Episode 8
“…?”
Arpina had stepped out for a bit to run an errand, but on her way back, she saw Del again at the main building entrance.
And the day after that, they crossed paths again in the teacher’s office.
“…”
“…”
They even made eye contact that time, and Del, looking awkward, simply bowed his head and quickly moved out of the way.
“Huh? That student from before?”
So for the first time ever, Arpina asked a teacher something unrelated to school.
She asked why that student had come to the teacher’s office.
“He said he might’ve lost something in the library and asked if we had a lost and found. Something like a keychain his little sister gave him?”
“…”
“By the way, is that the student who confessed to you—?”
“Excuse me.”
That was now the third day they had run into each other or she’d seen him.
“…And I saw him again just now.”
Arpina kept nervously fidgeting with her hands. Sonia’s face also grew serious.
“Don’t tell me… he’s following you?”
“I don’t know…”
It didn’t really feel like he was following her. It just seemed like they kept bumping into each other by chance. The only time they even made eye contact was in the teacher’s office.
Actually, Del had always been there first. Arpina just happened to walk in afterward.
Del didn’t even notice her most of the time. They only made eye contact for the first time yesterday.
“But he keeps showing up, so it’s a little scary.”
“Should I go say something? Like tell him to back off?”
“…Back off?”
“Tell him to stay in his lane and mind his own business.”
Sonia looked like she was ready to march over to the political department dorm right that second.
Arpina quickly stopped her.
“Maybe I’m just overthinking it.”
“Overthinking?!”
Sonia practically yelled.
“If a guy who confessed to you keeps showing up, of course you should be suspicious! What if he figured out where you usually go and got there first to wait for you?!”
“But this is the academy…”
No matter how big the academy was, it was still a school.
The areas students could roam were limited to dorms and the main building with the classrooms.
So even if they were in different departments or years, it was natural for their paths to overlap.
“Besides, it’s not like he follows me or anything…”
“…Huh?”
Sonia looked at Arpina like she couldn’t believe her ears.
“What is going on? Why are you talking like that?”
“Talking like what…?”
“You sound like you’re starting to like him!”
“W-When did I—?!”
Arpina looked genuinely confused.
But Sonia seemed almost certain of her suspicion now.
“Where did my Arpina go?! The one who glared at everyone with a monkey wrench in her hand and proudly said she wasn’t interested in love?!”
“I was never your Arpina.”
“That’s not the point!”
Sonia narrowed her eyes, then asked suspiciously:
“Don’t tell me you fell for his face?”
“It’s not like that.”
Arpina quickly shook her head again.
“We keep bumping into each other, so it’s just a little uncomfortable.”
She had already rejected him clearly, so now running into him over and over was just awkward.
Plus, he was so good-looking that she kept glancing his way without realizing.
“I mean, I just glance at him because he’s handsome, but what if he misunderstands?”
“…”
“I’m not trying to send any weird signals.”
“…”
“I mean it. It’s just… he really is handsome.”
Saying that while insisting it meant nothing?
Sonia wanted to call her out on that nonsense, but she couldn’t argue—because that little first-year was insanely good-looking.
“…Yeah. He is.”
Honestly, even Sonia had felt a bit disappointed when Del stopped showing up.
“He is handsome, but still…”
Del wasn’t just your average handsome guy. He was the kind of beautiful where just brushing past him made you feel like you owed him money for the privilege of seeing his face.
So Sonia could admit Del was good-looking, but she couldn’t accept Del himself.
“…”
Because…
* * *
Exactly one month ago—
“Hello, senior.”
A beautiful blond boy suddenly appeared in front of Sonia and smiled.
“Huh.”
Sonia had just stepped out of the classroom, thinking about something silly like what was for dinner, when she saw Del and her eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me… are you following Arpina?”
She frowned and warned him right away.
“Sorry, but Arpina’s not here today. And if you think you can do whatever you want just because you’re good-looking, I swear I’ll grab my monkey wrench—!”
“I came to see you, Sonia-senior.”
Sonia froze, wrench threat and all.
She glanced around.
Of course, Arpina wasn’t there.
So she cautiously asked:
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Del smiled mysteriously.
“…Don’t tell me you’re hitting on me now?”
“Please tell me what Arpina-senior likes.”
Del ignored her nonsense and got straight to the point.
“No way.”
Sonia refused immediately.
“Wow. I’m actually disappointed in you, handsome freshman.”
“…”
“Arpina already turned you down. That’s the end. Don’t try to get close to her through me. You picked the wrong person for that, kid.”
Her voice was firm, but honestly, Sonia was a little scared.
‘Is this guy really fifteen?’
When he confessed to Arpina, he looked young and innocent—like a kid.
He really did.
‘But now… what is this…?’
Was this… intimidation?
Del wasn’t even doing anything. He was just standing there. He wasn’t even close—there was enough distance between them that he couldn’t touch her even if he reached out.
But Sonia felt like she was face-to-face with a wild beast. Her heart was pounding and her hands were trembling.
Her mouth, which had been confidently threatening him a moment ago, was now shut tight like it was glued shut.
“Senior.”
Del took one step closer.
Sonia flinched and quickly glanced around. The hallway was empty—it was just her and Del.
“I’m really glad you said that.”
There was a shadow in Del’s deep blue eyes that no fifteen-year-old should have.
Sonia didn’t know exactly what was going on, but one thing was clear:
She was scared of Del.
She was completely at a disadvantage. Like a mouse in front of a lion.
And then—suddenly, the heavy, suffocating air disappeared like magic.
“…Pwah!”
Sonia gasped for air, completely forgetting she was standing in front of a younger student.
She inhaled desperately, trying to catch her breath.
And then—something was suddenly held out in front of her.
She looked up to see Del smiling innocently, holding out a box.
“Sorry for scaring you. These are cream puffs. Please share them with Arpina-senior.”
“…”
“Take care!”
And just like that, Del left.
“…What the heck.”
Sonia was left behind, her head spinning with red alert alarms blaring in her mind.
‘What is that guy?!’
How could a fifteen-year-old have that kind of overwhelming presence?
Sonia was only seventeen herself. But she had lived a rougher life than most her age, and she’d met all kinds of people.
The worst by far had been Arpina’s biological father, Count Tonide.
A man who didn’t even treat his own daughter like a human being just because she had no talent for magic.
‘I thought Tonide was the worst…’
But now that title might have to change—
‘Hmm?’
Her body, which had been shaking with fear, was slowly calming down.
‘Maybe he’s not that bad…?’
Sonia tilted her head in thought.
In any case, Del was definitely a suspicious and dangerous guy. Honestly, scarier than Count Tonide.
But that didn’t mean he was as terrible as Count Tonide.
“…”
After thinking for a bit, Sonia tossed the cream puffs Del had given her into the trash.
No matter what, he was still a dangerous person.
She couldn’t give some unknown food to her precious lady.
