The dilation of Sihyun's eyes coincided with the sudden appearance of a black figure blocking his path.
The swiftly moving knife brushed past Haru's eyes and darted away. Even though it was near him, Sihyun was surprised that the knife could reach so close in that brief moment. A beep emitted from the pairing device on his finger, warning him. It signaled the unlawful use of abilities.
The use of abilities is prohibited within the school premises. Unless it is used during an examination, an alert would be sent to the faculty through the pairing device. However, he didn't expect to witness it happening so quickly, as he gazed at the fallen knife on the ground.
The tip of the blade glistened red. Sihyun's blue eyes flickered.
"Haru hyung!"
Rushing forward, he grabbed Haru's shoulder, revealing Haru holding one hand over his eyes. His large hand obscured the injury, making it hard to gauge its severity.
"Are you okay?"
"...Ah."
As he leaned in closer, a flash of red could be seen between Haru's strands of hair. Wondering if the place he was covering with his hand was stained with the same liquid as his eye color, Sihyun reached his hand out over Haru's to check the wound.
Thunk!
Haru swatted his hand away swiftly, almost reflexively. Sihyun's hand, now lost without a target, hesitated in the empty space.
Belatedly realizing what he'd done. Haru's widened pupils lowered as he bowed his head. Although he usually seemed somewhat timid, this time it was particularly more noticeable.
"I'm... sorry."
"No, it's okay—"
"I... I'll leave first."
With those words, Haru swiftly left his spot. A guy that never interrupted others or spoke unnecessary words, just brazenly cut off Sihyun's words and ran away.
The increasingly hurried steps turned into a hasty trot. Watching Haru exit the cafeteria as if being chased, Sihyun, with his dropped hand, turned his gaze.
He felt like a parent watching his usually well-behaved son storm out for the first time.
"Looks like you got stood up."
Despite the obvious situation of someone being injured, Seowoo's casual comment made Sihyun, with a strained expression, brush his hair back. As Sihyun faced him, his eyes moved towards the knife. Through the silver blade, the recent incident replayed vividly in his mind.
Someone clearly aiming at me with a flying knife, and Haru blocking it, the red blood staining the fallen knife.
"Ha."
A clear scoff escaped his lips. It was a mockery of his past self, thinking Donghyuk was somewhat reasonable.
Reasonable? He couldn't control himself or even manage his emotions.
With his abilities, he was able to excel and was good enough to land in the top 10 during the placement test, and he had decent grades.
At that moment Mirgun's future felt bleak.
"If you're going to throw it, at least throw it properly. Hitting someone innocent and not even apologizing... "
Sihyun's slow-paced voice filled the cafeteria swiftly. He bent down to pick up the fallen knife, and looked over at Donghyuk. Though his expression remained crumpled, his complexion paled as if surprised by the knife he had thrown.
"Kang Donghyuk."
"..."
"Would you take responsibility?"
"....."
"I asked, if that knife had hit Haru, would you be able to take responsibility?"
There was no response to the chilly tone. A moment ago, he was hurling curses, but now, faced with the situation, he seemed entirely lost for words.
We could have brushed past this just fine, but he couldn't control himself.
Haru got hurt. He seemed fine if it was me who got hurt, but Haru got hurt while trying to protect me. In annoyance, Sihyun, holding the knife in one hand, scratched his neck with the other. Unpleasant feelings surged, enveloping him.
Disgusting.
"I think I might have to throw this back at you for you to get it."
As his mood sank, so did his voice. Donghyuk's eyebrows twitched. As Sihyun approached him with deliberate steps, he looked down at the hand holding the table. It was the same one that had hit it before.
Sihyun stared at his rough hand with indifferent eyes. Donghyuk flinched under Sihyun's eerie glare, but right when he pulled his hand away-
Thud!
"Ah!"
One of the students observing yelled in alarm. The sharp scream heightened the tension in the atmosphere. Donghyuk, frozen stiff, slowly looked at his hand. The sight of the silver knife embedded between his fingers was enough to make his bones feel icy.
With the force to insert the knife into the desk, Sihyun, contrary to his actions, gazed at Donghyuk with an unexpectedly calm expression. His contracted pupils, consumed by fear, were noticeable.
"Rein it in a bit."
Don't think that you're the only one capable of going crazy with a knife.
Disliked annoyances and detested fights. So, he tended to resign and endure when possible. But types like Donghyuk, when left alone, became uncontrollable, requiring sorting out. After issuing a warning, Sihyun released the knife he held.
Thunk! The knife fell sideways, tapping Donghyuk's hand. His shoulders twitched, and a strangled noise came from his throat.
"...I think I just fell in love."
A voice mismatched with the atmosphere broke the silence. Unmoved, Sihyun turned away from Donghyuk, and looked at Haeun talking nonsense. He wasn't in the mood to match his rhythm.
"I'll come down for dinner, so you guys go ahead and eat, before it gets too late."
"With our bare hands?"
"Why, do you need a knife too?"
"I'll enjoy my meal~"
Despite the already sensitive mood, Haeun was able to tick me off with a charming smile, waving at me. Sihyun swiftly changed his stance and left the cafeteria. It was evident where Haru, who preferred deserted places, would have disappeared to.
"Haru hyung."
As soon as he returned to the dormitory, Sihyun called out to Haru, seeing his shoes at the entrance. He had been confident coming here but he didn't expect Haru to actually be in their room. He was like a squirrel running off to hide somewhere familiar, he felt sorry for him but he could also sympathize.
"I know you're here. Let's talk a bit."
With no response from Haru, Sihyun took off his shoes and headed towards their room. Glancing briefly at their bed, he noticed Haru huddled under the flipped blanket. It resembled the cautious demeanor of a wary cat.
"...I'll come up."
Even without permission, Sihyun didn't hesitate. Waiting for Haru's approval seemed like it would take at least a week.
As he climbed the ladder and knelt on the bed, it creaked under the weight. It was a very nice bed, but two people on the same level was a bit heavy.
Sihyun started moving towards Haru, who was nestled in the corner. There was nowhere for him to run but he still kept shuffling away from him. Haru could barely be seen from under the blanket, with his hair covering his face, so Sihyun grabbed and tried to pull the blanket of him.
Haru was stronger than him and pulled it right back, as Sihyun tried again it felt like he was playing tug-of-war.
After trying and failing two of three times, SIhyun sighed and tried to solve it with words.
"You're hurt."
"...I'm fine."
"Well I'm not, so can you at least let me see?"
He kept pulling and Haru kept pulling back. Sihyun's forehead creased as the situation was getting increasingly irritating.
"So you're not hurt?"
"...No."
"Then pull the blanket off please. If you hate me being like this you shouldn't have gotten hit in the first place."
Why were you the one hit when he was throwing at me.
After some threats and intimidation the blanket lowered slightly. Haru lowered his head sullenly at every word. As soon as Haru decreased his hold Sihyun pulled the entire blanket off him, and Haru raised his head in surprise. They were finally face-to-face. Was this petty squabble really necessary over a blanket?
"Hello, Hyung."
At the mere greeting, Haru struggled to reclaim the blanket. Boldly tossing it away, Sihyun leaned towards Haru, who hesitantly retreated to the corner.
"I-I'm fine!"
"What's fine? I'll treat it, so come here. There's nowhere else to go anyway."
"..."
"Haru hyung."
Sihyun's narrowed gaze reflected his stubbornness. He couldn't fathom why Haru was so insistent. Perhaps there was a burn mark, or a monster living in his eye, or maybe something as trivial as having three eyes.
Regardless, he was prepared not to be surprised or bothered.
The crucial point was that Haru had a wound on his face that needed treatment, not his appearance or whatever he was trying to conceal.
"I won't comment on how it looks. Just lift your head."
"..."
"Just look."
Not even a five-year-old behaves like this. Sighing at the refusal, Sihyun, after a brief ceasefire, opened his mouth. Persuasion and coaxing hadn't worked, so the only options left were coercion and threat.
"If you won't lift your head to look at me now, you won't see me from now on."
"...!"
Haru's shoulders twitched. Finally, a reaction.
"I'm not lying."
"..."
"I'm going to count to three. One, two…"
Three.
Precisely at that moment, as Haru grew more anxious, he lifted his head. Seizing the opportunity, Sihyun swiftly reached out and brushed away Haru's bangs.
Snap. The distance between Haru and him lessened, and the previously frustrating locks of hair were refreshingly cleared. Looking at Haru's revealed features, Sihyun momentarily froze.
"..."
He had told himself he wouldn't be shocked, but what he was looking at was so far from his expectations that he snapped his mouth shut.
"Ah..."
A sigh-like voice tinged with mild surprise came out. On Haru's forehead, a vivid blue mark was etched.