Henry went straight back to the dorm, finished showering, and waited for contact from Declan.
While waiting for him, all of Henry’s nerves were focused on his phone screen. He reacted to every small light or notification. Often, when he thought a long time had passed and looked at his phone, only three minutes had gone by.
Finally, when Joseph, unable to stand it any longer, asked him what was wrong, his phone screen blinked again.
About an hour had passed.
[My room.]
Two monotonous characters.
Henry immediately put on his jacket, dragged his slippers, grabbed the doorknob and opened it. He heard Joseph’s voice calling and asking where he was going again, but he had no presence of mind to answer.
In such a hurry, Henry climbed the dorm stairs.
Now that it came down to it, he was a little worried. Worried that this choice might make him drift apart from him forever.
It was what he had wanted at first, but now he was worried it might happen. It was ridiculous.
Henry told himself it was all because David and his other friends were worried. That he had tried to maintain his relationship with Declan for their sake.
He suppressed his confusion by reasoning with himself like that.
Knock, knock.
“It’s me.”
He knocked on the door. A greeting as monotonous as the message he had sent. Declan opened the door without any particular question.
Whether he had sprayed perfume, there was a calm woody scent from him. He was wearing loose black denim with a belt. A thin cardigan that revealed his thick body and a rider jacket. Even though they were everyday clothes, they looked put together enough to naturally draw the eye.
So this is how he dresses when going on a date with a girl. Henry was examining Declan’s attire, having momentarily forgotten what he was going to say.
“…You said you had something to say.”
The monotonous voice awakened his senses. Henry finally recalled the purpose of coming here.
“Weren’t you going out on a date with Hazel?”
“…I was.”
“Hazel asked you on a date, and you accepted.”
“Yeah.”
A calm answer came back. So what does it matter to you? That’s what seemed to be written on Declan’s face.
“How did it go?”
“Didn’t you already hear about it?”
Even though he obviously knew everything, Henry asked Declan about the result anyway.
Whether he wanted to hear confirmation from him again, or what—it was something even Henry himself couldn’t understand.
Declan didn’t say what Henry wanted to hear. However, from that brief conversation, he could realize. That his accepting the date was to more clearly settle his relationship with Hazel.
As a bonus, he also realized that Declan had noticed his plan from the beginning.
“Were you going out to reject her from the start? If that’s the case, you could have just rejected her without going out.”
“Is there a reason I have to give you an answer?”
“No, there isn’t, but…”
Henry’s words were blocked. He bit his lip.
A sigh was buried in Declan’s answer. Henry felt annoyance on his face.
Although Declan Russell had always been difficult to read emotionally and gave him trouble, this time he could clearly feel it.
Not that he directly expressed his annoyance. Just, somehow, this time Henry’s eyes could particularly see his mood well.
He was right. Declan Russell had no reason to tell him what happened with Hazel.
Wasn’t he neither his friend nor anything else? Just a teammate with a bad relationship who happened to play football together.
The problem was that Henry didn’t want to admit that fact. Naturally, Henry’s voice grew louder.
“Still, can’t you at least tell me? You knew. That I was trying to help you and Hazel get together…”
Henry unconsciously took a step toward Declan. He didn’t even realize his voice had become agitated.
He just wanted the other person to understand his intentions. He felt like he had to make Declan understand that he hadn’t done it with bad intentions.
Henry closed his mouth while continuing to speak after receiving Declan’s cold gaze. Only then did Henry, thinking “oh no,” hurriedly stop talking and close his mouth.
Cold eyes turned toward Henry. Henry flinched as if stabbed by something sharp.
“Did I ask you to help me get together with Hazel?”
“That’s not it, but…!”
“Then you should talk with Hazel, who went along with this together with you. Not come looking for me.”
Separate from wanting to make him understand his intentions, Henry wanted to resolve one question.
Just when did Declan know? From where?
The eyes that had been like vivid green recordings had somehow sunken deeply. He was taking in Henry’s immaturity with his eyes.
Declan’s words were utterly cold. Seeing Declan make such a voice for the first time, Henry rarely couldn’t hide his flustered state.
Henry dimly realized that Declan had been treating him kindly all this time.
However, even though he had just physically experienced Declan’s consideration, Henry didn’t give up and didn’t go back.
He still stood in the middle of the room, glaring at Declan Russell. A strange standoff continued.
After quite some time passed, he spoke first.
It was the answer to what Henry had been so curious about—from when had he known?
“From the beginning. I knew you were deliberately trying to put Hazel and me together, but I pretended not to know.”
“…”
Henry, who almost widened his eyes in surprise at his words, hurriedly clenched his fist tightly. To avoid showing his agitation.
“The two of you talking about me arbitrarily, trying to rekindle a relationship that was already over—I pretended not to notice that too.”
Henry’s body stiffened with tension.
He must have noticed my plan from the very beginning. Declan Russell.
“I thought you were just playing an excessive prank that would only be a little annoying.”
“…If you really hated it, you could have told me to stop.”
Even knowing it wouldn’t work, Henry put forth a cowardly claim. At the utterly shameless words, a somehow twisted smile appeared on Declan’s lips.
“If I had told you?”
Terribly filled distrust. Certainty that you wouldn’t have stopped. Such things appeared on the man’s face.
“Would you have stopped?”
Henry couldn’t easily answer that question. Even now, the thought that he had done it for no reason was quietly raising its head.
However, until just yesterday, Henry Lowell had endlessly whispered to himself that it was something he “couldn’t help.”
Henry knew. Himself who would have denied it and insisted it was a coincidence even if he had told him to stop. Himself who wouldn’t have stopped in the end.
“See?”
Declan’s derisive words came back.
Henry couldn’t answer. Because there wasn’t a single word he could deny.
Now that everything was exposed, he didn’t have the courage to pretend the truth was a lie.
All Henry had left was the fact that his pitch-black inner thoughts had all been exposed to him.
Though he had been full of malice, under the pretext that it was for Hazel’s sake, he had believed it would be seen as good—but his jet-black底 was revealed. By Declan, who had noticed it all.
His ankle was caught. He couldn’t see a way to escape.
Why is Declan Russell different from others?
Throughout his life, Henry had never experienced a situation that didn’t go his way. Except for his parents and his identity, that is.
Henry’s surroundings always went the way he wanted. If occasionally someone tried to deviate from the path he was leading, it was just a matter of correcting them.
That was because Henry had always been someone who led situations while belonging to the mainstream.
Even if his actions weren’t right, even if his intentions came from selfishness, he packaged them to look good, and everyone was fooled.
That’s why it was all the more incomprehensible and difficult to accept. Because of that, he kept doing things the previous Henry Lowell wouldn’t have done.
Henry still thought,
If I’ve done this much, isn’t it time for Declan Russell to flow in the direction I want?
Such convictions were eating away at Henry.
Even if he reached out and pushed, the man wouldn’t be pushed. Instead, he would silently stand his ground and ask why.
“Do you have more to say?”
At the quietly continued words, Henry shut his mouth tight. A short sentence composed of a few words felt like a denial of his life.
He was afraid. That Declan wouldn’t participate in the play he had created. What good would it do to unfold the script when the actor had no intention of acting according to the script?
All his plans went awry and collapsed. It was a complete failure.
“…I’m sorry.”
Henry offered a short apology. He knew it was time to do so now.
