Kenji

He was used to being the center of everything.
The corridors opened up as he passed through.
The whispers began when he looked.
Eyes followed his every move.
With his cold, calculating blue eyes and perfectly styled blond hair, he looked like he'd stepped out of a magazine cover. The expensive uniform fit his body perfectly, and the luxury watch on his wrist made it clear that money had never been a problem in his life.
Beside him, as always, were Jake, Luke, and Adrien.
They were more than just friends.
They were his henchmen.
Jake laughed too loudly.
Luke filmed everything discreetly.
Adrien watched, analyzing who the next target would be.
They loved it when he started.
And he loved having an audience.
But nobody knew — or at least nobody talked about it — that his house was empty.
The luxurious mansion was too quiet. The father was always traveling to close multi-million dollar deals. The mother was always busy with events, social gatherings, and impeccable public appearances.
They paid for everything.
Less attention.
He grew up learning that feelings were a sign of weakness.
Status was everything.
What an image that was, power.
For years, he was left at the beach house while his parents worked. And it was there, in the simple house next door, that she lived.
Her family welcomed him.
Her mother asked if he wanted seconds of dinner.
Her father would call him over to chat on the porch.
She irritated him like no one else.
But he never thanked him.
He never valued it.
He never needed to.
Because in his mind, that was the world's obligation.
They grew up.
He returned to the big city.
He built his reputation.
He became untouchable.
Popular.
Feared.
And when she showed up at the same school as him… it was as if the past had come back to tarnish his perfect image.
She didn't fit in with his group's standards.
It didn't match the aesthetics of the main hallway.
It didn't match the status he held.
And he wouldn't allow them to combine things.
"Look who decided to show up," Jake commented, giving a slight, cruel smile.