Chapter 30
He acted as if the decision was entirely up to Anita.
“Just go to the lecture.”
Rutger stared at Anita for a moment, as if pondering something.
“No.”
“……”
“I’m not going.”
And Anita never really had the final say.
The rain had stopped, but the streets were still damp. Shallow puddles dotted the road here and there. As Anita walked, eyes fixed straight ahead, one of her steps landed in a puddle.
“Ah.”
At the small exclamation, Rutger, who was a few steps ahead, turned around. He found Anita standing there with one foot submerged in the water, seemingly lost in thought, quite amusing, and a smirk tugged at his lips.
“What are you doing there?”
Hearing the amused tone, Anita, who had been looking down to check her soaked shoe and stocking, suddenly snapped her head up. Unlike her, drenched to the skin, Rutger stood a few steps ahead, hands casually stuffed in his pockets, which made her feel even more annoyed.
“Come on, hurry up.”
The uncomfortable sensation of wet socks sticking and peeling off from her shoes made Anita shiver with every step she took. Rutger was not the type to just watch her awkward state without comment.
“You know you’re really funny right now?”
“……”
Unaware of the glare beside him, he chuckled with each step. When Rutger was about to cross over what looked like a pretty deep puddle, Anita gave his back a gentle push.
Splash.
As Anita had expected, the puddle was deep, and Rutger’s foot sank up to his ankle. He stood still in the water for quite a while.
Trying not to laugh out loud at his pitiful appearance, Anita bit her lips tightly.
“You—”
“……”
“I think you just laughed.”
“No, I didn’t.”
It was useless to deny it while there was still a hint of a smile on his lips. Still, Anita insisted stubbornly. Rutger, apparently wanting to tease her further, squinted his eyes and curled one side of his mouth into his characteristic smirk.
“Really, I didn’t.”
“What do you mean you didn’t? You’re still laughing.”
“Maybe your eyes are just weird.”
With that, Anita strode forward briskly. This marked the start of a pointless game of chase. Anita tried her best to take big strides, but Rutger followed casually from a step behind.
The fact that he could catch her anytime he wanted sparked a strange sense of competitiveness inside her. Anita subtly increased her pace.
“Are we going to end up at the border like this?”
“……”
“Why don’t you just let me catch you?”
“What did I even do that you want to catch me for!”
Her voice unexpectedly rose a bit, drawing some curious glances from nearby. Flustered, Anita hesitated briefly, and Rutger caught up to her.
“Then why are you running away?”
His voice whispered into her ear, sly and teasing. She wanted to explain that she wasn’t running away, but her legs kept moving forward steadily.
“I said, why are you running?”
Anita ignored him as if she couldn’t hear a thing. For some reason, she always felt like she was at his mercy.
Lost in these thoughts, Anita failed to watch where she was going. Almost at the same moment she stepped forward, someone pulled her backward.
“Ugh.”
The collar of her clothes was yanked, making her rub her stinging neck, when a bicycle whooshed past beside her.
A chill ran down her spine at the thought that if she hadn’t moved aside, her foot would have been crushed under the wheel.
“Where on earth are you looking?”
“……”
Still dazed, Anita just rubbed her neck. Rutger, unable to bear it, grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.
“Are you okay… what’s with your neck?”
“Why? Did I get hurt??”
Without a mirror, Anita had no way to check. The sting felt like a scrape, so she could only guess.
“Oh. Could it be that I…”
Rutger’s eyes suddenly grew wide.
“Sorry, I’m really sorry.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. Half carried in his arms, Anita just blinked in surprise.
“Sorry.”
He hadn’t tried to assassinate her or anything; he’d just saved her from an accident she was spacing out and almost got into. So why was he apologizing so much? While she was confused, Rutger’s hand reached her neck.
Startled by the sudden touch, Anita froze like a statue. His fingers gently grasped her neck, and his thumb softly rubbed it, as if trying to erase the reddened mark.
Anita opened her mouth slightly but couldn’t find her voice. His grip wasn’t tight — not enough to harm even a tiny ant — yet she felt as if her neck was being strangled and couldn’t say a word.
She vividly felt the pulse of the veins she’d never consciously noticed before.
Anita glanced up to check Rutger’s expression. His gaze was fixed on her neck but somehow looked absent-minded.
“Um… I’m fine now…”
After hesitating for a long moment, Anita finally spoke.
