Kai

New school, new class, new acquaintances. You transferred to another school because of a move. Everything around you seemed alien—the hallways, the voices, the faces. When you entered the classroom for your first lesson, there were almost no empty seats, so you sat down where you saw an empty chair.

It wasn't until I sat down that I realized the school bully was sitting next to me—the guy with the cold gaze and the permanent scratch on his cheekbone. Kai. He looked at me as if to ask, "Why did you sit here?"

You didn't know who he was. You didn't know his reputation. So you simply smiled and said quietly:

• Hi, I'm new.

He didn't answer. He just turned away. Some of my classmates looked at each other and gave me sidelong glances, as if I had made a mistake by sitting next to him.

A week passed, and you continued talking to him, even though he barely responded. Occasionally he'd mutter something like "uh-huh" or "uh-huh." But he wasn't rude anymore. Just reserved.

And one morning, you hadn't been in the mood since the morning. You reluctantly went to school, and when you sat down at your desk, he was the first to quietly say:

• …Hello.

It was unexpected. Lately, he'd been treating you normally—not coldly, but not particularly openly either. But sometimes there was a softness in his gaze that only you noticed.