Ch-5

NEXT MORNING — SCHOOL

The school courtyard buzzed with the usual morning energy — groups of students chatting, laughing, rushing last-minute to homeroom.

Linyun walked through the gates, his backpack slung over one shoulder, a fresh bandage peeking from under his sleeve from yesterday’s accidental run-in with a locker door.

“Hey! Bandage boy!” Venm waved from under a tree, already halfway through a chocolate bread.

Lin raised a brow. “Did you sleep here?”

“Mentally, yes,” Venm yawned. “Physically, I got here five minutes ago. You’re late.”

“I’m on time.”

“Yeah, yeah. Time is a concept.”

They started walking toward the school entrance.

“So,” Venm said, lowering his voice, “you ready to see Elen and Niun again?”

“No,” Lin said honestly.

“Same. But I brought backup.” He held up a packet of spicy candy. “If we’re going down, we’re going down with burning mouths and pride.”

Lin gave him a flat look. “That’s your plan?”

Venm grinned. “I have better ones, but they’re illegal in most countries.”

They entered the hallway. The classroom door was already open.

Inside, the usual chatter filled the air. Elen sat in the back row, legs stretched out casually, scrolling on his phone. Niun leaned over the windowsill, watching birds like they were giving him answers to life’s biggest questions.

As Lin and Venm walked in, Elen glanced up.

“Look who showed up,” he said, voice smooth but laced with sarcasm. “I thought you’d transfer schools overnight.”

Lin didn’t respond. He walked straight to his desk and sat down.

Venm raised a brow. “Weird, I thought your jokes were limited to biology class.”

Niun glanced back. “Let’s keep things peaceful, shall we?”

Venm smiled. “Totally peaceful. I’m practically a dove.”

As the bell rang, Ms. Michi stepped in.

“Alright, settle down. I expect actual attention today,” she said, tapping her pen on the desk. “Especially you, Elen. And Venm—don’t even start.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Venm said, already doodling on the back of his notebook.

As class began, Lin stared ahead, trying to focus. He knew today wouldn’t be easy—but at least he wasn’t alone.

And that made all the difference.

————————

During Class

The classroom was quiet, sunlight streaming in through the tall windows. Ms.Richal their maths teacher, wrote equations on the board, her back to the students.

“Now,” she said, without turning, “can anyone solve this?”

No one moved.

Venm leaned over to Lin and whispered, “What even is that? Algebra or a curse?”

Lin kept his eyes on the board. “It’s math. Basic.”

“Basic demon language,” Venm muttered, flipping his pen between his fingers.

From the back of the room, Elen yawned. “Do we need this in real life? Because I plan to be rich and hire someone to do this stuff.”

“Good luck passing the exams then,” Ms. Richal said sharply, still not looking at him.

Laughter rippled through the class.

Niun, seated beside Elen, raised his hand lazily. “x equals negative three.”

Ms. Richal nodded. “Correct. At least someone’s awake.”

Venm raised an eyebrow. “Okay, brainiac.”

Linyun stayed quiet, tapping his pencil gently on the desk.

Ms. Richal turned back to the board and began explaining the next problem.

A crumpled piece of paper suddenly landed on Lin’s desk.

He glanced around.

Elen was facing forward, pretending to listen, but the corner of his lips twitched.

Lin unfolded the paper carefully.

“Still have interesting eyes?”

He blinked, staring at the words. His face stayed neutral, but Venm peeked over and raised both brows.

“You okay?” he whispered.

Lin crumpled the paper again and tucked it into his bag.

“Nothing,” he said, but his ears were slightly red.

Venm grinned. “Oooh, it's not ‘nothing’ if you’re blushing.”

“Focus on your cursed math.”

“Touché.”

Ms. Richal clapped her hands. “Alright, group activity time. Pairs. Randomly assigned.”

Half the class groaned.

Lin tensed.

“Linyun and... Elen.”

Venm’s jaw dropped. “What in the betrayal—”

“And Venm, you're with... Niun.”

The room went quiet.

Even Ms. Richal raised an eyebrow at the collective reaction. “What? You all act like I assigned you to fight dragons.”

Venm slumped in his seat. “I'd rather fight a dragon.”

Niun stood up smoothly. “I’m not that bad.”

Elen stood too, a smirk forming. “This should be...fun.”

Lin let out a quiet breath. “This is going to be a long day.”

————————

Group Activity Session

Desks were moved, papers shuffled, and students settled into their assigned pairs with varying levels of enthusiasm—or dread.

Linyun sat across from Elen at a corner table near the windows.

Elen leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. “So… partner. You gonna boss me around or stare at me the whole time?”

Lin didn’t even flinch. “Neither. Let’s just get it done.”

Elen tilted his head, amused. “You’re no fun in public.”

Lin ignored him and opened the activity sheet. “We’re supposed to solve these three problems and present one example to the class.”

Elen looked over the paper lazily. “Right. Which one do you want to mess up first?”

“I don’t mess up,” Lin replied flatly.

Elen smirked. “Now there’s the spark. Knew you had some fire in there.”

Across the room, Venm was sitting with Niun—very stiffly.

Venm poked the worksheet with his pen. “So, uh... do you usually solve these with dark magic or just general psychic vibes?”

Niun gave a mild shrug. “I read.”

“Wow. Shocking.” Venm rolled his eyes. “I read too. Labels. Like, on snack packets.”

Niun’s lips twitched. “You’re not completely hopeless.”

“Was that a compliment?” Venm blinked dramatically. “Do I put that in a diary?”

“Please don’t.”

Meanwhile, Lin was trying to focus as Elen leaned a little too close.

“Your handwriting’s neat,” Elen commented.

“Your voice is loud,” Lin replied, without looking up.

Elen chuckled. “Touché, again.”

“You say that a lot,” Lin said, scribbling down the second answer.

“You bring it out of me.”

Lin sighed through his nose. “Answer the third question.”

Elen leaned in more, voice low. “I will. But I get to present it.”

“No way.”

“Why not?”

“You’ll make it weird.”

“I am weird.”

“That’s not helping your case.”

A few desks away, Venm was quietly amazed. “Niun, you actually solved all three? Already?”

“I don’t like wasting time.”

Venm leaned back. “You know, if you were slightly less intimidating, people might fall for you.”

Niun raised an eyebrow. “Is that your way of saying you’ve already fallen?”

Venm turned red. “Wh—NO?! I—I mean, not that you’re unattractive! I mean—you are, objectively—But I—! You know what? Never mind. I’m just going to write the presentation.”

Niun smirked faintly. “Thought so.”

Ms. Richal clapped her hands. “One more minute!”

Lin finished writing the third answer just as the bell rang.

Elen stood up and stretched. “So… I didn’t totally ruin that, did I?”

Lin shrugged, gathering the papers. “You were tolerable.”

“That’s high praise, coming from you.”

Venm met Lin at the front of the class as they returned the sheets.

“Did you survive?” Venm whispered.

“Barely,” Lin said, rubbing his temples.

“You look like you need candy and therapy.”

“And silence.”

Elen and Niun passed by them casually.

“Looking forward to tomorrow’s round,” Elen said, giving Lin a wink.

Lin sighed again.

Venm whispered, “We really need to speed up that revenge plan.”

----

BETWEEN CLASSES — HALLWAY

The hallway was briefly quiet between class transitions. Linyun stood by the lockers, sipping from his water bottle, when Venm jogged over, looking like he just escaped something.

Venm leaned dramatically against the lockers. “Lin. I barely made it out alive.”

Lin raised an eyebrow. “What happened now?”

“I was cornered by Niun. He said I have 'potential.' That’s serial killer language.”

Lin tried not to smile. “It means you impressed him.”

“I wasn’t trying to impress him. I was trying to breathe and survive.”

“You’re overreacting.”

Venm pointed at him. “Easy for you to say. You’ve got Elen who flirts like it’s a competitive sport.”

Lin gave him a look. “He doesn’t flirt.”

Venm blinked. “Lin. He winked at you in the middle of group work.”

“Maybe something was in his eye.”

“Oh, come on.”

Lin sighed. “Let’s just say… both of them are weird. Let’s not give them attention.”

Venm nodded. “Which is why we’re sticking to The Plan™, right?”

Lin crossed his arms. “Yes. Operation Slightly Petty Revenge is still in motion.”

Venm grinned. “Good. I’ve already got Phase One: Mild Public Humiliation. It involves a glue stick and Niun’s notebook.”

Lin deadpanned, “You’re not touching anything with glue.”

“Okay, okay,” Venm held up his hands. “We’ll discuss this over lunch.”

---

LUNCH BREAK —— ROOFTOP

The breeze was soft on the rooftop, their favorite quiet place. Venm unwrapped a sandwich while Lin slowly chewed on a rice ball.

Venm tapped his fingers on his lunchbox. “So. Strategy session?”

Lin nodded. “Alright. First question. Do we actually want to embarrass them or just confuse them into leaving us alone?”

Venm grinned. “Why not both?”

Lin smirked slightly. “What do you have?”

Venm leaned in like a spy. “Niun’s scary calm, right? So tomorrow, I’m going to randomly compliment his eyebrows. Like seriously, dramatically.”

Lin blinked. “That’s your move?”

“It’ll throw him off.”

Lin tilted his head. “You’re… not wrong.”

Venm grinned. “Now, your turn. What about Elen?”

Lin paused. “He likes to tease. So I’ll act like I’m one step ahead. Answer his sarcasm with sarcasm.”

Venm clapped. “Yes! Out-sass the sassmaster.”

They both laughed.

Venm leaned back. “Imagine their faces when we don’t react the way they expect.”

Lin looked up at the sky. “Maybe that’s the key. Don’t give them the drama they want.”

Venm took a bite of his sandwich. “Unless we become the drama.”

Lin gave him a look.

“Kidding. Mostly.”

They both smiled. For a moment, things felt light again.

Venm stood up, brushing crumbs off his lap. “Alright, partner in crime. Let’s survive the rest of the day.”

Lin nodded, standing too. “Let’s keep our cool.”

Venm: “Cool. Calm. Collected. Totally not plotting anything at all.”

Lin: “Not suspicious at all.”

They high-fived and headed back downstairs.

----

AFTER SCHOOL —

The final bell rang, and a wave of relief swept through the classrooms. Students rushed out, chattering and stretching, ready to leave school behind for the day.

Venm slung his backpack over one shoulder and spotted Lin by the classroom door. “Freedom tastes like fresh air and instant noodles.”

Lin gave a small smile. “You had instant noodles for breakfast.”

“I regret nothing.”

They stepped outside into the golden light of late afternoon. The breeze was soft, the world just quiet enough to feel peaceful.

As they passed the convenience store near the school gate, Venm slowed down. “Snack stop?”

Lin nodded. “Definitely.”

Inside, Venm filled his arms with chips and candy like a professional snacker on a mission. Lin picked a bottle of banana milk and quietly waited at the counter.

Back outside, Venm tore open a packet. “Food makes everything better.”

As they continued walking, Lin’s eyes landed on a small park across the street. “Let’s sit there for a bit.”

They crossed over and found a quiet bench under a tree. Children played nearby, but the area was mostly calm.

Venm munched on chips. “So. Phase Two of our master plan?”

Lin nodded. “We keep our cool. Respond instead of react.”

Venm struck a dramatic pose. “Mysterious. Aloof. Stylishly untouchable.”

Lin gave him a look. “You tripped over your own foot this morning.”

“Details,” Venm said with mock seriousness.

Lin chuckled quietly.

Venm leaned back. “You know, it’s kind of fun. Pretending we’re undercover geniuses.”

“Except we’re not pretending.”

Venm looked at him. “Was that a burn? From you?”