4:44 AM
Sihyun, who had checked the time with his phone that lay forgotten on the floor, swung his legs off the bed, feeling as though he'd just come off a rollercoaster ride. He shuffled to the couch, burying himself there and stretching his legs. Each step seemed to bring vivid scenes from his dream flooding back. It was so shocking that he couldn't shake it off.
A sudden memory of it made goosebumps rise, and he involuntarily started rubbing his arms. Even thinking about it, it was absurd.
Since he fell asleep early, he didn't feel sleepy even in the early hours. He couldn't sleep very well, and if he went back to bed he'll have ended up sleeping over 10 hours. As he was thinking about this, suddenly, a distant sound of someone in distress reached his ears.
The faint whimpering jolted Sihyun upright. The fragmented sounds of pain were indecipherable, leaving him clueless about whose voice it could be.
Since he was already awake, curiosity led him toward the sound. He thought that it would be Haru, but unexpectedly, his steps halted. That sound wasn't coming from his own bed, where he presumed the source of the distress would be—instead, it was the opposite direction.
"Hyung..."
His blue eyes traveled to Hamin, brow furrowed deeply, calling out to someone. Sweating profusely, the boy, seemingly caught in a nightmare, writhed and groaned weakly.
"...…"
Silently observing this sight, Sihyun's eyes wavered slightly. Tsk. He bit his tongue and went over to sit down. Since seeing Hamin struggling from a nightmare brought back memories of a certain someone.
Twisting around, grabbing a few tissues from the table, Sihyun hesitated as his hand extended toward Hamin's forehead.
'What are you doing, feeling bad for this jerk?'
His rationality whispered, yet his heart continued to empathize. Hamin's pitiful state brought forth an inexplicable association, making it hard for Sihyun to act cold. After contemplating, Sihyun sighed. What was the point of hesitating even after pulling out tissues?
He wasn't expecting that Hamin's face would relax just by him dabbing on his damp forehead. Quietly watching him, with lowered eyelashes, Sihyun felt the room grow quiet. The subdued sounds of breathing were accompanied by faint ticking from the clock. The tranquility almost made him feel like dozing off again.
After some time passed and the whimpering subsided, Sihyun, noticing the smoothening of Hamin's furrowed brow, got up. Tossing the tissue into the trash and stretching his stiff waist, a crack echoed from his joints after sitting on the floor for a while.
Who's sympathizing with whom? Muttering to himself, Sihyun went back to his bed and checked the time. As it approached 6 AM, he installed a mobile game to pass the time, and the dimly lit sky hinted at the rising sun.
By the time he finished showering around 7 AM, one by one those who had been sprawled out like zombies in their beds began to rise. It looked like only Hamin was deep in slumber, seemingly enjoying his dream world.
Snickering, Haeun, who had risen earlier, spotted Hamin still in dreamland and lightly teased him. With one swift motion, he pounced toward Hamin, who was still half-asleep.
"Argh!"
173 cm overpowered 183 cm. Startled, Hamin jolted awake under Haeun's attack. [1]
"Yay, good morning Hamin!"
"This crazy bastard..."
The voice, gruff from just waking up, sternly confronted Haeun. Yet, Haeun seemed immune, chuckling as he just lifted the blanket that Hamin was trying to pull up.
"Let's go have breakfast!"
"It's still 7:20, you maniac!"
"You know that breakfast starts at 7:25. If we're late, we'll have to wait, right? C'mon Hurry up!"
Haeun urged, shaking Hamin. Every attempt to sleep further resulted in Haeun waking him up, and finally, Hamin gave in.
"Seems like you've been possessed by a starving ghost…"
An annoyed, almost disgusted tone dripped from him. Despite gorging last night, it seemed sleep was more appealing than breakfast.
Adjusting his tousled hair Hamin got up from his bed. As the male lead of a web novel, Sihyun expected him to have some sort of magic cheat that would make him look handsome and put together as soon as he woke up, but looking at him now he seemed refreshingly human.
Pushing Hamin into the bathroom, Haeun glanced at Sihyun. Getting Haeun's attention felt ominous, so he attempted to flee back to his bed.
Wham, Haeun gripped his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.
"...?"
"Let's go eat!"
"I'm good."
Sihyun didn't really eat breakfast, so acting bothered, he tried to get loose from Haeun's grip, but he wouldn't let go. Sihyun looked at him, shocked by his strong grip, and a pair of childishly happy golden eyes looked back.
"You didn't even have dinner yesterday. If you stop eating Haru hyung will be worried, right?"
Haeun quickly chose a new approach to win the argument. Haru was briefly taken aback by the sudden question, but then slowly nodded his head. Seeing Haru agree, Haeun smiled triumphantly. It had become very clear to Sihyun which one of the Four Kings was the most troublesome.
"Don't use Haru like that."
Haeun knew that Haru was his weakness, so Sihyun let himself get dragged from his bed with a sigh. In the end Haeun was able to drag us, Hamin included, out to breakfast without a hitch.
The walk to the dining hall made Sihyun uncomfortable, and he reluctantly listened as Haeun started bringing up funny stories. He managed to catch Sihyun's interest, but unfortunately Hamin ended up being sacrificed.
When Haeun told him about how sure of himself Hamin had been when he arrogantly declared his interest in him during the class test, Sihyun couldn't help but give Hamin a sympathetic look. Hamin pressed Haeun's head down, Clearly embarrassed by his past behavior.
Letting the two of them bicker, Sihyun walked ahead to the dining hall entrance, where he was met by Seowoo and Geonu. At this point he would've been more surprised if they weren't here.
"Hi."
As their eyes met Seowoo gave him a soft smile, despite the early morning he was as handsome as ever. Of course that also applied to Geonu who was standing next to him.
Geonu, whose face could be a national treasure, locked eyes with him, causing Seowoo to call out for his attention with a 'Sihyun-ah'.
"Did you sleep well?"
"… It was alright."
He wanted to avoid these superficial, insincere conversations, but after coming this far, what's the point in that? Just nodding your head and agreeing half-heartedly was better.
Either way they'll be sticky today as well.
If he hangs back with Haru, they won't start eating until he comes back, if he tries to go first they'll just follow regardless, and if he picks out a table for two they'll just add on a second table.
Doing something while pretending not to seemed to be the pattern of the Four Heavenly Kings. Frowning while thinking about how this is going to end up, Sihyun's eyes turned to Hamin, who kept glancing at him, clearly still embarrassed.
At least it felt like he didn't want to get involved with me. Hamin had been caught by Haeun while Geonu looked on. The way things were, it felt like it wouldn't be enough to keep Haeun and Seowoo away from the other two.
Seowoo turned to Sihyun with a gentle smile and opened his mouth.
It felt like he'd been caught in a trap.
After finishing a luxurious breakfast and heading back to the dormitory, a man standing in front of Room 207 caught the students' attention.
"What."
Hearing the rude remark the man turned his head. After briefly checking out Hamin, his eyes moved over to Sihyun. Sihyun blinked at the precise gaze directed at him. It seemed like the guy had some business with him.
"Are you Kang Sihyun?"
"Yes."
As I confirmed, the guy approached. He introduced himself as a teacher and said that he had been called to escort me to an interview. The teacher that did my inscription did mention interviews, I couldn't help making a troubled face.
With no other option, I followed the teacher. It wasn't a good sign when the morning started with such tiresome tasks.
***
"Why are you like this again?"
"Like what?"
As Sihyun left for the interview and Haru went to shower, Hamin questioned Haeun, who was lying on his bed.
"I'm obviously talking about Kang Sihyun."
Yu Seowoo was like that and Haeun was like that, they kept making a fuss about him.
Haeun looked at Hamin, who asked as if he genuinely had no clue. By now he had put on his school uniform, and as he laid on Hamin's bed he lightly tapped the mattress with his toes.
"It's interesting."
"What are you talking about?"
He really was Seowoo's friend, they sound exactly the same.
"Everything that he does is interesting."
"...?"
Not really comprehending, Hamin's expression showed doubt. If eyes could change shape, his would've turned into two question marks by now. Haeun turned to him, his silver hair spread out on the pillow.
"Even being the only Quadruple-Class is interesting, and every action of his keeps drawing attention. Starting from rejecting you as a partner."
"What's the big deal about rejecting a partner?"
"It's because you're the son of the S Corporation's CEO that it's interesting. Didn't you feel bad about it too? Since it's a deal so good that no one would refuse."
Thanks to him being a dual class, and being with the S Corporation. If you still don't know whether your own class is any good, wouldn't any normal person grab onto an opportunity like that? What kind of person would refuse?
It made sense. As Hamin was nodding in agreement, Haeun opened his mouth again. Haeun's words felt like they came out of Pandora's box, and Hamin paid careful attention.
"But it's still interesting that he rejected you. It was an opportunity for a massive social rise. There are many more interesting points besides that. Like how he's uncomfortable with people's attention despite his looks. Honestly, Sihyun is undeniably good-looking. We can see that, so imagine what others think. Yet, he finds others' gazes uncomfortable. Isn't it funny? Acting like he's never experienced this before."
None of us are like that.
Even though Geonu might be the most awkward, he's not uncomfortable. It's because he's gotten used to it over time. Thinking of Geonu, Hamin nodded again. Unlike Seowoo, who would confidently talk nonsense, Haeun had a more logical way of speaking.
"That's why it's intriguing. Every action he takes seems to have an element of surprise. Not knowing much about S Corporation, acting like he knows nothing.
He doesn't seem like an idiot, but isn't it interesting that it seems like he's pretending to act ignorant? It's almost as if he's hiding something."
Intrigued by Haeun's excited voice, Hamin tilted his head. Though he could agree, he still had questions.
"Isn't it possible that Sihyun is reserved or dislikes attention? Or maybe he's just unaware of his surroundings."
If that's his nature from the start, Hamin could somewhat understand. Trying to convey that sentiment, he was suddenly met with Haeun's laughter. Haeun, slapping the mattress with his palm, laughed heartily.
"Unaware?"
Sihyun? Haeun's laughter intensified.
"Well, from what I've seen, at least in terms of being observant, he seems quick in most aspects. Usually, perceptive people are also attentive to rumors. And even if he's unaware, does it make sense for an Awakened Individual to not know about the guilds?"
"Well, it might be possible."
Feeling awkward due to Haeun's laughter, Hamin made excuses. Haeun shrugged, saying it could be possible, and stepped back. Hamin, feeling uneasy, furrowed his brows.
"A person who holds substantial power yet tries to avoid standing out too much—sometimes, very occasionally, they exist. But why does that have to be the Quad-Class Awakened Individual of the New Class?"
Wouldn't it be more likely for the world to stop spinning?
Laughter filled the room. He warned Haeun that Haru might hear them, and he continued in a quieter voice.
"See? The more we talk the more interesting it becomes! I really want to dig into it."
Haeun sounded like he just received a new and shiny toy. While Seowoo seemed to have similar feelings, Hamin, who didn't relate to their reactions, couldn't help but feel sympathy for Sihyun. Seeing him fall prey to two out of the three craziest people he'd encountered in his life was a sorry sight. Moreover, the remaining one was likely to turn his attention to Sihyun soon. It was pitiful.
"Are you aware that you both lack a screw or two?"
Haeun laughed at Hamin's plain observation. It seemed like nothing mattered to him.
"So what? Eventually, you'll become like us."
Like it or not, that's how it goes.
A blunt statement that carried significant weight. Hamin swallowed hard at the voice that wouldn't leave his ears.
'I'm looking forward to it.'
Clutching his fists, Hamin looked at Haeun.
"Still, I haven't gone as crazy as you two."
Even though they'd barely met, Haeun recognized Sihyun's weakness to good looks and was able to use Geonu to get closer to him. He had blatantly acted like he ditched Geonu at the dining hall, while at the same he had made Geonu practice how to look as pitiful as possible in order to draw Sihyun in. As Hamin was thinking about it he realized what a truly crazy bastard he was looking at. Seeing both him and Seowoo do these 180 degree turns was not normal.
"How did I get involved with you guys?"
Exasperated, Hamin looked at Haeun while tousling his hair. Haeun chuckled at Hamin's exasperation. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the situation.
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[1] I'm not a 100% sure on what those numbers mean, but I'm gonna go ahead and assume that they're talking about height and how Haeun is shorter than Hamin, because that's the only thing I can come up with that makes any sense.