ICYM Ch 14

Episode 14

“……”

“Ah, right. The stuff we learned last time didn’t really show up on the quiz, so my score wasn’t that great…”

If Sunbae kept pressing, I felt like the words would just slip out before I could stop them, so I busied myself by rummaging through my bag. As I started pulling out the test paper I’d hidden deep inside, he glanced toward the door to make sure no one was around and asked, “Is it because of Kendrick Bardi?”

“Huh?”

He asked like he already knew, so it didn’t feel right to deny it. Did he have some sixth sense or something? I looked at him in surprise, and that seemed to be an answer enough because he gave a bitter smile.

“…How did you know?”

Failing to steer the conversation toward studying, I admitted it honestly.

“I saw you through the window yesterday, on my way to dinner.”

“…Ah.”

I shouldn’t have stayed out in the garden until the dinner bell rang yesterday.

“I swear, I didn’t mean to see anything.”

Sunbae placed a hand over his chest and cautiously watched my reaction. It wasn’t like the area was walled off, so someone seeing us was inevitable.

“It’s my fault for being somewhere so visible.”

I shrugged as if to say it couldn’t be helped, and he offered a gentle smile as if trying to reassure me.

“And I’m the only one who saw.”

If the potato squad had seen it, word would’ve spread by dinnertime. It wasn’t that I had done anything wrong, but they were the last people I wanted to find out. They had a knack for making even the smallest things exhausting.

They were also the ones who always said that me hanging out with a recessive Alpha like Sunbae was a bad match. So I knew Sunbae tended to watch himself around them.

But a dominant Alpha being close with a Beta? Even if we weren’t in the same group, it’d cause an uproar. 

“Small blessings, I guess.”

“They’re still my friends, though. Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“It’s not like I said anything untrue.”

“They must’ve really gotten on your bad side.”

Sunbae scrunched his nose and said they were just a bit mischievous. I wanted to correct him—they weren’t mischievous, they were a pain in the ass—but I didn’t bother saying it out loud.

“Can I ask how you two got close, though?”

“Huh?”

“If you were already close before I said anything… Then I must’ve stuck my nose where it didn’t belong.”

He was asking whether sitting together during weekend activities was just a coincidence, or if we’d already been close before then. If it was the latter, then it would’ve meant he badmouthed someone’s good friend right to their face.

Only then did I understand why Sunbae looked so troubled.

Realizing how much he paid attention to those subtle things, I quickly shook my head.

“No, it’s not like that. We hadn’t even spoken before that.”

“Then? When did you start talking to each other?”

Worried that he might think we became close even after hearing what he’d said, I pushed my chair back and looked directly at him.

Should I pretend I am sick?

I touched my forehead, wondering if I could pull it off, but it felt warmer than usual. A headache might work as an excuse with a teacher, but not with Sunbae sitting right in front of me. I gave up and began to speak.

“Well…”

“Yeah. Take your time.”

“So, um…”

Why was it so hard to say?

I swallowed dryly under Sunbae’s gaze and finally opened my mouth with difficulty.

He was someone who had helped me in so many ways, both emotionally and practically, and it’s not like we’d promised to keep the garden a secret between just the two of us. So maybe it was okay.

“We met by chance in the garden. I heard there was a cat wandering around that wasn’t getting fed.”

I left out the part about how his potato squad had stolen my donuts that had been hanging on Kendrick’s door. That would just make things uncomfortable for both of us.

Sunbae listened quietly, resting his chin on his hand, with a puzzled expression on his face.

“So we’re just taking turns feeding it, that’s all.”

“And the reason you stayed longer yesterday was because the cat you feed was limping, and you wanted to check on it?”

“Yeah.”

When I gave a big nod, Sunbae pressed his lips together as if deep in thought.

Did I say something wrong?

When I glanced at the time, it was already close to 8 o’clock.

That meant I’d been agonizing over this for more than an hour.

Good grief. So much for waking up early.

Should I just save this talk for later and ask him to help me study now?

I glanced awkwardly at the 29-point test paper in my hand and let out a shallow sigh.

It was then that Sunbae, still deep in thought, finally spoke.

“Actually… I wasn’t planning to tell you this.”

“…What is it?”

“I’m sure about it in my gut, but there’s no hard evidence yet.”

Why was he hesitating so much before speaking?

I unknowingly narrowed my eyes, leaned forward, and listened closely.

“There have been a few reports filed at the local police station about an injured stray cat.”

“Reports about it being injured?”

Stray cats can get hurt too, can’t they? Life on the streets must be tough. Even if it’s relatively safe, outdoor life can never be entirely comfortable.

Seeing that I hadn’t grasped what he meant, he explained further.

“Someone reported seeing a person deliberately hitting the cat.”

“What?”

“And one of the witnesses testified that the person was wearing our school uniform.”

“……”

“So far, only the dorm supervisors and I know about this.”

“……”

“They said once they’re more certain, they’ll make an announcement in the dorms and at school.”

An animal abuser, in our neighborhood, inside the school no less? So it wasn’t just an accident, but something someone had done on purpose?

“And the culprit’s a student from our school?”

I murmured, covering my mouth with my hand.

“That’s what they’re saying.”

“But why are you suddenly bringing this up now…?”

I was still reeling from the shock, but the shift in conversation struck me as strange. I looked up at Sunbae, confused about why he’d brought this up so out of the blue.

Then, seeing the look in his eyes, I realized why.

“…No way.”

“I think the culprit is Kendrick Bardi.”

His firm tone made me blurt out a denial without even thinking.

“Come on. That’s going too far.”

I waved my hand and even laughed, trying to change the atmosphere, but Sunbae’s expression didn’t ease at all.

“You said you clearly saw that the cat didn’t like him when they first met, right?”

“No, it’s because he’s an extreme-dominant Alpha… That’s what I heard.”

“But you didn’t actually see it yourself, did you?”

“Well, no, but still…”

“And when you met him for the first time, you didn’t actually see him feeding the cat either.”

“But that was just a misunderstanding. He said he was trying to give it deworming medicine.”

“What if that was just an excuse he made up because you showed up?”

So this is why Sunbae kept asking me questions while I was explaining how I came to know Kendrick.

I could see now that Sunbae had already made up his mind.

Kendrick mistreating a cat? Kendrick mistreating a dog? The Kendrick I saw was the kind of guy who looked genuinely shaken just trying to decide whether or not to share his food with a dog that had gotten dirt all over his pants. He wasn’t someone who took out his anger on things weaker than him.

“Aren’t you overthinking this?”

“And you said the cat seemed hurt after you didn’t go for a few days.”

“But when I looked again, it seemed fine….”

“If you didn’t get a good look, then it could have been hurt.”

“…That’s…”

I was at a loss for words in the face of his unwavering stance. I was both flustered and confused to realize that the things I’d said so casually were being interpreted like this.

“Doesn’t the fact that he doesn’t hang out with the other Alphas mean there’s something wrong with him?”

I involuntarily flinched at Sunbae’s excited outburst.

Saying it’s strange for an Alpha to avoid other Alphas and hang out with a Beta… That could never come from a good place.

He didn’t mean to be demeaning, right?

That felt like I was going too far. There’s no way Sunbae meant it that way. If he really disliked me for being a Beta, he wouldn’t be meeting me like this. He was probably just too worked up right now and chose the wrong words.

Maybe he misunderstood my silence, thinking it was for another reason. He furrowed his brows and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“…I won’t stop you if you trust him. But do you really think he’s innocent?”

I had no loyalty to Kendrick, and agreeing with Sunbae now would probably look good in his eyes.

But the words that came out of my mouth were ambiguous.

“…I’m not sure.”

Still, I didn’t want to sit here and pass judgment on Kendrick Bardi behind his back, like I had him all figured out.

“Not sure?”

“He didn’t seem like a bad person.”

At my words, Sunbae let out a sarcastic laugh and asked, as if daring me to give the same answer even after hearing the next part, “Even though he comes from a mafia family?”

“……”

This wasn’t the kind of atmosphere where I could say the mafia thing wasn’t a confirmed fact.

“Hayden, I get that you want to see the good in him. But people are complicated.”

At his words, the memory of Kendrick’s voice from just a few hours ago flashed through my mind—low and threatening, yelling at someone over the phone.

It might not be true. But it might be. That’s what I realized a few hours ago.

“…Yeah, I know that much.”

At my docile reply, Sunbae finally relaxed, as if he’d gotten the answer he wanted, and reached out to ruffle my hair.