Just as he expected, Dino could hear many people murmuring about his name and his picture with Ivan within the campus while he and Eric were on the way to the university canteen. Others would call him 'gay', 'slut', 'freak', and other hurtful words. This made him feel so embarrassed that his face became beet red before he decided to try covering his face in shame with his face mask.
"Dino, are you alright?" Eric asked anxiously as soon as he noticed that his best friend did not look okay at all and that the latter wore a face mask.
"I'm not," Dino replied in a voice so soft that it was almost like a whisper.
"Dino, look. You don't need to mind them at all. And I told you this before: as long as you're not harming anyone, you don't have to feel guilty about anything," Eric declared seriously while also trying his best to comfort his best friend. Then he asked, "Do you understand, Dino?"