The moment Leo stepped into the classroom— noise swallowed him whole.
His friends gathered instantly, circling him like restless wolves sensing something unusual.
Questions rained over him.
“What happened yesterday?”
“Who were you looking for?”
“Why were you running through that storm?”
“And what happened to your shoulder?”
Daniel, his friend, caught his arm, his brows tightening as the bandage beneath Leo’s sleeve showed through.
“You’re injured?”
Leo pulled away with little care.
“It’s nothing.”
Daniel let out a dry laugh.
“That’s twice now.”
Another boy leaned closer, curiosity burning bright.
“So there really was a girl?”
For a brief moment—
Leo said nothing.
But his mind had already gone elsewhere.
Back to the rain.
Back to the tree.
Back to that trembling melody drifting through the storm like a call only he could hear.
Her face.
Her eyes.
Her hand in his.
Then— without looking at any of them— he answered.
“I found her.”
The room stilled.
Daniel blinked.
“You what?”
Leo moved to his desk, setting his bag down carelessly.
One of the boys whistled.
“So it’s true.”
“You’ve been searching for someone all this time?”
Leo opened his palm.
The silver star hairpin rested there like a piece of moonlight.
His thumb traced its edge.
“She ran.”
Laughter broke out.
Daniel folded his arms.
“You chased her through rain…”
“Found her…”
“And she ran from you?”
Leo said nothing.
He walked toward the window.
Morning light spilled across the glass, pale and soft.
It caught against the silver star in his hand, making it shine.
He stared at it.
And waited.
He didn’t know why.
Didn’t know what made him so certain.
But something deep inside him had already decided— she would come.
Then— it happened.
That strange pull.
Like an invisible thread tied around his chest had suddenly tightened.
His gaze lifted.
Toward the door.
And there— she stood.
Melody girl.
Still as silence.
Soft as dawn.
Her eyes met his.
And for one impossible second— the world lost its shape.
Everything else blurred.
Everything else vanished.
A faint smile touched Leo’s lips.
A rare thing.
A dangerous thing.
“You came.”
Pearl remained still.
Her thoughts scattered like loose pages in the wind.
It felt— as if he had been waiting for her all along.
Leo crossed the room toward her.
Slowly.
Each step carrying the weight of certainty.
Outside the doorway—
Sofia watched.
Her eyes swept over Pearl.
Simple uniform.
Loose hair.
No shining beauty.
No sharp elegance.
Nothing extraordinary.
Her lips curved.
Who is she?
Another girl trying to reach him?
Sofia folded her arms.
Certain of what would happen next.
Leo would turn cold.
Dismiss her.
Just like he always did.
But then— she saw his face.
And her smile died.
Because there was no ice in his eyes.
No distance.
No indifference.
He looked at Pearl as if she were something fragile the world had no right to touch.
Something rare enough to protect.
Something only he had seen.
And jealousy pierced her like glass.
At the far corner—
Jason saw her too.
His gaze lingered toward pearl.
She was quiet.
Unpolished.
But beautiful in the way untouched things are.
Then he saw Leo walking toward her.
And something bitter rose inside him.
Not again.
Leo always had the first chance.
Not this time.
Jason stood.
And stepped directly between them.
Cutting the path.
Pearl blinked in surprise.
Jason smiled.
Warmly.
Like Leo wasn’t even there.
“I haven’t seen you before.”
His eyes rested on her.
“What’s your name?”
And at that exact moment—
Leo’s world stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Something inside him snapped so violently it felt like the earth beneath him had split.
The room felt it.
The air changed.
Everyone took a step back.
Because Leo’s silence was no longer calm.
It was the kind before destruction.
Her name.
No.
No one had the right.
No one.
That name was a moment he had guarded like a secret prayer.
A moment meant for him alone.
And Jason was reaching for it.
Reaching for her.
Looking too long.
Standing too close.
Leo’s jaw locked.
Heat rose beneath his skin like wildfire beneath ice.
Before Jason could ask again—
Leo’s hand closed around Pearl’s wrist.
Firm.
Certain.
Like claiming the last thing the world could not steal.
Pearl looked at him, startled.
Without a word— he pulled her with him.
Straight out of the classroom.
The entire room flinched.
Because the look on Leo’s face— it wasn’t anger.
It was something darker.
Something far more dangerous.
At the doorway— he stopped.
Turned.
And looked at Jason.
One look.
One silent promise.
Touch what is mine again— and regret it.
Jason’s smile disappeared.
Daniel stood frozen.
Even Sofia’s nails dug into her palms.
And Pearl— being pulled through the endless corridor— couldn’t understand what storm she had just stepped into.
Leo didn’t stop.
Didn’t loosen his grip.
Didn’t look back.
But one thought burned through him like fire through paper—
No one speaks her name before me.
Then— the rooftop.
The iron door.
The empty sky waiting above.
Leo pushed it open.
Pulled her inside.
And locked it behind them.
Pearl looked at him.
Alone.
Confused.
Caught in a silence too heavy to breathe.
And Leo— finally turned.
His eyes held something she had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not exactly.
But something wilder.
Something desperate.
Something frighteningly close to longing.