Jin had been avoiding Ayan since yesterday — skittering away like a terrified rabbit anytime their eyes so much as grazed.
But he wasn't avoiding Kairo.
Which immediately made it suspicious.
Kairo noticed it the moment he stepped into the hallway:
Jin standing there, pretending to fumble with his books but actually watching him.
Too pale.
Too jittery.
Too desperate.
Kairo didn't acknowledge him at first.
He walked to his locker, popped it open, casually pretending not to care.
But Jin made the first move.
"K—Kairo…?" he whispered, voice trembling.
Kairo didn't turn his head, just flicked his gaze sideways.
"Yeah?"
Jin swallowed so hard it looked painful.
"Can—can I talk to you? It's… important."
That word.
Important.
Always trouble.
Kairo shut his locker with a soft clack and turned fully toward him, wearing that mild, harmless smile he used for manipulation.
"Sure."
Jin breathed out shakily, relieved.
Wrong move.
They walked toward the empty stairwell — Jin leading, Kairo following, eyes sharp, posture relaxed like a predator stretching.
When they were finally out of sight, Jin faced him.
"This is about Ayan."
Kairo's expression didn't change.
Inside, everything tightened.
"Yeah?" Kairo said softly. "What about him?"
Jin's hands shook as he pulled something from his pocket — a folded piece of paper.
Ayan's handwriting.
Kairo recognized it instantly.
He snatched it before Jin could flinch away, unfolding the note with practiced indifference.
The moment he saw the words, his blood went cold.
Ayan's scent suppression schedule.
His dosage.
His omega control routine.
Jin's voice was barely audible.
"I… I found it dropped outside the council room after you two left yesterday. I didn't— I swear, I didn't read all of it, but—"
"You read enough," Kairo said quietly.
Jin froze.
Kairo folded the paper neatly. Too neatly.
Like someone preparing a blade before using it.
He stepped closer.
Jin stepped back until his spine hit the wall.
"Kairo… please… I didn't mean—"
"Oh, I know," Kairo said gently, too gently.
"You didn't mean to. You never do."
Jin's breath faltered.
He realized too late that Kairo wasn't smiling anymore.
Kairo held the paper between two fingers.
"Here's what's going to happen," he murmured. "You're going to forget this. You never saw it. You never touched it. And you definitely never thought about telling anyone."
Jin nodded rapidly. "Y-yes—"
Kairo leaned in, his voice dropping to something colder than steel.
"Because if this lands in the wrong ears… Ayan won't be the one who pays. You will."
Jin's knees nearly buckled.
Kairo stepped back, expression soft and sunny again — like the threat had never existed.
"Good talk."
He slipped the folded paper into his pocket and walked away, calm, collected, and burning.
Because now he knew two things:
Ayan's secret was more fragile than he thought.
And someone else had almost gotten to it first.
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