Chapter 12 -

I silently opened the door. With a small clack, I entered the dorm and found it empty. I sighed with relief, knowing that with no one around, I could gather my thoughts and plan my next steps.

I collapsed face down on the bed, burying my face in the pillow. I groaned, stressed and exhausted from walking all day.

I had hoped it would be easier. Maybe I wouldn't need to do anything. As long as I didn't interfere, everything would fall back into its natural state.

I think this because Jaehwa would do anything to be with Eliam, and Daehyun would eventually fall in love. The only tiny issue I'm facing is with Eliam himself. It actually sucks that I can't get closer to him, but that's my problem. Thank goodness the plot hadn't shifted much. Main character has sex with a random person he befriended? I don't think it will change the direction of the story. Just as long as they don't end up hating each other like in that scene in the ice cream store.

I put both hands on my head, messing with my hair in frustration.

"Why the hell was I sent here if I couldn't even do anything in the first place?!" I questioned the world, genuinely annoyed with even living at this point.

"What do you mean 'sent here'? Is something irritating you, huh, Leon?" I felt a hand suddenly caress my face and heard Eliam's soft voice, which he only ever used when alone with me. He climbed onto the bed, positioning himself right on top of me, leaving my back exposed to his view.

"Where in the world did you come from?!" I panicked, realizing only then that he had entered the dorm so silently that it hadn't caught my attention.

Eliam lowered himself slowly, and I could hear my heart racing from the feel of his body against my back. He was so warm, I didn't want him to move away from me. I wanted him to touch me, everywhere.

He gently turned my head to face him, his warm breath on my face. Eliam came closer and closer, until our lips touched. He was about to press deeper, to kiss me even more, and I really wanted to just climb on to him, never pulling out as he claimed me once more.

But then those words. Those same words that burned into my mind, never to be forgotten, blared into my mind again. I couldn't shake off the feeling of what happened yesterday, and I knew that I had to stop before anything more happened. I didn't know why Eliam was advancing on me again, nothing made sense anymore, but I suddenly had a gut feeling that this isn't normal for a just a friendly relationship. 

I pushed him away as gently as I could, trying to signal Eliam to halt what he was doing. I obviously wanted to do so much more, to go all the way, but this story hates me like shit. 

I had a feeling that if I had continued, we would have become fuckbuddies, throwing off the whole plot of the love triangle involving only Jaehwa, Daehyun, and Eliam. None of it involved any part of my existence. This was insane. Why would Eliam ever see me as even fuckable in the first place? I shouldn't even be worthy enough for his sight. Nothing will ever make sense when it comes to life in this stupid story!

Eliam looked at me, disappointed. "What's wrong, Leon? If something's happening, tell me."

"Stop worrying about me. I'm fine. I can leave if Jaehwa's coming."

Eliam suddenly put his hands on my shoulders, locking eyes with me. His expression was dead serious. "Of course I will always worry about you. I want you here. For me. Just stay here."

"Eliam, you don't need to do anything. You've already repaid me enough, okay? Repair your relations with Jaehwa; I can totally help you with that. It seemed to be going well before…" I replied as calmly as possible, trying to smile to ease the mood.

Eliam looked down, the light fading from his eyes for a moment before returning with a worried and let-down expression. "I don't care about that jerk. I just need you to stay. I'll do anything that involves only you."

My heart was in my throat. I didn't know how to respond to that. "I'll go to sleep now, so you should probably go to your room," I said, trying to change the subject.

"Okay then. Goodnight, Leon." Eliam spoke slowly, leaving the room. All of a sudden, the room felt drained of life and emptier.

I thought about what he said. No one has ever needed me that much. I've always been needed to complete a group but never alone. He said it with so much emotion that it made me think he only needed me—a less-than-average guy who doesn't belong—to complete him.

But I knew this needed to change, no matter how happy that thought made me. I needed to get back to my world. I had plenty of opportunities and goals there, and even more unfinished business, while I don't have much here. Unlike Eliam, I'm extremely selfish. I needed more than just one person to complete my own life. I needed my original life itself, given back to me. And distancing myself from him was the only way I knew to get it back.

Starting from now, I would stay at any one of the hotels my family owns, instead of this dorm. This would hopefully bring him closer to Jaehwa, as well as block me off.

I made myself comfortable in the blankets, watching the darkening orange sky through the open windows, blown by a cool breeze.

I thought about what Daehyun asked: What makes you special?

Damn it, I have a really good response to that right now. I should've said something like, "Because I treated Eliam like a normal human, and there's nothing special about doing that." I always come up with the best comebacks long after I'm supposed to say them. But whatever, just live with it, I guess.

I know this is unexpected, but today, as of writing, marks week 2 of being here. Yeah, a pretty far timeskip for a story that has been documented day by day, kind of, except for some of the weekdays.

I'll just try to recap, even though we're just in the middle of the chapter. The day after that, I packed my bags and headed to a new hotel elsewhere, away from here at least. Eliam watched me sadly as I waved goodbye. This should be fine, right? I still get to talk with him at school, but all the weird things that happen at night are left to Eliam and the male leads. Just like how it should be. I've grown pretty attached to him at this point, but it's fine. I can move on easily, right?

The days leading up to now have been pretty stressful. School work is absolute hell; I had to pull all-nighters throughout the week just to catch up and prevent being held back a grade in the future, which is basically the path the original Leon was heading toward.

Though, dear heavens, I was probably just sent here to bring this stupid failing Leon to becoming a top-graded student. I swear I could get used to learning advanced topics because, by the end of the week, I aced several assessments from those all-nighters. Sorry, I know I sound like a nerd.

During those days, I had no time to think of any of the main characters. I was kind of glad because I didn't want to think of them. Thinking of Eliam would just sadden me slightly. Nothing too big. I'm fine with no interactions, like I have done many times in the past.

I shared a few classes with Jaehwa and Daehyun, but I always made sure to sit at the complete opposite side, and just in time where people crowded the room and there were no spaces left next to me. I avoided all contact, leaving early, even running away when I saw Eliam or any of the leads passing by in the halls. I even ate lunch in the most isolated places, alternating just in case. And I was going to continue doing this until they just forget or get bored of me.

You see, I'm pretty good at eventually making people get tired of me.

The whole time after school, I stayed at the library, studying until 11 p.m., then I would usually go to a nearby hotel, which wasn't as fancy as the dorms, but it was the nearest one, and I like convenience anyway.

That leads us all up to now. It's 10:30, Friday night. Marking 2 weeks since I was transmigrated here.

I flipped through the thick math textbook. I sighed. I hadn't expected that I would need to master higher-grade mathematics so soon. In my original life, I had only gotten a basic idea of it, and I was already considered to be an impressive student for that, but I guess it's better to take the opportunity to study it now that I've been shoved into that very level.

"Agh! I'll do it tomorrow. It's finally Friday anyway!" I said out loud, getting looks from the people around me, but I didn't care anymore. I shoved the book aggressively into my red and blue bag, just barely fitting inside. It'll probably break in a few more weeks at this rate, so that's a yay.

I walked out of the library building, admiring the carefully lit, elegant garden and fountain in front of the historic building. It felt like I was in one of those historic transmigration fantasy stories I've always seen, but this place was just preserved really well.

I was about to take another step when I was surprised to be suddenly grabbed around the waist. Two arms wrapped around me tightly, not letting me go. Just from the familiar scent alone, I knew it was Eliam. He had finally caught me after a whole week of avoiding him. I couldn't escape from his arms this time.

I was hoping the story might have developed in the right direction since I removed myself from their lives; otherwise, this would have all been for nothing. But I was confused as to why Eliam had his arms around me and why his lips were on my neck. It tickled a bit, but I managed to soften his grip a little.

He finally began to speak after stubbornly not letting me go. "After so many days of running away from me… I've finally got you." He asserted, suddenly spinning me around to face him directly.

His eyes were as vibrant green as ever, his skin paler, and his face even more attractive now that I had stopped getting used to seeing him. I was caught off guard, and I looked away as I tried to respond.

"I was just busy… studying. I'm a busy guy. That's why I couldn't talk to you."

He looked at me, his face showing skepticism, totally unconvinced.

"You haven't visited me even once." He expressed, holding the back of my head to bring me closer to him. "You know how lonely I've felt without you, Leon?"

First of all, you have Jaehwa chasing you, Daehyun probably following soon, while all I've been doing is hanging out and talking with my seven remaining brain cells. So who's the lonely one here?

"Well, you have Jaehwa–"

"I told you not to say his name anymore. This is about you, not anyone else. I–" He hesitated, putting a hand softly on my face. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I haven't!" I turned away. "I already told you, I'm busy… training, for stuff. I'm too embarrassed to show it in the dorms. That's all. You can still text me anyway."

What's with this man? He should be bored and give up already. Texting is the most I'll limit myself to because I cannot have any physical contact with this dude. That's what I planned anyway. That way, we can stay perfectly normal friends after a period of no contact in person. This should be easy… but it's harder when it's Eliam, I guess it's because he's a decent person.

I had a thought. Whoever sent me here must really be a fan of typical transmigration stories. Complete a mission, which is achieving the original ending of the story. Although I couldn't be more glad I didn't need to engineer my way back, every second Eliam looked at me with those eyes made me feel guiltier. This was all my fault; I shouldn't have gotten close to him at all. I was naive, thinking that I could stay close to him.

I'm fine! Completely fine! Why am I getting sad? Stay positive. This is me being positive.

"I'll have to go now. If you need anything, just call me," I added, slowly going around him and leaving with a smile on my face, hopefully comforting him that none of this is really his problem or fault.

I stepped down the grand stairs slowly, looking down with a weak sigh as the wind against me grew stronger. I was about to reach the ground when I suddenly got a call. I didn't look at the name, but I answered.

"Leon." Eliam's voice called out, echoing behind me and through the speakers.

"I need you."