Kai didn't follow Aria immediately.
He stayed silent, watching the spot where the boy had vanished between the trees.
His mind replayed the moment:
The precision.
The speed.
The calm confidence.
Whoever that boy was, he wasn't working alone. He was trained, and worse—he knew Kai wasn't normal.
That meant danger was closer than Kai expected.
Aria's voice broke his thoughts.
"Are you just going to stand there," she said, arms crossed, "or are we going to talk?"
Kai turned. Aria stood a few steps away, the afternoon sun behind her, making her expression hard to read. Her prefect badge glinted like a small warning.
He walked toward her. Slowly.
Aria didn't move.
When he stopped in front of her, she spoke quietly but firmly:
"Kai… that boy wasn't a normal student."
Kai said nothing.
"And you didn't react like one either."
Still silence.
Aria exhaled, frustrated. "See? This is the problem. Every time something strange happens, you go quiet. Pretend it's normal. Pretend you don't know what's going on."
Kai looked away. "Because it's safer that way."
"For who?" Aria shot back. "You? Or everyone else?"
Kai didn't answer. He couldn't.
Aria stepped closer—not in a romantic way, but like someone who wanted the truth more than she wanted comfort.
"I've been watching you since Day One," she said. "You move like you're trained. You observe everything. Even your footsteps are controlled. That boy attacked you, and you reacted before I even processed what happened."
Her eyes softened—barely.
Not gentleness.
Understanding.
"Kai… you're hiding something big. And whatever it is—it's putting you in danger."
He clenched his jaw.
"That boy," Aria continued, "he wasn't attacking you randomly. He already knew who you were."
Kai stiffened.
She noticed.
"Kai," she said slowly, "someone is targeting you."
A chill crawled up his spine. Kai knew she was right—but hearing it out loud made it real in a way he wasn't ready for.
Aria didn't press further. She just turned around.
"Come with me. There's something you need to see."
She walked ahead, not checking if he was following.
But he did.
They crossed the empty hallway toward the prefects' room. Aria unlocked the door and stepped inside. Papers were spread out on the desk in neat lines—printouts, attendance lists, photos from school events.
Kai paused.
Everything was organized with military-level precision.
Aria pointed at a set of documents.
"These are the last three monthly transfer reports."
Kai scanned them quickly. Nothing unusual—until Aria tapped a name.
The boy.
The same one who attacked him.
Kai stiffened. "He was registered as a student here?"
"Yes," Aria said quietly. "Three months ago."
Kai frowned. "But… he told people he just transferred two weeks ago."
"He lied." Aria crossed her arms. "His file was approved, but he never attended classes. He was never in the dorms. He never collected his ID card."
Kai's heart sank.
"So he enrolled just to get close to the school."
"Exactly," Aria said. "Which means he wasn't targeting you by coincidence."
Kai's stomach tightened.
This was worse than he thought.
And Aria wasn't done.
She opened another file and slid it toward him.
Kai froze.
It was a blurry security camera capture from behind the school… yesterday morning. A figure leaping from the roof. Landing silently. Moving with unnatural control.
Kai.
"You were caught on camera," Aria said calmly. "Only for half a second—but enough for someone trained to notice."
He swallowed hard.
Aria leaned forward slightly. "Kai… whoever that boy is, he's been watching you. Studying you. Waiting for you to slip."
Kai felt a tightness in his chest he hadn't felt in years.
Fear—not for himself.
For the people around him.
Aria spoke again, softer this time:
"I'm not asking you to tell me everything."
Her voice steadied.
"But I need to know what I'm dealing with. I can't protect the school if I'm blind."
Kai looked at her.
Her eyes were determined. Not scared. Not desperate. Just resolute.
And in that moment, Kai understood something:
Aria wasn't just observant.
She was brave.
She didn't back down from danger—she walked straight into it.
Kai took a slow breath.
"I'll tell you what I can," he said quietly. "But not everything. Some things… would only make you a target."
Aria nodded once, accepting that answer even if she didn't like it.
"Good," she said. "Then we start with this—"
She pulled out a single crisp photo.
The boy.
Standing in an alley at night, wearing different clothes, no school uniform, hands in his pockets like someone waiting for a signal.
Kai's heartbeat sped up.
Aria spoke the final words of the chapter:
"I don't know who he really is…
…but he's not the only one looking for you."