Asher’s POV I never believed in fate.
Life had taught me that nothing simply happened because it was meant to.
If I wanted something…
I worked for it.
If I wanted food, I worked.
If I wanted an education, I worked even harder.
There had never been room in my life for miracles.
Not for someone who grew up counting coins before counting dreams.
Yet…
Standing outside the administration building that morning, watching excited freshmen flood through the academy gate…
I noticed him.
He wasn’t doing anything special.
He simply stood there, clutching an old duffel bag against his shoulder as though it contained everything he owned.
His uniform was spotless.
His shoes had clearly been polished.
But his fingers…
They trembled around the campus map.
He looked up.
Looked left.
Looked right.
Then quietly sighed to himself.
Lost.
Completely lost.
The corners of my lips twitched.
Cute.
…
No.
Not cute.
Hopeless.
This campus was practically a city.
Getting lost was normal.
I adjusted my backpack and walked past him.
Not my problem.
I already had enough on my plate.
Morning lectures.
Evening shifts at the convenience store.
Weekend deliveries.
Assignments.
Scholarship requirements.
Surviving was exhausting enough.
Saving strangers wasn’t on today’s schedule.
Or so I thought.
— Ten minutes later…
There he was again.
Only this time…
Something felt wrong.
Three seniors had blocked the narrow pathway beneath the oak trees.
The morning chatter around us continued as though nothing was happening.
Students walked past.
Some glanced over.
None stpped.
The boy hugged his bag tighter.
His head remained lowered.
One senior smirked.
“Freshman.” “You carrying lunch money?” No answer.
Another reached for the bag.
The boy flinched.
Not the kind of flinch someone made because they were startled.
The kind someone made…
When they expected to be hit.
…
Something twisted painfully inside my chest.
That reaction…
I’d seen it before.
Back at the orphanage.
Kids who had come from violent homes moved exactly like that.
Always apologizing.
Always afraid.
Always expecting pain.
“Damn…” I rubbed the back of my neck.
Don’t get involved.
Seriously.
Walk away.
Someone else will handle it.
I waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Nobody moved.
The senior shoved him.
Hard enough to make him stumble backward.
“…” I sighed.
“So much for minding my own business.” — I walked straight toward them.
No hesitation.
No speech.
I simply grabbed his cold wrist.
“Run.” His silver-gray eyes shot up to mine.
Beautiful.
Even frightened…
They were beautiful.
For one brief second…
He simply stared at me.
As though I’d appeared out of nowhere.
“…Run,” I repeated.
That finally snapped him back to reality.
His feet moved.
I pulled him through the crowd.
Behind us- “HEY!” “GET BACK HERE!” “You THINK YOU’RE FUNNY?!” Honestly…
Not particularly.
But I was fast.
Very fast.
The academy blurred around us until we ducked into an unused classroom.
The door clicked shut.
Silence.
Except…
“…I think…” I looked over.
He had both hands on his knees.
“…I’m…” Another deep breath.
“…still alive…” …
A laugh escaped before I could stop it.
He looked up.
Confused.
As though wondering why I was laughing.
“It’s okay.” “You can breathe now.” He inhaled dramatically.
Then nodded with complete seriousness.
“I…” Another breath.
“…forgot.” I blinked.
Then laughed again.
A real laugh this time.
The poor guy had literally forgotten to breathe.
— Finally, he looked at me properly.
Our eyes met.
He froze.
Completely.
His lips parted ever so slightly.
…
He was staring.
Interesting.
I folded my arms.
“So.” No response.
“You planning on charging me rent?” His eyebrows knitted together.
“…What?” “For staring.” “…” “…” His face slowly turned pink.
“I-I wasn’t!” “Weren’t you?” “I wasn’t staring!” I glanced at the wall behind me.
“Oh.” “So you’ve been admiring the paint.” Kael immediately looked at the wall too.
“…Maybe?” …
That did it.
I laughed so hard I actually had to hold my stomach.
He’d believed me.
His expression instantly changed.
“…” “…” “You tricked me…” It was barely above a whisper.
I smiled.
“Guilty.” His cheeks puffed ever so slightly.
Was he…
Pouting?
…
Dangerous.
Ridiculously dangerous.
If he kept making faces like that…
Someone was going to spoil him rotten.
— The laughter faded when voices echoed outside.
“They came this way!
I gently reached for his sleeve.
“C’mon.” “Hm?” Before he could ask another question, I guided him into the narrow gap beside the storage cabinet.
The space barely fit us.
His back touched the wall.
I stood in front of him.
Close enough to hear his breathing.
Close enough to notice that he smelled faintly of vanilla soap.
His heartbeat…
Was ridiculously loud.
I glanced down.
He immediately looked away.
Cute.
His ears were turning pink again.
“You blush a lot.” “I-I do not.” “You do.” “I don’t.” “You do.” “I don’t…” His voice became smaller with every denial.
Until finally…
“…maybe a little.” I smiled.
“Honest.” He covered his face with both hands.
“Please stop looking at me…” That tiny, muffled plea nearly destroyed my self-control.
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling too much.
Outside…
The seniors eventually walked away.
Inside…
Someone beside me was still hiding his face.
I cleared my throat.
“I think the coast is clear.” Kael slowly peeked between his fingers.
“…Really?” “Really.” He let out the tiniest sigh of relief.
…
Cute.
Way too cute.
And somehow…
I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be the last time our paths crossed.