Chapter 7

“I have somewhere to go urgently.”  

Maybe Harensys’s friends would know the reason.  

She retraced her steps and entered the lab. Luckily, he didn’t follow her.

“Hey, why is Harensys like that? Why does he talk so differently from his real thoughts, and does his personality keep changing? You guys know, right? Or did you make him that way?”  

As she spoke, she realized Harensys’s friends were research maniacs. They experimented with all sorts of things, so Harensys had surely been a test subject. Maybe he was forced into an experiment, and the side effects made his personality keep changing, so his words came out differently from his true feelings.

“Did you just run into him?”  

“Just answer me quickly.”  

“He wasn’t always so cold. But he stepped on a magic circle we made that wasn’t finished, and it activated, turning him into a multiple personality type. So even though he doesn’t feel that way inside, he talks harshly, acts cold, or mean. If he’s kind, that’s the real Harensys.”  

“Then why did you give me this?”  

“Because you’re Harensys’s lover, you should know.”  

“…Fine, I get it.”  

She left the lab, her mind even more tangled. She tried to organize her thoughts.

Was it possible that even when he liked her, he couldn’t express himself? No, it was probably at a different time. And no matter what, the fact that he killed her didn’t change.

But what if it was a misunderstanding? Maybe she wasn’t the “weird kid.” And back then, Harensys said he’d “beat up to death” someone. She was dying, so saying she was dead made sense.  

Maybe it was true that Harensys helped her, and what Mel said made her think—was it all a misunderstanding?  

‘For now, don’t let your guard down and keep watching.’  

It could be a misunderstanding, but she couldn’t be sure yet, so she couldn’t relax.

Just then, her foot caught on something hard. She stumbled forward.

“Ah!”  

She hadn’t realized she was about to climb the stairs. Now, she was on the verge of tumbling down.  

Fear made her squeeze her eyes shut.  

‘So this is how I die again.’  

She felt tears prick her eyes at the thought of dying so helplessly, without even getting proper revenge or resolving her misunderstanding with Harensys.  

Wait? Enough time had passed for pain, but she felt none. Instead, she felt the warmth of a person.  

‘Did someone catch me?’  

She slowly opened her tightly shut eyes. Someone was supporting her with strong arms.  

She turned her head and looked at her rescuer. Of course, it was Harensys. He wore a faint smile.  

“If I hadn’t caught you, you would’ve been in trouble. That’s my quick reflexes for you.”  

<If I’d been even 0.1 seconds slower, it would’ve been bad. My heart almost dropped.>  

Seriously, what was going on?  

Was everything she’d thought just a misunderstanding? What was this?  

From his inner thoughts, it really seemed like it was all a misunderstanding. He wasn’t thinking of killing her at all—he was genuinely worried and relieved she wasn’t hurt.  

She steadied herself using Harensys’s arms.  

“…Thanks.”  

“If you’re grateful, I wish you’d look at me.”  

“……”

She did not say anything. Confused, she could not open her mouth to respond.  

“Can’t you just look at me? Let me apologize for all the things I’ve done wrong to you, even if I have to help you from behind if seeing me is too hard. Please, just let me?”  

Could this be the real Harensys? Judging by all the inner thoughts he’d revealed so far, it seemed likely.  

“Don’t act on your own, k*ll me, or bother me.”  

“Of course, I won’t!”  

D*mn. It felt like what she said at that moment brought bad luck.  

Harensys seemed determined to help her, as she kept stumbling countless times, nearly falling. Balls flew at her, she nearly bumped into people, or almost hit her head on a wall.  

Every time she was in danger, Harensys helped her—or more accurately, saved her.  

Was it really all a misunderstanding? Her mind was tangled and confused.  

She walked along, rubbing her troubled head. Now, a day had passed since that event. The children were all enjoying their freedom, playing.  

She, too, was patting her full belly and breathing in the fresh air with Lea. They chatted as they walked under the roof of the sports field, the seating area.  

Suddenly, the sky grew cloudy, and rain poured down in torrents. She hadn’t even recovered from being bedridden after getting soaked before, and now she faced another trial.  

The sports field was outside, so naturally, it wasn’t inside the Main Building.  

If she ran through this rain, she’d surely catch a cold and be bedridden again.  

“Lea, you don’t have an umbrella, do you?”  

“Of course not, let’s just run!”  

Lea threw her jacket over her head and dashed off first.  

“Hey!”  

She shouted after Lea, who ran off without her. But Lea did not look back.  

‘You’re fine because you have a jacket, but I’m not!’  

‘Lea, you traitor, running off alone!’  

They could have shared the jacket, but she was left behind, kicking the ground in frustration at Lea’s betrayal.  

Thud. Just then, something touched her head. It felt like warm fabric, like the warmth of a person. Soon, more warmth landed on her shoulders. Both pieces of fabric smelled of fresh soap. Could it be…  

“What are you doing, spacing out? We have to go before the rain gets worse.”  

That voice was Harensys. The fresh soap scent confirmed it.  

She turned toward the sound and saw Harensys, shirtless, with a look that said, ‘Didn’t I do well?’ His upper body was toned, almost like a sculpture… No, that wasn’t the point!  

“Are you crazy? Why are you shirtless?”  

“So you don’t get soaked in the rain.”  

<If you get wet, your underwear will show. I want to see it, but I shouldn’t.>  

‘This crazy pervert!’

Hoping he’d put his clothes on, she spoke up.  

“Then just give me one.”  

“My dress shirt covers your body, but it’s white so just in case, I used the thinner shirt to cover your head and block the rain from all sides.”  

Crazy. He really was a pervert.  

Harensys came over and carefully dressed her in his shirt, buttoning it up and spreading the other shirt over her head.  

His kindness was almost scary. She worried she might fall for it, that maybe it was okay to let go of her misunderstandings. But she also felt afraid of his kindness, since she had mistreated him before.  

“Let’s go now, before it rains harder.”  

She pulled the shirt closer to her face and nodded slightly, unable to show her face.  

They ran through the rain to the Main Building, splashing through puddles and getting mud on their shoes and legs.  

By the time they reached the Main Building, she was mostly dry, while Harensys’s hair was soaked and his upper body was drenched. His pants were wet, water dripping everywhere.  

It was clear he’d taken the rain for her sake.  

Harensys brushed his wet hair back and smiled gently.  

“You didn’t get too wet, that’s a relief.”

<Ah, it’s cold. But I’m glad Prezia didn’t get soaked.>  

Harensys had a surprisingly cute side. He acted like he didn’t care, but inside, he really did.  

If she thought about it, she was starting to believe it had all been a misunderstanding.  

Harensys didn’t know she was wearing the mind-reading ring, and even if he did, his words and actions felt sincere.  

She gripped Harensys’s shirt lightly and bowed her head.  

“I’ll wash your clothes and bring them back. Thank you for today.”  

She opened the narrow back door and walked away. But she didn’t hear any other footsteps. Harensys wasn’t following. Worried, she stopped and turned around.  

“Aren’t you going to class?”  

“I need to get my clothes. I’ll go to the Dormitory.”  

Ah, he was shirtless, so it would be embarrassing to walk in like that. But to go through the rain again? And the boys’ Dormitory was pretty far from here.  

If he got wet again, he’d catch a cold.  

“…Wait! If you get soaked like that, you’ll really get sick. Hold on, I’ll bring you a gym uniform or something.”  

She’d feel guilty if he caught a cold. She hurried off, but heard something behind her.  

“My gym uniform got wet earlier.”  

She didn’t really hear Harensys’s last words and just ran.  

She already had someone in mind to borrow clothes from. Her own wouldn’t fit, so she planned to ask Loren, a male friend from the neighboring class.  

She ran down the hall and spotted Loren’s shining brown hair and emerald green eyes. She grabbed his shoulder as he was walking somewhere.  

“Loren!”  

“Prezia, what’s up?”  

“Can I borrow your gym uniform?”  

Out of breath, she held onto Loren’s shoulder, panting. Loren steadied her and took her hand.  

“I can lend it, but it won’t fit you. You’re built like a squirrel, and I’m built like a bear.”  

“I’m not the one who’ll wear it. And I’m not a squirrel, you’re not a bear, you’re more like a cat. Who’s lying now?”  

Loren was bigger than her, but compared to other boys, he was just tall and slim—not a bear.  

“Fine, squirrel. I don’t know who’s using it, but make sure to wash it and bring it back. You know I’m clean.”  

“Don’t worry.”  

She waved to Loren and ran back to Harensys, clutching the oversized gym uniform. She hurried, worried he’d catch a cold.