Hero, Go To School! - Chapter 28

His reaction threw me off. It wasn’t the usual wariness. There was something more tangled in it. Fear, self-defense, and above all, a kind of confusion he couldn’t even seem to understand himself.

What had changed in him overnight?

Not that he’d ever been completely sane, but it was strange to see him recoiling even from me, someone he was supposed to be working with.

Did he change his mind?

His mind never followed a straight line, so I couldn’t make sense of what any of this meant, and it was deeply unsettling.

“What is it now? Just tell me.”

I asked, carefully, like trying to calm a wild beast. Ian stared at my face for a long time, then turned his head away.

“Ian, did you forget that we’re supposed to be working together? What are you trying to pull, acting like this even with me? I’m about to lose it here.”

Ian said nothing, like he was building a wall of silence around himself.

Fine, so that’s how he wants to play it.

I clenched my jaw and cracked my neck to the side. Then I rolled up my sleeves past the elbows. The moment I did, Ian turned his head toward me, sensing something shift.

“I’ll show you that fists work better than persuasion.”

“Wait…”

Before he could finish, I marched straight up to the bed and jumped on it in one go. His chest, firm with muscle, was my target.

I swung down hard, remembering the days I used to punch the arcade boxing machine with all I had.

Thud-.

The heavy thump of fist meeting flesh echoed through the room. His solid body flinched under my blow. But I knew Ian wouldn’t fight back, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

Each time my fist landed, a low groan escaped from his mouth. He couldn’t even bring himself to push me away. All he could do was take the blows in silence, like some kind of torture.

How much time had passed? His chest was red and swollen.

Huff-, huff-.

I gathered my sweat-drenched hair and tied it back, then dropped onto his stomach with a thud.

“Want more?”

His shoulders twitched slightly. Ian stared at me with his lips tightly sealed, then finally shook his head.

“Then tell me why you did it.”

When I pressed him hard, Ian furrowed his brow in hesitation. After a long pause, he finally opened his mouth.

“…I was training my mind and clearing the area a bit in case of intruders.”

“Did you forget what I told you yesterday? There is no one here who wants to hurt you.”

Ian shook his head with a grave expression.

“I think… something happened to me.”

“What?”

“I should have been more vigilant. I was too careless.”

“No. You have never been careless. Not even for a second.”

He stared at me, startled.

“My body feels strange. I couldn’t sleep at all last night because I kept thinking about you. My chest kept tingling, and even when I closed my eyes, your face kept appearing. It feels like poison, no… like a curse.”

What the hell is he talking about now?

I scrubbed the back of my neck irritably. What was this bastard even saying? Everything coming out of his mouth sounded like someone falling in love. But the way he said it, the way he looked, he seemed more like a patient who had just received a terminal diagnosis.

“Even now, it feels like my chest is going to burst.”

“……”

Is this bastard into me?

It wasn’t paranoia. There was no other explanation. Thinking back to how he reacted when we accidentally kissed yesterday, it was entirely possible. He could barely hide his expression and kept stammering like someone who wasn’t him.

Just as I reached that conclusion in my head, Ian continued speaking.

“I don’t know how long this curse will last. So you shouldn’t let your guard down either.”

Who the hell would cast a curse like this. He was endlessly wary of an enemy that didn’t even exist.

God, what am I supposed to do with this guy? If I left him like this, he would definitely spend every day ranting about curses and spiraling deeper into paranoia.

“Listen carefully. From what I can tell, that isn’t a curse.”

“Then what is it?”

“You. Don’t you keep thinking about me, and doesn’t a certain moment we shared keep coming back to you?”

“How do you…”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure you like me.”

Ian’s face went rigid with shock.

“I… like you?”

Why was he this surprised? It wasn’t like I had any feelings for him either, but seeing him react like that didn’t exactly feel great.

“That’s impossible. I haven’t even known you for more than a few days. Feeling something like that for you makes no sense. All my life, I have never…”

“Don’t worry. Those aren’t your feelings.”