ICYM Ch 33

Episode 33

Hayden carefully stretched out his finger toward Nabi’s head, gently stroking the air near it. When Hayden extended his hand, Nabi, tense for a moment as if it might be touched, relaxed again once it realized he wasn’t going to make contact.

Kendrick stopped walking for a moment, staring quietly at the peaceful scene before him.

Strands of hair brushed softly across Hayden’s forehead, and his white shirt fluttered lightly in the breeze. The distinct, green scent of freshly cut grass brushed Kendrick’s nose.

It all looked so perfect on its own that he didn’t want to break the moment, but at the same time, the words slipped out.

“…The dog came back?”

“Uehh?”

Hayden’s gaze caught on him.

Even if it made the moment a little less perfect, Kendrick wanted to be a part of it.

His wide-open eyes, long lashes, and slightly parted lips.

As he looked at Hayden’s surprised face, Kendrick wanted to tell him this moment wasn’t just a coincidence.

“I did see your message this time.”

“Hm?”

“But I just… wanted to come.”

Strangely enough, his hand trembled a little as he said it. His throat went dry, and he had to swallow hard.

Why was the sky so bright?

Worried that his emotions might show on his face, he deliberately hardened his expression.

Fortunately, Hayden didn’t seem to notice anything. He looked completely unfazed.

It was the same place they always met, and yet it suddenly felt unfamiliar. And somehow, the way Hayden handed over his share of sausage rolls, as if he’d been waiting for him, felt ridiculously enough like fate.

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

Sometimes Hayden would show hints of fear, but just when Kendrick needed it most, he would treat him like anyone else.

Kendrick knew he was reading too much into things, and yet… he didn’t mind it.

Even though he was the one who had said they should keep things this way, whenever Hayden acted like he didn’t know him on purpose, or seemed a little too relieved not to acknowledge him, it made him feel… strange.

He didn’t know what the feeling was called, but he remembered when he’d felt it most strongly.

Especially… when he’s with Augustine Rogers.

That moment when Hayden glanced back at him while with Augustine, then pretended not to know him.

It wasn’t enough to call it unpleasantness, and it was more than just disappointment.

…Is it impatience?

Once he gave the feeling a name, so many things made sense.

When Hayden showed signs of wanting to go off on his own, impatience welled up.

If Hayden had known what Kendrick was feeling, he might have run away. But completely unaware, Hayden instead asked at the exact moment Kendrick was struggling with that impatience—

“…Did you get a haircut?”

“…Does it look weird?”

“No, it looks pre—”

Hayden, who had almost said “pretty,” clamped his mouth shut in a panic, trying to cover it up.

It was the first time Kendrick had been called pretty, and it didn’t feel bad.

No, if anything, it sent a ticklish feeling through him.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

It felt like the sky was falling, or at other times like the ground was giving way beneath him.

When a gentle breeze passed between them, it carried with it the faintest scent of soap.

…The smell of pheromones…

It was because they were close by, and the wind, of all directions, had swept past Hayden before reaching him.

So faint he couldn’t even place how it made him feel, and yet… the subtle pheromones were intoxicatingly pleasant.

That was when he realized, without even trying.

That he had already fallen for Hayden.

* * *

“Ken! Over here!”

It was Kevin who stopped him just as he was about to head home after school.

Right after the last class, Kevin had bolted out like a spring without even saying goodbye, so Kendrick had assumed he had something urgent. But now he was standing casually in front of the back gate, waving at him.

Kendrick tried to walk past without acknowledging him, but then someone else, hidden behind Kevin’s broad frame, spoke up.

“Is that your friend?”

“Yup!”

Having overheard that exchange, Kendrick couldn’t just ignore them completely, so he stopped.

As if he’d been waiting for that moment, Kevin casually threw an arm around Kendrick’s shoulder.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Laura Bryant.”

The girl who introduced herself as Laura tucked her hair behind her ear and gave a polite nod.

Kendrick returned the nod and was just about to introduce himself when Kevin jumped in first.

“And she’s Owen’s sister. This is my friend, Kendrick Bardi.”

“Hey.”

“Mm.”

Kendrick’s curt reply left a bit of awkward silence, so Kevin quickly filled it.

“She couldn’t come today, but her friend said she wanted to meet you.”

“…Really? Who?”

Unfortunately, Kendrick had no interest in the conversation.

He didn’t know a single person from the girls’ school across the street, which meant someone on their side had seen him and recognized him on their own.

Even with Kendrick’s indifferent attitude, Laura kept smiling.

“I’ll introduce you next time. The dorms are doing a joint Halloween party soon, so maybe you’ll run into her.”

It was a trivial conversation. Kendrick didn’t want to waste any more time on it, so he tried signaling to Kevin with a glance that he wanted to leave. But this time, a third party interrupted before he could.

“Sister…!”

From across the field, Owen shouted toward them. When all eyes turned his way, his face flushed with embarrassment as he hurried over.

Without even a greeting, Owen immediately questioned Laura, flustered.

“Sister, why are you here?”

“Am I not allowed to be here?”

At Laura’s nonchalant reply, Owen bit his lower lip, momentarily at a loss for words.

“…You didn’t come here on purpose, did you?”

Laura wrinkled her nose as if trying to hold back a laugh and replied, “I just thought it’d be nice to see you while I was at it.”

At that, Owen jumped.

“Sister, Hayden says he’s uncomfortable. Why are you doing this?”

As Owen tugged at her arm, pleading for her to stop, Laura kept her gentle smile.

Looking fondly at Owen, who was now all worked up like he was trying to prove he was a proper high schooler, Laura said, “I just thought, since he keeps refusing, I’d at least try to see his face.”

Her tone was clearly teasing, but Owen didn’t seem to catch on. Looking distressed, he said firmly, “At this rate, I might lose the only friend I’ve ever made.”

At the unexpected mention of a familiar name, Kendrick tensed slightly.

“Hayden?”

Kevin seemed to notice it too, tilting his head as he echoed the name.

It was only then that Owen realized his slip and quickly added an explanation.

“He helped me out a lot.”

It sounded like Owen regretted mentioning the name, and he tried to smooth things over awkwardly.

“Oh, really? So that’s why you’ve been hanging out together lately.”

“I wanted to thank him properly, but Hayden said it wasn’t a big deal and that it was fine.”

“I wasn’t trying to pressure him or anything, I just thought we could get to know each other a little. I even suggested a casual meal, but he kept turning me down, so I got curious,” Laura said confidently.

Owen sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“I think that somehow set off your ridiculous competitive streak again, Sister.”

“What are you talking about?”

Owen shot her a glare, saying her weird sense of competition needed to stop, but Laura just shrugged, feigning innocence as if she didn’t understand what he meant.

“That’s your problem, Sister.”

And just like that, the two of them started bickering again.

“You must be pretty close with Hayden,” Kevin remarked, watching them with a kind of amused familiarity.

Owen went on about how he’d be Hayden’s one and only friend, how cool his personality was, and more. Watching him, Kendrick let the corners of his lips lift ever so slightly.

…Feels like I know him better than you do.

But since he couldn’t exactly go around acting like he knew everything, Hayden Verratti remained the “cool” guy who supposedly had no friends besides Owen.

“Even if he says no that strongly, I hope there’s a chance we can meet soon,” Laura said.

Owen jumped again at her words, and Kevin burst out laughing.

As Laura and Kevin continued their conversation, Kendrick turned slightly and quietly asked Owen in a voice low enough for only him to hear, the question that had been bothering him since Owen showed up.

“Are you an Alpha?”

“Huh? Was it obvious?”

Owen raised his arm awkwardly and sniffed at himself.

“…A little.”

“I manifested recently.”

“Then…”

If the school already knew that Hayden was an Omega, how could they still be allowed to share a room? Something didn’t add up.

Even if he is very enthusiastic, they wouldn’t keep letting them share a room continuously, would they?

He wanted to ask more, but if he wasn’t careful, it could be considered outing someone’s secondary gender. As Kendrick hesitated, trying to choose his words, Laura paused her bickering and asked, “What are you two whispering about?”

“…Nothing.”

Because of that question, Kendrick missed the chance to slip away smoothly. He stood there awkwardly, then suddenly felt a gaze on him from behind and turned his head.

Whoosh.

Sunlight reflected off the windows of the main building, their red-brick walls glowing in the light. He couldn’t see clearly inside—no silhouettes, no signs of movement.

It’s probably nothing.

Most likely just someone gossiping, someone he didn’t even care about.

“Well, then I’ll get going.”

During a brief lull in the conversation, Kendrick quietly excused himself.

Laura looked a bit disappointed that she didn’t get to talk with him more, but Kendrick didn’t acknowledge it.

Wonder if he’ll show up today.

His mind was already completely occupied with thoughts of Hayden.