ICYM Ch 23

Episode 23

Ah.

The fever from this morning hadn’t been a cold. It was an early sign of my heat cycle.

I forced my sluggish mind to work. I had to. If I started reacting to those bastards or their pheromones now, things would only get worse.

My cycle had always been irregular, but looking at the calendar app on my phone, it had never come early. If anything, it was usually late.

“Hoo…”

A chill swept through my whole body, and I felt like I could lose control of my pheromones at any moment.

Just a little more… The door’s right there.

I had to get there without letting anyone notice something was wrong. That single thought was the only thing holding me together. I clenched my fists so hard that my knuckles turned white.

“That bastard’s leaving, he’s really going.”

The potatoes who had no clue about my situation murmured among themselves. Had the door always felt this far away? Every step was a struggle. My whole body felt like it was made of lead.

Thud.

I pushed open the door that felt unbearably heavy. Even as I stepped outside, I didn’t let my guard down for a second.

Click.

“…Goddamn it.”

The sound of the door shutting completely echoed behind me. The moment I confirmed there were no eyes on me, I took off running like I hadn’t been struggling a moment ago.

Even in this state, I instinctively avoided the front entrance, thinking it’d be crowded. I made a dash for the back exit, even though it was farther away.

My whole body staggered violently and I almost collapsed, but thankfully I was able to support myself against the wall and make my way down.

The moment I pushed open the door, I scanned the area. Just as I’d hoped, no one was around.

“Phew…”

Only then did I finally release the tension and take a deep breath.

Cold air filled my lungs. I tried to calm myself, breathing in the refreshing air as quickly as I could. The best thing to do now would be to get a grip here and head to the infirmary, but my legs were trembling so badly I had no choice but to lean against the wall.

Even that wasn’t enough. My legs gave out, and I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the ground.

“Ugh…”

I clutched at my chest, trying to calm myself, but once the dam had burst, there was no stopping it.

My body felt like it was on fire. My head was spinning. I tried to hold my breath, but it was already too late. The Alpha pheromones that had seeped in through my mucous membranes were raging through my bloodstream.

Not even the cold wall could cool my body down.

“Haa… Haa…”

It was a sensation I had never felt before. The burning heat. The heaviness sinking in my chest. I gripped the area near my heart, panting rapidly.

It felt like sparks were flying inside my head.

“…Haa… Haa…”

Even clutching the front of my shirt hard enough to wrinkle it didn’t help me calm down.

What do I do?

As there was no sign of this easing anytime soon, panic began to set in.

Afternoon classes would begin soon, and barely anyone used the back entrance.

It wasn’t even a matter of whether I’d make it to the next class. The real concern was if I collapsed here, when would anyone even find me?

“Excuse me… Hey, excuse me…”

I called out a few times, but no answer came. The school grounds were unnecessarily wide.

I wanted to go back in time and punch my past self for once saying how great it was that the school was so spacious.

To make matters worse, my consciousness was beginning to blur. Just before I completely blacked out, I sensed a presence.

Step.

Step.

Footsteps passed by the side of the building.

This wasn’t the time to leisurely worry about whether my identity as an Omega would be revealed or not.

“…Hey…”

Even just breathing was a struggle, and though I tried to call out as loud as I could, it came out like a whisper.

I pinched my thigh hard and forced my voice to come out clearly.

“…Hey!”

I heard footsteps growing louder. Realizing they had definitely noticed me, I finally let myself relax. With that, a crushing wave of exhaustion swept over me.

I was lying on the ground, so all I could see was the person’s shoes as they approached.

“…Suppressants, please….”

The other person seemed to be saying something, but I was already too relieved and out of it to respond.

Even as I lost consciousness, I could vaguely sense how the other person treated me.

The arms that held me were careful. And I think they kept saying things like “It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared,” over and over, so I wouldn’t feel uneasy.

Their low murmuring voice was filled with anxiety, but somehow, instead of catching that nervousness, I actually felt like I really would be okay, just as they said.

By that point, I was on the verge of completely losing consciousness, so it was hard to tell if this was a dream or reality.

“It’s okay.”

They said it again.

They repeated it so many times that I could confirm it wasn’t a dream. It was kind of funny how they kept saying it, so I let out a small laugh.

The hand patting my back was warm. I wanted to get up and say thank you, but all that came out were weak groans.

Is there really someone this kind at our school? That was my final thought as I buried my face deeper into the firm chest holding me.

…Who could it be?

The person who’s holding me so carefully as they run.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a dazzling chandelier.

Where am I? The question rose in my mind, but strangely enough, the answer followed just as naturally.

This was my house.

Huh?

There was no way a house this luxurious could be mine, so why did I think of it as home so naturally?

I wanted to leave the room and take a proper look around the house.

But contrary to that thought, my body, seated on a soft sofa, didn’t get up or head toward the door. Instead, it moved in the opposite direction, deeper into the room.

Wait, what?

I want to go outside!

“Phew…”

Even the words coming out of my mouth weren’t the ones I meant to say.

It was as if someone else were controlling my body, moving me against my will.

I struggled to move, but I couldn’t move a muscle, not even a finger.

I was aware this was my body, yet it felt like I was merely watching from the outside as if someone else was piloting it.

The direction I walked in led to a grand table made of large mahogany wood, and beside it stood a full-length mirror with a frame that matched the table’s dark wood.

As I got closer, I caught sight of a neat face reflected in the mirror.

Pale cheeks, reddened eyes, tousled hair.

It was a face I had grown familiar with by now, but it looked just a bit younger than the version I usually saw in the mirror.

Only then did I realize—

This isn’t… a dream.

This was a memory from the past.

Not my memory, but that of Hayden Verratti.

That’s why I couldn’t move as I wished. I was only witnessing a part of the past.

Only then was I able to calmly observe the situation with a somewhat eased mind.

Hayden, still gazing at his reflection, gently rubbed his reddened eyes and let out a soft sigh. It seemed like he had just finished crying.

Why was he crying?

From the generous amount of allowance I’d seen him get, it seemed the family was wealthy. That assumption appeared to be correct.

After tidying up his hair and confirming that the redness around his eyes had mostly faded, Hayden turned toward the desk.

Several books lay open across it, and a mess of papers was scattered around.

He reached under the pile and pulled out one sheet from the very bottom, exhaling deeply as he did.

…What’s that?

I couldn’t help but freak out when I saw the paper too.

7 points.

7 points?

Trying to console myself, I briefly hoped it was 7 out of 10… but scrawled clearly in the corner beside the score was “/100.”

7/100.

It was the kind of score that actually made my grades look better in comparison.

“Sniff.”

Seeing the test paper seemed to bring on another wave of tears. Hayden sniffled softly.

No wonder my grades weren’t improving, no matter how hard I studied.

The original owner was an even bigger idiot than me.

It seemed like he wasn’t born with a particularly good brain to begin with.

Feeling a strange sense of pity, I looked at Hayden with a softened gaze, silently vowing to study even harder.

As if he somehow sensed that silent cheer, Hayden opened his textbook again.

It looked like he’d studied hard—his highlighters were used generously across the pages.

At first, I thought, At least he made an effort, but that feeling quickly faded once I saw what had been highlighted.

…Isn’t this way too much?

Highlighting everything didn’t mean you were studying well.

What mattered was focusing on the key information.

After the death of the Cardinal of England in 1534, Henry VIII severed ties with the Roman Papacy in order to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and established the Protestant Church of England.

And yet, the underlining somehow managed to miss all the essential parts of the sentence.

This wasn’t just a case of being bad at studying. He clearly had no idea how to study.

Still, Hayden didn’t seem aware of any of that. His face twisted in frustration.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of a knock, Hayden hurriedly shoved the test paper back under the stack of other papers.

“…What? I said I wanted to be alone.”

Despite the blunt response, the person on the other side spoke in a sweet, coaxing tone.

“Baby, you still need to eat.”

Baby?

That voice sounded far too young to belong to a parent.

“I’m not eating.”

“What do you mean you’re not eating? Big bro said you always have to eat properly.”

Right—that was his older brother’s voice. The realization came so naturally, like remembering something I’d just forgotten.

“I said I don’t have an appetite! Just leave me alone!”

Hayden snapped irritably. It wasn’t like skipping one meal would kill him, yet he was making a huge fuss.

I waited, curious what his brother would say next, but no reply came from the other side of the door.  

Since he had said to leave him alone, he was left alone. And now, that upset him too, apparently, because Hayden ran to the bed and buried his face in it.