ICYM Ch 12

Episode 12

I heard that Kendrick was the only one feeding the black cat, and once I’d started, I couldn’t bring myself to stop after just a few times.

Still, buying pet food one at a time from the convenience store near the crosswalk on the way back to the dorms was a bit too much of a burden on my allowance.

So there was only one solution.

Buying in bulk online was much cheaper than buying from the convenience store. Once I started thinking about it—adding this, adding that—I ended up buying way too much.

I hesitated briefly before paying, but since spending a large amount on a first-time purchase would let me apply a coupon, I ended up going through with it.

As soon as I entered the dorm, Mr. Higgins, who was in the office, poked his head out and came all the way out into the hallway after seeing me come in.

“Did you check your package?”

“Yes.”

“The delivery guy was grumbling about how heavy it was.”

He must’ve been waiting for me to come back just to ask, as he stood there waiting for my response.

Of course, keeping animals in the dorm was against the rules. But honestly admitting it felt a bit off too.

Mr. Higgins, if anything, was a kind person, but he was excessively chatty.

Telling him I was feeding a cat would only attract people to the garden unnecessarily.

I liked how things were now, when hardly anyone used the dormitory garden.

“I just thought I’d try doing some light workouts in my room.”

“Oh? Just don’t overdo it, okay?”

When I gave an awkward smile and explained, the dorm supervisor, satisfied with the answer, went back to the office.

I slid the parcel box under the wardrobe and tore open just the top to stash a few packets in my pocket when I heard the door open.

“Oh…!”

Owen, who usually wasn’t around much, looked quite surprised to find me in the room. He stopped abruptly and stared at me.

“Hi.”

When I greeted him first, he quickly turned around, checked that no one else was in the hallway, then pointed to himself and asked, “Me?”

Just because I didn’t want to get involved or draw attention didn’t mean I wasn’t going to say hello.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, hey!”

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“Yeah, I’m coming in.”

Owen hurried in and hung his bag on his desk chair. Then, after stealing glances at me for a while, he finally spoke up.

“Um…”

“What is it?”

I looked at him warily, thinking he was about to suggest I meet up with his sister again, and Owen’s face alternated between red and pale.

“Uh, did you… do okay on the math quiz?”

Now that he mentioned it, he was in the same class. I hadn’t paid him any attention, too distracted by the bigger guy in the room, but I at least knew we were in the same class.

“I guess… it was fine.”

I thought of my actual score, but what came out of my mouth was a calm lie.

“Are you thinking of switching classes?”

“Huh?”

“It’s the course correction period until the end of this week.”

“No, I’m not switching.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

He seemed to be wondering why the teacher had told me to stay in the class, lips twitching like he wanted to ask, but the question never came.

A glance at the clock showed it was already close to five.

Deciding there was no need to drag the conversation on, I shut the wardrobe door.

“Where are you going?”

“The lounge.”

“Then I’ll…”

“To study.”

“Oh, okay. See you in a bit then.”

Owen’s toes twitched like he wanted to follow, but he settled for just sitting down on the bed, seemingly satisfied with the conversation.  

I had planned to leave my bag behind, but since I had just said I was going to study, I figured I couldn’t just walk off without it. I slung it over my shoulder and stepped out of the room.

* * *

Mreeeooowr!

As soon as I reached the garden, the cat, already seated and waiting, let out a strange sound the moment it saw me.

I stopped mid-step, startled by a noise I’d never heard from a cat before.

“…Do cats normally make that kind of sound?”

When I paused, the cat cried again. Even without a cat translator, I could guess what it meant, so I quickly pulled out the wet food can I’d stashed in my pocket.

It seemed it really had been avoiding Kendrick, because with only me around, it came over and rubbed against me even before I fully opened the can.

“Huh?”

Up close, I noticed it was limping on one leg. Was it hurt?

I reached down to check, but the cat stretched out like melted cheese and slipped right through my hands.

Meow—

Then it moved back a bit, just out of reach, and stared intently at me, or more precisely, at the food can in my hand.

“Here.”

I gave up on trying to grab it again for now and decided to just observe while it ate.

But the moment I opened the can, I heard a sudden patter of quick footsteps behind me, followed by a loud “Woof!”

I whipped my head around, and sure enough, a dog that looked just like mine was staring at me with a triumphant expression.

And I knew exactly what that expression meant. It was the same one I had seen just before.

I reached into my other pocket and pulled out a can of wet food for dogs with a pop.

“Woof!”

The dog barked as it circled around me.

It was kind of ridiculous and funny seeing it act like nothing had happened after running off the way it had.

When I’d ordered the food online, I’d thrown in some dry dog food too, just in case. I’d have to bring that tomorrow.

Sitting down on the ground, I watched the dog and cat together, and a calm peace settled over me.

At some point, the cat finished eating and gave the dog a light tap on the head.

A little slower to finish, the dog seemed to take it as an invitation to play. It lowered its front half, tail wagging, and began to circle around the cat again.

“Ah… Should I tell him?”

As I absentmindedly watched them, I suddenly remembered how Kendrick had always made a point of checking in and reporting whether the dog had shown up.

Should I contact him?

Maybe see if he really was ignoring me just because I was a Beta when we were alone together?

The fact that he kept his distance when there were people around wasn’t a bad thing for me, but still, I wanted to make sure. I didn’t want to talk to someone who secretly looked down on me.

And while I was at it, I wanted to check if the rumor that Sunbae had told me was actually true.

There’s a good chance it’s just gossip.

I figured it’d be best to start by letting him know the dog had come back, so I unlocked my phone—

“…The dog came back?”

“Uehh?”

At some point, Kendrick had come up behind me. I was so startled that a weird sound slipped out, but Kendrick didn’t glance away from the dog. The concern from the past few days was written all over his face.

“Perfect timing. I was just about to contact you.”

At my words, Kendrick quickly added, almost like an excuse, “I did see your message this time.”

“Hm?”

“But I just… wanted to come.”

He sounded like he was trying to gauge my reaction, which made me shrug and act like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t mind?”

“…Not really?”

Kendrick let out a sigh of relief so obvious I nearly laughed.

I wondered why his expression was suddenly so easy to read, and realized that the hair that used to fall just over his eyes now reached his eyebrows.

“…Did you get a haircut?”

At my question, Kendrick touched his bangs.

Ah, he’s embarrassed.

“…Does it look weird?”

“No, it looks pre—”

There was something about the transparency of his expression that made it hard to look away. He had only trimmed his bangs a little, but the whole impression felt noticeably different.

Unlike his firm jawline and the Alpha-like definition of his lower face, his eyes were as beautiful as carefully painted gemstones, as if drawn with great care by an artist. The contrast should have looked mismatched, but his facial features blended so harmoniously that his appearance seemed almost unreal.

“Huh?”

The intimidating aura he’d once given off had faded quite a bit. I’d caught myself staring blankly at a face far more beautiful than I’d expected. Snapping back to reality, I quickly pinched my thigh. I’d nearly said he looked pretty out loud.

I rushed to correct myself.

“No, I mean, it looks fine.”

“Yeah?”

But why did he suddenly get a haircut?

Was it because I said the other day that trimming his bangs might suit him? Did he really go and do it today because of that?

No way.

And even if that were the case, it wouldn’t be just because of what I said. More likely, he simply figured it was time for a trim.

“Ahem. I bought sausage rolls. Want one? I got too many.”

“Sure.”

Kendrick replied gently and crouched beside me.

As I rustled the bag to hand him a sausage roll, the dog, having finished its food, stood up on its hind legs and smacked Kendrick’s thigh hard.

Kendrick’s eyes wavered for a moment.

He glanced back and forth between the sausage roll in his hand and the dog.

Was it possible dogs had a sixth sense for knowing exactly who might give them food?

I stopped Kendrick, whose resolve was clearly crumbling, with a firm voice, “You can’t give people food.”

“…Not even a little?”

Kendrick looked at me with brows raised in a pleading expression, but no meant no.

“No. Besides, it just ate.”

I pointed at the empty can as I spoke.

Kendrick let out a quiet sigh and then apologized to the dog, saying, “He said no,” while gently pushing it away.

In silence, Kendrick began eating the sausage roll. His gaze absentmindedly landed on my bag, and then as if something clicked, he asked in a slightly regretful tone, “Did you… take off the badge?”

“I lost it. I think it fell off somewhere.”

“What about getting a new one…?”

“I went back to the place I bought it from before, but they didn’t have it. I looked online too, but no luck.”

“Really? That’s too bad.”                                                          

It was a badge I’d grown attached to, especially because it reminded me of the dog.

Kendrick seemed even more disappointed than I was, which made me let out a soft chuckle.