Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 22: Where He Ran To

“Who’s that kid?”

“No idea. Seems like he knows Ha Dohoon sunbae?”

“Hey, he’s in our class. The one sitting up front.”

Whispers buzzed all around, centered on Ha Giyeon and Ha Dohoon.

Eyes watched him like he was being dissected. Voices murmured behind hands. That awful feeling of countless gazes stabbing into him—the kind of horrific attention he’d forgotten about since the regression—pierced through his whole body.

The memories came rushing back, unbidden.

“Hey, they say that’s Ha Dohoon’s little brother.”

“Seriously... isn’t that a bit much? All the genes went to one kid.”

“Dohoon sunbae doesn’t even seem to like him.”

“If I were him, I’d just keep my head down out of shame.”

Everything had been soaked in ridicule and contempt. His palms dampened with sweat, and the pounding of his heart churned his stomach with nausea. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

“Ha Giyeon...”

He had no idea what Ha Dohoon was trying to say as he approached.

Giyeon staggered backward a step.

“What’s wrong with your face—”

The sight of Dohoon reaching toward him overlapped with the memory of that same hand slamming into his head.

Without realizing it, Giyeon raised his arm to shield his face. He didn’t even see the confusion on Dohoon’s face. Head ducked, words tumbled out in a panicked mumble.

“Uh, the teacher... called for me, I should go...”

He didn’t even know what he was saying as he spun around and ran.

His head spun. It felt like needles stabbing into his skull, and his legs kept threatening to give out beneath him. But he forced them to move, sprinting as if his life depended on it.

His whole body was screaming at him to get away.

He had to run to the place he always ran to.

***

“See you later.”

Son Suhyeon gave an awkward wave before turning around.

They were at least close enough now to exchange a wave... but maybe “see you later” had been too much. It sounded like he was asking to meet again.

“Haah...”

He ran a hand over the back of his neck, which was hot with embarrassment. It was a light, casual farewell anyone could say, but for some reason, it was sticking with him.

Maybe because the other person had been Ha Giyeon.

Wearing his uniform, sleeping over, eating lunch together—it was all a first with Ha Giyeon. His life had been so solitary for so long that Giyeon’s intrusion into it felt foreign.

Suhyeon quickened his pace toward the classroom. Inside, desks had been pushed aside for cleaning. Unlike other classes that cleaned after school, his class cleaned during lunch to get out earlier.

He grabbed a broom and left.

His assigned area was the sports equipment storage room at the end of the first floor’s west wing. He was supposed to have a cleaning partner, but the guy was a total delinquent and had never shown up once. So he always ended up doing it alone.

Trying to get that guy to help would only cause problems—and even if he did come, he wouldn’t lift a finger anyway. It was better to just leave him be.

Walking down the dim corridor at the end of the first floor, where even sunlight didn’t reach well, Suhyeon heard faint footsteps behind him. He turned around.

Tatatak—

Someone was sprinting toward him, one hand clamped over their mouth.

He figured it was just someone feeling sick and turned back to mind his own business—

“...Ha Giyeon?”

As the person rushed past, Suhyeon caught a clear glimpse of his face.

It was Giyeon. His face had gone completely pale.

That image of his retreating figure brought back the memory of seeing him walk alone out of the convenience store. Suhyeon began to follow at a quick pace.

Giyeon had run into the bathroom next to the storage room.

‘Is he sick?’

As Suhyeon entered the bathroom, the sound of retching echoed.

He walked to the last stall where the noise came from, about to knock—then paused.

‘He didn’t lock it.’

He must’ve been in such a rush he didn’t even close the door properly.

The gagging subsided. Now, there was only ragged breathing.

Suhyeon slowly pushed the door open.

There sat Ha Giyeon, collapsed on the floor, leaning against the wall.

“Ha Giyeon.”

Suhyeon crouched on one knee to check his condition. His face was even paler than before, and he looked exhausted. His eyes were unfocused and half-glazed over. One hand lay limp on the ground, trembling slightly. He looked terrible.

Suhyeon gently grabbed his arm and helped him up.

“Let’s go to the nurse’s office.”

“Uh... okay...”

Giyeon barely realized someone was helping him, his feet dragging as he was half-led, half-carried to the sink. He turned on the water and rinsed his mouth.

Suhyeon watched him closely.

‘Did he get indigestion from lunch?’

Just before they’d parted, his complexion had been fine. This was strange.

Giyeon straightened up slowly after rinsing, then looked into the mirror.

The moment his reflection registered, he froze.

“Ha Giyeon...?”

As Suhyeon called his name—

“Hhuff...!”

Giyeon’s eyes went wide as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t. He dropped to the floor again, clutching his head and trembling violently as he mumbled nonstop.

“N-no... I... that’s... not... urgh...”

“Ha Giyeon!”

Suhyeon grabbed his shoulders and called to him, but Giyeon didn’t seem to hear. His breathing was still labored, uncontrolled.

‘What do I do...’

Afraid Giyeon might pass out, Suhyeon pulled him into a tight hug with all his strength. He cradled Giyeon’s head against his chest, holding his cold hand tightly.

Giyeon’s other hand clutched at Suhyeon’s shoulder, desperate.

“Ugh... please... just...”

“You’re okay.”

Suhyeon whispered like he was calming a child.

He didn’t know what he was comforting—but somehow, those few words helped Giyeon begin to relax. The heavy thudding of Suhyeon’s heart rang in Giyeon’s ears, then echoed through his whole body.

His breathing gradually evened out. He looked up at the one holding him.

“Son... Suhyeon-sunbae...”

“Feeling a bit better now?”

For the first time, focus returned to Giyeon’s eyes. He still looked uneasy, trembling slightly, but he seemed to have regained enough clarity to recognize people.

Giyeon stared at Suhyeon’s face for a long time, then shifted his gaze away, pulling back from his arms.

“S-sorry...!”

“Have you had panic attacks before?”

“N-no... not really...”

He spoke like he genuinely didn’t know what had just happened. He was confused—even unaware of what had overtaken him.

Suhyeon stood and helped Giyeon to his feet. When his knees gave out a little, Suhyeon caught him again. Still, his color had improved.

“...”

“...”

An awkward silence lingered after the sudden chaos had passed—then the bell rang to mark the end of lunch.

Giyeon spoke quickly.

“Thank you for helping me. Class is about to start. You should go ahead.”

“I’ll walk you to the nurse’s office.”

“No, I can go alone.”

He refused firmly, waving his hands. Suhyeon gave in and stepped out of the bathroom. The next period was with the notoriously strict head teacher—being late would be a problem.

“Make sure you actually go to the nurse.”

Suhyeon said it with a face full of worry, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» glancing back as he finally left for class.

Once Giyeon confirmed Suhyeon had vanished down the hallway, he collapsed again in front of the sink.

He didn’t understand what had happened. His head burned like it was about to explode, his stomach churned, and he’d vomited everything.

At the sink, he’d faced someone in a school uniform. A tired face that looked right back at him.

It had been his own face—before the regression.

The Ha Giyeon who used to sit through days in silence, head bowed, after hearing nothing but insults and curses. Who fled to empty bathrooms just to breathe when the classroom became unbearable.

He had stared at his own cracked reflection for so long.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

The face in the mirror that looked nothing like Ha Dohoon. He had spent all his time hunting for flaws, desperately trying to find what was lacking.

Like he was drowning, suffocating under the surface of the water.

“You’re okay.”

That gentle voice had pulled him up.

A beating heart proved he was alive. The pounding of Suhyeon’s heart had steadied his own. The warmth of his large, firm hand passed into his cold one. Wrapped in that warmth, in arms that had never held him before, he found himself wanting to burrow deeper.

“Haa...”

Giyeon ran a hand through his hair, collecting himself.

He’d troubled Son Suhyeon twice now. He didn’t want to keep being a burden.

‘Didn’t think Suhyeon-sunbae would show up...’

He felt guilty, but at the same time, grateful it had been Suhyeon who’d found him.

‘I’ll make sure to thank him properly at the café.’

After washing his face, Giyeon left the bathroom and headed toward his class.

Suhyeon had told him to go to the nurse’s office, but he didn’t want to skip class just because he felt a little sick. He made it to the classroom just before the bell rang, ignoring the stares boring into him from all directions.

The classroom was still noisy—no teacher yet.

“Hoo...”

He exhaled once and opened the back door.

The moment he entered, every head turned to look at him, and the silence struck him like a wall.

‘It’s fine... this was bound to come out eventually.’

Steeling himself, Giyeon walked forward. He ignored the stares clinging to him with every step and sat in his seat. The room grew noisy again, but now the topic of their gossip had changed.

Even the person next to him stared openly.

“So it’s really him?”

“I didn’t even know he was in our class.”

“He doesn’t really look like Ha Dohoon sunbae.”

“Yeah, but he’s still better-looking than you.”

It was the same as before the regression. The only difference was they were whispering behind their hands instead of in his face.

No one directly spoke to him—they just stole glances. Giyeon hunched over and pulled out a workbook, pretending to study.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey, buddy.”

Someone behind him poked his back.

As soon as that person spoke, all the nearby students focused in, pretending not to watch, waiting to see how he would react.

‘Should I just ignore it?’

He was about to pretend not to hear—when the front door opened and the teacher walked in. Luckily, class began right away, and the guy didn’t get a chance to say more.

Relieved, Giyeon pressed a hand to his aching temple.

He just wanted to go to the café already.

***

During breaks, he managed to avoid anyone trying to talk to him.

For sixth period, a class in a different room, he left quickly. For the last period, he hid in the bathroom and only came out a minute before the bell.

At this point, people should get the message and stop trying...

But after the end-of-day announcements, someone still approached him.

“Hey.”

It was the class president, Nam Taegyeong.