It was just painful to keep watching them like this.
After a while, Felix put the open book into his bag. Having packed all his belongings, he made an effort not to see the two of them as much as possible and exited the book return desk.
Lucy, feeling the presence of someone passing behind his back, turned to look at him.
"I… … ."
It seemed that Lucy's thin voice could be heard, but Felix did not stop walking.
Felix's steps to quickly leave the library were only urgent. He seemed to be running away from something other than the library.
From the friendly appearance of Lucy and Adrian.
No, from his pitiful heart, who can only feel jealousy when he sees the two of them.
Even though he knew Lucy's heart in the first place, he was the one who couldn't organize his mind.
First of all, being conscious of her, going to a literature night, asking her to go to town together, and asking her to study for an exam together.
Everyone was first.
So, just because Lucy didn't choose her, there was no need to feel sorry for her or be mean to Adrian.
"It's all my fault."
He shook his head and muttered.
Let's not be messy any more.
"Elder!"
Suddenly, someone pulled the hem of his robe strongly. Felix looked back with a surprised face. Lucy was holding onto the hem of his robe, breathing heavily.
"Lucy."
She rushed after Felix and looked up at him, holding her breath.
"Huh… … ."
Contrary to the hurried pursuit, Lucy could not easily open her mouth. Her eyes fluttered wildly.
Felix's eyes, looking at Lucy like that, gleamed with hope for a moment.
The reason he ran away in front of Adrian and Lucy's friendly appearance was because, for a while, when he saw her following her, uncontrollable greed and anticipation surged.
Come on tell me
Don't worry about Adrian. Actually, Adrian has no feelings at all.
Felix looked at her with sorrowful eyes, knowing that the words would never come out of Lucy's mouth.
Lucy, who had only moved her lips to say something, finally opened her mouth.
"… … If you need a book, please let me know. I have found a few books that might help."
"… … Ah."
At her words, Felix was relieved.
what did you expect
He smiled involuntarily.
"it's okay."
He answered.
"Because I haven't seen everything you gave me last time."
Yeah, you can't say that.
Lucy grabbed him once more as he was about to turn with a resigned expression.
"Senior, are you coming to that class next week?"
His face was full of impatience when he asked that question. The hand that gripped the hem of his robe seemed to tremble.
At the same time, sadness also appeared on Felix's face.
Why are you asking such a thing? Why are you pretending to care about me with that look?
The one I really like is Adrian, not me.
Felix's judgement was grotesquely twisted.
I wanted to rant at her like a child. She lifted her head, wishing that she would be hurt as much as she had suffered.
Unsurprisingly that he had such a childish side, Felix uttered an irreversible remark.
"Sorry. I will prepare for the exam by myself."
"Yes?"
Lucy's face contorted with embarrassment and disappointment.
"Why all of a sudden… … ."
Her words, which had been asked with an empty face, were buried in the sound of words approaching as they chattered from somewhere.
A group of 3rd graders from a nearby building were walking this way. One of them saw Felix and waved his hand.
"Adrian! Are you going to the library?"
"Is it Felix?"
Someone from the crowd intervened and said. It was Claire Hamilton, a third-year girl.
With a strange smile, she glanced at Lucy, who was standing with Felix.
"Are you that junior at that time?"
Claire said as if she remembered what she had met in the garden over the weekend.
At her words, even the other students glanced at Lucy with curious eyes.
A sudden concentration of attention led Lucy back, avoiding the gaze. A look of embarrassment was evident on his face, not knowing what to do.
Felix took a step forward as if hiding Lucy behind him. But before he could even bring up the words to distract the students, Claire made a meaningful remark.
"We are often together these days. You two seem to be very close."
The glance at Lucy became more and more explicit. Some of the students even exchanged silent glances with each other.
Felix could fully guess what meaning those eyes contained. First of all, it was clear that these were not good words for Lucy.
"Why is that junior?"
One of them asked a male student while examining the faces of the other students. Then, with a sullen face, he openly asked Felix a question.
"What, are you dating him?"
"What are you talking about. why me."
An immediate answer came out of Felix's mouth. However, it was because the desire to protect Lucy from unforeseen events caused by unnecessary interest or rumors took precedence.
But it was only after Felix spoke out that he realized that it was an overreaction that might hurt Lucy. He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them, then swung around to cover the situation.
"… … Ande of the book club, mistook me for Adrian and followed him."
The male student who threw a question and a door at Felix's explanation shrugged his shoulders once. It was the look he knew.
"Hey, there's no way you can date a kid who doesn't even fit that level."
The male student spit it out in a tone that was riddled with ridicule.
what?
Felix's mind went blank as if he had been hit in the head. I could hear Lucy's short breath taking a deep breath right behind her.
I couldn't afford to look back. When I thought about how Lucy would feel and what kind of expression she would have, I felt a chill in my head.
Felix's face turned cold. Anger came over him a beat later when he realized that the boy's abusive remarks were no hallucinations.
he raised his hand
But before he could grab the boy by the neck, a small wind blew past him. Lucy, standing behind Felix, with her head bowed down, was passing him and the other students.
"Lucy!"
Felix pushed the other students and tried to follow them.
"Please don't follow me."
Lucy's ingenious words spit out without looking back passed Felix's ear. The reason he couldn't pursue it any longer and stood still was that the misery was felt in her weeping voice.
"Hey, Felix!"
Someone grabbed his shoulder. It was the boy from before. He restrained Felix while still smirking at Lucy's fading away.
"What are you doing that is not like you? All those girls who approach you anyway... … Whoops!"
He fell to the floor, unable to finish his words. Felix lifted his fists toward his face and straightened himself up.
At the sudden punch, the other students gasped and backed away. They all looked surprised.
Never before had Felix hit anyone with excitement. It was a face that everyone couldn't figure out how to deal with this situation.
What's with that girl really?
Those eyes were
"Felix… … !"
The boy who had been beaten looked up at Felix with his hand to stop the blood flowing from his nose. However, the male student could not speak any more at his cold expression as he stared at him and lowered his eyes.
The excitement didn't go away with just one hit. However, it was a scene that immediately came to mind that stopped Felix, who seemed to grab the male student by the collar and pull him up at any moment.
Elder… … .
Lucy in her dream was standing next to her father with a pale face.
As he remembered it, goosebumps naturally rose on Felix's back. It didn't seem like it would be good for Lucy to make more fuss than this.
He walked out of the room, wading through the students who were staring at him with wide-eyed eyes. I looked towards the direction Lucy was walking, but she was nowhere to be seen.
I had a feeling that something was firmly wrong. My stomach churned.
have to talk I didn't mean it that way.
Felix's pace accelerated. He arrived in front of the library in an instant and went inside without hesitation.
Felix, who strode closer to the return station, looked around. Lucy was nowhere to be seen. So was Adrian. He leaned his upper body inward with his hands on the turntable.
It wasn't there either. There was only one member of the book club that I saw for the first time.
"Lucy?"
When Felix strode closer to the question, the book clerk answered with a bewildered face.
"Yes? I just took a shift and went out with Adrian-senpai... … ."
with Adrian.
Felix ran out of the library without listening to the bookkeeper.
He scoured the academy to find Lucy. From classrooms to hallways to dining rooms and gardens. But she was nowhere to be found.
It was as if he had been hiding from him.
I felt a sense of extreme despair that I had never felt before.