ICYM Ch 35

Episode 35

“Since I’ve called attendance, you’re free to go now. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, everyone.”

“Yes—”                     

At the teacher’s final words, everyone got up in unison and began heading to their lockers to grab the books they needed. The teacher also left the classroom, saying they had to prepare for the next class.

Up to this point, it was just another ordinary day, no different from any other.

Kendrick, who had already packed everything he needed in advance, was still sitting at his desk.

At the very back of the classroom, right in front of the lockers, a few students, who usually stuck together in the dorms, were laughing loudly without any regard for their surroundings.

And not long after, the classroom was filled with pheromones.

“Ah, shit.”

A student sitting just behind muttered a quiet curse, but no one openly complained.

Some students grimaced at the blatant pheromones, while others didn’t seem to care much.

Since the pheromones weren’t particularly aggressive, Kendrick, who had been sitting still, simply let his gaze drift until it quickly landed on Hayden.

From the back, Hayden looked about the same as usual, but there was something subtly off.

His shoulders were tense, his steps stiff, and the back of his neck looked flushed.

The pheromones grew stronger, and yet Hayden walked out of the classroom at his usual pace, as naturally as ever.

“So damn boring.”

“Seriously.”

At their sneering comments, Kendrick suddenly stood up from his seat. The screech of the chair being pushed back drew everyone’s attention.

If he tried to suppress their pheromones with his own here, it would only make things suspicious.

Kendrick clenched his trembling hands into fists and held himself back.

“What’s going on?”

Kevin, who was returning from the lockers, blinked in confusion.

“I’m heading out first.”

“Huh? Let’s go together.”

“…Bathroom.”

Kendrick slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom. Kevin, watching his retreating back, rubbed under his nose with a grin.

“Guess it was urgent.”

* * *

He’d rushed out to follow Hayden, but there was no sign of him. Kendrick checked the hallway and even went outside, but Hayden was nowhere to be seen. Instead of wandering aimlessly, Kendrick came to a stop.

“…Hoo.”

Think.

Think.

Where could he have gone?

The fact that he looked unwell because of the pheromones meant there was a high chance he was going through a heat cycle.

Should I have asked earlier if he was still roommates with Owen?

No. Forcing someone to reveal something they want to keep hidden…

They weren’t even close. If Kendrick had interfered in something like that, it would’ve only made Hayden more guarded.

As Kendrick followed that line of thought, his head suddenly snapped up.

If Hayden had wanted to hide his heat cycle, he wouldn’t have gone out through the front door.

His footsteps, now hurried, turned toward the back exit. On the way, he also grabbed one of the first-aid kits mounted on the wall.

As if to confirm Kendrick’s suspicion was correct, he sensed someone’s presence the moment he reached the back exit.

“…Hey!”

At the faintly calling voice, Kendrick stopped in his tracks and looked down. Hayden had collapsed on the ground.

“…Oh.”

Even though he’d suspected it was the heat cycle and had come prepared, actually seeing Hayden collapsed like that made Kendrick feel like his heart had dropped.

“…Suppressants, please….”

That was all Hayden managed to say before closing his eyes.

Only then did Kendrick’s legs, which had felt like they were nailed in place, finally move again.

Even after losing consciousness, Hayden trembled like a leaf, as if still uneasy.

Kendrick reminded himself that he couldn’t get caught up in this, too. With a sigh, he started with basic first aid.

Then he took off his blazer, draped it over Hayden’s face, and carefully lifted him into his arms.

On the way to the infirmary, a few students they passed gave him curious looks, but no one realized who he was carrying.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared.”

Kendrick kept whispering gently the entire way to the infirmary.

There was a good chance Hayden couldn’t hear him, but on the off chance that some part of him could, Kendrick wanted to reassure him.

When they arrived, the infirmary was empty.

The nurse had left an emergency contact number in case of urgent matters, so Kendrick called, but there was no answer.

He couldn’t leave Hayden behind to go searching for the nurse he didn’t even know the whereabouts of.

But he also couldn’t just grab a random person and ask them to stay in the infirmary.

After a brief moment of thought, Kendrick pulled out his phone and called Kevin.

…Owen.

The one person who would inevitably find out Hayden was an Omega, and the one who had said he owed Hayden.

Rrr—

After just a short ring, Kevin picked up.

– “I’m right outside the classroom. Where are you? The teacher’s not here, so hurry back already.”

Kevin grumbled, asking why Kendrick wasn’t there when he’d left first.

But instead of explaining, Kendrick got straight to the point.

“Is Owen Bryant next to you right now?”

– “Huh? Yeah, he is. Why?”

“Put him on.”

– “What’s going on? Hold on. Hey, Owen.”

Through the phone, Kendrick heard Kevin calling Owen, followed by the murmur of a brief, confused exchange. Then, after a moment, the voice on the other end changed.

– “Hello?”

Kendrick didn’t mention Hayden’s name. He simply asked Owen to come to the infirmary.

– “…I didn’t do something wrong, did I?”

Owen sounded nervous, as if afraid he’d made a mistake. But once Kendrick got a promise from him to come, he hung up.

“…So, Hayden’s an Omega?”

“Yeah.”

“……”

When Owen arrived and Kendrick explained the situation, his face turned pale. Since he was a Beta who couldn’t sense pheromones, he seemed to be retracing whether his own might have affected Hayden without realizing it.

Before Owen could spiral too far into that line of thought, Kendrick placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll go find the nurse.”

“Huh? Oh, okay! Go ahead.”

Realizing why Kendrick had specifically called him, Owen stood in front of the bed with a resolute expression.

Before leaving, Kendrick glanced down at Hayden, who was lying on the infirmary bed.

Thanks to the first aid, the pallor in his cheeks had faded somewhat, and the cold sweat on his face had dried, leaving his skin looking much healthier.

Only then did Kendrick finally feel like he could breathe, and with that, other thoughts began to creep in.

Should I explain first before he asks anything when he wakes up?

If he said, ‘Thank you for helping me,’ Kendrick had planned to reply that it was nothing, and that it was a good thing he had been the one to notice.

Maybe, just maybe, if he said that, that elusive garden^[1] would finally open to him.

The moment the school nurse heard that a student had collapsed during the absence, the nurse rushed into the infirmary with a pale face.

“Thank you for helping. You can go now.”

Hayden still showed no signs of waking up. Even with the clear dismissal, Kendrick found it hard to step away. He’d wanted to wait until Hayden opened his eyes…

“You.” The nurse adjusted their glasses and turned their gaze to Owen, and before hearing the dismissal, Owen quickly spoke.

“…I came because I wasn’t feeling well!”

Owen shot Kendrick a look that said he would stay behind and keep watch.

“Then why are you standing in front of him?”

“I came to get some medicine and saw my roommate.”

“…I see.”

The nurse didn’t seem entirely convinced by Owen’s excuse, but they couldn’t very well send away a student claiming to be unwell just because he didn’t look sick. In the end, the nurse had no choice but to tell Owen to lie down on the empty bed next to Hayden’s.

* * *

The room Owen hurriedly moved into turned out to be Kendrick’s.

Although they were told it was okay to switch rooms during the upcoming mid-term break, Owen hadn’t waited and had moved immediately.

Kendrick watched as Owen, who had packed his clothes into a large suitcase, began to unpack and arrange them in the dresser, only to stop shortly after and start venting, clearly upset at the injustice of it all.

Since that day at the infirmary, after saying hello in front of Kevin and Laura, Owen had started feeling more at ease with Kendrick. He now spoke to him more freely than before.

“I didn’t think he was that kind of person…”

“……”

Maybe he’s just angry.

Kendrick thought as he listened to Owen grumble.

“Senior Augustine is really despicable!”

Owen’s voice was full of resentment.

“It’s okay.”

Kendrick was just as upset, but he couldn’t risk fanning the flames by getting worked up too. All he could do was offer the most generic reassurance.

When Hayden had collapsed, Augustine had shown up at the infirmary at just the right time.

The nurse, who had to briefly step out again, asked him, someone they recognized, to keep an eye on Hayden. And just like that, Augustine had taken all the credit for what Kendrick had done.

“I should’ve said something.”

Grinding his teeth, Owen admitted that he’d heard everything but couldn’t speak up because the timing wasn’t right.

But Kendrick had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding for Hayden.

“Isn’t it better if he thinks a close senior found out about his trait?”

“Huh?”

“It must’ve felt violating to have something he was hiding get exposed like that. I just think it’s better if he believes one less person knows.”

Owen’s eyes lit up as he looked at Kendrick.

“…You’re really thoughtful, you know that?”

“I’m not.”

If he were truly thoughtful, he wouldn’t be feeling this surge of emotion.

The reason he had done all this wasn’t out of kindness; it was because he didn’t want to burden Hayden, who was probably still confused and shaken from the sudden heat cycle.

Because somewhere in his heart, he wanted Hayden to notice him.

Deep nail marks were etched into the palm of his clenched hand, but no one noticed.