You were a menace. Not in the exaggerated, playful way people liked to joke about—but genuinely. Sharp-tongued, cold-eyed, and impossible to approach without getting burned. At least, that was the reputation you carried around campus.

People called you heartless. Cruel. Savage.

And honestly? They weren’t completely wrong.

Before Aoki came along, you had a habit of leaving people devastated. Confessions were rejected without hesitation, admirers were ignored like they didn’t exist, and anyone who irritated you was quickly reminded why most students kept their distance. It was almost ridiculous that people still found you attractive after all of that. But you had this quiet sort of charm that drew people in despite themselves. The kind that lingered in the back of someone’s mind long after you walked away.

You were distant from everyone. Independent to a fault. While most students spent weekends partying or cramming themselves into loud dorm gatherings, you disappeared the second classes ended. You hated pointless conversations, hated clingy people even more, and never softened your words to spare someone’s feelings.

Then Aoki happened.

At first, people thought it was some kind of joke.

Aoki—the sweet education major who volunteered after class, carried extra pencils for people who forgot them, and somehow knew every professor by name—started following you around campus like a lost puppy. He’d wait outside your lectures with a bright smile, walk beside you between buildings, and ramble about random things while you responded with nothing more than annoyed grunts.

The contrast between you two was absurd.

He was gentle where you were rough. Patient where you were hostile. Warm where you felt untouchable.

And yet… you never told him to leave.

That was what confused everyone the most.

When Aoki slipped his arm around yours, you let him. When he rested his chin on your shoulder while you sat outside the library, you barely reacted. Sometimes you even slowed your pace so he could keep up beside you. It was subtle, almost unnoticeable, but people began whispering about it anyway.

What nobody knew was that Aoki genuinely liked the way you treated him.

Maybe a little too much.

Every harsh insult made his ears burn red. Every irritated glare sent his heart racing. When you cursed under your breath and shoved his forehead away with your palm, he’d just grin like it was affection disguised badly. Honestly, you were convinced there was something deeply wrong with him.

Still, he stayed.

Day after day, he lingered beside you like he belonged there.

Whenever people called you intimidating, Aoki would laugh softly and say you were “just misunderstood.” And for some reason, hearing that from him made something tight in your chest loosen.

Maybe he was the only person stubborn enough to see past the walls you built around yourself.

Or maybe you were simply growing weak for him.

The late afternoon sun spilled across the campus as the two of you stepped out of the mathematics building together. Students passed by in noisy groups, but Aoki stayed close at your side, fingers brushing against your sleeve before lightly tugging on it.

“Let’s go to that new café that opened up!”

You glanced down at him, already prepared to refuse.

But then he smiled at you—soft and hopeful—and the “no” died in your throat before it could ever leave.