TBBS 26

Chapter 26….

But the whining didn’t last long.

As soon as someone inside the gym shouted for the captain, Liam hastily turned back and disappeared inside.

“Hopeless.”

Left alone with me, Erik clicked his tongue, staring in the direction Liam had vanished.

I too glanced at the now-empty spot where Liam had been and let out a small laugh.

“Yeah, right.”

“So, shall we go too?”

We naturally started walking toward the library.

For a weekend, the campus was unusually crowded. As I kept eyeing the students passing by with a faint sense of unease, Erik explained,

“Liam said several subjects have their IA due next week. That’s probably why the library’s going to be packed today.”

“Really?”

Tutoring with Erik, sitting side by side in a crowded library? Was that even a good idea?

Noticing my worried face, Erik shrugged.

“Yeah. On a day like today, if Miss Schelin spots us, she won’t be able to resist making us run errands.”

A joke followed about whether we’d even get to study at all.

“Ah……”

My steps slowed of their own accord.

Of course, it wasn’t because I was worried about Miss Schelin working us to the bone without overtime pay.

No, what I really didn’t want was to get caught up in another scandal with Erik Brangell.

I knew perfectly well Erik wasn’t at fault. But still, I didn’t want to become everyone’s target just for hanging around him.

Erik glanced at me cautiously.

“What’s wrong? If you don’t like the library, we can go to the dorm. Cafeteria’s closed on weekends.”

At the mention of the dorms, Christina’s icy blue eyes flashed in my mind. Eyes that looked at me with hostility, suspicion, and wariness.

Maybe interpreting my silence in his own way, Erik drew an X in the air with his left hand and gestured to the right.

“Lagerlöf’s that way.”

Then, raising his right hand, he pointed left.

“Sigban’s this way. Which one?”

What was I supposed to say? That his ex-girlfriend was glaring daggers at me? That would’ve been petty—and humiliating.

“…I didn’t know this would happen, so I didn’t tidy my room.”

Erik burst out laughing at my lame excuse.

“You don’t actually expect my room to be cleaner than yours, do you?”

Still chuckling, he started walking to the left—toward Sigban.

But it didn’t take long for me to regret that rash decision.

Damn that Law of Jante!

Was this really happening to the heir of the Foundation?

First of all, Erik’s room was ridiculously small.

In other words—it was identical to mine.

We had to sit together at a desk so narrow our shoulders nearly touched, and I’d completely forgotten he was left-handed, so taking the inside seat quickly became a problem.

Every time I tried to write something down, our hands, shoulders, or elbows brushed against each other.

“Ah, sorry.”

Fresh from the gym shower, his skin was cool at first, but soon warmed with a steady, almost stifling heat…

“It’s fine.”

At first he flinched and pulled away, but after it happened a few times, he stopped even pretending to.

Which meant I was the only one here going crazy.

Even sighing felt dangerous—like I might brush against him—so I swallowed it down, only for him to ask a question right by my ear.

“You don’t get this part?”

Truth be told, I was a terrible student just then.

A classmate had generously offered his time to help me, and yet I was more distracted by his body heat than his words.

What’s wrong with you, Vivi? Pull yourself together.

It’s not like Erik has some contagious disease. Touching him won’t kill you.

While I silently scolded myself and stared holes into the textbook, he asked again,

“Or is it too cramped for you?”

When I finally turned my head, his sculpted nose was so close I could feel his breath.

Oh God. Way too close.

I leaned back as far as I could, but there wasn’t anywhere left to go.

“Uh, no. It’s just… we keep bumping hands, so I thought maybe you’d be uncomfortable.”

Mischievously, Erik pressed his hand lightly against the back of mine.

“Hmm. Doesn’t really bother me.”

Our overheated skin no longer brushed fleetingly—it clung, sticky and unrelenting.

Soon, our entire forearms were pressed together, and I found myself biting my lip without realizing. I was going insane.

Erik smiled faintly.

“Seems like you’re the one who’s uncomfortable, Honeybee.”

Now that I thought about it, the fact that he hadn’t called me “Honeybee” the past few days was probably because he’d been mindful of others.

Even now, despite my flustered face, he only chuckled and returned to teaching.

“Here, try writing this equation.”

I glared down at the innocent exponential function problem and clenched my pencil tight.

Curling my shoulders inward, I finally managed to peel my skin away from his.

N(t) = 120X…

Erik murmured along as I wrote.

“Mm. One-point-two-five to the power of t. Nicely done, Vivi. But what if the growth rate was thirty percent instead?”

That low, pleasant voice tickled my ears.

But scratching my ears was out of the question, and if I lifted my head, I’d meet his gaze and lose what little brainpower I had left…

Ah.

I’d just realized something: superior looks are not, in fact, a prerequisite for being a good tutor.

Because right now, my heart was working a lot harder than my brain.

“Got it so far?”

The lesson continued, but Erik seemed a little doubtful about my progress.

Of course he was. It was just too… too…

No! What’s wrong with you, Vivi?

Maybe, maybe it was within the realm of normal to lose a little focus in front of the most handsome boy in Brangell.

But still—wasn’t this humiliating? What were you, Christina Oxenstierna?

At the thought of her, my mind snapped back into place.

I had made a promise to her once.

I promised I’d tell her anything I learned about Erik. That I’d help however I could, so she might get back together with him.

Only then did I finally wrench my gaze away from Erik’s broad shoulders, green eyes, and glossy lips.

Just as I did, he smiled softly and asked,

“Honeybee, what are you doing tomorrow evening?”

Right. If he was going to marry Oxenstierna, then wasn’t it weird for him to keep calling me “Honeybee”? It sounded way too… intimate.

Or maybe not? Was I just being old-fashioned?

Maybe it was that Confucian streak somewhere in my veins…?

While my thoughts wandered, Erik continued,

“Feels a little warm in here. I don’t think you’re really focusing today—let’s pick it up again tomorrow.”

I couldn’t take it anymore and finally spoke up.

“No… Thanks for today, Erik. It really helped a lot.”

He tilted his head slightly.

“Really? I think you still need more practice with logarithmic inverses.”

“Well, you’re not wrong, but…”

I just… couldn’t last any longer.

It wasn’t as if Erik had confessed to me or anything. This was just tutoring. But for some reason, I simply couldn’t endure it any further.

With a dry throat, I forced down a swallow and looked him in the eyes.

“I feel bad for accepting without asking you first, but Erik…”

“…Accepting what? What are you talking about?”

“The truth is, your ex asked me for a favor. She wanted to try again with you, asked me to help her out, and I promised I would…”

“My ex? Who?”

When I looked up, his eyes were as fierce as the first day I’d met him at Brangell.

I had to steady my breathing.

This was who he really was. A boy who could stand a few steps above, looking down, and wield that power however he pleased.

That was why I’d always felt something was off.

A lion of the plains had no need to smile or show kindness to a deer like me. And yet he kept doing it.

“You must have a lot of exes, Erik.”

So it was time I snapped out of it and cut things off.

“The one I mean is Christina. Christina Oxenstierna, from my dorm.”

I barely restrained myself from adding, the one you’re going to marry.

If I’d said that, it would’ve sounded like I was picking a fight. And all I wanted now wasn’t a fight—just to get out of this room as quickly as possible.