Lev sat next to Vero during morning class and she could barely pay attention to what the lecturer was saying because her eyes kept glancing back at him and her mind couldn’t escape the change in his attitude toward her.
When the lecturer gave students several questions to work on, Vero didn’t know what to write on the answer sheet. She just stared blankly at the paper lying on her desk.
“Give me that,” Lev whispered while pulling Vero’s answer sheet, then he handed his answer sheet to her.
Lev has done it all. And judging from the answers he wrote, it seems like he did everything correctly.
The morning class ended half an hour later. The answer sheets were collected and Vero didn’t even know what Lev did to her answer sheet.
“What are you doing with my answer sheet?” asked Vero when the lecturer had left the class.
Lev clamped one hand against the back of his chair while the other was busy tapp
Was he going to kill her if she didn’t want to go with him?Lev left Vero with a terrible question that haunted her all day. After the chat in the cafeteria, which was not finished because he just left after saying that horrible thing to her, Vero no longer saw Lev. He didn’t show up for the afternoon class and Vero’s fear grows as she walked back to the dormitory with Jia.“You okay?” asked Jia when she found Vero silent the whole way.Vero blinked, then lifted her face to look at her. “Wha—yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she lied.“We have to make preparations,” Jia said then.“What preparations?” asked Vero. Her brows knit in question.“Preparations for the summer festival.” Jia gives her a smirk. “It's the weekend tomorrow. How about we take a walk in town? You’ve never been around Duradel, have you?”The idea of walking around the
A week had passed in the blink of an eye. The day that all Duradel students and residents had been waiting for had arrived. It was the festival of the summer’s first day. Although it was named the first-day festival, the event lasted three consecutive days over the weekend. Lev had officially become Vero’s seatmate and since then, nobody had bothered her anymore. She started to enjoy her life in Duradel and this place became beautiful in her eyes once again. However, there was still a worry that enveloped her heart. Who else but her new friends who were not from the human realm. Besides the Duradel residents, it seemed that only Vero knew their identities. And a secret as big as that could not be borne without consequences. The threat that Lev gave her still haunted her until the day of the summer festival. “You’re thinking about something,” Jia guessed when she came to her room on the night before the summer festival. She brought Vero’s gothic lolita dress they had chosen togethe
“It’s Ms. Caroline.” Vero pushed Lev out onto the veranda. “You have to go,” she hissed.“Ms. Windward. I know you’re not asleep. Open the door now!” Ms. Caroline knocked on the door again, this time harder and more urgently.Vero became more panicked and stared at Lev as he refused to move from her room. “I don’t want to be punished again!” she exclaimed in a whisper, pushing Lev’s chest with both hands. His muscles felt firm and strong in her palms, and for a brief moment, the image of Lev half-naked flashed through her mind, making her blush.Instead of complying with her request, Lev grabbed her hand and said, “She won’t punish you again.”“What?” Vero looked up, frowning. “How can you be so sure?”“Because I—”The sound of a key being turned caught their attention, and Vero looked towards the door in alarm.
“What are you wearing?” “What?” Vero looked down to inspect her outfit. Nothing was wrong. Her bikini straps were in place and the outer lace flowed beautifully around her body. It was a bit chilly, considering that the summer in Duradel wasn’t as scorching as in her hometown. “Bikini,” she said, looking at Lev. “Have you never seen a bikini before?” Instead of answering Vero’s seemingly mocking question, Lev looked away briefly while grumbling in annoyance. The veins on his jaw clenched as he tightened it. “Change your clothes,” Lev said then, his golden-brown eyes darkening with emotion. At first, Vero didn’t understand why Lev asked her to change her clothes. She stared back at him in confusion before darting her eyes around to make sure she wasn’t in the wrong costume. She wasn’t the only college girl wearing a bikini, and nobody else was looking at her intensely except Lev. “Why?” Vero folded her arms under her breasts and puffed them out. She felt satisfied seeing him looki
Lev is annoying.Who does he think he is to dictate what clothes Vero can or cannot wear?Vero stomped down the sidewalk, passing by the lake and impromptu cafes filled with tourists. The joy and laughter they exuded contrasted sharply with her current mood.Rather than feeling angry, Vero was disappointed. She had hoped that Lev would praise her or at least look at her in a way that made her blush, instead of seeing her with disgust and telling her to change her clothes. Did she look disgusting in this bikini? Vero had never felt insecure about her body before. It was only now because of Lev.Since when did he have such a big influence over her?To avoid Lev, Vero walked away from the stage towards the other side of the lake. There were not many people there except for a group of boys gathering and joking, and the place was generally deserted. She wanted to calm herself down before returning to the crowd.Little did she know that her decision was a big mistake. She ended up meeting t
Vero hoped to avoid the party tonight. But, of course, Jia didn’t let her curl up in her room and mourn Lev’s hurtful words. Jia came to her room in the afternoon after the daytime party ended and everyone went home to get ready for the evening event. When Jia saw Vero’s condition, she asked her to wait because she was going to buy something. “Take this.” Jia returned shortly after and handed Vero a bag of cold cucumber slices when Vero opened the door for her. “Thanks.” Vero accepted the plastic bag and turned to lie down on the bed. Jia walked in and closed the door behind her. “First thing first,” she said as she walked up to Vero and helped her stick the cucumber slices to her swollen and puffy eyes. “Lev is a jerk.” “Surprise, surprise,” Vero flatly replied. “Second,” Jia continued. “He may be a jerk, but he has a good heart.” “So, which side are you really on?” grumbled Vero. Her complaint soon subsided and was replaced by a sigh of relief as the coolness from the cucumber
Hanging lamps stretch over the party area, wrapped around trees and around the stage. Their light is orange, dim like candlelight. People dressed in colorful costumes, with many wearing Halloween costumes. Some are dressed as sexy bunnies, mummies, zombies, and even werewolves. “Windward.” When Vero heard Lev calling her by her last name, her heart raced, and her pulse is so strong that it makes her throat tighten. She stares at the surface of the lake for a split second. She didn’t know if her decision to obey Jia’s dress code was the right decision. It feels like she’s mocking Lev’s identity. But it’s all already happened, and Vero couldn’t run back to the dorm to change her appearance. She spun on her heel and looked at Lev. Both of her knees went weak in an instant. Since when did Lev look so handsome in her eyes? Dressed in all black like someone who is about to go to a funeral, Lev shines too bright. He’s too charming for her heart to handle. Lev grunted. “What are you?”
All the students who were tasked with organizing the game for tonight fell silent when they saw Vero bringing Lev as her partner. One of them stepped forward, looking nervous with his hands clasped in front of him. His fingers were pressing against each other and he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Lev. He chose to speak to Vero instead.“Ar-are you... sure about your... partner?” The guy paused for a moment to glance at Lev. “Your... partner?”Vero shrugged and glanced over at Lev. “Yeah. Why?”The guy swallowed hard. “It’s okay if you want to change partners or-““She said she’s okay with me,” Lev interjected.The guy jumped at the sound of Lev’s voice, even though Lev spoke in a flat tone.“Ye-yeah, sure! Let’s play the game!” the guy exclaimed with too much enthusiasm, sounding awkward as he adjusted his glasses.The other pairs of participants kept looking at Vero and Lev and whispering to each other. Lev seemed used to their behavior and remained calm, while Vero was n