# Chapter 97
These days, I’ve been getting tired day by day.
It’s not because I realized I like Kwon Dojin. Of course, after becoming aware of my feelings, I got caught up in Kwon Dojin’s actions more frequently. And my energy was depleted just as much.
Moreover, for some reason, recently Kwon Dojin has been getting close more often, giving me the feeling that my heart might stop, and it’s happened more than once or twice.
But this level was still bearable. There were many moments when I wanted to grab him by the collar and tell him to stop being confusing, but I held back because I remembered how I had calmly accepted Kwon Dojin’s advances in the past. I thought it was somewhat—no, entirely—my fault.
Anyway, for these reasons, Kwon Dojin wasn’t the cause.
So what was the problem? It was the so-called bullies. More precisely, the ranked students. There were various causes intricately intertwined, but what troubled me the most was, without a doubt, the hierarchy.
I already knew that the rule of not messing with ordinary students was meaningless. But even considering that, everyone ignored it to an excessive degree.
Even now, I was hiding with Kwon Dojin in a deserted alley after running for a while to shake off persistent pursuers, so I don’t think I need to say more.
“Haah—”
“Are you okay? Is it too hard for you?”
Even at my dramatic sigh, Kwon Dojin didn’t find it strange and only worried about me. Since he was always with me when I got caught up in incidents, it felt like he understood why I was so tired.
Actually, I had told him everything in detail from the beginning because it seemed better to drag him in rather than suffer alone, so he must be tired too. After all, he had to resolve most issues. Yet Kwon Dojin didn’t show it and only offered a bitter smile.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize… It’s not your fault, and it’s not my fault either. It’s Ji Haecheon’s fault.”
Grinding my teeth, I made Kwon Dojin’s bitter smile deepen.
Although he said it was Ji Haecheon’s fault, I wasn’t sure if it really was his fault. After thinking about it, Ji Haecheon seemed to be the only reason why those who had been quiet after Kang Jinwoo touched me and received a considerable disadvantage started to act up again. I was just cursing him out of suspicion.
In short, it was only a suspicion, but that suspicion felt like certainty.
“How many times does this make?”
“Actually, I’ve given up counting, but hmm, it must have been more than ten times, right?”
I sighed, rubbing my cheeks against my knees, thinking it must have been well over ten times. Kwon Dojin hesitated for a while and finally patted my back, moving closer to me. It was the best action he could take, as he was somewhat awkward with this kind of comfort.
As I quietly received his touch, I turned my head to look at Kwon Dojin and then pretended my legs had given out and leaned on him. To add credibility, I pretended to brace myself with my arms on the ground, and he quickly wrapped his arms around me to support me.
“Did your legs give out? Are you okay?”
“Mmm. I’m just tired.”
I didn’t try to stand up from leaning on Kwon Dojin but instead sat down with my bottom on the ground. He followed me, sitting on the ground, and gently massaged my calves.
“You’ve been through a lot lately. Even just now… I’m trying my best to handle it, but—”
“I guess Ji Haecheon’s influence is stronger than we thought. He’s Rank 1, after all. It could be that.”
In reality, Kwon Dojin’s influence among the ranked students was stronger than Baek Han’s. Thanks to that, I knew that while others might see it as just a difference of one number, among them, the meaning was not light.
At my words, Kwon Dojin chewed his lips as if his pride was hurt, but when our eyes met, he forced his expression to relax. At that, a thought flashed through my mind that I might have said something unnecessary.
“Habin.”
“Hmm?”
My voice came out somewhat relaxed at the call that broke the momentary silence. Having leaned on Kwon Dojin, my body felt languid, as if even my vocal cords had lost strength. Above all, I felt a sense of exhaustion from the aftermath of running hard just moments ago.
“Starting tomorrow, should we go to school together too?”
“…Huh?”
I was momentarily speechless at his cautious words. What did he mean? Was he serious? To begin with, we don’t live close to each other, so how can we go to school together?
Various questions floated around in my head. In contrast to his cautious attitude, his light tone intensified my confusion. It was only from the seriousness glimpsed in Kwon Dojin’s eyes when they met mine that I knew his words weren’t a joke.
“How?”
“I’ll come to your house.”
“Every morning? Won’t you be tired, really? You know it takes quite a while from your house to mine. Then you’d have to wake up an hour earlier than usual, right?”
“I suppose so.”
Kwon Dojin merely nodded calmly. His attitude suggested he had already anticipated this and was prepared for it. Seeing him like that, I bit my lips.
Seriously, what am I to Kwon Dojin that he would go this far?
Now I faced confrontations more often than Kwon Dojin or Baek Han. I received just as many threats, and the number of times I almost got hurt increased too.
I said I was just tired, but the truth was, with it being finals period, having stressful things other than studying made my nerves stand on edge. Honestly, apart from my feelings for Kwon Dojin, I was beginning to feel skeptical about why I had to go through such difficult things.
I knew that Kwon Dojin was having a hard time because of Ji Haecheon, and that he was going through hardships with me.
Above all, I could roughly guess with what feelings Kwon Dojin kept me by his side, knowing that he had started to avoid keeping people around because those he thought were friends frequently turned their backs on him because of Ji Haecheon.
Yet, I was so exhausted and tired that I was thinking of acting selfishly. Even though I somewhat understood his feelings.
But when Kwon Dojin came out like this, it was as if—
“Why go that far? There’s no reason for you to go through that trouble every morning, huh? There’s no reason.”
“Why isn’t there a reason?”
In my bewilderment, I stumbled over my words unintentionally. Feeling pathetic for acting so foolishly, I clenched my fist so hard that my palm was pressed by my nails. Despite my behavior, Kwon Dojin didn’t lose his serious attitude.
“Because you’re in danger.”
“…Maybe we’re overreacting. Honestly, although confrontations have increased, nothing serious has happened yet. So—”
“Habin. I simply don’t want you to be in even the slightest dangerous situation.”
Kwon Dojin firmly cut off my miserable rambling. Faced with his unyielding attitude, I closed my mouth, not even knowing what I was saying.
“After something happens, it’s too late. I don’t want to regret, I don’t.”
When you keep acting like this, it makes me think you like me too.
Feeling like I might fall into a delusion that was no different from my wishful thinking, I suddenly felt choked up. My eyes grew red, and I buried my face in my knees to avoid Kwon Dojin’s gaze. I could feel him watching me, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about him.
Ironically, with those words just now, my thoughts of acting selfishly disappeared. It would be a lie to say they completely vanished, but with Kwon Dojin looking after me this much, it felt like everything would be okay. Despite the fact that nothing had actually been resolved.
“…Will you really come to my house every morning?”
“If it’s okay with you, Habin.”
“Even though there’s almost a month left until the closing ceremony?”
“Yes, even so.”
“Even during finals?”
Was it because I kept asking? Kwon Dojin, who had been answering seriously, suddenly burst into laughter. At that, I stopped stubbornly hiding my face, raised my head, and looked at him.
“Of course. To me, you, Habin, are more important than finals.”
Thanks to Kwon Dojin who met my gaze and smiled as if he had been waiting, I bit the inside of my cheek. I bit it so hard that I could taste a faint blood flavor without even realizing it, making my expression naturally furrow.
Kwon Dojin brushed my hair aside and slowly lowered his head, narrowing the distance. He carefully pressed his forehead against mine and lowered his eyes.
I could have easily avoided it if I wanted to, but I didn’t want to, so I stayed still. Kwon Dojin smiled faintly as if that was enough.
“So you’ll allow me, right?”
His low, whispering voice was so sweet that it could mesmerize me, and I could only nod like someone under a spell.
“That’s a relief.”
Kwon Dojin, who was visibly relieved at my answer, stroked his chest. Despite the clear path of hardship that lay ahead for a while, he displayed a bright smile on his face. His reaction seemed so strange that after hesitating, I finally asked.
“What is?”
“Huh?”
“What’s a relief? It’s obviously going to be hard for you.”
I ended up grumbling, though that wasn’t my intention. Kwon Dojin didn’t lose his smile despite my attitude.
“I thought Habin might refuse, but you allowed me?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the words that ended as a question. Why couldn’t he be certain even after saying it himself? Besides, why did he think I would refuse?
“I have nothing to lose, so why would I refuse?”
“Well, because Habin is kind. Just now, you said there was no reason for me to go through that trouble. Wasn’t that an indirect refusal?”
“That’s—”
“That’s what?”
It was just a few minutes ago that he had shown a somewhat rigid demeanor, seemingly tense, but now his face was full of mischief.
“Forget it. Let’s go home.”
“You’re not going to tell me?”
I hurriedly got up and tried to leave the alley, but he grabbed my hand. Still sitting, he only raised his head and stared up at me.
“Tell me, okay?”
Kwon Dojin, speaking in a voice full of aegyo, tilted his head slightly. It was obvious he was doing it on purpose, but that didn’t make his handsome face look strange. Rather, he looked so pretty that I felt as if my heart had dropped with a thud.
“…I don’t know. I’m not going to tell you.”
I barely managed to pull my hand free from his grasp and turned my body. I’ve thought about this to the point of being sick of it, but Kwon Dojin really knew how to use his face too well.
