The twilight glow unveiled a new figure standing behind the shadows of his hiding place—a man with a captivating face and hair as black as the newborn night.
His gaze was directed towards the three backs facing away from him, one of them belonging to the girl who had displayed her courage to protect his weak form minutes ago.
The man's face bore a faint, subtle yet captivating smile—a smirk that not only signaled calmness but also exuded an attraction so powerful it was difficult to ignore.
There was something in his gaze, in the line of his jaw, that could instantly make anyone who looked at him lower their eyes, unknowingly.
"Margaret Visclonew, is it?"
He repeated the name he had just heard, pronouncing it slowly, as if every syllable that came from his lips was something his hearing had touched for the very first time.
"If I look at her face… she is a beautiful girl. Even… extremely beautiful when she was angry earlier. I… almost wanted to hug her and calm her down..."
He raised the hand that, moments earlier, had been torn due to the rough treatment by the two female students. His five fingers spread open, revealing thin, dried lines—traces of blood clinging to the creases of his skin.
Instead of lowering his head or frowning, he merely offered a faint smile—a smile that seemed to say that those wounds were just a trivial note, a minor thing unworthy of attention.
"Then telling her that a wound this small means nothing to me."
"She also said she would take care of me... even though she doesn't know how. And... she will even make me lots of sandwiches, right?"
His hand dropped, and then both palms met inside his pant pockets—a calm posture that only further highlighted the mysterious aura enveloping him.
His eyes looked at Margaret's back one last time, a back that was slowly lowering, carrying the traces of exhaustion whose cause he understood perfectly.
And that understanding only drew a wider smile across his face—a smile that looked so beautiful yet held a secret that only he possessed the key to.
"If you had found me... and seen me in my human form, would you have been afraid and run away from me, Margaret?"
"However, if your fear is not enough to make you leave... after all the ridiculous words I've repeatedly heard from the mouths of those ungrateful humans... then you are the exception. I will not make you my next target. Instead, I will make you the only human I must possess... by any means necessary."
"And you must keep your promise, Margaret. We will surely meet again. Of course, I will grant your wish earlier. Those two girls... they will get what they truly deserve after bullying a little puppy."
When Margaret's back finally vanished from his sight, leaving the empty school yard, the man's body remained still for a moment, savoring the silence that had just been left.
However, the silence was abruptly broken by a subtle vibration in his pant pocket.
With one calm motion, he reached for the vibrating phone, his fingers covering it for a moment before looking at the screen to see who was calling him.
"Chase Hyung!"
"Are you planning to be late for practice this time?!"
"Everyone is already here. You're the only one who's currently nowhere to be found!"
That was Hebok's voice.
It was slightly raised, wrapped in a faint tone of annoyance, but also clearly audible was an impatience that made anyone who heard it feel his small emotional burst.
Chase could imagine Hebok's face right now—his cheeks flushed red, like two freshly picked small apples, and his lips pursed while puffing out his cheeks in a strange but adorable way.
Something in that expression, the combination of annoyance and unintentional cuteness, made him unable to hold back. Slowly, a small laugh escaped Chase's lips, light and free, a laugh he had momentarily held back—and now found the perfect reason to emerge.
"Did you just laugh, Hyung?!"
"It's not funny at all! A leader like you, who usually comes the earliest for practice… is now coming the latest?!"
"You're the one who always yells at us to be on time, but you're not keeping your own rules?!"
"Hey, Hyung! Where exactly are you?!"
"You are thirty minutes late, you know!"
"Or perhaps you're out roaming around looking for a target, while we are stuck in a packed schedule that God knows when it will end?!"
Hebok's outcry was truly relentless, falling one after another like ceaseless heavy rain drenching Chase's ears.
But instead of getting emotional as well, Chase only shook his head with faint disbelief.
There was something both funny and annoying in the way Hebok hurled his words—loud, full of emotion, but also slightly dramatic, as if every sound demanded special attention.
"It seems like I'm really not suited to be the leader, right?"
"If that's the case, why don't you become the leader, Hebok?"
"I don't mind if CHASEMINE's youngest member leads. In fact, it would benefit me... then I won't have to bother managing you all who do as you please, right?"
He said it in a joking tone, his lips curved slightly while chuckle lightly, the sound was cheerful and almost challenging.
On the other end of the phone, Hebok ground his teeth—a clear sign that his patience was wearing thin.
"Stop messing around, Hyung!"
"I... absolutely won't be the leader! I will remain... the youngest member of CHASEMINE!"
"Hurry back before everything gets even messier if the coach doesn't find me!"
"You know, that coach is truly annoying!"
"He always changes the choreography repeatedly, even when we've almost mastered it. He deliberately makes everything difficult, demanding us to memorize one verse of choreography in one hour, not including the intro!"
"If it were easy, we could memorize it in one minute... but this time... this is really hard!"
"Every time he insults my poor memorization and dancing skills, I feel like I want to pounce on him and… erase his name from the face of the earth!"
"I'm fed up! It's truly annoying!"
"Why do humans love to complicate things for others?"
"Insulting, mocking, bullying—without thinking even a little?"
"You annoying human! If only I could make him numb... just for one minute... I would torture him until he even forgets who he is!"
Hebok's outcry on the other end of the phone grew louder, louder, until it almost made Chase's ear vibrate. Every word came out haltingly, interspersed with gasping breaths, clearly indicating that Hebok was truly annoyed.
The voice, which had only made Chase smile slightly moments ago, now turned into something that was almost too loud to hear without frowning a little.
Unconsciously, Chase moved the phone away from his ear, adjusting the distance so that Hebok's chatty and noisy voice would not torture his ear too much.
"I know. I know."
Chase stepped forward, crossing the boundary of the area that had been his hiding place moments ago.
Every step felt light, but his eyes remained vigilant, scanning his surroundings carefully. He walked until he reached the center of the yard, and his gaze was fixed on the school building towering before him.
"I agree with you, too, Hebok."
"But… I can't agree if you say all humans love to complicate things for others."
Chase stepped again, this time with one hand in his pant pocket, while the other hand kept the phone pressed to his ear, maintaining the ongoing conversation.
His steps were firm, yet his eyes remained vigilant, observing every corner of the street he passed through. He went past the school gate, and once he was on the outer side, his gaze moved again, scanning the crowd like someone searching for something intently.
Until finally, his eyes stopped on a figure he already recognized—Margaret's back, who was now standing with the two friends that had been seen around her earlier. They were waiting on the roadside, patiently anticipating the traffic light to turn red, so they could cross to the other side, where the bus stop stood.
"Even though most humans are indeed like that… but she… is different."
Chase chose to lean casually against a lamp post standing nearby, his body tilted slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on Margaret's back.
Even when Margaret turned briefly towards her friend, responding to an invitation to talk, Chase could still observe every curve of her face clearly—the smile that emerged, the corner of her lips that moved, the way her hair fell, all those small details felt so vividly alive in his eyes. Unconsciously, a wide smile bloomed on Chase's face again.
"I really like her face, Hebok."
His mutter sounded so light that anyone else who heard it might have thought he was rambling or talking to himself aimlessly.
"What do you mean, Hyung?"
"This is the first time you haven't agreed with Hebok's statement."
That was no longer Hebok's voice; it was Ryu's voice.
"I will tell you... when I get there later."
"What's clear... don't include her as a target. I mean... let's make her an exception."
A few minutes passed without a single voice coming from the other end of the phone.
There were only small whispers, almost like the shadows of voices lost in the air, faint and intermittent. The sound was like several people were talking in the distance, but their words were difficult to catch.
"Hyung… if you just met a human… and that human is a girl… and you feel a strange feeling—a feeling you might not even understand yourself… and that feeling keeps leading you to stare at her… then clearly, Hyung… you are falling in love!"
The voice changed again; it was neither Hebok's nor Ryu's voice; it was Chongri's voice.
"Who did you meet, Hyung?"
"Is she beautiful? But… even if she's beautiful, she could kill you… just with her face!"
"You have to be more careful, Hyung! Because not all humans who have a perfect face… have a kind heart. Some… have rotten hearts… and that… will make you regret… falling in love with her!"
That was also no longer Hebok's, Ryu's, or Chongri's voice; it was Jungee's voice.
And it was clear that Chase's reaction was not fear or horror at all, even though they were suddenly lecturing him in a serious tone, as if pressing him to understand something that was already obvious to them.
Quite the opposite; Chase only chuckled again.
He didn't need to be told twice, because every word they had said was indeed true. He knew—even in the deepest part of his heart—that he was falling in love, and his love was not something vague or easily forgotten. He was falling in love with the beautiful girl who had fiercely defended him moments ago.
"Even though I might die at the hands of that beautiful human… I will still do it."
Silence immediately seized the other end of the phone, a silence that was tense and almost terrifying to anyone who heard it.
But Chase knew exactly what was happening on the other side; he could feel the tremor of emotion imprinted through the voices that had come out so intensely earlier.
He had successfully made all four of his friends—his entire group members—stunned at once, as if disbelieving what they had just heard.
And only seconds later, their voices exploded back, simultaneous, loud, and almost piercing his ears, bombarding Chase's ears with an intensity that almost made him jump.
"WHAT!!!!"
"YOU'RE INSANE, HYUNG!!!"