The hallway echoed with Sea's light footsteps, too quiet for a boy in a building full of noise. His soaked notebook was clutched to his chest like a shield, his uniform stained, his hands slightly shaking.
He didn't know where to go.
He just needed to disappear.
He pushed the door open to the back garden, where few students ever came. Where he thought he could breathe.
But he wasn't alone.
Boss was already there.
Leaning against the railing, cigarette burning slowly between his fingers, face carved from shadows and winter. He didn't speak. He didn't move. Just stared.
Sea froze.
Their eyes locked.
And Boss... he didn't blink.
Sea turned immediately, wanting to leave, but—
"Come here."
The voice wasn't loud, but it cracked the air like thunder.
Sea obeyed without knowing why.
Boss dropped the cigarette, crushed it beneath his shoe.
"What happened to your face?" His voice was low, but something in it made the trees feel like they'd stopped moving.
Sea shook his head. "Nothing."
A lie.
A stupid lie.
Boss stepped closer.
Sea flinched.
Boss's jaw tightened.
"Did Minjae do this?" he asked, though he knew the answer. He already knew. His silence earlier wasn't weakness. It was planning.
Sea whispered, "It wasn't—"
He didn't finish.
Boss had already turned.
Already walking back into the building.
Already on the hunt.
---
Somewhere else.
Lila was reapplying lip gloss by her locker, flanked by her pretty little army. They giggled over photos of Sea on his knees. "Do you think he's crying right now?" Anya asked.
Bess smirked. "If not, we should try harder tomorrow."
Then silence fell.
Heavy. Cold.
Boss was standing at the end of the corridor.
His eyes… weren't human anymore.
Lila opened her mouth, but no sound came.
The girls stepped back, unease blooming fast into dread.
Boss walked toward them, slow, controlled. Dangerous.
He didn't yell.
Didn't ask questions.
He grabbed Lila by the collar, slammed her back against the lockers hard enough to rattle the walls.
"You think hurting him makes you brave?"
She gasped, shaking.
Bess tried to speak—he sent her flying with a single backhanded slap. Blood splattered the tiles.
Anya screamed.
And still… no teachers came. No students helped. Everyone watched from the shadows.
"You girls think you're untouchable," Boss said softly, his voice like death wrapped in silk. "But he is under my protection now. You lay a finger on him again…"
He leaned closer to Lila's face, and she choked on her breath.
"I'll ruin your lives. Every. Single. One of you."
He let her go. She slid to the floor, crying.
Boss turned his back on them like they were beneath him—and they were.
---
Back in the garden.
Sea was still standing there, unsure if he should leave or stay. When Boss returned, he was breathless, his knuckles bruised.
Sea looked at him.
Boss didn't say a word.
He just took off his blazer and draped it over Sea's shoulders like a silent vow.
And then, without asking, he walked Sea to class.
Right in front of everyone.
No words. No explanations.
But everyone saw it.
The rumors would start.
But Sea didn't know whether to feel safe…
Or owned.
---
To be continued