CH 27

The Academy Spring Trip (3)

Leto and Senior Jimbo wanted me to go to the infirmary, but I refused. I was just a little surprised by the car accident dream, but I wasn’t sick. I’m sure I’ll feel better soon after a little rest.

I placed my weak body on the bed and Leto approached me. His expression looked quite shocked. Leto’s expression was filled with concern, worried about my body. Even though I gave a faint smile, it didn’t seem to work.

“Hey, I’m going to sleep now. So don’t worry.”

“You’re going to sleep?”

“Yeah, so you should go to bed soon, too.”

Leto, who had stayed by my side all day, only went to bed after I pretended to be asleep. After a while, a groan could be heard beside me. Leto frowned as if he was having another bad dream. Feeling sorry for Leto, who always had many nightmares, I got up carefully but then hesitated.

In my dream earlier, someone said that he had done nothing wrong. I was taken aback by that voice. I’ve also observed Leto all this while, but he was not the kind of person to kill or harm others.

Eventually, I approached Leto and grabbed his hand. Just as you care about me, I always worry about you too.

“It’s alright……It’s okay.”

At my whisper, not only the groan but also any sounds of distress disappeared into the air. But something felt strange. Today, rather than being loose, Leto’s hand that I held gripped further. I raised my head, wondering what was going on, but my eyes met Leto, who had just opened his eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

Oh, Mamma Mia.

How should I deal with this situation? I automatically lowered my head and placed another hand in Leto’s other hand. Then, I closed my eyes.

“Dear God in heaven……Thank you for allowing me to have a happy and healthy day without any problems……”

I pretended to pray. To my horror, nothing came out of Leto’s mouth. With his eyes slightly opened, Leto, whose face was red and stiff, covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Have you been doing this all this time?”

“You mean the prayer?”

“Are you praying?”

I’m screwed. I got caught. I couldn’t even escape.

I slowly tried to release Leto’s hand in an attempt to escape, but he gripped me even stronger. He even pulled my arm towards him to not make me run away.

“Ack!”

I twisted my leg and fell flat on Leto’s bed. I definitely fell on the bed, but my body touched something hard. When I opened my eyes, I found my body lying on top of Leto’s leg. Leto’s face was instantly visible when I raised my head. Embarrassed, he pushed my shoulders and stuck his back against the wall. I felt wronged when Leto wrapped his body with his arms.

Hey, I’m not going to eat you, Leto.

“Wa-Wait. I think you misunderstood, but I only held your hand……”

“So, it was you……The person that has been whispering to me this whole time!”

“I’m sorry!”

Looking at Leto, who was freaking out, I belatedly reflected on myself. I quickly apologised, in case this would tear our relationship apart. I even bent on my knees, but Leto’s shocked expression did not disappear at all. I only held his hand and comforted him. Was it that shocking?

Thinking about it again, I understood Leto’s mind. I think I would get goosebumps if someone who likes me secretly held my hand at night. It seems that kneeling down wouldn’t be enough as an apology.

“Don’t come near me!”

When I tried to get closer to apologise, Leto shouted.

“……Go to your bed.”

“Leah.”

“Please.”

He whispered softly, covering his face, which was red up to his ears, with a pillow.

I quietly rose up from my position and crawled back into my bed. As soon as I backed away, Leto grabbed the fallen blanket, placed it over his head, and laid down. The sight of Leto’s back, who turned away and leaned close to the wall, was small.

If you sleep like that, you’d paralyse your face. No, that was not the main issue. The problem now is that the moment I tried getting closer to Leto, I got further away from him instead.

“Leah……”

I cried out for Leto, but he only flinched and gave no answer. I thought everything would be fine when I woke up later, so I laid down on my bed. But I couldn’t sleep well from what had suddenly happened today, so I tossed and turned around. And when the next day came, I realised I was doomed when I saw Leto still avoiding me.

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Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

Fortunately, Leto didn’t yell or cursed, signalling that he wasn’t completely angry at me. Instead, he blushed whenever he saw me and avoided me. He even stammered not to get close.

That was what happened throughout the entire class.

“Bree, did you fight with Leah again?”

Now, every classmate that passed me asked that question as though they were familiar with this situation. I felt wronged because it wasn’t a fight, but I nodded since it was my fault. The classmate even encouraged me to quickly reconcile.

Even the class representative, who was collecting the money from the students who signed the consent form, asked me if I had a fight with Leto.

“That is all for today.”

The major class ended without me saying anything to Leto. I was about to head to the next liberal arts class when I found Senior Jimbo.

“Huh? Senior?”

“Where’s your friend?”

He asked when he noticed that Leto wasn’t next to me as usual.

“Oh, he must have gone to the liberal arts class first.”

“How are you feeling?”

He asked, slightly dodging my gaze. Oh, so he was worried about my body.

“It’s alright. I’m fine now.”

“That’s a relief. Rest more.”

Senior Jimbo handed me a white envelope. For someone who came all the way here to ask if I was okay, Senior Jimbo’s expression was quite annoyed. I carefully accepted the white envelope and peeked inside. It was money. I was about to ask what the money was for, but then remembered the compensation I was supposed to receive yesterday.

“Oh, thank you for sending this to me.”

The senior looked at me blankly as I thanked him. When I was wondering if I had something on my face, the senior’s hand moved towards my forehead.

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You don’t look very well……”

“Don’t touch her.”

Before Senior Jimbo’s hand could touch my forehead, Leto appeared next to me and smacked it. Leto was gasping for his breath from wherever he had come from. However, he did not erase his wary gaze on Senior Jimbo.

Senior Jimbo smiled knowingly and lowered his hand.

“I’m leaving.”

“Leah?”

As soon as my senior left, Leto grabbed my wrist and dragged me away.

“Why didn’t you follow me and stood still? And why is your complexion still bad? You’re not sick, are you? You said you were fine yesterday, but that was a lie, wasn’t it? Did you sleep without a blanket yesterday? Sometimes I notice you sleep without a blanket. Then, you’d quickly catch a cold.”

tl/n: Leto eminem mode activated.

I was stunned to see Leto speak so rapidly that I burst into laughter. Seeing him talk like that meant that he wasn’t angry. I was worried, but now I’m glad. Leto stared at me oddly as I laughed. Then, he released the grip on my wrist and turned his head. I quickly walked over to Leto’s side.

“Leah, let’s spend time together on this trip. Okay?”

He ignored my words and headed straight to the classroom.

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Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

The long-awaited trip to the south has finally arrived. I recalled how hard it was to pack my things last night. I struggled to put this and that in my small bag, but it didn’t fit, so I had to plan on what to bring. 

My bag was packed quite simple, in stark contrast to Leto’s. If Leto hadn’t forced the lights out, I might not have been able to sleep. 

The students gathered together in front of the main building. There were also several carriages waiting to transport the students, and there were even professors who would accompany us. All the students chatted excitedly while carrying bags the size of their own bodies.

I also joined in with them. Thinking about the many tourist attractions and food already drew a smile to my face. I have enough money from the compensation, so now I could enjoy myself to my heart’s content.

“Are you that happy?”

I nodded when Leto asked. When the time came, we got into the carriage. There were four seats in each carriage, and Leto and I went in together. And when I was waiting for other students to join, they strangely did not appear. Perhaps they had already ridden another carriage, and I was inwardly delighted when it was quiet inside.

“I guess it’s just the two of us!”

Leto also nodded, appearing quite satisfied with the situation. Now all that was left was to get in the carriage and set off……

“Wa-Wait!”

I heard someone pulling over the carriage.

Perhaps he had overslept, the latecomer placed his bag in the back and joined our carriage. The carriage sank slightly when the bag was loaded on the carriage. How heavy is that bag? I haven’t seen it, but I guessed it weighs around 10kg.

I was curious about the owner of the bag and the door opened.

“Huh?”

“Oh? Bree!”

A familiar face appeared. He had brown hair and brown eyes. The young boy with little freckles on his face was obviously Vivian Rawol. He got into the carriage too, with a bright smile on his face.

“Here, grab it.”

“Thank you.”

I reached my hand out when he struggled to get inside the carriage. Vivian took my hand, got inside the carriage and sat in front of us.

“As expected, Leah is here too.”

“…….”

Vivian and Leto’s eyes met.  Vivian crouched, seemingly nervous with Leto, while Leto stared at him terrifyingly. His arms were even crossed.

It seemed that something unusual was about to happen.