"What are you staring at?" Out of nowhere, Rein had been beside me."No, nothing…." I went away. That boy followed my track to get to the classroom. I quickened my steps in order to avoid Rein. But, that boy didn't give up, trailing behind me until I took a right turn while he moved in the opposite direction. The exam started a half hour later. But, it was struggling for me to concentrate on the test papers before me. Those two fishy men screwed me up as they occupied my head now. My brain didn't seem to be working well. "You have one hour left." The warning from the supervisor startled me. I nervously copied my answer on the answer sheet. Unfortunately, I couldn't respond to questions one hundred percent with the limited time left. I condemned myself for being so careless. I couldn't fail the test. It would affect my performance, meaning I wouldn't get to the next level. That would only extend my study in this academy. I inhaled and exhaled to calm myself to complete the test w

The ceiling stared down at my gape eyes. It had been an hour since I laid on the bed with the purpose of dozing off. However, my mind trapped me to keep awake. Lanzo's statements that he would always be on my side stunned as well as terrified me. His kindness mesmerized me but sometimes he didn't look like what he really was. The mysteries camouflaged him. That doubted me to put my trust in him.His last sentence before going to bed disturbed me, really. How could he say that to me? How would he always be by my side? Who was I to him? Did I matter to his life? I tried to wipe this question out, but I failed : did he like me?"No," my mouth took over; my hand instantly covered it when my brain managed to figure it out that I just yelled for the stupid thought. He wouldn't like me or any other girls; that was what he had ever conveyed. A love might not live in his cold heart. But, was it really cold? Was it true that there wasn't any warm space in his heart for affection to grow?I hat

Lanzo didn't even take a final look at me. The way he treated me nonchalantly dug a deeper hole of loneliness and uneasiness in my heart. And it was weird that his oblivion upset me. Was I in love with him? I shouldn't have let love grow as I knew that it would only result in disappointment. Lanzo wouldn't develop the same feeling. Staggering, I managed to get up. I felt no water falling on my hair. Did the rain stop suddenly? When I looked up, the umbrella barricaded the downpour. Turning around, Lanzo had been at my back with one hand securing the umbrella. "Go, get changed. You're soaking wet." Without a protest, I obeyed him, slowly descending the stairs. He loyally counted his steps behind me, protecting my head with the umbrella. If it were a drama, it would be the most romantic scene I had in my lifetime. But, I didn't want to set high expectations. As a kind-hearted person, Lanzo did this as a form of sympathy. He would do the same thing to anyone who was in my position.

The picture of those two men attacking Lanzo reminded me of what Yura had been through. Before losing her life, that girl went out of the dorm with them. Would Lanzo end up the same? I jerked, getting rid of that negative thought. It was just a picture; it wouldn't prove anything. My concern for Lanzo kept growing inside me and sucked my attention. Until the day shifted, uneasiness still caged me. The only thing I feared was Lanzo would share the same fate as Yura's. My eyes flinched open. I had locked myself in my room for a few hours upon my arrival from the academy. Even skipping my dinner did not matter to me. Everything about Lanzo confiscated my mind now that I forgot to have my meal. The knock on the door drove me to roll out of my bed. A servant arrived with food. Ensuring I received my meal, she turned away. I just eyed the battered fish with large chips without having the desire to taste them. I had already lost my appetite to eat.In an hour, that servant came back; m

The screen in the classroom was on; the head of the academy's face popped up. Information revealed. He announced that we had to go to the hall. In only a few minutes, the classroom was vacant. The intelligentsia marched toward the auditorium. There might be an important issue he would convey. Ha had been on the stage welcoming us when we were entering the hall. His expression turned frigid with our presence as if he withheld the tense under the cold atmosphere. What would he tell us this time? Was it about the rumor Rein told me last night?"I summoned you here as I have an important announcement for you. The participant of Student Exchange has been selected. And she has held her solo exhibition as a part of reward for being elected in the event. The host academy has contacted me. So, Dylanesa Dawson will leave for the host academy tomorrow." That news left me with shock. The mumble crowded the hall. I was just dumbfounded, not knowing if I should be happy or sad. It was too sudden.