It was already 10.00 pm.
I was doing my homework on my table, bathed under the dimmed light of the lamp.
The air conditioner operated at 21 degrees celcius, making the atmosphere inside my room felt like a winter in Japan, even though it was less colder than the true winter itself.
I was working on a math question, and luckily, this one wasn't too hard that I didn't have to use all of my brain capacity to solve it.
*Calculator clicking sound
And yes, that was the answer.
Finally I could go to sleep.
Thus, I retreated to my queen-sized bed and had myself draped in my blue cotton blanket, covering me from the cold atmosphere of my room.
As I opened my phone, after clicking on the password, I immediately scrolled the screen and opened the contact app.
*CLICK
"Where is Yoko's number?"
There it was.
I missed her so much.
I wanted to tell her everything.
***
Then came the next morning.
Yawn.....
My eyes were half-opened.
As the alarm went off, I slowly rose from the bed before going to the bathroom, taking the towel along with me.
Once inside, I had the shower switched on, and in seconds, cold water fell from the shower, touching my skin. It was rejuvenating, especially after a long night of sleep.
And my eyes fully opened itself.
Then, I had myself draped with the towel before walking out of the bathroom.
As I sat before the mirror, I dried my hair using the hair dryer that I pulled from the drawer. Right after that, I immediately pulled my school uniform, which was free from wrinkles. Glad I did the ironing last night.
Once I wore the white uniform and the blue long skirt, I took the hair band on my table before tying my hair neatly in ponytail.
This skirt, surely it was longer than ours at Japan.
I guessed I had to get used to it.
***
It was 6.25 am.
The sun rose one hour late here compared to Japan.
The moment I stepped inside the classroom, half of the students were already there. Some of them were having a little chat among themselves, while others were seemingly doing the homework.
And there he was, Iru, leaned against his seat while closing his eyes using his right arm.
Guessed he didn't get enough sleep last night.
I reached my seat, and slowly pulled the chair back, not intending to wake the guy beside me.
And I took my seat in silent, all while Iru was still sleeping.
Since I had several minutes left of free time, I guessed it will be best to watch the latest music video from NewJeans.
I didn't get the chance to watch last night, but I got the chance before the class began.
Their dance was very well choreographed. I liked this new second music video compared to the first one.
As I was fully immersed into the music video, my ears caught the sound of footsteps getting closer for every second.
So I turned to my left, following the sound of the steps, and beside me stood two girls, one had a reddish bright skin and wore a glasses on the bridge of her nose, while the other one was shorter and had the normal skin of Malaysian.
I didn't expect that they initiated the talk first.
"Hi, Amane! Ehh, wait. Can we call you Amane or is it Fujisawa?" asked the girl with the glasses in English.
"You can call either one."
"Wow, your English is quite good. Impressive." said the latter.
"Thank you, you too."
"Ohhh, then we will call you Amane. By the way, I am Zera, and this is Wan." the shorter girl introduced themselves. They even offered a bright smile.
"What are you watching?" Wan noticed the music video on my phone.
"Etto.., it's NewJeans new music video."
I didn't know why, but I always felt shy when talking about my interest to strangers.
However, their face went bright once they heard the word 'NewJeans'.
"Really? I really like them! They seem promising for a newly debuted group." Wan exclaimed.
"Wait, do you know them?!"
"Yes, I really like Hyerin! How about you, Amane?" asked Zera, genuinely curious.
At that moment, I couldn't help but feel the genuine excitement the moment I met someone with similar interest as mine.
Thus, a smile cracked on my face.
"Well, my bias is Hanni!"
"I see!" Zera beamed with full energy.
Then, the two pulled chairs from another tables and sat beside me, watching the music video together.
Just like that, I made myself new friends.
It was always that easy.
***
For the first half of the day, the lesson went smoothly.
We were supposed to have Mathematic class until 9, yet the teacher excused herself for there was a meeting she had to attend before 10.
Once the teacher walked out, everyone was free to do whatever they wanted. The echoing silence was filled by the sound of chatter and laughter in an instant.
At that moment, I stared at the front and the ceiling. Before I realised it, I needed to do something to kill the time.
So I pulled my smartphone out of my pocket.
"How about one music video? Since there is no class right now, one mv surely will do."
Once I found the mv on YouTube, I placed the phone under my table, between the textbook and my pencil case, which was two times larger than my phone.
And the mv played.
*Music playing~
All of a sudden...,
"You better turn that off." a voice spoke right beside me.
Thus, I turned, and Iru was staring at me with his tired eyes.
"Unless you have an earbud, I suggest that you turn that off. The teachers will always round around this block, monitoring us."
My hand instinctively reached the phone before shutting it down and kept it inside my pocket.
And I continued staring at the clock on the wall, waiting for the time to go to the cafeteria.
As I was gazing across the classroom, I accidentally stole a glance at Iru while he was reading a book.
His eyes, seemingly reflected something that I couldn't comprehend. Those tired gaze, the gaze of someone who was let down by the world.
"What is the mystery behind him? Since there is a lot of time to kill, should I have a little chat with him?"
"But he seems too invested with that book. Besides, he has that intense aura that tells people to stay away from him. I'm afraid that I might make him feel uncomfortable."
Thus, I gave up and just scribbled on my notebook until the bell rang.
***
The final bell rang.
I immediately kept all of my books inside the bag before zipping it up.
Once the teacher called it a day, I made my way out of the classroom to the main gate.
The hallways was full of students, and I couldn't help but to get stuck in the crowds while slowly progressing to the main gate. It was only amidst the crowds that I remembered the back gate Iru used to walk out yesterday.
"Hmmmmm, I guess I'm going to suffocate to death with this extreme mix of odours!"
After a few minutes, I finally emerged from the main gate. Sweats running through my cheeks and armpits, killing the scent of perfume I had used in the morning before.
"I should use the back gate next time."
So I decided to wait on the bus stop for my car.
Several minutes had passed, and my car still yet to appear.
Minutes later, the echoing noise outside of the school slowly disappeared. Students had gone home, while I was still waiting for my car to emerge.
I was alone at that moment.
Until a group of boys emerged.
Riding on motorbikes, five boys stopped at the bus stop, pressing their horn on me.
"Hey, beauty. Waiting for somebody?" one of them got off the motorbike and walked towards me.
Unease crept inside my heart at that moment, yet I decided to stay calm and composed.
Then came another one.
"I know who is she waiting for. She is waiting for me! I promised her for a date. HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"How disgusting."
Another one came and spoke something that made my level of intolerance increased to 99%.
"How about we take you on a ride? You know, it must be tiring after a full day of lesson."
"I am sorry, but my car will fetch me soon."
They only laughed.
"You see, no one is going to stop here and fetch you, and your car is not going to arrive anytime soon. So, lets get a ride. I'm sure you are going to enjoy this."
The first one tried to grab my hand, so I snapped.
"Don't touch me, you jerk!"
I had lost all of my patience.
Yet they didn't stop there.
Two of them grabbed my wrists by surprise, while the other two headed towards me.
"You make us lose our patience! Just say yes and we might have some fun!"
At that time, I could only pray for a miracle.
And my prayer was answered.
All of a sudden...
*KNACKKKK!!!
That one boy at the back fell unconscious to the ground, and behind us, stood a figure in black hood staring at the boys.
In the blink of an eye, the figure had one boy kicked on his left and the other one side kicked right on the chest.
Another two of them charged towards the figure, and he effortlesy evaded their punches before swiftly delivered a powerful shot on the liver and the chin.
*POW!
Thus, five them them were rendered unconscious by a single person.
I was left in awe after witnessing the sudden action sequence before my eyes.
"Are you alright?" the figure walked towards me, and the moment he pulled off his hood, I could feel my jaw dropped at that moment.
"Gasp... Iru?"
"Is he the answer to my prayer?"
"These boys are the delinquents from other school. They always try to find and harass the innocents female students." he brushed the dirts off his hands.
I could only stared at those students whom he had beaten. To be honest, I didn't expect him to pull this kind of move, especially how he was so distant with other people.
"Why are you still here?"
"My car is supposed to fetch me now, but they haven't come yet."
Then, Iru's eyes met mine.
"Then, you should have stayed inside. No one is going to do you any harm."
I only nodded.
So I pulled my phone and texted the driver.
Few minutes passed, and the notification sound rang.
"I'm sorry for the late information, but the car is currently on workshop for repair. I will be there at 4 pm as soon as I can."
"Why doesn't he tell me sooner? At least I don't have to wait for him like this."
Meanwhile, Iru was leaning on one of the beams on the bus stop.
"So what now?"
"I have to wait until 4 before he fetches me. Guess I will go inside then."
"That will be a long day for you. Come on, follow me."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"Pardon?"
He gazed at me with his tired eyes.
"I said follow me. I will send you home. Unless you want to wait here until 4 pm alone, follow me."
He then went to the motorbike belonged to those delinquents.
"Are we going to steal their motorbike?" I looked at him in disbelief, again.
"No, we're just borrowing it." he casually replied before handing me the helmet.
And, before I realised it, Iru gave me a ride on a motorbike we borrowed from those delinquents.
Eventually, we reached my home before 1.30 pm.
Once I got off the bike, I took off the helmet before handing it back to him.
Thus, I nodded a little.
"Thank you for sending me home, Iru. I am very grateful of you."
Then he opened the helmet visor.
"Next time, be careful of those delinquents. They are always targeting female students, especially someone like you." he said in monotone voice.
"Someone like me? What does that even mean?" I thought to myself.
On outside, I could only nodded.
"One more thing, don't forget your promise to me." he said before closing the visor.
The promise?
Ohhh right, that promise.
I didn't promise him that, however!
Just like that, Iru and the bike continued rolling down the streets and disappeared before my home.
***
Glittering stars were present as I gazed on the night sky, while drowning in my own thoughts.
Lots of things happened during the day.
When I recalled that moment, I immediately remembered the words Iru uttered to me.
"Stay alive for me, would you?"
Until now, I was genuinely puzzled by that.
Was he flirting with me? But the way he talked to me seemed otherwise.
However, I didn't expect him to be the one who saved me. Like, how he didn't even hesitate to fight even though he was outnumbered.
Not only that, he even refused to leave me alone, even though he could just let me wait for the car.
That was.... something a gentleman would do.
Iru, huh.
You were interesting, and I liked it.