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Chapter 49
Benjamin was an eight-year-old boy who was so small he didn’t even reach my waist.
Not only was he short, but his whole build was tiny. Compared to other kids his age, he seemed especially thin and weak.
He also tended to keep his mouth tightly shut most of the time, which made him quite a difficult child to teach.
But his droopy eyes and jet-black pupils had a kind of cuteness that appealed strongly to a certain niche taste—and the one who had completely fallen for it was Aven.
“How can someone be that cute?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“When he just stands there and only starts moving slowly like a sloth after you call his name—do you know how adorable that is?”
“Right. Very cute.”
Ever since we started the talent class, I had heard endless praise about Benjamin.
I answered automatically while cleaning up the messy desk.
“Archel.”
“Yeah?”
“Is it really possible to feel this attached to someone when they don’t produce any economic output, just because they’re cute?”
Thud, thud.
While gathering the papers into one neat stack, I turned my head to look at Aven.
As if he felt guilty for saying that, he lowered his long eyelashes and fidgeted with his lips.
“I know the answer… but it’s still amazing. Benjamin doesn’t have a single outstanding trait. He’s shockingly below average in every way.”
His blue eyes glanced at me cautiously, like a puppy checking its owner’s mood.
In the end, I put the papers down and turned my whole body toward him.
“Aven, people deserve to be loved just as they are. If you don’t get it, think about cats. They’ve conquered the world with cuteness alone.”
Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating white, fluffy specks of dust in the air.
Even dust sparkles when it’s hit by sunlight—so how much more would a person?
“So just accept the feelings you have for Benjamin and express them. If you want to praise him, praise him. If you want to hold his hand, hold it. If you want to stay by his side, then stay with him…”
And please, go straight to Rena with that same energy.
As I followed the drifting dust with my eyes, a softer-than-usual voice fell from above my head.
“Then… can I hug him?”
“Of course.”
Benjamin would probably like it too. Kids form attachments through warmth…
When Aven didn’t respond, I lifted my head—and suddenly our eyes met.
“….”
“….”
It was hard to look away from his slightly flushed face and trembling eyelashes.
The atmosphere felt unfamiliar. I couldn’t casually turn away or throw in a playful joke.
It was as if I had fallen under some strange spell.
How much time had passed?
I faintly heard students chatting as they walked across the campus outside.
The unexplained silence made my throat dry.
This atmosphere felt like…
“Not Benjamin… but me?”
When I raised one eyebrow, Aven tapped the desk awkwardly and nodded.
“Practice… hugging Benjamin…”
He kept sneaking glances at me, looking embarrassed. It felt oddly new.
‘Is flirting just second nature to him because he’s a male lead candidate?’
If making people fall for him by blushing with that fresh face and shy, youthful charm was a skill, then he was definitely skilled.
‘Based on everything so far, Aven has the most potential.’
As long as he didn’t go astray, I believed he could become a good partner for Rena.
And lately, Aven had done so many admirable things!
Thinking that, I opened my arms wide as if spreading wings.
It was just practice, after all.
“Sure, then.”
I stood firmly and waved my arms slightly.
If this was practice for hugging Benjamin, should I lower myself more?
Just as that silly thought crossed my mind, Aven stepped forward without hesitation and wrapped his arms around me.
A gentle soap scent slowly seeped in and tickled my nose.
‘For someone who’s experienced so much of the world through wealth, he really seems like a child at times like this.’
Though I heard him laugh softly near my ear, his body was stiff.
I patted his back.
His arms and joints felt so rigid it was more like knocking than patting.
Still, it seemed to work. The tension in Aven’s body gradually eased.
“Archel, you know…”
When he spoke carefully, I felt the vibration through our touching bodies.
Trying to ignore the ticklish feeling, I listened to what he might say—
Creak.
The doorknob turned.
At that exact moment, Aven pulled away faster than anyone else could have.
As if we had been caught doing something improper.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—the one who entered the student council room wasn’t an outsider, but Izael.
“What brings you here?”
Because of Aven’s reaction, I became the awkward one. I kept scattering and re-stacking the papers while Izael remained by the door.
He didn’t step inside.
He just stood there holding the door open, letting out a strange humming sound that made my nerves tighten.
“Hmm, is there some problem with a student council executive entering the student council room?”
Izael smiled with his eyes and leisurely closed the door.
He wasn’t wrong, so I had nothing to say.
Seeing my silence, he lifted the corner of his mouth and delivered a meaningful remark.
“Strange, though. When I opened the door, I clearly saw a faint afterimage of the two of you overlapping.”
He held up two fingers and repeatedly pressed them together and apart.
‘It wasn’t that kind of atmosphere!’
Our pure hugging practice turned suspicious in an instant.
I signaled desperately at Aven to explain—then fell into despair.
‘Why is his face so red?!’
What we did was just a supportive, comforting hug. It was practice for expressing honest feelings toward Benjamin!
I had to struggle to suppress the urge to kick Aven’s shin to snap him out of it.
‘From the start, whether it was a friendly hug or not, I shouldn’t have done something that could be misunderstood.’
Especially not with a male lead candidate who had a strong chance of ending up with Rena.
After a brief moment of reflection, I changed my strategy instead of sinking into self-reproach.
Looking at Aven’s bright red face, no excuse would work on Izael.
I walked around the desk and stood face to face with him.
“You’ve been running all those strange experiments lately. Maybe you’re just so tired you’re hallucinating. We’ve been busy organizing documents this whole time.”
With an indifferent face, I nodded toward the neatly stacked papers on the desk.
Izael scanned them with a cool expression and shrugged lightly.
“Well, if you insist.”
He clearly didn’t believe me, but there was nothing I could do. Admitting it here would be even more ridiculous.
‘Especially if it’s in front of Izael.’
Turning my back on him, I reached for the unorganized documents, telling him he might as well help since he was here.
I gathered up the sponsorship agreement forms to submit to the bank and was about to turn—
“Then can I hug you?”
Thud.
Aven’s voice echoed again—the very one that had flustered me before.
At the same time, the stack of papers slipped from my hands and fluttered onto the desk and floor.
Aven was standing right in front of me.
But the trembling voice I had clearly felt earlier came from behind me.
Goosebumps rose along my skin as I froze.
Then, a woman’s voice—familiar yet strangely unfamiliar—followed.
“Sure, then.”
That was definitely how I had answered.
A light dizziness hit me.
As I turned unsteadily toward the source of the voice, Izael suddenly stepped close and blocked my path.
His silky silver hair filled my vision, and his face, brimming with interest, captured my gaze.
His lips stretched into a wide horizontal grin, as he made an exaggerated expression of surprise.
“As I thought.”
“I’m never wrong.”
A strange light gleamed in the subtle purple of his eyes beneath his white lashes.
Avoiding his ominous gaze, I glared sharply at the babbling plant that had caused this strange misunderstanding.
“Blegh? Ptoo, ptoo.”
The babbling plant once again pretended it couldn’t speak, just making gagging noises.
‘…You little—’
Though there wasn’t even a breeze, its two leaves swayed gently.
My insides boiled with frustration.
You’re not getting any water for a month.
