Chapter 128: Fake Smile

"Frel, you've been daydreaming since earlier."

I flinched when I heard Alvin's reprimand from my right side. He chuckled softly when he noticed my confusion.

"Who are you thinking about? Your face is so pale, like you've seen a ghost," he teased while nudging my arm. "You might end up being possessed by whatever haunts this room if you keep daydreaming, Frel."

"Your joke isn't funny at all, Alvin," Ari replied from my left side. "Look at her condition, she's not in the mood for jokes. You're so insensitive," Ari continued in a sharp tone.

"Just let it be," Alvin answered indifferently.

I chose to remain silent.

"Maybe that spirit is actually only interested in you," Ari chimed in again.

"Hey, that's not fair. Do you think I'm so unpopular that only ghosts would want to get close to me?" Alvin retorted as he tried to hit Ari with a metal ruler in front of my face. "Just watch, my charm could even make a genie fall in love!" he exclaimed with excessive confidence.

I lowered my head while twisting the hem of my uniform skirt. It felt like I had lost all my energy, even just to respond to their jokes.

Bang!

The loud sound of a desk being slammed startled me. I looked up and found Kevan already standing at the front of the class, glaring sharply at us.

"Can you be quiet?" he hissed in a low, threatening voice. "Ari, Alvin, if you can't calm down, please leave this room right now."

I swallowed. Ari and the other student council members immediately fell silent.

"Sorry, Kevan. We'll focus," Ari murmured softly while bowing his head deeply.

Before closing his mouth, Alvin had time to whisper quietly to me, "Don't worry, Frel. I'm sure Kevan won't be able to get angry at you. Trust me." He added a wink that was his trademark.

In a normal situation, I might have pretended to feel nauseous or teased Alvin back. But not this time. My mind was scattered, and most of it was taken up by the figure now standing firmly at the front. Kevan, the man who was staring fiercely at Ari and Alvin, was the reason behind my turmoil.

At the moment, we were in the student council room holding a meeting. Usually, if Kevan led a meeting like this, he would ask me to wait in the garden or the canteen so I wouldn't get bored. But this time, it was different. He hadn't even greeted me at all since the incident in the garden earlier.

I watched Kevan as he delivered the meeting points firmly, yet the tone of his voice felt much colder. There was restrained emotion in every word and in the light of his eyes.

"Make sure there are no mistakes in this report. I don't want to hear any excuses at next week's meeting," he concluded expressionlessly.

I took a long breath. A suffocating feeling pressed against my chest. Various speculations swirled in my head, as if racing to attack my consciousness. I was confused about how to put it into words. My mind was truly in chaos.

Everything happened because of me.

"The midterm exams are approaching. I hope that three days before the exams, all the assignments I've given are already finished," Kevan said while sweeping his gaze over all the members. "The meeting is enough for now. You may go home if you wish. Be careful, and thank you for your cooperation."

A noisy chatter soon filled the room, far more cheerful than when the meeting had begun. Not long after, one by one, they began to leave. I was still sitting quietly, occasionally observing the faces that passed by my desk.

Suddenly, I felt my hand being held tightly. I flinched and looked up. Neither Ari nor Alvin was there. Now, it was Kevan standing in front of me with a forced gentle smile. I tried to return his smile, but my gaze stopped at a small red stain on his uniform.

My heart sank. It was Kenn's blood. My gaze turned empty.

With trembling hands, I touched his cheek. "Kevan, are you okay?"

I was lying. That question was actually meant for Kenn in my heart.

Kevan smiled and shook his head slowly.

He took my hand, then kissed it deeply. "I'm fine. Come on, let's go home."

But Kenn is hurt, Kevan. Do you understand how I feel? Do you understand how shattered I am right now?

I could only nod and give a faint smile, hiding all my sadness in front of him. I hoped this act was enough to cover my anxiety about another man whose condition I did not know at all right now.

My smile faded when Kevan held my hand and led me to the parking lot. I followed his steps with an aching heart. Inside the car, I was mostly silent. Several times, I asked Kevan to repeat his questions because I could not concentrate at all. Everything felt chaotic.

A drizzle began to wet the asphalt road we were traveling on. I stared blankly, slowly raising my hand to touch the cold window glass. Droplets of water clung to it, but I could not touch them because they were blocked by the glass.

Will my relationship with Kenn end like this? Only able to see but unable to reach. Loving each other but unable to be together.

I bit my lip hard. Kenn’s image appeared again. I remembered how blood flowed from his mouth, his bruised face, and the corner of his lips that was torn from Kevan’s punches. It made me want to cry right then and there.

Have Tomi and Dara taken him to the hospital?

Faintly, Kenn’s voice echoed again in my ears.

"You can beat me as much as you want, but you have no right to ask me to stay away from the girl I love."

My heart trembled remembering Kenn’s confession. That sentence brought coolness in the midst of my loneliness. My heart raced uncontrollably as his hoarse voice echoed in my head, saying that confession without the slightest hesitation.

Oh God, Kenn finally has the same feelings as me. He loves me too.

All this time, I thought he liked another girl. I thought he loved Gita. It turned out I was wrong. He had never been interested in anyone except me.

My smile bloomed uncontrollably. However, that happiness soon evaporated when I realized that Kevan was already in front of me. He had opened the car door and extended his hand.

I was silent for a moment before finally accepting his hand and standing in front of him.

"Thank you, Kevan," I said softly.

Kevan did not answer. He looked at me in silence, as if there were thousands of questions hidden behind his irises. If only he knew that I felt the same way. There were so many things I wanted to pour out, but I was not ready.

"Is there anything you want to say? Don’t you want to stop by for a while?" I asked anxiously.

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