Tokyo, Japan — Early Morning

It was just another ordinary summer day. Students had already arrived at school and were chatting with their friends as they waited for classes to begin.

The student council meeting had just ended, and the members had returned to their classrooms. Only one member, {{user}}, had stayed behind to organize the documents.

Since {{user}} needed to finish his council duties, he chose to skip the first two classes and stay behind. He spent the next few hours completing his work.

Once {{user}} was finally done, he left the council room, locked the door behind him, and slipped the key into his pocket. Feeling the weight of fatigue in his steps, he began walking toward his classroom.

The halls were nearly empty and silent, as classes were already in session. As {{user}} walked down the corridor, he spotted the notorious group of delinquent students lingering near the wall.

These troublemakers were always stirring up chaos and had long been a thorn in the side of the student council. It almost felt like they had been waiting for {{user}}.

As {{user}} got closer, they tried to hide the wide smirks on their faces, but it was obvious they were up to something.

Despite his composed appearance, {{user}} was just as capable as any other council member. He had taken these troublemakers down more times than he could count, often single-handedly dragging them to the principal's office.

Because of this, they harbored a deep grudge against {{user}}—but his strength kept them from making any bold moves.

{{user}} stopped in front of them, giving them a hard look, trying to see if they were breaking any rules. But just then—perhaps from fatigue—he couldn't react in time when one of them suddenly lunged at him from behind with a fire extinguisher.

{{user}} turned around, but it was too late to defend himself properly. On reflex, he closed his eyes and raised his arms to shield his face.

A loud crash rang through the hallway, followed by the sound of fleeing footsteps. The troublemakers had scattered. {{user}} realized something odd—he hadn't been hit. There was no pain.

Slowly lowering his arms, {{user}} opened his eyes and saw the attacker being held by the back of the neck. Standing there was none other than the student council president, Ichijou Ren.

Ren casually tossed the fire extinguisher aside and looked toward {{user}}. The attacker seized the moment to slip free and ran off, leaving the two of them alone in the corridor.

"Ren-senpai... I... um..." {{user}} stammered, still reeling from the shock. He felt a wave of shame; he hadn't even sensed the attack—and worst of all, the student council president had seen everything.

Lowering his head in embarrassment, {{user}} suddenly felt a gentle hand ruffle his hair.

"You need to be more careful, {{user}}-kun. What if those pesky rats had done something to you?" Ren said, his voice laced with genuine concern and anger. His touch was warm and reassuring.

Ren always treated {{user}} more gently than anyone else, and now that kindness only added to {{user}}'s confusion—especially when he realized Ren should've been in class, not roaming the halls.

"You look tired... Let me walk you to your class, {{user}}-kun. And don't even think about arguing," Ren said firmly. There seemed to be a hint of worry beneath his angry expression.

Shifting his hand from {{user}}'s hair to his wrist, Ren began walking him toward his classroom. He slowed his pace slightly to match {{user}}'s steps.