The moment Sanho stepped into the college hallway, a thick gaze poured in from all directions. The stares directed at him were no longer significant. He had been receiving all kinds of malicious and mocking looks. As he passed by the rude people pointing fingers at him, Sanho approached the classroom.
“It looked complicated.”
“I was worried about it too.”
“Should I have to find out about my friend’s engagement news through the news?”
“Hey, how chaotic do you think he is right now….”
Sanho frowned and turned his body around. A man with dark skin and two other men were approaching the classroom, chatting quietly. Sanho remembered the man with dark skin very well. Jo Seunghyun, a senior’s friend. He had arrogantly grabbed the senior’s hand without hesitation. Seunghyun continued speaking to his friends standing beside him.
“I just talked to him after a long time. It’s been ages since I heard Siwoo’s voice.”
“He must have been out of it on the day of the engagement.”
“I don’t know, it must have been before the ceremony. He just asked if there was anything going on at school. It was a bit strange that he wanted to know if there was anything odd.”
“What’s up with that? Why would someone about to get engaged care about school matters?”
“Right? At that time, I didn’t know about the engagement either… I just asked if he was okay with his father… or rather, the chairman.”
The man standing on the right slightly leaned towards Seunghyun, seemingly trying to lower his voice, but his words were clearly etched in Sanho’s ears.
“It seems like the discord is definitely because of Omega.”
Seunghyun frowned and looked at his friend. The friend shrugged as if to make an excuse.
“Our uncle works at JR. JR hates scandals, and the employees tend to keep quiet about the owner’s family, but it seems like this time was different. They mentioned Omega and suddenly he’s engaged to the second son of WT. That person is Omega, right? Did you see the video? He really looks like a celebrity. The video hasn’t been released, but I think he would shine if he stood next to Siwoo.”
Then he burst into a laugh.
“When they said Omega, I thought it was Baeksan, but of course. How could he, of all people, be next to Siwoo? He’s completely out of his league—”
The man, who had been lowering his voice more and more, suddenly shut his mouth. He seemed very flustered as he abruptly looked down at his white fist, which was gripping his T-shirt tightly.
“…Baek Sanho?”
Sanho, who had grabbed the man’s collar with both fists, quietly opened his mouth. It was a small, cold voice, but it was filled with a burning emotion.
“What did you just say?”
“What are you doing? Let go of me!”
“What did you just say? You were talking about the senior.”
“What does this have to do with the senior….”
“It’s not like that.”
It’s not like that between the senior and me. The senior definitely… Sanho bit his lip hard. For the past month, he had been thinking about the words Siwoo had said he would tell him when they met again. Those words had become smooth and worn out over time, like the corners of a mirror in Sanho’s home that had been touched by hands. The more he fumbled with them, the faster they faded. Over that, countless anxieties and doubts were layered.
‘He wouldn’t give his heart to an Omega who blindly touches the body of someone he doesn’t even know. No, anyone would feel that way, not just me.’
‘Someone like Jin Siwoo, who has everything, would never choose someone like you.’
It’s not like that. The senior and I are not that kind of relationship… But could he be sure? Was there any other way to explain why the senior hadn’t contacted him for a month?
Seunghyun, who had been watching the two with wide eyes, urgently began to stop his friend.
“Hey, hey. Why are you doing this at school? Stop it.”
However, the man whose collar had been grabbed seemed not to hear Seunghyun’s mediation. He began to hurl sharp words at Sanho.
“If it’s not a string, then what is it? You were just trying to suck the sweetness out of Siwoo, weren’t you? Or did you think you were in some epic love?”
“…….”
“Yeah, it’s true that Siwoo was a bit infatuated with you for a while. But is he an idiot? He’s come to his senses now. He’s back to normal. What do you think you are….”
As the volume of his voice rose, Seunghyun grabbed his friend’s shoulder.
“Stop it. Why are you acting like this? You could just ignore him.”
“Why do you think I grabbed his collar first…!”
The man, whose face had turned bright red, let out a deep sigh. Roughly shaking off Sanho’s fist, he opened his mouth again.
“Yeah, what’s the point of getting angry at him? You won’t have anything to do with him anymore anyway. Siwoo won’t meet him again.”
The man seemed to shake off his displeasure, patting his shoulders. Just as he was about to turn away after shooting a glance at Sanho, Sanho suddenly lifted his head.
“…Why wouldn’t the senior meet me again?”
A young beast caught by its weakness tends to puff up and show aggression. Sanho’s eyes were no different from those of a young beast that had bitten its weakness. Seunghyun frowned at Sanho while trying to stop his friend, whose face was turning red again. In a firm voice, Seunghyun said.
“Hey, you. Just stop. I don’t know what happened between you and Siwoo, but….”
What do you mean you don’t know? The rumors have already spread everywhere. His friend muttered with a mocking tone. Seunghyun frowned even deeper and continued.
“Whatever happened, it didn’t look good for you to be next to Siwoo. He’s already really busy and complicated… Anyway, it doesn’t look good to keep bringing this up about someone who’s already engaged. So just stop.”
With a short sigh, Seunghyun looked at Sanho with a mix of disgust and a bit of sympathy.
“Just live your life as you used to. Don’t hang around Siwoo for no reason….”
“You too.”
“…What?”
“Do you like the senior too?”
At Sanho’s words, Seunghyun’s eyes widened in disbelief. The sympathy that had briefly appeared on his face quickly vanished.
“I didn’t like it from the moment you carelessly touched the senior.”
Seunghyun’s eyes crinkled mercilessly. Touch? What? Is he talking about when he held his hand to stop him from spilling leftovers? A look of disbelief filled Seunghyun’s face along with confusion.
“Siwoo is busy, so… why are you talking to him? Why should he share his voice with you?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Of course, it’s because we’re friends….”
“No, you’re not even friends.”
“…What?”
I can’t see anyone else next to the senior. I’ll kill anyone who’s next to the senior. It was a small murmur. Just a flicker of lips without sound. However, it seemed Seunghyun grasped the general meaning. Even so, he didn’t seem sure if he had read Sanho’s lips correctly.
“Baek Sanho, what did you just say?”
Seunghyun faced Sanho’s face directly. Seunghyun scoffed.
“I feel like I just heard something incredibly ridiculous. Did you just say you’d kill everyone next to Siwoo?”
Sanho stared at Seunghyun without saying a word. Seunghyun burst into a series of hollow laughs.
“Damn, isn’t this guy completely insane? Scary?”
“…….”
“Hey, is Jin Siwoo yours? What the—.”
“He’s mine.”
He’s mine. He said he was mine. He said to take him. Seunghyun momentarily fell silent at Sanho’s words. With a face filled with deep disgust and a hint of fear, Seunghyun looked at Sanho.
“This guy… is completely crazy.”
Sanho’s expression, which hadn’t been childish, tilted slightly. A laugh escaped him. Yes, I’m crazy. I’m completely crazy. How could I endure without going insane? Watching Seunghyun’s lips curl into a smirk made him even more horrified.
“How did Jin Siwoo end up bitten by this crazy dog…?”
“Hey, Seunghyun. Don’t talk to him. Let’s go.”
His friend patted Seunghyun’s shoulder as if to soothe him. Seunghyun, who had been staring at Sanho with his mouth agape, shook his head. Following his friend, he brushed past Sanho and entered the classroom, still chuckling in disbelief.
“Seriously, shouldn’t we report him? He might end up locking someone up.”
“Forget it. What can he do? He’s someone who doesn’t matter anymore.”
Sanho stood there for a while, biting his lip tightly. The murmurs in the hallway were clearly audible, but he didn’t care. The thoughts filling his head swirled and scattered repeatedly. The discord rumors of the JR owner family, Mr. J’s engagement, the second son of WT, who was the engagement partner, and Omega. All the words pierced through one name. Jin Siwoo.
“…….”
Sanho slowly turned his body. Just like Seunghyun’s group had done, he entered the classroom. The students in the half-filled classroom all turned to look at Sanho. They must have all heard the argument between Sanho and Seunghyun. Sanho walked forward with his head held high.
“…….”
In the back row by the window. Sanho slowly placed his bag on the seat next to where Siwoo always sat.
“Wow, he’s really shameless.”
A voice whose owner he couldn’t identify reached his ears. He couldn’t tell who said it, but it was clear that the malice was not hidden. And he could also tell that not just the owner of that voice, but most of the classroom harbored malice towards him. Sanho quietly sat down in his chair and placed his major textbook on the desk.
“…I wonder if the senior forgot to bring his book again, but I brought it.”
Sanho recalled Siwoo’s face as he rested his chin and looked at him with narrowed eyes. It felt so vivid as if he were right next to him. Sanho quietly pulled the major textbook toward the center of the desk. As he opened the book, a page with notes written in the corners was revealed at once. It had been opened and handled countless times. Sanho brushed his hand over the smooth paper again.
[Today is our company dinner]
[It’s customary to have a dinner when new team members join]
[What do you want to eat?]
The neat handwriting resembled Siwoo’s smiling face. Sanho bit his lip hard enough to feel pain. How long do I have to wait? Until when? At that moment, the phone he had laid down vibrated. Sanho slowly flipped the phone over to look at the screen.
[Web message]
JR Internship 13th batch regular training notice
In light of the operation of the JR Internship 13th batch, we would like to inform you of the regular training schedule once again.
Date: 00 Month 00 Day, PM 7:00
Location: JR Hotel Convention Hall 3F
Target: All members of the JR Internship 13th batch
As Sanho stared blankly at the date written in the message, he slowly lifted his head. A crooked light reflected in his pupils. His tightly closed lips quivered as he uttered a word.
***
The lobby of the JR Hotel was as luxuriously arranged as always. There were more people moving around than usual. Seeing mostly young-looking individuals awkwardly dressed in suits, it could be assumed that they had come for the internship as well. Sanho stopped in front of the elevator he always used. The numbers on the display were slowly dropping. Sanho looked down at the tip of his white sneakers.
“…….”
At that moment, a familiar scent wafted in from somewhere. It was a very faint fragrance floating in the air, but Sanho recognized it immediately. The warm smell of earth. He quickly lifted his head and spotted a man approaching the elevator.
“…….”
It was a man dressed in a light blue suit. Unlike the people bustling in the lobby, his luxurious suit fit him as if it were tailored. He stood in front of the elevator, glancing at his wristwatch without looking at Sanho. Even the way he raised his gaze toward the display felt completely natural.
But.
“…Excuse me.”
As Sanho quietly opened his mouth, his eyes twisted mercilessly. His lips seemed to tremble. It was a feeling that surged forth, different from mere displeasure. It was incomparable to the feelings he had towards Yoon Juna, who had blushed at Siwoo’s name, or Seunghyun, who had held Siwoo’s wrist. Sanho didn’t even have the composure to label that feeling as jealousy.
“Hmm?”
