ICYM Ch 54

Episode 54

“…That.”

Just as I had figured out Owen’s personality, Owen, likewise, had grasped my personality far better than I expected.

“If you’re willing to come find Kendrick like this on your own, doesn’t that mean you were already close even before?”

The Owen who would casually accept any excuse and let it slide was gone, and in his place stood a sharp-eyed Owen.

Watching him deduce everything, I swallowed dryly.

Click.

As if on the worst possible timing, Kendrick, having finished catching all the bugs, came into the room.

“…Uh.”

The moment Kendrick opened the door and noticed Owen, he swallowed the words he had been about to say. Owen alternated his gaze between Kendrick and me.

If I were to confess the truth, I had no idea how far I should go. That we were dating? Or even the part where I confessed to him by mistake?

Owen clapped his hands as he reached a conclusion.

“That pajama set…. You guys did a group purchase without me!”

Owen was more observant than I thought, but he was slightly lacking in tact.

* * *

Only after checking the tag at the back of the neck to confirm the pajama brand and even helping decide which pajamas we should buy together were we finally released.

Kendrick made the excuse that he was heading to the library to study, and I used the excuse that I was tired and needed to sleep, allowing us to return to my room together.

Once we were back in the room and each sitting in our respective spots, we were finally able to breathe.

As I entered the room, memories of the bug nightmare flashed through my mind, making me tense, but the faint medicinal scent lingering in the air soon put me at ease.

“There were five bugs, right?”

“…There were five?”

“Yeah.”

“……”

In the short time I had run to Kendrick’s room, and Kendrick had come back, two more bugs had entered the room.

I was glad I hadn’t seen that scene myself.

“I caught them all and made sure the window’s closed. I also sprayed the stuff I borrowed from downstairs.”

“Thank you. Really.”

Kendrick looked especially cool to me in that moment. I wanted to carry him around in my pocket so that if a bug ever appeared, I could take him out and have him catch it.

Just as my pointless imagination was about to spiral on, my stomach, not forgetting its duty, loudly announced its presence.

Grrrrr.

Startled by the loud sound, Kendrick glanced at my stomach, then lifted the plastic bag he had left beside the table and placed it on top.

“Ah. It’s probably cooled down a bit. Do you want to eat now?”

“Yeah.”

What Kendrick had ordered were the same dishes I had taken out during mid-term break, only to drop and ruin them on the way to the dorms.

Half touched that he remembered the menu I liked, and half terrified as I wondered who on earth the man he had hit back then really was, I picked up my chopsticks.

They say hunger is the best seasoning. Even though the food had completely cooled, it tasted good.

I focused on eating in silence. Only after I had finished about half did I regain my senses.

I hadn’t even eaten dinner properly, and after all that commotion outside in the rain, it made sense that I’d be hungry.

Kendrick’s portion hadn’t even gone down by half, which made me feel a little embarrassed, but then again, I really had been starving.

Around the time I stopped eating and took a moment to drink some water, Kendrick naturally reopened the conversation.

“About the gift.”

“Huh? The pajamas?”

Kendrick gave a light nod.

“I really like them. Thank you.”

I did not understand why he was suddenly thanking me again, so I nodded back with a confused expression.

“…? Uh-huh.”

It did not seem like sarcasm, and it was not like Kendrick to speak that way. His expression looked genuinely pleased.

“It’s just a little disappointing that soon three people will be wearing them.”

“…Huh?”

Only after hearing the rest of Kendrick’s words did I grasp what he meant. And the moment I realized it, my face flared up with heat.

I thought they were just pajamas, but he likes them even more because he thinks of them as couple pajamas?

Did I correctly understand the meaning of that sudden remark?

I wanted to ask if I had understood him correctly, my lips parting slightly, but only hot breath came out.

When I stared at him with wide, rabbit-like eyes, Kendrick propped his chin on his hand, met my gaze, and slowly curled up the corners of his mouth.

As if he knew exactly how I had taken his words, and as if that interpretation was the correct answer.

I got confirmation even without asking verbally. Unlike my obvious fluster, Kendrick calmly began clearing the food in front of him, acting as though he had never said anything, and asked, “Since tomorrow’s Sunday anyway, is it okay if I stay until late? I think it’d be better if we studied together a bit today.”

“Huh? But it’s already pretty late.”

“We can’t go to sleep right away anyway. We need to digest.”

I could not think of a reason to refuse. My heartbeat was louder than usual. Worried that Kendrick might hear it, I jumped up and grabbed my backpack from beside the bed.

“Then, shall we?”

“Yeah.”

While grabbing my bag, I also brought my phone, which had been plugged into the charger, over to the desk.

Come to think of it, I heard Sunbae was sick.

Trying to cool down, I shifted my attention to my phone first, even though it was not the top priority.

Tap tap tap.

Even as my fingers tapped the screen, my attention kept drifting toward Kendrick.

I felt strangely conscious, as if I could sense his gaze.

[Me: I heard you’re sick, Senior. I hope you get better soon (angel emoji)]

[Me: There’s something I want to talk about once you’re better… Let me know when you have time.] 10:01 PM

[Me: It’s about the culprit!] 10:02 PM

After quickly finishing the messages, I placed my phone face down on the desk and took a deep breath.

I sent the texts first to regain my composure, but from here on out, I realized I needed to start dealing with things by priority, just like Kendrick had.

“You know about that news, too, right? The cat abuser.”

And the highest priority was, of course, Coco and Nabi.

Saying I wouldn’t get attached and not even naming them in the first place was nonsense.

If I truly had no intention of getting attached, I should never have gone back separately just to feed them.

I had already stepped in too deep, and I could not back down. I was worried about Coco and Nabi, and I wanted to watch over them somehow.

I only had a fragment of dreamlike memories of the past, so it was too early to talk about adoption, but that was how serious I was.

“Yeah. The dorm supervisor mentioned it during dinner.”

“Oh. Other than that, what else do you know?”

“Nothing.”

Even I, someone without many friends, knew about it, so I naturally assumed others would too. But Kendrick said that he did not use community apps, so everything he knew was only what the dorm supervisor had told him.

Because of that, he inevitably had less information than I did, and he did not seem to fully grasp the severity of the abuser yet.

I hesitated for a moment at that point. How much should I tell him?

Part of me wanted to confess everything I had suspected and apologize.

But would that be honesty, or just selfishness?

No matter what was going on in my head, Kendrick would forgive me. Knowing that he would forgive me, was I not just speaking up to make myself feel better? Was it really okay to confess my suspicions just to ease my own conscience?

I was not suggesting that I keep lying. I just needed to consider the timing.

Even if I say it now, nothing will get better.

In that case, it was better to start with what mattered most.

“From what I heard, they’re saying the culprit will be caught soon, but I’m worried about Coco and Nabi. Should we put Coco and Nabi in a pet hotel for a bit? Just until they catch the culprit.”

“Pet hotel?”

“They say it’ll probably be soon, but what if, before he is caught, he suddenly becomes more violent or something?”

When I explained my reasoning in detail, Kendrick understood right away.

“Yeah, let’s do that. I should have been paying attention too.”

“No. You said you didn’t know much. Should I look up places nearby that do pet hotel stays?”

“I’ll check tomorrow.”

“Let’s look together.”

Kendrick readily went along with my suggestion.

Once the conversation wrapped up, Kendrick excused himself, saying he would go to the bathroom for a moment and that we would really start afterward.

“Haaah—”

Relieved that the conversation had gone better than expected, a sigh of relief escaped me. Only then did I recall what Kendrick had said earlier, and I buried my face on the desk.

My face burned so hot it felt like steam might rise from the top of my head.

Is he crazy?

How could he say something like that so casually? Replaying Kendrick’s sudden, direct words in my head, I kicked at the air like a madman.

Then, all of a sudden, a question I had kept putting off popped up.

Did Kendrick really accept my confession because he likes me?

We barely had any points of contact, and even thinking about it myself, I had never done anything in front of Kendrick that would earn his affection.

If anything, I had only shown him my foolish side over and over.

The first time we met, I snatched and ate his donut, then later suspected him of being a bad guy, and, as if showing him my underwear was not enough, I had just shown him something even worse than that moments ago.