Xenomium Academy, male student dormitory.

After he had returned from class, Felix dropped all the gifts and letters he had been holding on the table. The gifts were from the female students of Xenomium Academy. Felix’s rough handling caused some carefully wrapped gifts to fall off the table.

Adrian, who was reading a book on the sofa, frowned as he picked them up. His name was written in cursive on the wrapping paper.

“Why are you even taking my presents?”

With a shrug of the shoulders, Felix replied, “What was I supposed to do when they gave it to me thinking I was you?”

“Are you not going to grow your hair back out again?”

“……it’s hot.”

Felix smiled playfully as he picked up the carefully wrapped handmade cookies next to him. He unravelled the ribbon with a touch of excitement and threw the cookies into his mouth one by one.

Adrian shook his head as he looked at Felix’s short hair. After the summer break, Felix’s long hair was cut short. He was then frequently mistaken for Adrian, his twin brother.

Their face, height and voice were so similar that it was difficult to tell them apart. The only difference between them was the length of their hair.

Adrian, the younger twin, had his short blonde hair tucked behind his ear. He was neatly dressed in a school uniform. The older twin Felix, however, had long blonde hair that hung over his shoulders. His shirt was never buttoned properly.

This was the method of distinguishing the Berg twins that was widely known among academy students and teachers.

Felix and Adrian had been following these ‘rules’ for years now. It annoyed them when people mistook them for another twin. But, on the first day of the new semester, Felix broke the rule; his once long blonde hair had been cut short.

“People might get confused,” Adrian complained.

“Then let’s change it. From now on, you grow it out.” Felix responded lightly, as if he had no intention of taking his twin brother seriously.

“No one will be able to tell us apart now, not even our parents.”

Felix chuckled when he heard Adrian’s words. If it were their mother and father, he really thought that that would be the case.

“What does the length of my hair have to do with it?” Felix put the last cookie in his mouth and dusted off the crumbs from his hands. “As long as we are the Princes of Berg, they will not care who we really are.”

Felix’s next class would only have a short break. With a tired expression, he stretched his arms and stood up.

“Why are you so free when I’m so busy? Don’t you have a class?”

“What do you mean you’re free?” Adrian frowned at Felix’s question. “I need to get to work on the student council right away. There’s also work at the library.”

Adrian was the president of the student council as well as the librarian. It was a passion Felix could never understand.

“That’s why I told you to take the required courses beforehand. Aren’t you busy right now because you skipped classes and played hard?”

Felix quickly left the room with his bag when his younger brother began nagging. Adrian couldn’t be stopped from his lecture once he started.

The second semester began anew.

Autumn had arrived, but the campus was still in its last leg of summer. The stinging heat of the sun beating down on the crown, and the chirping cicadas sounded like rain from the fresh green trees.

Walking on the hot campus, Felix thought about what Adrian said.

Now no one will be able to tell us apart. Even our parents.

It was true that even their parents wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. Felix remembered the faces of his mother and father, who repeatedly called him Adrian.

But it was not true that no one would be able to tell them apart.

Since there was ‘her’.

Felix was walking along the road, kicking a stone, when he came to a complete stop. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The person walking from across the street was none other than ‘her’.

“Lucy Keenan.” Felix muttered the girl’s name.

Her wavy, light brown hair was neatly braided. She was wearing a shirt that was buttoned up to the neck in this hot weather.

Even her steps were straight and upright. She was walking down the street looking at a small note and the young lady suddenly looked up as if she felt someone’s eyes on her.

Lucy Keenan’s eyes widened, then narrowed, then widened again, as she stood upon discovering Felix.

No, it’s getting narrow again.

Think about it.

Felix laughed quietly to himself, amused at her rapidly changing expression. She must be wondering whether the Berg in front of her is Adrian Berg or Felix Berg. Felix gently raised the corners of his lips and smiled softly. It was the smile that Adrian often wore.

A sweet smile that anyone could have mistaken him for Adrian.

Just as expected, Lucy Keenan strode towards him, with a friendly smile on her face. Seeing this, Felix felt a strange sense of victory.

“Adrian sunbaenim, there’s a meeting in the student council room later…” Lucy Keenan, who was approaching him with a small and clear voice, stopped walking. Soon after, the smile disappeared without a trace from her face, replaced by embarrassment.

“Ah…”

Lucy Keenan made a sound that he couldn’t understand, she immediately turned her body around. Then she began to return to the path where she had been earlier at a very fast pace.

Felix raised an eyebrow as she watched the back of Lucy Keenan disappear. The sense of victory that filled his heart was completely gone. He ruffled his blonde hair wildly.

“This is pissing me off”

* * *

Felix became aware of Lucy Keenan’s existence in the first semester of that year. It was one spring day when he and Adrian wore the same hat. Felix had rolled up his long hair and hid it under the hat, making him indistinguishable from Adrian.

Not only other students and teachers, but their best friend Alec couldn’t tell them apart as well. He stood in front of them and tilted his head. “What? What kind of trick is this? Hurry up and take it off. I can’t tell who’s who.” The twins bursted laughing when they saw his confused expression.

“No, our father is coming today.”

“The Duke of Berg?”

Duke Arthur Berg was one of the most powerful and wealthy people within the Veros Empire. Xenomium Academy had received many large donations from him.

In an effort to avoid being caught by their father, the twins, who were well aware of their father’s strict and cold personality, came to school immaculately dressed. Felix, who didn’t usually wear a tie since he found it irksome, was even wearing one.

“I can’t help it. Just wait until my father leaves,” Felix said, roughly straightening the tie around his neck.

Whenever his father came to visit, Felix and Adrian would also be called to the principal’s office. He wanted his annoying father’s visit to the academy to end sooner rather than later.

“There…”

That was when it happened. Felix and Adrian turned to face the small voice behind them. A female student with mysterious emerald eyes looked up at them. With a piece of paper in her hand that read ‘Library New Directory’, it appeared that she had come to deliver the list to Adrian, the head of the library.

Only then did Felix recall that the girl was a member of the library staff he had seen several times.

Felix was bored, so he had the sudden urge to pull a prank. He reached out to the girl with a soft, friendly smile before Adrian could even step forward.

He waited for the girl to hand him the list. But the girl just looked down at Felix’s hand while holding the paper.

“I…” She lifted her head with a tense expression on her face and hesitated. “This is the new list of book clubs I want to give to Adrian sunbaenim,” she said and immediately handed the paper to Adrian.

“Hey, don’t play around,” said Adrian, elbowing Felix. He took the paper from her.

“I’m sorry, Lucy. I’ve been busy with the student council, so it’s like I’ve been putting a huge burden on you. I am the head of the library.”

The girl, Lucy, shook her head. Her face red after hearing Adrian’s words.

“No! I’m the second-year manager! I’m not that busy either.”

“Okay, thank you. I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

Adrian answered with a gentle tone. Lucy, who had been standing with a tense look all the time, was shining brightly for the first time.

And Felix stood there, perplexed, staring at the scene.

How did you know?

He didn’t have a name tag on or a book in his hand that had his name. However, the girl did not hesitate to conclude that he was not Adrian. She was able to tell the twins apart at a glance.

Lucy, who delivered her list, politely bid her seniors goodbye and left.

“What exactly is her name?” Felix asked, looking at the corner where she disappeared.

Alec smiled mischievously at him. “What, Felix! Are you interested?”

“Hey, you can’t be……. Don’t do that. Lucy is…” Adrian scolded Felix with an awkward look.

But before Adrian could finish speaking, Felix raised his hand to stop him. “No. You don’t have to tell me I was just curious.”

Felix reasoned that she had simply guessed it. That was a possibility. If not, how could she tell them apart at a glance when even their parents couldn’t.

But the same thing happened a few more times.

After the swordsmanship class, when Felix and Adrian came out of the training centre with towels on their heads, Lucy, who hesitated and approached them, correctly identified Adrian. It also happened during a heavy rain, and both Adrian and Felix were wearing raincoats with hoods that covered their heads.

Lucy Keenan was able to tell the Berg twins apart based on something other than hair length.

“Hey, Alec. Do I have any moles on my ears?”

“Mole?” Alec, puzzled at Felix’s outrageous question, willingly checks his ears. “You don’t have any.”

Then, this time, Felix bowed, showing Alec the top of his head.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Ignoring his bewildered friend, Felix pulled Adrian, who was sitting next to him. “Look at the location of Adrian’s hair whorl and mine. What do you think? Is it different?”

“… It’s the same.”

No way. Even the hair whorl’s position is the same. Felix looked at his twin brother. This bastard might actually be my doppelgänger. It’s neither a mole nor a hair whorl. If so, there can only be one explanation.

“… Maybe I’m a little more handsome than Adrian, right?”

Alec was astonished as he looked at Felix, who asked with a face that was far too serious to be a joke.

“You two look the same, as if you’re looking in a mirror!”

Eventually, the semester came to an end without being able to answer any question about Lucy Keenan. The academy was on summer vacation, and Felix, upon his return to the duke’s residence, vowed to himself that he would no longer be concerned with frivolous matters.

He definitely made a resolution.

But he kept thinking about it. He kept wondering.

What’s the difference between us in her eyes?

It seemed that this useless worry would end only when he found out the difference between himself and Adrian that only Lucy Keenan could see. So, Felix cut his long blond hair the night before leaving the duke’s residence and returned to the academy. He stood in front of the mirror and examined himself; he looked remarkably similar to his twin brother. At this level, even Lucy Keenan would have a hard time telling them apart.

Felix had thought so.

* * *

It had been a week since the semester began. Felix, who had cut off his hair with enthusiasm, was slightly regretting his hasty choice. When Adrian complained, he just joked around and laughed, but now he was starting to get annoyed by people’s misunderstandings.

“Adrian!”

“I am Felix.”

“Adrian-kun!”

“This is Felix.”

“Adrian? No, is it Felix? ……Adrian, right?”

“It’s Felix!”

Felix, who gave up after being mistaken for an unknown number of times, walked down the hallway avoiding people. He was sick of explaining that he wasn’t Adrian. As he turned around the corner, he encountered a person walking by with the same face and the same expression as him.

“Adrian.”

The younger brother that people had been looking for. He also didn’t look as good as Felix.

“Hey, Felix,” said Adrian and his brows were drawn together as if he was tired of something. Before he had a chance to say anything, Felix quickly raised his hands and took a surrender position. He already knew enough of what his brother wanted to say.

“I’ll grow out my hair. And I won’t cut it again.”

“…That’s the wisest thing you’ve said all year.” Adrian leaned against the wall, a helpless smile on his face. There was a dark shadow on his handsome face. The graduating class, the student council president, the library manager. His younger brother, who juggled a slew of responsibilities, looked exhausted in Felix’s eyes.

“Are you okay?”

At Felix’s question, Adrian slowly raised his head. He smiled when he saw his brother’s worried face. “Of course. I just didn’t get enough sleep.”

You foolish kid. If it’s hard, just be honest with me.

Adrian had a long-standing habit of pretending to be fine even when things were difficult, hiding and struggling alone. Felix felt sorry for his younger brother and was frustrated at the same time. “Can I help you with anything? What is this?” Felix snatched the paper Adrian was holding. The titles of books were neatly arranged over two pages.

“This is a list of books to be brought in this semester. I have to take it to the library.”

The operation of the Xenomium Academy library was managed with the librarian, Mrs. Erin, from the library department. With that, Felix’s eyes lit up at a thought that suddenly popped into his head.

“I’ll take care of this.” Felix said, paper in hand. “Why don’t you go into an empty classroom and have a nap for a moment?”

Not noticing that his twin brother was planning something, Adrian smiled and nodded his head. “Thanks.”

Adrian immediately left the hallway in search of an empty classroom. Felix also took a step towards the library.

This will be the last.

He thought with a firm determination on his face. He decided to face Lucy Keenan one last time.

When she ran into Felix on campus a few days ago, she ran away in a hurry, as if she recognized him. But, for a brief moment, she had mistaken him for Adrian. So, if his acting is perfect, he might be able to fool Lucy Keenan.

When Felix arrived at the library, he stood in front of the hallway mirror and fixed his appearance. He looked like a creepy version of Adrian with his shirt neatly buttoned all the way up, he was fed up for a moment.

Felix entered the library, loudly clearing his throat. Mrs. Erin, the librarian, was nowhere to be seen. A female student was busy pulling out books near the bookshelf and stacking them on the floor one by one.

It was Lucy Keenan.

Felix approached cautiously, but she was so preoccupied with her work that she didn’t notice him at all. The hem of her school uniform skirt was covered in white dust as she knelt down and pulled out a book from the bottom of her bookshelf. Felix cleared his throat once more and smiled as he spoke to her.

“Hi.”

Lucy glanced back when she heard his voice from behind her, but soon returned her attention back to the bookshelf.

“Oh, sunbae,” she said without even looking at Felix’s face. She looked extremely busy, working hard in front of the bookshelf. “I can’t do anything about sunbeam is absolutely no room for.”

Lucy pulled out the last book on the bookshelf and placed it on top of the pile of books that had already been stacked high. As the pillar of books shook dangerously, she hurriedly corrected the centre. “Phew! If I knew this would happen, I should have asked the school to have more bookshelves. Even if I write a request now, it won’t come in right away.”

Felix’s eyes widened as he saw Lucy pouring out her words as she spoke softly. It was the first time he had seen her talk so much.

“Is it a book list?” Lucy snatched the paper from Felix’s grasp. Then she went down the list with her finger. “ Volume 40…… …… I’m going to have to throw out this old book. It was so old that a few pieces were torn …… ? Why is this coming in again? There’s no one borrowing it.”

The sight of her pouting her lips as if dissatisfied seemed strange to Felix. He had never imagined that she could make so many expressions. This is because she always ran away with a stiff expression on her face whenever she faced him.

Lucy, after checking the lists, placed the papers on the bookshelf. “Foremost, we’d better move these books to the library,” she said and lifted the pile of books closest to her and approached Felix. Then she carefully handed them over to his arms, as if she was hugging a baby. Felix was about to accept the books when Lucy said, “Oh, but come to think of it. Sunbae, you have a lot of things to do, right?”

Lucy, who stood close with a pile of books in between them, smelled of fresh grass mixed with the scent of bitter herbs. “I will take care of this.” Lucy smiled and took the books away again. “I’ll move it together with Colin, it’ll be over in no time.”

Felix’s body stiffened and he stood still. Lucy tilted his head and looked at him.

“Sunbae, are you sick…” Lucy stopped talking mid-sentence. Her eyes widened and her lips slowly opened.

“Ah…….”

As if she realized something, Lucy’s complexion quickly turned pale.

Thump

The books she was holding fell to the floor.

“I, I’m sorry!” Lucy exclaimed “I thought it was Adrian-sunbae….”

“Ah, I……” Felix tried to say it was okay.

At that time, Lucy, who was stepping back, touched the books she had piled high, and the top collapsed. Lucy, now frustrated, hurriedly knelt down in front of him and began to organize her books.

For a moment, Felix walked over to her side and tried to help, but then stopped. Lucy’s expression, as if she had seen a ghost, flashed through his mind as soon as she realized he was not Adrian. She didn’t seem to want his help. Eventually, Felix turned around and left the library.

He walked down the hallway as quickly as he could, nervously running his fingers through his hair.

Why are you so uncomfortable?

He couldn’t understand Lucy Keenan, who laughed and chatted with Adrian, but stiffened as if she had encountered a monster when she faced him.

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 sombre 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 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 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 tranquillity.

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.  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.