TBBS 20

TBBS

Posted by Zoe, Released on September 4, 2025

Chapter 20….

If it weren’t for the warmth that had touched his fingertips at that moment, he might not even have had the chance to dream anymore.

Thinking that, opening his eyes to face the glaringly bright day was almost painful.

Eric struggled to sit up on the large, soft bed.

At Brangel over the past two weeks, at least, he hadn’t been tormented by nightmares…

And that made this exhausting morning feel even more unpleasant.

As soon as he pulled himself together and went downstairs, he found his mother sitting at the table.

“Good morning, Eric.”

She wore a silk robe, yet her hair was styled perfectly, as if she could leave for work immediately. For some reason, Eric always felt a tightening in his chest whenever he saw her like that.

His father, who had been reading the newspaper, glanced up at Eric.

“So you’re up.”

“Yes, good morning.”

Eric greeted them half-heartedly, and the sharp-eyed butler immediately asked,

“Espresso, sir?”

Before Eric could even nod, his mother raised her hand to stop him.

“Give Eric some water first, then make his coffee weak.”

A small crease appeared on Eric’s forehead, visible only if one looked closely, but neither parent paid much attention to his expression.

He finally managed to lift the glass of water to his lips and set it down before taking the coffee cup—a brewed coffee, not espresso.

The freshly baked pastries on the breakfast table smelled delightful, but his appetite was gone.

His parents offered no apology or explanation for making him see his doctor without warning the day before.

Perhaps they wanted to erase from their minds, as much as possible, the fact that their son still needed psychotherapy.

“Christina seems more charming each day,” his mother said.

Yet, of all things, she mentioned Christina instead of the topic of his doctor. Eric felt a surge of disgust and put down his coffee cup.

“…It must be terrible, right?”

His mother laughed lightly at his dry joke, shrugging her shoulders.

“She’s pretty, though.”

“Well, I got tired of her ten years ago.”

Eric’s indifferent reply went unheard, as usual.

“I’ll be a bit busy today, but how about brunch together on Sunday?”

“With Oxenscher?” Eric couldn’t help but ask sharply.

“Seeing her at school is already more than enough.”

Luckily, his father, who was busier than his mother, ended the conversation there.

“I have a video conference, so I’ll get up first. Let me know about brunch.”

His mother immediately followed up, not wanting to miss him.

“And you haven’t forgotten the guests arriving from England tonight, right?”

So, at least, he wouldn’t be bothered until evening.

Eric scoffed at himself for thinking that way and finally stirred his yogurt with a spoon.

“I’ll be a bit busy today, but how about brunch together on Sunday?”

What if she wasn’t just saying that casually?

The sunny afternoon was filled only with the empty echo of the habitual stock market broadcast playing in the large room.

Maybe he should just go back to school quickly.

Eric thought that as he opened the WG app. RS had suggested and asked again to discuss switching the bulletin board to real-name mode, so he needed to check the reactions.

He hadn’t expected much, but the students’ responses to the real-name switch were lukewarm.

WGStudentbostäders

Title: [Tiselius] Absolutely Opposed to Real-Name Mode!

Let’s just make some rules and follow them.

No mentioning specific people
No uploading photos without permission

Reply

[Lagerlöf] +1
[Tiselius] +1
[Siegbahn] But we’ve talked about this before and nobody follows the rules anyway.
[Tiselius] +1
[Lagerlöf] +1
[Hammarskjöld] +1
[Tiselius] Honestly, if we just avoided #2, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

Even though he expected nothing, he felt disappointed.

Everyone seemed unwilling to think about the real-name mode, and there were hardly any posts about it.

Instead, they were blatantly gossiping about certain people again.

WGStudentbostäders

Title: [Hammarskjöld] They’re practically family.

They were sitting side by side; I thought they were siblings. How foolish I was not to trust the captain…

Reply

[Siegbahn] Captain seems to be checking the board these days; tone it down…
[Tiselius] They did look like family. But did you really have to post this while RS is watching?
↳[Lagerlöf] Why so sensitive? It’s just a joke, not even an insult…
↳[Hammarskjöld] Lagerlöf’s right!
[Siegbahn] They looked close. Probably people who know each other well.

Eric stared blankly for a moment before closing the WG app.

Then he opened Instagram and finally checked Bibi’s account, which had accepted his follow request.

There weren’t many photos, and most recent ones were from a library event at Zarva High School.

Only one trace of Brangel appeared: a photo of her dorm room visit.

Eric studied the door that looked exactly like the one he saw every day, with a short, unfamiliar name, “Bibi Han,” written on it.

At the same time, he remembered her father calling, “Bibi!” the day before.

Was “Bibi” her nickname? Such a unique name—could it be Korean?

Eric, who knew nothing of the Korean language, couldn’t tell.

Sunlight poured into the bedroom.

Even though he attended a school with the same name as his family, he had never particularly liked it.

Today, however, he felt a strange longing for school and opened the messaging window.

What are you doing?

While helping his parents pack for a weekend fishing trip, Eric sent a message.

I couldn’t believe I was exchanging DMs with Eric Brangel.

Feeling a little awkward, I replied honestly.

Helping pack for my parents’ fishing trip. You?

Thanks for yesterday. My parents were very grateful too.

Almost immediately, a video call came through.

Surprised, I accepted, and saw Eric lying on his bed with his chin propped up, sunlight pouring in.

It was a scene that might excite girls if posted on the board, but to me, his defenseless look was a little shocking.

I hadn’t expected our relationship to feel this comfortable.

Hey.

Eric greeted with a faint smile and immediately asked,

You’re not going on the trip with your parents?

I tore my eyes from his fluttering blond hair on the small screen and replied.

Ah, yeah. As you know, I came home suddenly. The fishing trip was planned with friends and their spouses. Of course, they suggested I come too…

Fishing’s boring.

I nodded, unusually agreeing with him.

Exactly! Totally boring.

But when we laughed together, I couldn’t have guessed his next words.

If you’re going to be alone anyway, want to go back to school with me? I’ve been alone since last night. My parents had to leave suddenly for a business trip.

Really? When will they be back?