"It's not possible," said Damio. Everyone turned to him, noting the lack of expression on his face.
"But Shiu said that—"
"Tonight is impossible," he repeated, this time with great seriousness. Shiu looked at him, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Shiu and I have something very important to do today. He can't change his plans just to please you."
The group exchanged looks. "I see," they said.
Damio was focused solely on Shiu, who was already dealing with a lot. He didn't want Shiu to worry about anything unnecessary.
Shiu stared at Damio, overwhelmed by his emotions. Looking at Damio's serious profile made his heart skip a beat. 'He looks cool all serious'.
Startled by his thoughts, Shiu quickly tried to push them away. "Tomorrow is Friday," he reminded. "Do you guys have plans tomorrow afternoon? If not, we can change it to then," Shiu suggested, looking at everyone.
Damio glanced at Shiu. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I don't want you to stress yourself out."
Shiu nodded. "Hmm... I'll be fine. I'll make sure to finish the case early so I can go home and get to bed early."
Seeing the seriousness on both Damio and Shiu's faces, Chichiro and the other students spoke up. "Uhmm, it doesn't have to be today, Shiu. We can wait until you've finished your plans."
"No, it's okay. I don't have anything scheduled for tomorrow," Shiu replied. Damio shot a hostile glare at everyone, vehemently opposed to the idea, feeling that Shiu needed to rest.
They looked from Shiu to Damio, and back to Shiu in surprise.
"He's so nice!" They had expected Shiu to share Damio's cold demeanor, but he was nothing like that. They had misjudged him; even though he appeared indifferent on the outside, he was actually quite kind.
"Then it's settled." Damio looked around as if to say, 'Why are you still here?' The other students all glared at him.
"Why is someone so nice stuck with a demon?"
"Right! We should save Shiu from Damio!"
Hearing this, Damio fixed them with an icy stare. "You can try, but I can't promise you'll come out alive."
The students froze at the sight of Damio's intense black eyes, shuddering in fear. "Given how Shiu treats him, I almost forgot this guy is completely crazy."
"Right! With such a beautiful face, he has a terrible personality."
Damio was annoyed; the plan for tomorrow had changed, and now his movie date with Shiu was canceled. "We were supposed to go watch a film tomorrow afternoon. Now, because of you, it's all—"
"Damio!" Shiu interjected, causing Damio to abruptly stop.
"Haha, we can still go to the cinema together after practice!" the students chimed in eagerly.
They looked at Damio viciously thinking. 'You want to be alone with Shiu? Dream on! This is our revenge.'
"We? Who's we?" Damio asked, glaring dangerously at the students. But with Shiu present, everyone felt more confident to respond.
"We," they gestured to themselves.
Suddenly, the pen Damio was holding snapped in half under the slightest pressure, startling everyone.
Looking at the group with a menacing glare, Damio said, "You guys are really brave with Shiu around."
They all shuddered. "Hahahaha, never mind. I'm still scared of that guy."
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the bell rang: ding ding ding ding ding.
"Saved by the bell!" they all exclaimed as they rushed out. "You should be grateful the bell saved your neck."
"Huhh?" Damio's fierce eyes glared at them, but everyone fled the classroom in a flash.
After the students left, Shiu lay down on his desk, planning to take a quick nap before starting his work.
Two more hours passed. The students, the secretary, the teacher, and the director all left, but two people remained: Damio and Shiu stayed in the school until nightfall, when it was completely dark outside.
Inside the classroom, Shiu suddenly woke up from his nap. He sensed someone next to him and turned around.
As night fell, moonlight filtered into the classroom. When Shiu turned around, he caught sight of Damio's attractive profile, deeply absorbed in reading a book. His legs were crossed and resting on another desk, and with intense focus, he turned the page.
Suddenly, Damio sensed Shiu's movement. He quickly closed the book, turned his body to face Shiu, and a captivating, affectionate smile illuminated his face.
Shiu couldn't believe he was actually friends with Damio. He wondered whether their friendship was just a passing moment or something that would endure.
He recalled their childhood days when he was only ten years old. The day before Shiu run away from home due to pressure from his family, Damio had arrived at Shiu's parents' house, covered in bruises.
Despite the welts and scrapes, the little boy didn't cry. Instead, he wore a sweet, innocent smile. That was the first time Damio had spoken to him.
In front of Shiu's family, Damio presented him with a flower. At the time, Shiu couldn't comprehend why Damio was giving him flowers with such a smile when it was clear that the wounds on his small body must have hurt. Why wasn't he crying? Why didn't he seem to complain? It was hard to imagine enduring mistreatment from one's family at such a young age, yet Damio showed no signs of pain. His eyes were solely focused on Shiu.
"Marry me," the young Damio suddenly proposed, blushing. But Shiu, mistakenly believing Damio had animosity toward him, coldly replied, "Don't bother me."