* * *
Just then, Ruite, who was beginning to fully regain his senses, stretched.
Moving his body this way and that with his arms extended upward, he finally discovered Chester standing near the door.
“Oh? Ches—”
The moment their eyes met, Chester immediately turned around and stepped out of the infirmary.
He slammed the door shut, leaned against the side wall, and ruffled his hair as hard as he could.
He truly couldn’t believe the word that had just popped into his head.
‘Cute?’
No, there was no way. His brain must have malfunctioned because of all the stress lately.
To verify, Chester yanked the infirmary door open again and strode toward Ruite.
“What is it?”
Perhaps because the momentum was so unusual, Ruite raised the corners of his mouth awkwardly.
Chester stared intently at that face.
It was as he thought.
Looking at him again now, that nonsensical thought didn’t occur to him.
As expected, just now must have been a ridiculous fluke—
“Chester?”
At that moment, Ruite tilted his head.
His hair shimmered as he slowly blinked his large eyes, wearing a questioning expression.
His deep dark-brown pupils stood out in contrast to his hair.
“…”
As Ruite’s face suddenly filled his vision, Chester’s fists clenched involuntarily.
“Hmm? Chester was here too?”
Just then, Philia walked in.
Carrying a student chart, she busily wrote something with a pen before beginning to check the condition of the awakened Ruite.
“Ruite, you know why you collapsed, right?”
“Yes. Roughly.”
Ruite glanced behind him while answering Philia.
Chester, who had stepped back behind her, was lost in his own deep contemplation with the most serious face in the world.
Being like that, Ruite couldn’t help but be distracted by him.
In the first place, he couldn’t understand why Chester had come here to act like that.
“The medicine I give you is meant to be eaten. Not to be kept as a souvenir.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Fortunately, your fever has gone down a lot and there are no other abnormal findings, so there shouldn’t be any big problems. Make sure to thank Chester properly. He carried you to the infirmary himself.”
‘Huh?’
At the unexpected news, Ruite looked at Chester.
But he was still lost in his own thoughts.
Ruite had assumed the person who moved him here was probably Professor Harold; it was a truly unexpected person.
“You may go back for today. Instead, Ruite, make sure to take your stabilizers three times a day—morning, lunch, and dinner—for the next week.”
“Three times a day?”
“If you had taken them properly when I first told you, this wouldn’t have happened, right?”
When she hit the nail on the head that he had caused this situation himself, Ruite had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
After collapsing during the practical exam, he had been told by Philia to take one stabilizer a day, but it was none other than himself who had thoughtlessly ignored her words.
“Yes, I understand.”
However, whether it was because Ruite’s tone wasn’t trustworthy or because his past record made him hard to believe, Philia’s eyes narrowed.
Looking at Chester, who was still standing behind them, she cleared her throat.
“If need be, Chester can keep an eye on him. To see if Ruite is taking his medicine properly.”
At her words, Chester, who had been wearing a serious face the whole time, looked up.
“Professor, I’ll just take care of it myself.”
When Philia made the unexpected suggestion, Ruite stepped in urgently.
He didn’t know the reason, but a kid who hated him had already gone through the trouble of carrying him to the infirmary; he must be thinking about how annoying this all is.
And on top of that, to be told to check if he’s taking his medicine?
“Taking medicine is my specialty.”
When he blurted out nonsense, he received an incredulous glare that seemed to say, ‘Is that really what you should be saying right now?’
In the end, he had to endure her nagging about proper medication until the very end.
After changing into his uniform, Ruite left the infirmary, leaving Philia’s storm of nagging behind.
But the moment he came out, he found Chester leaning against the wall.
He thought Chester had already gone back since he hadn’t seen him inside for a while.
“Ah, Chester. Is it true that you moved me?”
“You ran a fever because you didn’t take your medicine properly in the first place. I’m the only one in class who knows your trait, so what choice did I have?”
Hearing that blunt voice, it funnily enough felt real that his condition had improved.
And as expected, he knew that would be the reason.
Among the students, only Chester knew his trait.
It was natural since they knew each other’s traits due to the marriage talks between their families.
But even if he collapsed, there wouldn’t be many kids who would associate it with a trait issue, so it wouldn’t have really mattered.
He felt he had caused Chester unnecessary trouble.
Besides, he didn’t really care if anyone else found out he was an Omega.
While some Omegas often want to hide their traits, his stance was that it wasn’t a matter that needed to be kept secret.
Well, whatever the case, it was true he owed him, so he had to express his gratitude.
“Chester, thank—”
However, for some reason, Chester was staring down at him.
The gaze that scanned his face as if to pierce through it while slightly narrowing his brows was a bit burdensome.
‘Is he really angry because I caused him trouble?’
But technically, it’s not like he wanted to collapse, and he never asked Chester to move him in the first place.
“…There’s no way.”
“Huh? What?”
Chester muttered in a low voice.
But his voice was so small it couldn’t be heard well.
Ruite asked again, thinking it might be something important, but Chester just brushed past him.
Only after Chester moved away did Ruite realize he hadn’t been able to give a proper greeting.
“Should I go to the dorm and wash up first?”
He could just say thanks next time.
Ruite headed to the dormitory with a much lighter body now that his fever had subsided.
“Ruite! I thought you were dying!”
“Magnus, people don’t die that easily. And I’m sensitive about the topic of me dying, so please refrain from saying that.”
The next day, Magnus, seeing Ruite coming to school in perfect condition, made a huge fuss and clung to him.
After finally shaking off Magnus, who was being loud enough to make his ears bleed, Ruite headed to his seat.
“Rui, how’s your body?”
Counting the one Colin just asked, this was already the thirteenth time he had heard that question.
He was becoming a master at saying he was fine because every classmate he ran into asked about his condition.
“I’m fine.”
“I was so worried. What did they say it was? Was it a cold after all?”
“Huh? Uh-huh. Right.”
It felt awkward to suddenly say out of his own mouth that his fever rose because of a trait issue.
So, Ruite used the most convenient excuse—a cold—as a shield and roughly agreed with Colin’s words.
“You missed the last lecture yesterday, right? I summarized the content, so feel free to look at it and give it back.”
Colin suddenly held out a notebook.
Ruite had been worried about the missed lecture and was thinking about whether he should ask Chester for help even if he got cursed at.
“Colin, if you live like this, you’ll have no choice but to go to heaven later.”
As Ruite looked at the notebook with emotion, Colin burst into laughter and stroked Ruite’s head.
But suddenly, the space beside him felt empty.
It was because Chester, who should have been sitting in the next seat, was nowhere to be seen.
Chester was diligent enough to always be among the top three earliest arrivals in class.
Had he come to school but stepped away for a moment for something else?
“Alright, everyone sit down.”
Just then, Harold entered the classroom.
The classmates who were chatting everywhere naturally returned to their seats.
Before starting the lecture in earnest, there was a time when the presiding professor announced various notices, and attendance checks were all done at this time.
In other words, if you didn’t arrive by the notice time, it was considered a late arrival.
Even if you had already come to school, if you weren’t in your seat when attendance was called, it was ruthlessly processed as a late arrival.
“Is everyone here? Attendance is…”
Just as Harold opened the list, the back door slammed open.
In the quiet atmosphere, the momentum was so extraordinary that the eyes of Harold and all the classmates shifted to Chester, who had rushed through the door.
“Since you’re here, sit down quickly.”
Perhaps thinking it was unusual for Chester to arrive so narrowly, Harold spoke belatedly.
Everyone else felt the same.
They glanced at him with looks that said, ‘To think that Chester almost arrived late.’
There were slight dark circles under Chester’s eyes.
It was a face that anyone could see belonged to a person who hadn’t slept properly.
It was enough to make one naturally think that oversleeping might have been the cause of his lateness.
“Chester, you were lucky. I haven’t called attendance yet.”
Taking advantage of the gap while Harold was delivering notices, Ruite leaned in and moved close to Chester’s side.
He whispered softly so as not to be caught talking by Harold, but with a clattering sound from the chair, Chester recoiled violently.
Harold’s sharp gaze flew toward the noise that cut through the quiet air, but fortunately, there was no scolding.
Regardless, it seemed Chester really hadn’t been able to sleep last time.
Seeing him act so unlike himself—he who always boasted boundless stamina even during those difficult exam periods—Ruite felt a sense of human touch from him.
“You look really tired. Did you not sleep a wink?”
“…”
Ruite asked in a passing voice, but Chester stared straight at him with bloodshot eyes wide open.
“Why…?”
Did he do something to offend Chester again?
But he hadn’t smiled, nor had he touched his body.
“…Who do you think this is because of?”
* * *
