I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!-Chapter 349 Sleepy

Alina pulled out her phone and pretended to check it, anything to avoid making unnecessary conversation with Dante while her heart was still doing anxious somersaults inside her chest. The warm light inside the turtle bus rested softly over her screen, and she focused on it with exaggerated interest, hoping it would calm the fluttering in her stomach.

Most of the babies were already fast asleep, their tiny breaths rising and falling in gentle rhythms. Even Boo, who could stay awake through an earthquake if he wanted to, had curled up with his blanket pulled over his head. Only a few of the little ones blinked drowsily, fighting the last bits of exhaustion, but even they were slowly giving in to the cozy warmth around them.

Alina typed quietly into the Parents Group chat, her fingers moving carefully as the bus glided upward toward the surface.

"Everyone is safe. We are on our way back now. The children are resting."

A few bubbles popped up almost immediately, filled with relieved emojis and warm messages, and Alina smiled softly as she glanced at the babies again, making sure each tiny chest still rose and fell peacefully.

She breathed out slowly, letting her shoulders relax as she settled back against the pillow. The gentle sway of the turtle bus and the soft sounds surrounding them made the world feel smaller and almost dreamlike.

And no matter how hard she tried to keep her attention locked firmly on her phone, she could not ignore the faint awareness of Dante lying on the bed next to her. The distance between their beds was so small it barely felt like distance at all.

"Are you okay, Miss Alina?" Dante suddenly asked gently. His tone was controlled, though he could not hide the faint curve of amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth. He was not fully smirking, but something dangerously close lingered there, as if he were enjoying her fluster in a way he could not admit.

He had not planned any of this. His shadow workers had arranged the sleeping space, and when he walked in and saw their beds placed so closely, even he had not expected that kind of arrangement.

"Huh? What— I mean... I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be? Haha..." Alina said, forcing a laugh that sounded thin and awkward even to her own ears. She clutched her phone against her chest with one hand and gripped her blanket with the other, as if holding on to both could steady her, hoping the dim light hid how warm her cheeks had become under his gaze.

The turtle bus made soft sounds. Most of the children were asleep now, curled up like small bundles of warmth and innocence, but the quiet between the two adults felt entirely different, slower and heavier, carrying something she did not know how to name.

Dante turned his head fully toward her, his dark hair falling slightly over his forehead. His expression was calm and composed, but his eyes were sharp and quietly observing her, almost as if he were trying to understand every small shift of emotion written on her face.

"Miss Alina," he said again, softer this time, "I mean it. If you’re feeling uncomfortable because of me, I can move my bed farther away."

His voice held no teasing now, only sincerity that felt deep and warm. He did not move, not yet; he simply waited, watching her with eyes so steady and calm that the breath in her chest tightened.

Alina flinched lightly and shook her head quickly. "N-no, sir. It’s not that. I’m not uncomfortable."

Her voice came out too fast, too honest, and her pulse jumped at her own confession. She swallowed, tightening her grip on the blanket as she lowered her gaze to her phone again, even though the screen blurred slightly from the warm heat filling her face.

He did not speak immediately. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Instead, she felt it: the faint shift of his posture, the soft controlled exhale through his nose.

The space between them felt suddenly warmer, gentler, almost as if her words had eased a tension neither of them had admitted out loud.

"Alright," Dante murmured quietly.

Just one word.

But the way he said it, slow and calm, carrying a softness that brushed against her skin more intimately than touch, made her heart flutter on its own.

Alina lowered her head deeper into her pillow, praying he could not hear the chaos happening inside her chest.

And beside her, Dante lay still, eyes half-lidded, a faint smile resting at the corner of his mouth.

Alina tried her best to stay awake in case any of the children needed her. She kept her eyes fixed on her phone, scrolling through the same notification twice, hoping it would keep her alert. But her eyelids were growing unbearably heavy, sinking lower and lower until her phone slipped dangerously from her fingers. It almost fell onto her face before she jerked awake with a tiny gasp, quickly closing all her tabs and pretending nothing had happened. A soft helpless yawn escaped her anyway.

"Miss Alina, you can sleep..."

Dante’s voice brushed against her in the dim, warm light—low, steady, unexpectedly gentle.

Alina startled so visibly that blanket shifted around her shoulders. For a moment she simply blinked at him, as if her sleepy mind had forgotten he was lying just a breath away. The soft warm glow rested along the sharp curve of his cheekbone, and seeing him this close, calm and warm-eyed and impossibly composed, made her breath stumble in her chest.

"Oh—sir—I mean—I wasn’t sleeping!" she blurted, clutching her phone to her chest as if it were proof of her alertness.

Dante shifted slightly on his pillow, turning toward her with a quiet patience that softened the entire space between their beds. "You almost dropped your phone on your face."

Alina froze.

Heat flooded her cheeks as she looked away, shrinking back under her blanket. "I—I was just checking something..."

"You were about to fall asleep," he said softly, the faintest smile touching the edge of his voice. "It’s alright."

She squeezed her blanket tighter, trying to keep her pride intact. "No... I should stay awake. In case the babies need something. I’m the teacher, sir—"

"You’ve been awake since dawn," he murmured. "And you walked through the entire fair. And you chased three missing children into a dangerous cave." His eyes drifted over her tired hands, then lifted to her face, gentle but firm. "You’ve done more than enough. You can rest."

Alina swallowed, her lashes fluttering as exhaustion pressed more heavily into her bones. "I don’t want to trouble you..."

"You won’t." His voice dropped even lower, warm enough to soften every inch of the air between them. "I don’t mind watching over them. Or watching over you."