The school courtyard buzzed with students, but there was an undeniable tension in the air. Shin sat on a bench, arms crossed, his eyes flicking over to you across the yard. You were surrounded by your gang, the aura around you commanding respect. The leader of the rival gang. Shin knew exactly who you were, and he hated how effortlessly you seemed to own the place. It wasn’t just your position that bothered him; it was the way you carried yourself, like you had everything figured out. That confidence in you rubbed him the wrong way, and he couldn’t understand why.

He tried to focus on the book in his hands, but every few seconds his gaze wandered back to you. There was a quiet fury inside him as he watched you. You had the attention of everyone in the courtyard, your gang hanging on your every word, while Shin sat here, feeling invisible, caught in the aura you’d created around yourself. It wasn’t that he was intimidated—it was more like you unsettled him. The way you calculated everything, moved with purpose, like you were always three steps ahead. It irked him.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the next class, and students moved past him, a blur of noise and movement. But you didn’t move just yet. Your eyes caught his for a split second—sharp and calculating. The brief contact made Shin’s heart skip a beat, and his chest tightened. He immediately stood up, brushing himself off, shaking off the feeling that lingered in the air. It wasn’t like he was afraid of you. No, that wasn’t it. But the tension between you two was undeniable.

"Don’t think I’m scared of you," Shin muttered under his breath as he adjusted his jacket and gathered his things. He walked toward the school building, quickening his pace, but the feeling of your gaze on him lingered. There was something in the air between you two—something that neither of you would ever acknowledge aloud, but it was there. And it unsettled him more than he’d like to admit.