With that faint and resigned "Mm" from Damian, the inside of the car fell into a strange silence.
Marin settled more comfortably against his shoulder, seeking the warmth coming from him, and on the other side she clearly felt that quiet coldness.
Inside, her little self was already dancing in victory.
On purpose, she rubbed her forehead a bit against Damian and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Mmm~ this is more comfortable."
Then, without moving her head much, she cast a quick glance toward Kaguya.
Kaguya, on the surface, remained unshaken. Her straight back, her hands delicately clasped on her knees, and that smile that seemed hand-carved all stayed perfectly intact.
Her eyes, however, no longer held the same light. Fixed on the back of the seat in front of her, they looked as though they could pierce through it.
Beneath that flawless mask, there was a true storm.
That mark on Marin's neck!
That insolent, unpleasant reddish trace burned into her retinas like an insult.
This shameless blonde…
She actually… they really…?!
A sour, unfamiliar taste rose to her throat, mixed with something she had never felt before: painful fury pounding in her chest, cracking the armor of nobility she had always worn.
Her hands tightened hard around the handkerchief on her lap.
Recover.
That word echoed through her mind.
Yes, recover. Damian should belong to her.
Her thoughts, unwillingly, dragged her back to the past.
In the first two years of high school, Damian was not the boy everyone knew today. (Damian still hadn't regained his memory.) He was someone quiet, delicate, a sensitive and introspective boy who went unnoticed because his parents were almost never around and he lived immersed in a loneliness he didn't bother to hide.
And Marin? Even though she shared classes with him, she was almost a ghost back then: always busy with photo shoots, modeling work, cosplay, and events, so bright and well-known that, paradoxically, she barely appeared in the daily school routine.
Until that fateful cultural festival in the third year.
Kaguya remembered it with a clarity that hurt.
When Damian stepped onto the stage that afternoon, the entire auditorium fell silent. He was no longer the withdrawn boy she had once seen.
His features, once gentle, seemed sharpened; his presence, intense and almost otherworldly, filled every corner.
There was something… demonic and fascinating in his figure that drew everyone equally.
And when he sang the first note, the sound that came out was like an electric shock. It was voice and fire at the same time, a direct hit to the soul.
The entire audience erupted.
Kaguya, hidden behind the curtains, felt her breath catch. She had clutched the festival program to her chest so hard the paper crumpled.
That white-haired boy who once seemed fragile and restrained, there, under the lights, was pure freedom.
Magnetic, untamable.
From that moment on, Damian stopped being an anonymous boy.
He became the center of the school; scouts arrived, concerts, contracts. And she, Kaguya Shinomiya, who had always lived surrounded by rules and perfection, felt her personal wall crack beyond repair.
She admired him. She desired him. She wanted him close.
Every time Damian returned to class, the scene repeated itself: hallways full of whispers, curious glances, and small groups of girls gathering around him.
Kaguya knew how to use her position as student council president well. She always found a legitimate reason to approach him: documents to review, activities to organize, and so on.
In those moments, while they talked, Damian usually appeared calm, courteous, his voice relaxed and his gestures made something warm grow in Kaguya's heart.
Little by little, in everyone's eyes, their relationship became closer.
With him, she always kept her elegant and reserved demeanor, waiting for the exact moment to take a decisive step.
In her mind, sooner or later, Damian would be the one to approach and say the words she longed to hear.
But fate had other plans.
That day, under a perfect sun and among the cherry blossoms on campus… suddenly, an annoying voice broke the calm like a bell:
"Damian, I like you! Be my boyfriend!"
It was Marin.
A confession without warning that left Kaguya completely frozen. She saw Damian blink, surprised for an instant… and then smile with a mischievousness she had never seen before and nod without hesitation.
With that, her world collapsed in an instant. Her plans, her quiet waiting, everything crumbled like sandcastles.
For the first time, she felt what it was like to lose without even having had the chance to fight.
Now, inside the car, those memories returned like blades. Her nails dug into the fabric of her dress until her knuckles turned white.
A single thought pierced through her with force:
This time, I have to get Damian-kun back no matter what.
The vehicle slowed to a stop in front of the main gate of the university.
Marin was the first to move; she opened the door and jumped out. Before stepping aside, she leaned slightly inside and made a mocking face at Kaguya, impossible to mistake.
Unhurriedly, Damian stepped out after her, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants. The black uniform jacket hung open, revealing the perfectly pressed white shirt underneath.
He lifted his gaze to the great golden gate where the words "Higashi Musashi University" could be read. Under the morning light, the sign gleamed with a solemn shine.
It was the most prestigious academic center in the country and, at the same time, an institution that also welcomed artistic careers, which is why Marin had been able to enter even though her career as a model had replaced much of her traditional academic performance.
"Damian-kun."
Kaguya's voice reached him from the right. At some point, she had moved to his side. "This afternoon there will be a student council meeting…"
"Hey, hey~!"
Marin appeared on the other side like a flash, clung shamelessly to Damian's arm, and hugged it tightly. "My boyfriend-kun is going with me after class today to look at cars, okay?"
She made sure to emphasize every syllable of "My boyfriend," clear as an announcement.
Around them, the students coming in began to turn discreetly. It was inevitable; that trio was far too eye-catching.
Kaguya kept her face unshaken. "It's just a routine meeting, it won't take long." She lifted her chin slightly toward Damian. "About planning the school's anniversary…"
"Ah! Speaking of the anniversary!"
Marin didn't let her finish and cut in again, as if she had suddenly remembered something important. "Our club is going to put on a cosplay show! Do you want to help us, boyfriend-kun?"
She rose on her tiptoes and, without the slightest shame, leaned close to Damian's ear. "If you help us, I can give you a re~ward~"
Damian blinked and his eyebrow twitched; it was obvious this girl had completely lost any filter in public.
The perfect smile Kaguya had been holding like a shield began to crack just slightly. She took half a step forward and, with elegant movements, opened her briefcase.
"Damian-kun," she said in a sharp tone, "father wishes for you to attend next week to…"
"Wow! What a pretty invitation!"
Marin was faster than anyone and snatched the golden envelope from her hands before Kaguya could even fully extend it. "Is this for that Shinomiya family dinner? I heard you have to go dressed formally~"
Suddenly she showed a mischievous smile. "But tell me, with families as rich as yours, are you sure about inviting simple people like us? I'm afraid~ we might not be up to the standard~"
A murmur spread among the students watching from a distance.
This sounded like a declaration of war!
With that, Kaguya finally lost her composure. Her cheeks, normally so pale, took on a faint pink hue, not from embarrassment but from anger.
"Classmate Kitagawa…" Her voice dropped to an icy tone. "Our Shinomiya family is not as noble as you say. Especially since Damian-kun is still…"
"Yes, yes, I know~"
Marin waved her hand, cutting her words as if they were irrelevant. Suddenly she grabbed Damian by the arm and pulled him forcefully toward the entrance.
"We're going to be late! First class is with the demon professor!"
Damian nearly stumbled at the unexpected tug and, while being dragged, turned his head to look at Kaguya.
She was still standing there, motionless, but the bag in her hands seemed on the verge of giving way under the pressure of her fingers. On her face, the perfect smile had returned, though up close that perfection was unsettling.
"Damian-kun."
Kaguya's voice reached the two just before they crossed the threshold.
"See you… this afternoon."
It was a simple goodbye, but loaded with warning.
Marin turned, stuck out her tongue, and tugged on Damian to quicken the pace.
Both of them ran at a light trot, crossing the courtyard and turning at the first corner of the building until the voices and the main gate were out of sight.
There, finally, Marin stopped, breathing a little hard.
She let go of the hand she had been using to pull Damian and, suddenly, her defiant expression deflated. Her shoulders dropped, and she looked at him with a mix of nerves and vulnerability.
"Damian-kun…"
Her voice sounded lower, with a tremor running through her body. "You… just now, didn't you think that I…?" She bit her lip searching for the word, her cheeks flushed pink. "A little over the top? Or too aggressive?"
Damian stopped and lowered his gaze to look at her.
Marin's chest was still rising and falling from the run, and her blonde hair had fallen a little messy over her flushed cheeks. In those eyes, which normally shone with confidence, there was now a flicker of doubt, as if she feared she had crossed a line.
The image of the little lioness who, minutes ago, had defended her place fearlessly in front of Kaguya and half the campus was gone. Now she seemed like just a girl trying to understand if she had done the right thing.
Seeing her like that, uncertain yet still waiting for his reaction, Damian let out a quiet sigh and a smile formed on his face.
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he lifted his hand and placed it on Marin's head. His palm sank softly into her golden strands, ruffling them gently.
"Think what?" he asked with a hint of lazy laughter. "That you were pretending? That you went too far?"
While he spoke, he slid his fingers along a loose lock that had slipped out of her hairstyle and played with it absentmindedly.
"No, Marin."
The girl shivered slightly at the touch, then ended up lifting her gaze. Her eyes searched his face, uncertain but hopeful.
"The one from a moment ago…" Damian held her gaze steadily and spoke directly. "You were just protecting your food."
In his eyes there wasn't a trace of judgment, only calm understanding.
"Pro…tecting food?" Marin repeated softly. Inside, she felt the little knot of insecurity that had been gnawing at her slowly dissolve.
It was a simple, almost childish expression, but it landed exactly in the center of what she felt. Yes, exactly that: protecting what's hers, not letting anyone snatch her Damian away.
A second later, the phrase seemed to amuse her. Her small fangs peeked between her lips in a grin, adorable, as if to say "exactly, you're mine."
And suddenly, all the tension disappeared. Her smile bloomed again, erasing any shadow of doubt that had clouded her seconds ago.
"Hehehe!" she laughed with pure joy, eager to show off her victory.
!
"Snif… snif…"
In the middle of her giggle, her nostrils twitched. Instantly she leaned toward Damian's sleeve, unabashedly bringing her nose close and inhaling dramatically.
"Ughhh!" Her nose wrinkled and her tone turned to disgust. "Damian-kun, you smell like that soy milk! Gross!"
Damian raised an eyebrow, brought the sleeve to his own nose and sniffed, "Really? I don't smell anything."
"Yes it does!!" Marin said firmly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "It must be because that woman was all over you!"
"Come on, quick! We need to get to class and get away from that smell!"
Without giving him space to protest, she grabbed him by the wrist again and started walking. It wasn't an aggressive tug this time, but a light pull full of the euphoria of having marked her territory.
Damian let her drag him without resistance, though a spark of amusement flickered in his eyes as he watched her from behind.
For a second, as they passed by the huge windows of the building, he turned his head and in the distance, under the shadow of a cherry tree, a faint flicker of a dark skirt appeared for an instant before disappearing completely from view.
________
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