile kept blooming on her face. Feeling someone's gentle touch was almost a first for her.
Noticing her running to catch up, Siwoo slowed to match her pace. Dina grinned ear-to-ear at him as they walked.
That day, she gained a new goal: Get Siwoo to pat her gently again.
We got a little closer today—maybe soon!
Her happy thoughts carried her all the way to the dorms. As she went to say goodbye,
"Hey!"
"Y-yes?!"
She hadn't expected him to call her back and answered a bit weirdly in surprise. Siwoo strode up and said something way too stimulating for her.
"Hey, can I get your number?"
"Huh?"
Her brain froze, and she dumbly echoed him. He explained.
"Like this morning—if one side doesn't show and I can't reach you, it'd be a problem."
"Oh…"
True, that would be inconvenient. But exchanging numbers for that reason, not because he wanted to get closer, left her a bit dissatisfied. Still, she couldn't refuse, so she took his phone with a pout, entered her number, and handed it back.
Watching him save it as [Dina]—not Polaris—made her sigh involuntarily.
"Ah."
Not 'Miss Polaris,' but Dina? Using my first name means we're that close…
Her face burned; she bowed her head to hide it and offered her phone. After he inputted his number and they exchanged goodbyes, they parted.
The moment Dina entered her room, she flopped facedown on the bed, buried her face in the pillow, and let out a silent scream of joy.
"………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"