As the Rumor Goes

It was late at night, but Luna sat on a bench, waiting for Ross to return from his outing. It wasn’t that she expected any reward for her actions, but she couldn’t say her heart was completely pure either.

Waiting endlessly like this, seeing Ross discover her from afar and run towards her with a happy expression she didn’t usually see, made her heart pound fiercely, and waiting had become a habit before she knew it.

She didn’t know when Ross would return, but the time spent sitting on the bench waiting for him never felt boring. It was nice to reminisce about memories, and when she thought about the things she wanted to do with Ross, time felt short.

As she spent time thinking about Ross again today, Luna finally spotted Ross appearing in the distance. Seeing him walking listlessly with his gaze slightly lowered, Luna stood up and approached him.

Worried that something might have happened, Luna approached him… but Ross didn’t see her and walked right past. Like someone drunk, only thinking about getting home. Flustered, Luna turned around and said,

“Ro, Ross…!”

As if that voice were cold water, Ross shook his head violently, as if trying to come to his senses, his whole body trembling. When Luna grabbed Ross’s arm with a worried heart, Ross’s blue eyes finally looked straight at Luna. But those eyes held a chillingly cold gaze, as if looking at a stranger.

Luna pursed her lips and burrowed into Ross’s arms. She pressed her whole body close, hoping her warm body heat would spread to Ross, and looked up at him.

Then, as if paint were spreading on a canvas, a warm glow began to spread in his pupils, which had been devoid of emotion. A faint smile spread across his expressionless face, and strong arms wrapped around Luna’s waist.

“Luna, were you waiting for me to come back?”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief inwardly at Ross’s usual gentle voice and nodded slightly. Pleased that she had waited for him, Ross gave a soft smile and lightly kissed Luna’s cheek. Luna, worried that her own pounding heartbeat might be heard because their bodies were touching, noticed a single flower in Ross’s hand. It was an unfamiliar blue flower she had never seen at the Academy. If so, someone must have given it to Ross.

Pretending to be nonchalant, Luna asked in the most casual voice she could muster,

“What kind of flower is this…?”

Only then realizing that he was holding a flower at Luna’s question, Ross frowned slightly with a flustered expression and pondered.

“Well, why is this in my hand…?”

Luna, feeling a strange unease at Ross’s appearance as he chuckled softly as if he himself was dumbfounded, snatched the flower from Ross’s hand. Ross, who readily handed over the flower, snapped his fingers as if he had belatedly remembered something.

“I remember now. The name of the flower.”

Looking at the flower in Luna’s hand, Ross gave a wistful smile.

“It’s the flower I saw at the lighthouse I mentioned before.”

Luna’s eyes trembled with unease.

“The flower you saw at the lighthouse…?”

“Yeah. It’s a forget-me-not. A flower carved into a lighthouse by a lover who longed for their partner who never returned.”

After saying that, Ross looked up at the night sky for a moment, then tilted his head and looked back down at Luna. Frowning as if something wasn’t quite clicking in his head, Ross stammered a bit and spoke in a voice that seemed to suppress his emotions after a long while.

“The flower meaning is… well… well….”

Luna, seeing Ross struggling to remember something, quickly stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. Ross, flustered by the sudden surprise attack, soon grabbed Luna’s face with both hands, pulled her in, and gently kissed her lips.

Their breaths mingled, and when their lips finally parted, Luna quickly hid the flower behind her back so Ross wouldn’t see it and smiled.

Ross simply looked at Luna with loving eyes and gently held Luna’s left hand, which he had placed on his chest. With a face that had completely forgotten his earlier worries, he lovingly loosened Luna’s stiff fingers one by one and intertwined their hands.

“It’s late, so I’ll walk you to your dormitory.”

“Okay…! Thank you.”

The moment Ross took a step, Luna slyly dropped the flower she had hidden behind her back onto the street. Luna gave a small bitter smile, trying not to be seen by Ross, who was starting to talk about a store that sold delicious mango desserts as they walked through the campus.

Luna already knew the meaning of the forget-me-not. She remembered it clearly, having heard it directly from Ross. That’s why she had no choice but to secretly throw the flower away.

‘Don’t forget me.’

It was all too obvious who had given him that flower.

***

A few days later.

As I walked through the Academy hallway, I felt the gazes around me quite blatantly. Female students I didn’t know who were passing by in the opposite direction checked my face, whispered among themselves, and then squealed.

It wasn’t the gaze directed at a fool who had fallen from grace due to arrogant and foolish behavior. Based on past experience, gazes filled with criticism and resentment were more vivid and had a sticky viscosity that seemed difficult to wipe away. But the gazes focused on me now were quite unfamiliar. If it wasn’t a serious misunderstanding, it felt similar to the gazes people gave to Roel. It was the opposite of gazes filled with malice and contempt. Eyes full of curiosity and interest were shining towards me.

Was it because I was the youngest Transcender’s younger sibling? As I was thinking that, I heard whispering behind me.

“Isn’t that him? The top student of the first-year combat department?”

“He looks way cooler in person than in the relay magic broadcast, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. He’s tall and has a solid build… Does he have a girlfriend?”

It was such a careless voice that it felt like they were saying it for me to hear. But it was hard to say anything, since it wasn’t criticism, but rather words full of unfamiliar praise that were hard to come by. Since I’m only human, I couldn’t help but pretend I didn’t hear it.

For some reason, even the seniors passing by in the hallway gave me friendly glances. They didn’t greet me, but the way they sent me encouraging looks made my back feel itchy.

What had I missed? As I quickly rolled my eyes and thought about the possibilities, someone suddenly tapped my back with their finger.

“Um….”

When I turned around without thinking, another squeal came back. It was the kind of reaction that a die-hard fan would show when meeting an idol up close. Since these were female students I didn’t remember, I was just flustered. The shrill sound echoed through the hallway, drawing the attention of passersby to me, making me feel unnecessarily embarrassed. When I gave them a look that said, ‘Say what you have to say quickly,’ the short-haired female student who seemed to be the leader of the group asked.

“Is, is the rumor true?”

“Yeah, we heard it too.”

“It’s all over the Academy, probably?”

I frowned without realizing it. There was too little context. Standing in the middle of the hallway and asking what the rumor was felt like a somewhat difficult choice. That’s because I had a strong feeling that these female students clearly hadn’t learned how to speak concisely.

When I didn’t say anything, someone appeared in front of the short-haired female student who was about to urge me on. The silver-haired back of the female student who suddenly cut in blocked my view.

“Sorry, but I have to go now? Let’s talk next time.”

As if she had no intention of hearing an answer, Navier immediately grabbed my arm and started walking. Thinking that it would be good to get out of the surrounding gazes for now, I blindly followed Navier. As more and more people started talking to me, Navier hurriedly found an empty classroom and went inside.

“What’s going on, what’s going on?”

At my flustered voice, Navier sighed deeply and let go of my arm.

“I thought you wouldn’t know what rumors are going around the Academy yet.”

Saying that, Navier glared at me sharply.

“But, were you going to hide it from me until the end?”

I was about to ask what I was hiding, but Navier spoke faster.

“Of course, I didn’t doubt you. If it was you, who I’ve been watching all this time, I thought there must be a reason why you acted so arrogantly, looking down on others in the Triathalon. But I still wanted to hear the truth directly from you… We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Seeing Navier’s disappointed expression, I sighed. I couldn’t keep up with Navier’s words at all. What was she talking about, suddenly the Triathalon? I asked back in a dumb voice.

“…The Triathalon? Are you saying the rumor is related to me?”

Navier crossed her arms and nodded as if it were obvious.

“Yeah, the rumor about you has already spread throughout the Academy. About why you acted that way in the Triathalon, and why you sacrificed yourself to achieve a joint victory. There’s even a rumor going around that a third-year senior who participated in the Triathalon testified that it was true. That if it wasn’t for you from the start, they wouldn’t have been able to achieve a joint victory.”

Few people know the truth about the Triathalon. Even the seniors who participated don’t know the details, and they were just dragged around by me. So, did the members spread the rumor for me? But the speed at which the rumor is spreading is considerable. It’s as if someone intentionally manipulated the rumor to spread. When my thoughts reached that point, one guess flashed through my mind.

“When did you hear that rumor?”

At my question, Navier tilted her head and answered.

“I heard the rumor during the break after the second class. Someone suddenly brought it up.”

It’s lunchtime now. So, the rumor has only spread throughout the Academy in a few hours.

There’s only one person who can change the Academy’s public opinion in an instant. I had even experienced that skill once before. Bella was definitely the one who spread the rumor.

“I’m sorry. I have somewhere to go.”

At my words, Navier’s eyes lit up. Navier asked with a pretty smile that suited her innocent appearance.

“It looks like you’ve found the culprit who spread the rumor?”

“That’s right.”

As expected, her observational skills are good. I nodded, promised to talk properly next time, and left the empty classroom.

And quickly moved towards the personal research lab where Bella would be.

To ask what she was thinking when she started this.