ICYM Ch 49

Episode 49

After that, Owen even told me that Kendrick often wore those pajamas, as if they were his favorite.

“Maybe he’s gotten used to rooming with me, so his true self is coming out.”

“……”

That wasn’t it. They were simply the pajamas I had bought for him.

Owen went as far as saying that Kendrick wasn’t actually scary, but rather delicate and considerate of others, appealing to me in a way I couldn’t understand.

What’s this about?

He was clearly praising Kendrick, but for some reason, it put me in a strangely bad mood.

“When he sees someone in pain, he doesn’t just ignore it, you know? He has this righteous kind of vibe.”

Even forcing out compliments like that must be tiring. It felt like he was deliberately trying to appeal to me, but I couldn’t think of a reason why. Which would mean he was just saying it casually.

“…I didn’t know you were that close with him.”

If Owen was only going on about how Kendrick wasn’t bad and was actually a good person, with no other reason behind it…

Well, I knew better than anyone in this dormitory that Kendrick was delicate and considerate.

Before I realized it, a sharp remark slipped out of my mouth. I was the one who had decided not to act like I knew him in front of others, yet I was pointlessly lashing out.

“Oh? We’re not that close.”

“……”

But Owen, blinking, didn’t seem to notice the edge in my tone.

“Then why do you say things like that to me?”

As I looked at him with puzzlement, Owen studied me for a moment, as if trying to figure out what I meant. Then his expression shifted, like he’d realized something.

“Ah.”

“?”

“You’re the one I’m closest to. So don’t worry.”

He even winked reassuringly, leaving me at a loss for words.

“……”

“I was just saying it because I think people misunderstand him a lot.”

I eyed him suspiciously for a moment, wondering if there was some hidden meaning, but soon enough, Owen quieted down after the dorm supervisor told him to be quiet.

…So he really wore the pajamas I bought him.

I tried to imagine what he’d look like in them, but the image didn’t come easily. They didn’t suit him at all.

Still, I was curious.

Anyone else would be curious, too.

But I should be the one who’s the most curious.

So he showed it to Owen but not to me.

Though logically I knew it wasn’t really “showing,” since Owen just happened to see them because they were roommates, it still didn’t feel great.

“I used up as much sugar as I needed, so it looks like we’re a bit short.”

“I’ll borrow some from the next table.”

Without meaning to, my tone came out cold.

“…Want me to get it for you?”

Owen must have noticed something, because he watched me carefully and asked in a cautious voice.

“No… No. It’s fine.”

Why had I spoken so sharply just now? I brushed my forehead with the back of my hand and let out a shallow sigh.

With Owen’s gaze still fixed on me, I forced an awkward smile and repeated that I was fine.

“You’re not sick, are you?”

Maybe I seemed even stranger now, because Owen kept checking on me.

“Yeah. I’m really fine.”

Feigning a stretch, I glanced toward where Kendrick was. The tables were set for pairs, but since the headcount was odd, Kendrick was sitting alone at one.

He’s so big that even sitting alone, he makes the table look cramped.

Kendrick, unaware of anyone watching, was carefully scooping out butter with a serious expression.

I wonder how his cookies will turn out.

We were all making the same cookies, yet for some reason, that question crossed my mind. Maybe he planned to share them later when we studied together?

Smack!

“…Are you really okay?”

Owen looked at me in alarm after I suddenly slapped both my cheeks.

“…Yeah.”

My thoughts kept swinging back and forth like Jekyll and Hyde, and I was exhausted by it. So I decided to focus only on the task in front of me.

Since all I had to do was follow the set instructions, baking wasn’t bad in the sense that it cleared my mind of unnecessary thoughts.

I listened to the dorm supervisor’s guidance, measured and mixed everything the same as everyone else, so I figured there was no way I could fail.

Maybe I’m not completely hopeless after all.

By the time the cookie dough was ready, I thought it was manageable.

Because of dorm rules, students weren’t allowed to use fire directly. So everyone’s dough was placed on trays, and the dorm supervisor did the baking.

“In about thirty minutes, I’ll leave them in the lounge, so make sure you take your own.”

“Yes.”

Owen and I dawdled and only went back to the lounge about an hour later. We picked up the cookies we had made and sat on the sofa to taste them before heading up.

When the dorm supervisor had pulled them from the oven, everyone’s cookies had been a nice golden brown—except mine, which were dark and charred. That should have been my first clue.

Failing under conditions where it was almost impossible to fail… maybe that was a talent in itself.

Still, I clung to the hope that they might taste better than they looked and bit into one.

Crunch.

Could that sound really come from biting into a cookie? I chewed again just in case, but as expected, it wasn’t good.

“Ptooey.”

I spat it out into the trash can while Owen watched me with a worried expression.

“…It’s salty.”

“Huh? Mine tastes fine, though.”

“……”

Then, as if realizing something, Owen’s mouth fell open.

“…That sugar I got from the other table earlier… It wasn’t sugar, was it?”

“Guess not.”

I should’ve checked more carefully before taking it, but it was too late to regret it now. I glanced over the remaining cookies, wondering if any of them were Kendrick’s, but the spot where he had been was already empty.

Not once during baking had he spoken a word to me, or even met my eyes.

Sunbae’s words had left me unsettled, but still, if our eyes met, I intended to at least greet him.

Even though, thanks to Owen’s words, I found myself looking at him more than usual, he never once looked back.

Did he really just come down here because he wanted to bake cookies?

But the thought didn’t linger long.

Two kids, who like us had come down late to grab their cookies, were excitedly chattering away while staring at their phones.

“Hey, hey. Did you see it?”

“See what?”

“Looks like someone just posted an eyewitness account?”

“Oh, where?”

“It’s already on the trending posts!”

My heart dropped. They hadn’t said what they were looking at, but I already knew.

I quickly pulled out my phone from my pocket and opened the app.

Owen seemed just as curious, pulling out his phone as well.

The post had gone up barely ten minutes ago, yet it was already on the trending board.

【HOT!】 Just got back from giving a statement at the police station (photo) (38) I witnessed it earlier and just came back from the station… :‘( I was filming for YouTube near some bushes in a corner of the park where people hardly go, and I saw it happen. Couldn’t catch the guy. He was bigger than me… and fast, too… :‘( Luckily, I think I found the cat early enough, so it wasn’t badly hurt, but its leg was injured, so I took it to the vet! The police were having trouble since all the witness statements about the suspect conflicted, but they said mine helped a lot. Like I said, I was filming for YouTube at the time. (But since the suspect had a hood pulled up and a mask on, they couldn’t identify him right away.) I’ll post a photo I took in the comments. If it looks like someone you know, please report it to the police.

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath and scrolled down with trembling fingers.

What if it turns out to be someone I know all too well, just like what Sunbae had said?

But before I could scroll much further, the screen changed.

This post has been deleted.

“Huh?”

Flustered, I tried refreshing, but of course, a deleted post wasn’t going to reappear.

“Looks like it got deleted.”

“Let’s just grab ours and head out.”

The other kids clicked their tongues, unimpressed, then picked up their share of cookies and left the lounge.

“Should we go too?”

After checking that the post was deleted, Owen asked me. But instead of answering, I stopped him.

“Hey…”

Even though no one else was in the lounge, I lowered my voice like I was whispering.

“Hm?”

“Do you… have anyone in mind you think the culprit could be?”

“…No.”

I envied Owen for being so certain, for so naturally believing it couldn’t possibly be anyone close to him. He seemed far more resilient inside than I had imagined. I wasn’t like that.

“Right… I see.”

“Isn’t there something you wanted to say?”

“……”

“What is it?”

I hadn’t wanted to plant suspicion in him, but I wanted to hear someone else’s opinion. Not Sunbae’s. Not mine. Someone else’s.

Though hesitation thickened my voice, Owen must have thought I was being serious, because he waited calmly. My own frustration swelled until I finally spoke.

“Do you think… Kendrick could be the culprit?”

“What? Oh.”

“……”

Owen raised his eyebrows, as if the question had never once crossed his mind. But his deliberation didn’t last long.

“…No. He’s really a good guy, Hayden. He’s not someone who could do that.”

His voice was steady, without the slightest trace of doubt. He didn’t even ask me why I thought that.

Watching him speak with such unwavering conviction, even while insisting they weren’t that close, stirred something restless in me.

“So you think so too, huh?”

I felt ridiculous, asking such a thing only to turn around and say I thought the same.

And ashamed, too, for a moment ago, thinking I knew Kendrick better than Owen did.