Chapter 45: Sleeping Sentinels

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you’re entering the Seoul Arts Competition this time too?”

“Ah, of course. Why do you ask?”

“If your turns don’t overlap, lend your accompanist to Seol Chaewoo. That way it’s a fair deal.”

Only then did Chaewoo recall venting to Kim Yunso a few days ago about his headache over hiring an accompanist.

The accompanists Chaewoo had hired previously were famous, skilled professionals whose fees were several hundred thousand won per hour.

Having only received accompaniment from such people, he was at a loss when trying to find one at a lower price because he didn’t know who to get a recommendation from.

Since he couldn’t possibly use a freshman accompanist for the competition just to save as much money as possible, he was facing difficulties in many ways.

“A piano major graduate I know offered to do it… If Senior Chaewoo is fine with it, I’ll ask her.”

“Really?”

Chaewoo, who had only been listening, brightened up.

“Yes. She’s a close friend of mine, so I think she might even do it without charging an extra fee. I’ll ask her first.”

“That worked out well.”

Kim Yunso patted the junior’s shoulder with satisfaction.

“Then… you’re sharing your notes, right?”

“Ah, right. I’ll hand them over as soon as I go home and find them.”

“Or you can just scan those pages and send them as a PDF file.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll be going then. Have a good day.”

Watching the junior bow exaggeratingly and walk away, Chaewoo whispered.

“Kim Yunso, are you perhaps a genius?”

Like a savior, Kim Yunso had instantly secured him an accompanist for free when he had been worrying over it.

“It’s just that you live without using your brain. How can you offer to hand over the exam guide right then and there, Chaewoo? Sometimes you seem too… sheltered. There has to be a give and take. You’re so foolishly simple-minded. Snap out of it.”

“My, the fourth-years in the vocal department are fierce. Aren’t you discipline-checking the junior too harshly?”

At the familiar voice that cut in without warning, Chaewoo and Kim Yunso turned their heads simultaneously.

At the end of their gaze stood Jeong Taehyun and a group of third-years carrying a heap of general education books.

Seeing Euigeon mixed in at the back, Chaewoo immediately turned his eyes away and pretended not to see him.

“Ah, Jeong Taehyun is overdoing it again.”

“I saw that junior bowing ninety degrees to Senior Yunso earlier. The kid was trembling in fear; these days, you get reported for doing that.”

“You’re already so damn loud. There are plenty of other empty seats, so why did you come here?”

“Because this is the only empty table…”

As Kim Yunso flared up, the babbling Jeong Taehyun instantly shrank.

“Then sit down quietly and study.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Let’s behave, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jeong Taehyun took a seat directly opposite Chaewoo, and the other third-years unpacked their belongings as well.

The table, which could seat a total of six people, was filled in an instant.

Kim Yunso sat on Chaewoo’s left, and a third-year Alpha whom he rarely spoke to sat on his right.

Euigeon sat directly next to Jeong Taehyun, placing him diagonally opposite Chaewoo.

To avoid making eye contact with him, Chaewoo turned the pages of his book and scanned the exam scope he had planned to study today.

Anyway, if he could just endure for about an hour, he would soon have to go to the practice room with Kim Yunso.

Since he had agreed to accompany her today, slipping out together then wouldn’t look like he was avoiding him and would seem natural.

“I’ll go take a quick call.”

“Okey-dokey.”

Before even properly unpacking his things, Euigeon left the library holding his vibrating phone.

The third-year companion who had come with him placed Euigeon’s bag, which had been hanging on the chair to reserve his spot, onto the empty desk.

Whether Euigeon left or not, Chaewoo kept his eyes fixed on his notes.

And he began taking notes, finding the necessary materials from the books he had brought beforehand.

Even as music majors, they had to attend lectures and take exams just like other college students, except for the practical lessons.

If they delayed their daily assignments or study progress, they would quickly lose ground to students from other departments, ruining their general education grades, so they couldn’t afford to relax.

“Hey. Move it, move it.”

“Shh.”

He heard a rustling noise like static in the middle, but ignored it since it wasn’t jarring.

Jeong Taehyun was usually restless whenever he was around anyway.

This much noise was unavoidable in the library.

Kim Yunso was wearing earphones, checking her diction and lyrics, perhaps listening to the song she would perform in the rehearsal room today.

Before long, even the noise-maker Jeong Taehyun quieted down, allowing Chaewoo to focus on his studies easily.

Thus, peace continued for a brief moment.

Having memorized the difficult terms, Chaewoo put down his pen to catch his breath.

Since he had been in a hunched posture, his body felt stiff, so he raised his arms and stretched to loosen up.

Then, he locked eyes with Euigeon, who was returning after finishing his call at the far entrance of the library.

“…….”

Since it was awkward to greet him, he pretended not to see him, turned his gaze away, and continued stretching, but he suddenly felt an emptiness in the seat next to him.

Surely the third-year whom he wasn’t close with had been sitting there.

Rolling his eyes to find where he had gone, he saw that the third-year was now sitting next to Jeong Taehyun on the opposite side.

‘Then what is this seat next to me?’

Chaewoo stared blankly at the bag left alone in the empty seat.

He had seen this bag quite often somewhere….

“Oh, Euigeon. You’re back?”

Jeong Taehyun waved and called out to Euigeon.

And at the familiar pheromone that suddenly drifted beside him, Chaewoo raised his head with a sense of dread.

“Why is my bag here?”

Euigeon questioned the change in his bag’s position from when he left.

However, he sat down next to Chaewoo naturally, as if he had no complaints.

It was obvious whose doing this was without even looking.

Jeong Taehyun must have made a fuss about the argument they had in the department room again, putting their seats together to force them to make up.

That damn bastard.

No wonder he had kept hearing rustling noises.

He had been babbling nonsense about taking responsibility for making Euigeon and him reconcile during opera practice.

The method was so pathetic that he wanted to smack him.

“Oh, really? Did Senior Chaewoo move it? He must want to get along with you, thanks to his broad senior-minded generosity.”

At Jeong Taehyun’s shameless words, Chaewoo glared.

‘What are you saying, you bastard?’

He mouthed the words, but Jeong Taehyun only parroted that he hadn’t done it while avoiding his gaze.

It seemed studying here was out of the question.

This was a predictable outcome from the moment the group containing Beom Euigeon and Jeong Taehyun had arrived.

Chaewoo swallowed a sigh and looked at Kim Yunso.

She was listening to music through her earphones, seemingly unaware of what was happening.

He couldn’t ask someone who was focusing on her upcoming practice to leave.

Euigeon took out his writing utensils and books from his bag with an indifferent face.

His nerves were on edge, making those small movements sound exceptionally loud.

Ultimately, stuck in a situation where he couldn’t leave, Chaewoo forced himself to grip his pen and began writing down useless terms as he took notes.

How much time was left until Kim Yunso’s practice started?

Checking the time on his phone, he still had to wait for more than thirty minutes.

It would be ridiculous to change seats now.

Sigh.

Chaewoo turned the page with an inward sigh.

On the other hand, as soon as Euigeon sat down, he began studying, looking back and forth between his book and his tablet.

Occasionally watching the movement of his fingertips as he swiped to turn the page on his tablet, Chaewoo secretly thought that his vibe seemed different today.

Pretending to rest his chin in his hand, he turned his head a bit more to look at Euigeon’s face, but the man was reading materials with his usual expressionless face.

His thick eyebrows, neatly combed hair, and the sharp bridge of his nose in the center of his face were exactly as they always were.

So was the thin jersey he wore over his white t-shirt.

Nothing was new, so why did he somehow look different?

Once he became conscious of it, his attention kept drifting in that direction.

Failing to figure out the subtle difference, Chaewoo pondered.

‘Is it the pheromones?’

No.

The pheromones were the same as usual.

His expression, clothing, and hair were all nothing special.

As Chaewoo tilted his head without a clear answer, the large tablet screen suddenly slid toward his elbow.

Written on the white screen Euigeon had been using were some complex, unrecognizable squiggles scribbled with a stylus.

‘What is this? Did he draw musical notes?’

As Chaewoo scowled at the completely illegible writing, Euigeon pulled the tablet back, erased the cipher-like writing, and wrote something again with his stylus.

[Why are you staring?]

‘How ridiculous.’

And why did he have to write that down to say it?

Only then did Chaewoo look around.

The table he was sitting at was completely dead.

Kim Yunso, Jeong Taehyun, and even the third-year junior were all dozing off with their heads on the desk.

Thanks to that, it was so quiet that even the sound of writing could be heard clearly.

Chaewoo snatched the stylus, chose the thinnest line, and scribbled in the corner.

[I wasn’t looking at you. 🖕]

[Liar.]

Checking the reply, Chaewoo glared at Euigeon.

Euigeon was casually turning the page as if he had never participated in the written conversation.

‘I’ll just ignore him.’

After all, it was true that he had been staring.

[Senior Seol, has nothing changed about me?]

This time, Euigeon wrote something on his tablet and held it out.

Chaewoo had to read the scribble several times to decipher it.

His handwriting was a total mess.

Even when he first saw the note telling him to leave his studio apartment immediately, he hadn’t thought his handwriting was particularly decent.

To find what had changed about Euigeon, Chaewoo turned his head to the side.

Euigeon also turned his body fully toward him and blinked, as if telling him to hurry up and find it.

Thus, in the library, the gazes of the two met quietly and intensely.

Since it was true he had received the impression that Euigeon was somehow different today, he took the opportunity to scrutinize his face and clothing thoroughly.

However, he couldn’t find any meaningful difference.

‘Surely he isn’t asking me to notice that he trimmed a few strands of his bangs.’

After confirming that the others were still asleep, Chaewoo shook his head.

And he took the stylus and wrote on the screen.

[I don’t know. What changed??]

This time, instead of writing a reply, Euigeon took the tablet and stylus and rested his chin in his hand, turning away from Chaewoo.

‘What is wrong with him?’

‘Is he throwing a tantrum because I couldn’t find what changed?’

Chaewoo let out a silent chuckle.