For Your Failed Unrequited Love

Autumn came in an instant.

The sound of cicadas shaking the sky disappeared without a trace, and instead, the chirping of grasshoppers flowed into the dormitory window every night. During the day, more and more students strolled around campus while enjoying the cool weather. Everyone seemed to welcome the arrival of a new season after a long time.

Except for one person.

“Achoo!” Felix couldn’t hold back his itchy nose and sneezed while walking on the street. “What a terrible season,” he grumbled as he took a seat on the bench. Felix was trying to get his allergy medicine from his bag. However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find the medicine bottle. He felt like he had left it in the dormitory.

“Oh, damn it,” he groaned and rubbed his face with his hand. He raised his head again and saw yellow-green leaves strewn about the ground.

Maram Vine is a plant that grows naturally every fall in the Veros Empire. It was such a common weed that the ordinary people didn’t even care whether the vine bloomed or not.

Unfortunately, Felix was born with an allergy to Maram Vines. He frowned whenever he saw the plant and had to avoid it. In addition to the endless sneezing, the tip of his nose tickled all day, and his mood plummeted to its lowest point.

The allergy medication prescribed by the duke’s doctor did not work. It just stopped his sneezing. But last fall, Adrian, who was suffering from the same symptoms, obtained medicine from somewhere and brought it to him, which was a great relief. It not only stopped the sneezing but also relieved the itchiness at the tip of the nose.

Oh, I can’t live without that medicine.

It was a bother to go back the way he came, but it was better than constantly sneezing in class, so Felix eventually decided to get his medicine. It was then that he noticed a familiar walk. Lucy Keenan was walking up to him. Felix’s eyes widened for a moment at the unexpected appearance, but he quickly returned to a somber expression.

Lucy seemed to have mistaken him for Adrian when she saw him from a distance. She almost ran away again after getting close to him and realizing he was Felix, as she had always been.

He stopped paying attention to her and began to pick up the bag he had placed on the bench in search of the medicine case. However, the sound of her footsteps, which he expected to move away, somehow drew closer to him.

Suddenly, the round nose shoe stopped in front of his eyes. Felix raised his head slowly. Under the clear autumn sky, Lucy’s emerald-like green eyes were looking up at him.

What is it?

Felix swallowed his saliva without realizing it.

What.

A few seconds passed after making eye contact. By this time, Lucy Keenan, who usually escaped in surprise, was still standing in front of him.

Felix felt his own heart beating strangely.

…… Did she mistake him for Adrian? This time?

When the flowing silence was about to become awkward, Lucy spoke. “Felix sunbaenim. I’m sorry, but <The History of Murinen> which you borrowed on September 3rd, has been overdue for two days.” Her small but clear voice flowed into Felix’s ear. Her cool voice scattered like the autumn wind that blew through his clothes. He trembled slightly.

Oh, book.

So she just came to get an overdue book.

“There are a lot of people waiting for the book, so I hope you return it as soon as possible.” When Felix didn’t respond, Lucy added an explanation.

“I haven’t read it yet,” Felix said on impulse.

The book was right there in his bag. He had already copied the information he needed into his notebook, and he had no intention of continuing to read the book any further. Rather, returning the book now might save him the trouble of going to the library and returning it. But Felix somehow didn’t feel like returning the book to her.

His impulsive reply seemed to have surprised Lucy. “But… You’ve already missed the return deadline by two days. Everyone has been looking for that book several times.….” she said, her voice trailing off at the end with a troubled expression on her face.

Felix took out <The History of Murinen> from his bag. At that moment, a smile of relief appeared on Lucy’s face, and she reached out her small pale hands. But the book, which she desperately wanted to take, suddenly unfolded on Felix’s lap.

“Then wait.”

“What?”

Felix sat cross-legged and fixed his gaze on the book. “There’s not much left, so sit next to me and wait.”

“I….” Lucy tried to retort, but she shut her mouth as Felix was trying to read silently.

Felix, who pretended to be reading, glanced at her shoes as she stood helplessly in front of him.

Will she just leave?

It wouldn’t be surprising if she left since she had always avoided him whenever she saw him. However, Lucy, who seemed to be turning away, slowly walked to the end of the bench and sat on the end as far away from Felix as possible. Her posture seemed so uncomfortable that it would be more accurate to say that she was sitting in the air rather than on a bench.

Felix gave her a sidelong glance. The corner of his mouth turned up into a smile. Lucy Keenan was such a funny kid.

You always run away from me, and you don’t even hide your awkwardness, but now you are waiting with an uncomfortable posture to get a book.

Unaware of Felix’s hidden smirk, Lucy looked down at the ground, swinging her legs, looking at people passing by and fiddled with the surrounding shrubs. Felix kept on pretending to read the book; he even turned the pages now and then. Somehow, he felt good. Enough to hold back the tickling on the tip of his nose.

“Adrian!” A loud cry rang out, breaking their tranquility.

From a nearby building, with Alec in the lead, third-year boys like Felix rushed out. They found Felix and came straight to the bench.

“Ugh, Adrian doesn’t look at me with those eyes,” Alec said as he looked at Felix’s murderous glare.

“Then it’s Felix, not Adrian!” said another male student playfully, and he sat down next to Felix.

The bench quickly became noisy because of the boys gathering around Felix.

“Won’t you go away?” Felix crumpled his face and shouted. However, his friends burst into laughter and became more entangled with him. No matter how much he pushed their faces with his palms, they didn’t budge. Instead, they just stuck together more.

Amidst the chaos, Felix turned his head to check the end of the bench. No one was there. He could soon spot Lucy Keenan’s back, moving away from the bench. <The History of Murinen>, which was on his lap, fell to the floor.

Felix took a deep breath before clenching his fists and shouted. “Get away from me!”

* * *

Eventually, the book went back inside Felix’s bag and was forgotten.

He had a busy day; after returning to the dormitory to get his allergy medicine, he ran to his classroom to not be late for class. On Wednesday, classes were packed from morning to late evening, but his schedule became even more twisted when he pretended to read a book while sitting on a bench before class.

Felix came back from his final class, swordsmanship. He collapsed on the bed as soon as he finished showering. “Hey, that’s my bed,” said Adrian, who shared the same room, while sitting on the sofa. Felix waved his hand; he was too lazy to respond.

Adrian’s words could not enter Felix’s consciousness and scattered out of the open window. Felix fell asleep as the cool autumn breeze caressed his cheek. When he opened his eyes again, it was bright outside, and birds chirped loudly. Adrian was fast asleep on Felix’s bed.

Fortunately, the first class of the day was in the afternoon. Felix stretched and got up to have breakfast. Adrian was still buried under a blanket when he returned. It was rare for him to sleep so late. He also seemed to be a lot busier yesterday. Felix laid the duvet over his twin brother’s body and sat down on the sofa to relax.

Someone knocked on the door not long after that. Felix was puzzled; no one among his friends who came to their room would knock on the door so timidly. Felix stood up and walked over to the door.

Lucy, dressed neatly in her school uniform, stood by the door when he opened it.