When Kai snatched the photo strips, Lucian froze, his body rigid with fear. "Ahhh, Kai, actually... ahhh...!" Lucian stammered, unable to form a lie.
Kai held the strips up and squinted. "Ohhh, all the photos are great! Really, is that why you didn't want to show them? Every photo is amazing!" Kai exclaimed.
Lucian's mind spun with confusion. What is he talking about?
"Hey, give me! I want to see those!" Aerin tried to peer at the photos in Kai's hand.
"Ah, Lucian, you're definitely going to win Mister University Freshers! Look at the side profile!" Aerin complimented.
"Ah, thanks," Lucian murmured, completely bewildered. Where are those photos of Rowan and me?
Unseen by them, Rowan, still inside the photobooth, held the remaining strips to his chest. Ahhh, really, I know Kai more than you, Lucian. That's why I only gave the strips with your alone photos! Rowan smirked, having anticipated Kai's potential reaction and cleverly swapped the strips just before leaving.
The three of them walked together, discussing the festival.
"Lucian, the festival should be more than two weeks long, and at the end, there's a late-night event—the ball dance and live music competition," Aerin said excitedly. "I need a partner!"
"Oh, don't you have anyone in your department?" Lucian asked, genuinely worried. "More than that, you're not cured yet. You need rest. Let me tell your parents not to allow this, at least!"
"Oh, come on, Lucian! This sick life is a boring life! I can't live with this; I need to enjoy, and you know me more than anyone! Please, please, I want to be in the competition!" Aerin pleaded.
"Ahhh, okay, I'm not going to tell your parents, but where should we find a partner for you?" Lucian asked, giving in slightly.
Aerin pulled Lucian aside. "Heyy, can't you understand? I'm saying, ask Kai!" Aerin whispered urgently.
"Ball dance partner? Kai? As you said, there's a music competition, right? Then he'll go for that. He doesn't know how to dance at all!" Lucian whispered back.
"Ohhh, you know Kai so much in just three months!" Aerin said, a hint of jealousy in her tone.
"That competition is at the end, more than two weeks away, so wait for it. Later, we can find a partner for you," Lucian stalled.
They walked back together.
Suddenly, Kai received a phone call. "Heyy, Kai, where are you? Where's Rowan? I need you both now. I want you both registered for the football match for next Sunday!" It was Rohav.
"Ohh, Rowan literally left this morning toward the field. Didn't he come there?" Kai asked.
"He did. He came to the locker room, changed his outfit, and went back. I thought he was in class, but he's not here either. I don't know where he goes," Rohav said and ended the call.
Kai's head snapped up, immediately suspicious. Rowan wasn't there? He turned back to talk to Lucian and Aerin, but Lucian was gone.
"Lucian, where's Lucian!?" Kai demanded.
"Ohh, he was with me just now. I was just looking toward that side; I don't know where he goes," Aerin replied, confused.
Kai screamed Lucian's name across the crowd.
"Lucian! Lucian!"
"Hey, Kai, it's okay. This is a campus. Where can he go? Maybe he's just seeing around. Don't be panic!" Aerin tried to reassure him.
Kai ignored Aerin, his mind racing. If Rowan wasn't at the field and class, then Rowan is here! And Lucian is also missing! —Kai and Aerin frantically began searching for Lucian.
Meanwhile, Lucian was running, pulled along by a hand that had grabbed his: Rowan's.
They stopped at a secluded, private part of the college.
"Heyy, really, doing this kind of thing will lead them to suspicion! Especially Kai, he's not a normal person!" Lucian scolded, breathless.
"Forget about him. See what I bought for you!" Rowan showed him a huge stick of cotton candy. "Cotton candy!"
"Haa! Where did you buy that? It's literally my favorite from childhood! It's been years! Give me that! Give me that!" Lucian asked cutely, his eyes wide.
"If you need that, jump and catch," Rowan teased, holding the candy high above his 190cm height.
"Ohh, you literally stair! Even if I jump, I can't take that," Lucian pouted. A mischievous plan sparked in his eyes.
Lucian grabbed Rowan's waist and stood on the tops of Rowan's feet, bringing his body close. Lucian faked reaching for the candy, but instead, he quickly kissed Rowan's cheek.
The sudden, sweet kiss made Rowan stumble slightly and instinctively lower his hand. Lucian snatched the cotton candy.
"Really, this is unfair!" Rowan complained.
"Nothing is unfair. I didn't tell you to grow more than 190cm! You're literally too tall!" Lucian said, eating the candy. "Haa, what about you? Don't you have any cotton candy for you?"
Rowan immediately held Lucian's waist, leaned his head in, and took a bite of the candy right from Lucian's mouth. "Hmm, too sweet. Can I have another bite?"
"Heyy, you're too much!" Lucian laughed, but the sound was cut short by a shout.
"LUCIAAAAA! LUCIAAAAA!" Kai and Aerin's screaming voices fumbled Lucian's composure.
"I have to go! Bye!" Lucian said, giving Rowan a quick kiss before running toward the sound.
Really? He said he wasn't going to worry about him? Now my relationship has become a secret affair, Rowan thought, watching him go.
Lucian rushed back to the crowded area. As soon as Kai saw Lucian, his control snapped. "Where are you? I was literally searching everywhere! Can't you be with me at all!?" Kai screamed, making the whole campus turn and stare.
"Ohh, Kai, you need to calm down!" Aerin said, trying to intervene.
Kai ignored her, gripping Lucian's hand and dragging him away. They had almost reached the infront of Economics Department when Kai suddenly stopped.
"Oh, sorry, Aerin, I have to go. It's urgent," Kai said quickly.
As Aerin turned, she saw one of the guys wearing a green jersey with the number 37 on it. Her eyes went wide, and her dark memories—of three guys who tried to sexually harass her—hit her hard. The memory was sharp and immediate: she had fought back, tearing the jacket of one of the masked attackers, only to reveal the jersey underneath—a green jersey with the number 73. He had then slapped her face, causing her to fall unconscious.
Aerin screamed, the trauma flooding her mind, and she fell to the ground in a terrifying fit.
"Hey! Hey! What happened!?" The sound made Lucian and Kai spin around. Lucian rushed to her side. "Aerin! Aerin! Are you fine!?" Lucian frantically rubbed her hand.
The campus quickly gathered. One student whispered, "Oh, this is normal! She literally gets unconscious whenever she sees anyone wearing a green jersey. If she's that ill, why did she come back again?"
The whole crowd nodded, murmuring their cruel judgments.
"Can you all shut up! Kai, come here! Help me pick up Aerin!" Lucian demanded, looking up while still sitting on the ground with Aerin.
Kai was gone.
"Kai? He's already run! We don't know what happened to him!" one of the students in the crowd said.