Chapter 75: Gaze

Step by step,

Slowly but steadily, she moved forward until her path was blocked by the human wall surrounding Baek Woo Jin. Only then did Yoo Hwa Yeon come to a stop.

“Ah…”

The dull impact against her face snapped her back to her senses. Some of the students nearby were already staring at her in confusion.

“What is Yoo Hwa Yeon doing here?”

“That’s right. Didn’t she break off her engagement with young master Baek…?”

News of their broken engagement had spread like wildfire throughout the academy. It was widely known.

Rumors circulated. That Yoo Hwa Yeon had found another man, that Baek Woo Jin who had changed almost beyond recognition had discarded her like an old shoe, that they had actually broken up long ago, that Baek Woo Jin had changed so much because of the shock of their separation.

There was endless debate among the students discussing the two of them.

“Could she really be here now to try and make things work because young master Baek is doing well?”

“No way, surely not…”

The unrestrained gossiping voices of the students hammered against her ears, which had grown painfully sensitive.

Her face flushed bright red as she realized once again that this was how people saw her.

As the murmurs and glances around her increased, even Baek Woo Jin who was surrounded by people turned his gaze toward her.

“Ah…!”

Baek Woo Jin’s eyes were on her.

The moment she had longed for over and over again finally came, but the instant their eyes met, she was overwhelmed by a suffocating tightness, as if her breath had been cut off. At the same time, she felt an intense sorrow so deep that if someone merely nudged her, she might burst into tears.

They had been together since their youth, from the time they were boy and girl until they had grown into adults.

Even though their end had not been a happy one, the time they spent together was not something that could be erased, no matter how much she wished it could be.

“Why…?”

He was looking at her with indifferent, emotionless eyes and expression.

She had never hoped for emotions like joy or warmth, nor had she expected them.

At least anger…

She wished instead that flames of rage would flare up in those calm lake-like eyes.

Anger was a sign of an unbroken connection between people. However bad it might be, it would mean that he still hadn’t forgotten her.

“Haah, haah…!”

Though she had done nothing, her breath grew short on its own. She inhaled deeply, but it felt like her lungs had a hole, as if all the air was escaping somewhere else.

Whether her eyes were open or closed, Baek Woo Jin’s emotionless gaze followed her.

That look seemed to declare that he had already forgotten everything about her. That look squeezed her heart so tightly that she instinctively clutched her chest.

“What’s wrong with her all of a sudden?”

“Does she have some kind of illness?”

She exhaled sharply and clutched her chest like someone in pain. This drew the puzzled gazes from the students.

What’s wrong with her?

Among them was Baek Woo Jin.

The commotion around him was caused by talk about someone other than himself. Naturally, his attention was drawn to where Yoo Hwa Yeon was standing.

It was the first time he had seen her in a while, not since the Dragon and Phoenix gathering. She looked thinner than before.

It wasn’t just that she had lost weight; she looked frail, as though even her muscles had wasted away. Her weak, almost fragile appearance made him wonder if something had happened to her.

Just then, her eyes met his, and she suddenly started gasping for breath and clutching her chest.

He could tell from the sound of her breathing alone what was happening to her.

Hyperventilation.

It’s called hyperventilation syndrome, a condition that occurs when someone breathes too quickly and deeply. It was often triggered by extreme tension, fear, or excitement.

That’s why he was even more puzzled. Just making eye contact with him had caused such an intense emotional reaction?

Why?!

A sense of unease crept through him. It crawled up his body and settled in his mind.

In the novel, she too would later exhibit an obsession and possessiveness that went beyond Shin Ye Hwa after the NovelGod’s unreasonable drift.

However, unlike in the novel, she had shown no signs of obsession or possessiveness toward him. Because of that, he hadn’t thought they would be entangled in any significant way, and so he hadn’t paid much attention to her.

The fact that just making eye contact with him had triggered such an extreme reaction left him deeply unsettled.

“Haah, haah…!”

Her rapid breathing refused to calm down.

A few students noticed something was wrong and approached her to ask if she was okay, but none of them knew how to handle the situation properly.

The hands gripping her chest trembled uncontrollably.

Her wide eyes betrayed the fear she couldn’t hide. When a person can’t breathe, they die. No matter how skilled someone might be, being born human meant facing that inevitable truth.

The numbness and spasms that began at her fingertips gradually spread. It was clear her hyperventilation was getting worse by the second.

Her gaze turned to him as she sat on the floor in pain.

Conflicting thoughts clashed in his mind. Should he rush over and help, even if it meant getting tangled in unwanted connections again? Or should he just help her now since she was clearly suffering?

Her desperate, sorrowful, and pitiful eyes shook him to his core, and Baek Woo Jin squeezed his eyes shut.

No, I can’t.

For whatever reason, she still harbored deep feelings for him. If he approached recklessly, things could spiral out of control once again.

I can’t go to her.

Baek Woo Jin turned toward the nearest female student.

“Hey, miss.”

“Y-Yes?”

She looked at him with her rabbit eyes wide open in embarrassment.

“From now on, do exactly what I tell you and help treat Miss Yoo. Okay?”

“Me? But why…?”

He held both of her hands tightly and brought his face closer as if to emphasize his plea.

“Hic!”

A small hiccup escaped from her lips.

“I have my reasons. Please, just help me, okay?”

“A-Alright…!”

The female student vigorously nodded her head, as if she would give up her liver and gallbladder for him.

With a bright smile, Baek Woo Jin carefully explained how to handle hyperventilation.

“Um, maybe next time, we could… have a meal together…!”

Gathering up her last bit of courage, she blurted out the words.

Baek Woo Jin readily agreed.

“Sure. Let’s have a meal together next time, just the two of us.”

“I-I’ll be waiting! Promise!”

“Yeah. But first, let’s take care of Miss Yoo, alright?”

“Yes!”

With light, almost winged steps, the female student made her way toward Yoo Hwa Yeon.

***

“Miss Yoo! Follow my breathing. Come on, one, two…”

The female student began to calmly guide her through the breathing exercises just as Baek Woo Jin had taught her.

Her erratic breathing, like that of a racehorse sprinting forward without pause, gradually began to find its pace. The pale complexion that had drained from her face was slowly returning.

Everything in sight indicated that she had entered a more stable state.

Believing there would be no further complications, Baek Woo Jin immediately turned around and left. He made sure not to get further involved with her.

***

The fear that had overwhelmed her, brought on by Baek Woo Jin, vanished even faster thanks to the help of the female student.

She clenched and unclenched her fists a couple of times. Though there was still a slight tingling sensation, it was fading quickly.

“Thank you so much.”

When she expressed her gratitude to the student who had come to her aid in such a critical moment, the girl looked at her as if amazed by something.

“Wow… young master Baek was really right.”

Words she couldn’t ignore slipped from the student’s lips.

“What did you just say…?”

“Huh? N-Nothing.”

The girl’s unintentional slip of the tongue had caught her off guard.

Oh no, what should I do? Young master Baek strictly told me to keep it a secret…!

While explaining in detail how to calm Yoo Hwa Yeon down, Baek Woo Jin had emphasized again and again that his involvement must be kept absolutely secret.

“You just said young master Baek was right.”

“Me, me? No, no, I never said that.”

“But I’m sure…!”

“I-I never said anything about young master Baek! Anyway, I have to go!”

She didn’t know what to say so she abruptly cut off the conversation, leaving only her final words behind as she fled the scene.

“Wait, ah…!”

Yoo Hwa Yeon tried to chase after the girl who had run off, but it was impossible. The lingering numbness in her feet still held her in place.

As Baek Woo Jin disappeared, the students around her also started walking one by one to go their separate ways.

Only Yoo Hwa Yeon remained, staring at the fleeing figure as she vanished from sight.

“I’m sure she said young master Baek…”

It wasn’t as if there could be another young master Baek at the Jeongmu Academy, and yet the only person that came to her mind was Baek Woo Jin.

He had watched her in pain without changing his expression even once. That’s why it hurt even more when she realized that nothing she did would ever catch his attention.

But she was wrong. He had helped her. Though he hadn’t personally reached out to comfort her, he hadn’t ignored her suffering and simply walked away.

“Young master Baek still cares about me…!”

She crushed the glimmer of hope her heart tried to hold onto.

“No, that can’t be….”

The thought that he might still carry her in a corner of his heart was far too convenient.

If it had been someone else who had collapsed, perhaps he would have used his own hands to help instead of relying on another’s.

That was the reality.

“But still…”

She coldly accepted the truth and picked up the dying ember, tucking it into her heart.

For a brief moment, she had held his gaze.

She imagined that, even if faint, a trace of concern had been in his eyes as he instructed the female student on how to treat her.

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

The desire to have him by her side again wasn’t something she could act on right now, nor should she.

So, what should she do now?

“Even if just for a moment… for the briefest of seconds… I have to make him look at me.”

If only for a fleeting moment in the twelve hours of the day, she needed to capture his attention, to hold his gaze on her.

Little by little, just a little at a time.

Without even realizing it, she would take hold of his eyes, his time, and eventually, even his thoughts.

As all those moments accumulated, cracks would begin to form in the towering wall standing between her and the path that led to him.

Yoo Hwa Yeon gently swept her hazy gaze over the spot where Baek Woo Jin had briefly stood before murmuring softly.

“Gege…”

She longed for the day when she could once again speak those words she could no longer say.