Anything But Study - Chapter 65

Click.

For some reason, the sound of the doorknob turning seemed louder than usual today.

The door began to creak open slowly, and the room visible through the crack was…

Empty.

“Haa.”

Only after witnessing that sight did Melia finally exhale.

It seemed she’d been holding her breath without even realizing it.

Before she knew it, her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Why did I suddenly have a dream like this?

Even though she knew Ervan was currently receiving treatment in a hospital room equipped with the finest facilities, a sudden wave of fear washed over her.

‘It’s just a dream.’

Right, it was only a dream.

In truth, until the summer of this year, Melia often dreamed that same dream.

About what happened to her in the past.

The events from that time were still vivid to Melia.

Because she truly thought she was going to lose her younger brother.

Fortunately, Ervan was rescued dramatically and survived, but the fire damaged his lung function.

That was why he still couldn’t leave the hospital even now.

‘It’s been a while.’

Since autumn began, that is, since she became connected with Hailon, the dream had disappeared at some point.

But now she suddenly dreamed it again.

It seemed her nerves had been sensitive lately.

The strange gaze she couldn’t identify must also have been her imagination.

She had been so happy that the question of whether it was really okay to be this happy had created unnecessary anxiety deep inside her heart.

‘It’s okay now.’

Anastasia and Catherine were no longer around.

Her uncle would never appear again.

Her relationship with Hailon was nothing but happiness.

Ervan had also regained much of his health.

So there was nothing to feel anxious about, nothing to worry about.

You just need to get used to it now. It’s okay to be happy, Melia.

She repeated it to herself like a mantra.

***

“Melia, about the librarian job.”

“Hm?”

It was an ordinary afternoon.

As usual, after finishing tutoring and closing the library together, Hailon was walking Melia home.

An unexpected question came from him.

“Do you want to keep doing it?”

“Why?”

“Just wondering. It can’t be easy to make time every morning and afternoon like that. Honestly, isn’t my tutoring enough?”

It wasn’t wrong.

The reason she worked as a librarian was because of money.

“Are you short on money?”

“No, absolutely not! There’s no way.”

Melia denied it in surprise.

The payment she received for tutoring Hailon was more than enough.

She told him she didn’t need to receive any more, but he refused to listen.

Even though Melia herself simply enjoyed the time she spent with him.

He even said he would scold Calix if she didn’t accept it, so Melia had no choice but to take the check again.

On top of that, her uncle’s debt no longer existed either.

With the money she’d already received, she and Ervan alone could live comfortably for decades.

Even with the move she had been considering, she could easily afford a good house and still have money left.

So there was absolutely no way she continued the librarian job because of money.

“It’s not because of money.”

“Then why? Isn’t it bothersome?”

Melia slowly shook her head. “Not at all. I like it.”

Melia liked the library. She liked books.

Recently, she had some free time, so she also wanted to study the archaeology she was interested in.

Fewer people had been visiting the library again lately, so it was good to concentrate in the relaxed atmosphere like before.

“I want to keep doing it until graduation. If Erpen allows it.”

Melia, unaware that it was Hailon who created that position rather than Erpen, simply gave a soft smile.

Hailon stayed silent for a moment, then soon nodded briefly. “Well, if that’s what you want. Do it.”

If Melia liked it, there was no need to remove the position again.

‘There’s no need to say anything more.’

Hailon decided it would be better to hold his tongue. Above all, he could never reveal that he was the one who created the librarian position.

Because that would only mean he had been watching over Melia from the very beginning.

And he absolutely could not say that the ‘Calix’ from the orphanage, who spent childhood with her, was actually himself.

“Okay. I’ll make sure it doesn’t interfere with tutoring.”

Melia continued the conversation while completely failing to notice what Hailon was thinking, picking up on an entirely different point.

“As long as it’s not hard for you. If you like it, keep doing it.”

“Thanks for looking out for me.”

…Right, as long as he didn’t say anything, no one would know.

The orphanage had already closed, and the children who once lived there now had no connection with Melia.

Her younger brother Ervan also had no way of knowing his identity, just like Melia.

If Melia herself didn’t recognize him, there was no way her brother would.

When he investigated the orphanage director from that time, he learned the man had already left the Empire and was living in another kingdom.

Which meant Melia had no way to discover his identity.

If he didn’t say anything, Melia would never know.

‘Just once. Only this one last thing.’

Wasn’t it acceptable to keep at least this much a secret?

In any case, next year would be their graduation year.

Once they left Erpen, the secret would be buried forever. That was the conclusion Hailon reached.

If Melia ever found out, she would resent him far more than she did about him hiding her uncle’s debt.

Because it was obvious their current relationship would break apart.

That could never happen.

Hailon’s firm resolve showed in his eyes.

***

“Um, this….”

A book was held out in front of her. It was a familiar archaeology book to her.

Oh, this one.

Melia’s eyes widened with curiosity.

‘Someone else is borrowing this book too?’

Melia slowly raised her head and looked at the man standing before her.

‘It’s that student from before.’

It was the same boy who once asked where the book was located. The gray‑haired boy who had begun appearing at the library often since the start of this year.

Seeing someone borrow a book she personally enjoyed made her smile lift unconsciously.

“You’re borrowing it, right?”

“Uh, uh. Yeah.”

As soon as he answered, the boy lowered his head deeply.

It seemed he was extremely shy.

Melia gave him a bright smile so he wouldn’t feel awkward and held the book out again.

Since it was a book Melia knew very well, it didn’t take long to write in the lending ledger.

Besides, the boy’s name as well.

She had already written it in the ledger several times.

“Your name is Baron Aisic, right?”

So she simply asked casually.

“Huh? Y‑yeah, that’s right.”

The moment Melia said his name, Baron’s face turned bright red.

“Ah, you know… uh, me?”

“Of course. You come often. Almost every day.”

“Uh, um.”

It was nothing special to know his name.

Yet even over something so small, he stammered and couldn’t continue speaking properly.

“Th-thank you. Me, Melia.”

Then he spoke Melia’s name.

“It’s nothing. What are you thanking me for?”

Just as she knew his name, it was only natural that Baron would know hers as well.

Since he came to the library often, he must have learned her name too. That was all she thought of it.

Unlike when Hailon said he knew her name, she didn’t feel anything special about it.

“Uh, r-right!”

He hurriedly turned around and rushed out of the library.

After finishing the matter, Melia lowered her gaze back to the book she had been reading.

Tap tap tap-

The sound of his footsteps gradually moved farther away from Melia.

To Melia, it was nothing more than an ordinary moment in the pages of her everyday life.

***

“Ah, ah!”

Today as well, Melia’s moans were leaking out from a corner of the vast library.

From where their bodies joined, wet slapping sounds repeated obscenely.

Too, too fast.

Even when she closed her mouth, the small sounds still slipped out through her throat reflexively.

It felt like everything outside could hear.

This is a library.

Even if the door was locked, what if someone heard and found it strange?

What if people started saying they heard moaning here every day?

Lately, it was always like this.

Hailon mixed his body with Melia almost every day.

If they started before tutoring, it ended up becoming night and they couldn’t even study.

So when Melia insisted that this time they should study first….

“Melia, you need to focus. Yeah?”

“Ah, but, today…!”

“It’s already done.”

He would suddenly answer everything perfectly, end the tutoring immediately….

And then it would turn into this again.

Thud, squish-

Her body lifted with the movement of his hips, and Melia’s vision shook.

At this rate it might be better to simply invite him to her house for tutoring.

Unless he enjoyed the thrill of doing it in a library where anyone might come.