Chapter 4

“Yeah, I hate you. I regret chasing you in the past so much that I wish I could erase it. I can’t undo what I did, but if I could, I would.”  

“It’s only natural for you to hate me because of what I did. But can’t you give me just one chance?”  

“Why should I? You hated me and treated me coldly—that was your choice. Coming to me suddenly is also your choice. I can freely like you or suddenly dislike you too.”

He’d been cold to her and even killed her, and now he wanted a chance? The feelings of liking and hating were so close—they could flip at any moment. There was no guarantee her feelings wouldn’t change again if she gave him a chance. If she softened and he hated her again, what then?

It would be like driving a nail into her heart twice. Whether he truly liked her or pretended, if he cared, he should have only hurt her once—then stayed away, living forever with regret.

“…Can’t you at least let me get close?”  

“No. I approached you freely and heard you say you hated it. But I never forced anything. I never touched you or did whatever I wanted. If you said no, I’d suggest something else or just quietly walk beside you. But what about you? Why do you do whatever you want? Why should I let you get close when I don’t know what you’ll do?”

“……”  

Faced with her words, Harensys fell silent and looked down, looking dejected. It made him seem like the bad guy, which was honestly annoying.

She grabbed a random book from a nearby shelf. Luckily, there were two copies, so she tossed one to Harensys, who caught it quickly.

“Just read this. After you finish, write your reflection and give it to me. I’ll organize the differences.”

She hurried down the stairs, putting distance between herself and Harensys. She wished she’d ended things like this sooner.

Wanting to finish quickly, she went straight to the dorm and read the book. It was over 400 pages, but so interesting she finished it fast. Riding that momentum, she wrote her reflection too.

‘All done.’  

Harensys probably hadn’t finished today, so she’d give him another day and ask if he’d read and written his part.

“Yawn!”  

So much had happened, and after reading and writing, she was sleepy. She quickly got ready for bed, lay down, and closed her eyes, hoping Harensys wouldn’t talk to her tomorrow.

***

On that heated day in the library, only a few students had seen them argue.  

“We just argued a little.”  

She explained it simply, so no weird rumors would spread.

“They just started dating, and they’re already fighting.”  

“When you first start dating, you fight quickly. There are differences you didn’t know before. Time will solve it. Worrying about someone else’s relationship just makes you jealous.”

As she’d hoped, people just thought it was a lovers’ quarrel. Instead, singles complained about being lonely.

Determined not to get harsh stares, she entered the classroom and sat down. As expected, no one stared at her.

Two days had passed since they’d agreed to read the book, and it was time to finish the assignment. Reluctantly, she asked Harensys, who sat nearby, exuding his usual cold aura.

“You finished your reflection, right? Give it to me. Or do you want to write the differences?”  

“Why should I write the differences?”  

Ha, really.

She crumpled the edge of her own reflection.  

Yesterday, he’d been all down, but today he was back to his cold self. He must have eaten something weird the other day and mellowed out for a bit.

Good thing she hadn’t fallen for it.  

He might be a split personality, so she needed to stay alert.

She wrote the differences herself and submitted them to the teacher.

‘Whew, the assignment’s done, and people think we’re just fighting, so no worries. Now all that’s left is revenge.’

If she handled her revenge like a small quarrel, no one would notice. But she’d have to make it something that would really annoy him.

‘Throw some hard-to-remove thread into his hair, bump his shoulder hard when passing by, and if he weirdly sits in front of me at lunch, steal his favorite side dish.’

That should be enough. All small things that people would just shrug off.

As class started again, she took out the thread she’d prepared and cut it into small pieces. Harensys wasn’t paying attention to her at all.

She waited for the teacher to turn away, then threw the thread at Harensys’s hair. She’d practiced throwing in class before and had gotten good at it.

When Harensys didn’t notice, she boldly threw several pieces at once.

Soon, Harensys’s hair was hilariously colorful. Excited, she giggled and threw more. But then, one piece accidentally landed on Harensys’s book.

“Were you trying to throw that at my hair?”  

“Nope. I was just playing by myself and it happened.”  

“Ha.”

Harensys frowned and shook his hair with one hand. The cut thread fell everywhere.

He glared at her and took a short, sharp breath. The look was so fierce and scary that she couldn’t help but flinch.

‘Is he going to k*ll me…?’

Memories of her death resurfaced, and she was filled with terror. If she stayed, she felt sure Harensys would k*ll her. Maybe grab her by the collar and slam her to the floor.

She hadn’t realized until now how much she feared Harensys’s anger. Even if she acted cold and took revenge, she crumbled before his rage.

‘I have to run!’

She slammed her desk and bolted from the classroom without looking back.

“Prezia!”

She vaguely heard someone calling her, but she couldn’t care. All she could think was to get far away from Harensys.

‘I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. What did I do to deserve this?’

She ran desperately until her legs gave out. Everywhere she looked, there were only trees. She’d ended up on the mountain behind the Academy.

“I don’t really know my way here yet.”

She couldn’t risk getting lost, so she decided to head back. But just as she turned to go, it started to rain—first a few drops, then a downpour.

“I’m ruined.”

Trying to descend a mountain in heavy rain was dangerous. The slope was steep, and she could easily slip and get hurt.

“I should find a cave or shelter under a tree with big leaves.”

Luckily, she spotted a tree with large leaves. She hurried over—thank goodness for small mercies.

She stepped on what looked like ground covered in leaves, but it was actually a hole. She tumbled down.

“Ow!”

Her sprained foot throbbed. As she tried to move, a sharp pain told her she must have twisted her ankle.  

‘Ha…….’  

She raised herself properly with her left leg first, then carefully pulled out her right foot, holding onto her ankle. Blood streamed from her left knee and it hurt, but she endured it and slowly walked over to sit under the tree.  

Looking closely, her foot was badly swollen. It wasn’t just a simple sprain—it was a serious one.  

‘With this leg, even if the rain stops, I won’t be able to get down….’  

Even if the rain let up, the ground would be wet. Walking on that ground with an injured foot would only lead to another fall. If she was unlucky, she might tumble down and get seriously hurt.  

‘I should wait for someone to come, but who would?’  

The teacher would just think she’d suddenly run out of class and would continue teaching. Even when class ended, they wouldn’t come looking for her right away. Only if she didn’t show up for class the next day would they notice something was wrong and start searching.  

Searching alone at first, then mobilizing more people—it would take at least a day before anyone found her.  

“I could die of cold in that time.”  

The rain had made the temperature drop, and her clothes were thin.  

“What should I do?”  

Should she risk dying and wait to be found, or take the risk and slowly make her way down?  

She didn’t know which choice was better.  

She buried her face between her knees and let out a deep sigh. Just then, she heard footsteps. Hope flickered—maybe someone had come to help. She lifted her face.

“What are you doing there in the rain?”  

Harensys, soaked to the bone, approached with a slight frown.  

“…Harensys? How did you get here?”  

Remembering her earlier fear, she instinctively tried to move away, but the tree blocked her escape.  

Why had he come? Was he here to get revenge for the thread she threw? Was he going to throw something sharp at her head?  

She quickly checked Harensys for any weapons. Nothing at his waist or in his hands. His pants and pockets weren’t bulging, so nothing there either. Phew, for now she could relax. But she couldn’t let her guard down.