Kairo didn't let Ayan take three steps before falling into place beside him — too close, too casual, too intentional.
"You're walking like you're about to murder someone," he said lightly.
Ayan didn't look at him. "Move."
"No."
Kairo matched his pace easily, shoulder brushing Ayan's.
"You're wound up. Talk."
Ayan's jaw tightened. "Not your business."
"Everything about you is my business," Kairo shot back, still maddeningly calm. "Especially when some guy runs away from you like you growl in your sleep."
Ayan stopped walking.
Kairo stopped too — but slowly, like he was approaching a cornered animal.
And Ayan was cornered, just internally.
His voice came out colder than ice.
"Don't play dumb with me."
Kairo raised a brow. "I'm not."
"You saw him," Ayan said, each word clipped. "You saw how he looked at me."
"People look at you weird all the time," Kairo shrugged. "You're hot, intimidating, rude— it's a whole aesthetic."
Ayan didn't even blink.
"Kairo. Stop."
Kairo's teasing expression faded — slipping into something more careful, more strategic.
He stepped closer, blocking Ayan's line of sight to the hallway.
"You're spiraling."
"I'm thinking," Ayan corrected sharply.
"Same thing, for you."
Ayan's lips twitched — irritation, not amusement.
Kairo lowered his voice.
"Look. Jin's harmless. Shaky, nervous, probably failing three classes— but harmless. He didn't see anything."
Ayan's eyes narrowed. "You sound very sure."
Kairo didn't flinch.
"Because I would know."
The silence after that was thick, stubborn.
Ayan searched Kairo's face — really searched it — trying to find a crack, a tell, a lie.
Nothing.
Kairo's expression was steady, warm enough to lower defenses, sharp enough to make him impossible to read.
Ayan hated that.
"You're trying to distract me," Ayan said quietly.
"Yes," Kairo said without hesitating. "Because you're overreacting."
Ayan stepped closer, voice dropping to a whisper sharpened to a blade.
"If someone knows—"
Kairo cut him off by leaning forward just enough to break Ayan's focus.
"Then we make sure they don't."
Ayan froze.
Not because of the words.
Because of the tone.
Calm.
Steady.
Unshaken.
Kairo wasn't covering up for someone else.
He was covering Ayan.
But why?
Before Ayan could question it, Kairo smirked — softening the moment just enough to regain control.
"Now come on," he murmured. "We're late for class, and you're cute when you overthink."
Ayan shoved past him, cheeks heating despite himself.
Kairo followed, hands in his pockets, eyes never leaving Ayan's back.
He doesn't need to know yet, Kairo thought.
Not until the next collision.
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