The hot and stuffy afternoon lecture had finally ended.
Without wasting any time, the students quickly packed up their belongings. The tension lingering from the earlier discussion slowly faded, replaced by collective relief.
"Man, you were brutal," Damian, the class president, said while shaking his head. "That question earlier was way too tricky."
Kriss looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean tricky?"
Several students gathered along the corridor outside the classroom, casually continuing the discussion from earlier.
"Dude, if you wanna ask something next time, at least think about how insane it sounds first."
"I still feel bad for Andre, honestly. Hahaha."
Laughter spread through the group.
"Come on," Kriss defended himself immediately. "We're university students already. Discussions shouldn't revolve around whatever's written on the slides alone."
Damian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well… you're not entirely wrong. The problem is the timing."
"Timing?"
"The classroom was already boiling because the AC died. Everyone was tired and just wanted to go home."
Hearing that, Kriss scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well… it is what it is."
Several of them sighed at the same time.
"By the way," one student suddenly asked, "how's the selection process for that student organization going?"
"Which one?" Kriss asked.
"You know… the one related to our major."
"Oh, that organization." Damian nodded. "From what I heard, things are going smoothly. Now we just wait for the final decision from the Department Student Association."
"Yep." Kriss struck a dramatic pose. "And of course, I already applied."
"Yeah, same here."
"Anyway…. that chief of the department student association kinda has a scary face, doesn't he? Hahaha," someone added.
"Shh! Don't say weird stuff about him!" Damian immediately panicked.
"Huh? Why not?"
He quickly glanced around the corridor to make sure nobody was listening. Fortunately, the hallway had become quieter, with only a few students occasionally passing by.
Damian pulled the others closer before lowering his voice.
"I heard rumors," he whispered. "That guy isn't exactly normal. It's better not to talk carelessly about him."
"Oh? Is he really that big of a deal?" one of them asked.
"Mehh." Kriss shrugged casually. "I've heard Dellon and Aidera aren't ordinary students either."
"This one's different," Damian replied seriously. "The rumors surrounding our student association chief aren't exactly good."
"Huh? Like… criminal bad?"
Damian immediately pressed a finger against his lips again, "Keep your voice down."
He glanced around once more before continuing.
"Maybe not a criminal in the literal sense. But apparently, he causes trouble pretty often. I even heard the police got involved a few times."
"I see…" Kriss' expression slowly turned more serious. "So he's basically a menace to society."
"There's also a rumor," Damian added quietly, "that if someone talks badly about him… he doesn't hesitate to retaliate."
After hearing that, the group fell silent.
But suddenly,
"I know you're still here, you stupid blond-head!"
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud voice bursting from inside the classroom.
Andre appeared moments later, storming into the hallway with burning frustration written all over his face. His steps were so aggressive that he nearly kicked the door open on the way out.
*BRAKH!
Before anyone could react, Andre grabbed Kriss by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"I'm sorry," Andre growled through clenched teeth, "but I seriously can't calm down after what happened earlier."
Kriss widened his eyes slightly. Up close, Andre's expression looked almost frightening. The anger leaking from him no longer resembled simple embarrassment.
"The hell? Let go of me!" Kriss shoved against his arm, trying to break free.
But Andre refused to loosen his grip.
"You humiliated me during my own presentation!" he snapped. "Throwing weird questions around like that- "
"How is that my fault?! I was literally just asking questions!"
"Then think before you ask, you idiot!" Andre barked. "Don't bring up things outside the material!"
The commotion instantly drew attention from nearby students. More people began gathering around the hallway, whispering among themselves after realizing a fight was about to break out.
Damian and the others quickly stepped forward to separate them.
"Enough already!" he pleaded. "Kriss, just apologize first!"
"What?!" Kriss looked genuinely offended. "What did I even do wrong?"
"Just do it so this doesn't get worse!"
"What's wrong with asking something outside the material?" he muttered under his breath.
"…What?" Andre's eyes widened.
That single sentence only poured fuel onto the fire.
"So you're ashamed because you couldn't answer a question using your own thoughts?" Kriss scoffed. "If your critical thinking is still stuck at high school level, then maybe you should start getting used to university discussions."
The atmosphere exploded. Andre's grip tightened instinctively.
"You little- !"
Without thinking twice, he swung his fist straight toward Kriss's face.
Then,
Time slowed.
A blur suddenly slipped between them.
*TAP!!
Andre's punch stopped. The force behind it vanished instantly, restrained by a hand gripping his wrist with shocking ease.
Everyone stared at the sudden figure standing between them.
Zeyn.
No one had seen him coming.
"Zeyn?" Kriss blurted out in surprise.
Andre's expression stiffened as well. "W-Where did you even-"
His voice faltered. Only now did he realize someone had intercepted his punch before it could even land.
"Calm down," Zeyn said flatly. "Too many people are watching. Especially the security camera."
The crowd reflexively turned their heads. At the end of the corridor, a surveillance camera quietly pointed toward them.
"Don't make things worse and get yourself sanctioned," Zeyn added.
Andre froze. Only now did the reality of the situation fully hit him. This incident would become far more serious than a simple argument.
He finally let go of Kriss's collar before taking a deep breath.
Around them, several students quietly exhaled in relief. The atmosphere instantly cooled. The fight had barely been avoided.
"Say sorry," Zeyn muttered calmly while glancing at Kriss.
"Huh? Me?"
"Doesn't matter who was right." He released Andre's wrist afterward. "If someone gets provoked that badly, it still leaves a mess behind."
Kriss fell silent for a moment.
From his perspective, he hadn't done anything wrong. He was just asking questions during a discussion.
At the same time, Andre clearly believed he was justified too.
Still…
They were college students. Throwing punches in the hallway over an argument would only make both of them look childish.
"…Okay, okay." Kriss finally sighed. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to start problems."
He slowly extended his hand.
Andre didn't respond immediately. His eyes only stared at the offered hand in silence, lingering traces of irritation still visible on his face.
"By the way," Kriss added awkwardly, "your presentation topic was actually interesting."
"Huh?" Andre blinked, caught off guard.
"And congrats for presenting in front of the professor," he grinned lightly. "Pretty sure he enjoyed the discussion too."
"…Yeah. Sure." Andre scratched his cheek slightly. "Thanks."
A few seconds later, they finally shook hands. Both of them looked somewhat embarrassed now that the tension had cooled.
"Sorry too," Andre muttered. "I almost punched you."
"No biggie." Kriss exhaled tiredly. "Honestly, I should probably punch myself for not reading the atmosphere better."
Andre went quiet.
"I should've asked those questions when everyone wasn't already stressed out," Kriss admitted. "The classroom felt like an oven today."
"…Yeah." Andre nodded faintly. "They seriously need to fix that AC."
"Exactly!"
The two of them let out small laughs afterward.
Nearby, Damian nearly collapsed from relief. Thankfully, the problem hadn't escalated into something worse.
"Nice work," Damian said while patting Zeyn's shoulder.
But Zeyn barely reacted. His attention had already shifted toward the far end of the hallway.
The students who were about to leave had suddenly stopped moving as well. Whispers slowly spread through the corridor.
Three people were approaching. Two girls walked side by side while a tall broad-shouldered man followed behind them.
"Hey…" Andre muttered quietly. "Isn't that the chief of the Department Student Association you guys were talking about earlier?"
"Oh no…" Damian stiffened instantly. "What if he saw the commotion earlier?"
"So the rumors were actually true…" another student whispered nervously. "We seriously shouldn't have talked about him."
Hearing the title, Zeyn narrowed his eyes. He was focused on that one man among the three.
"Aren't those two girls even more shocking?" one of the students suddenly whispered.
Several male students straightened unconsciously. Others quickly fixed their posture or hair the moment they recognized the two girls walking down the hallway.
Whispers spread one after another.
"No way… is that really her?"
"What is Aidera doing here?"
At the center of it all, Aidera walked calmly through the corridor as if the attention surrounding her was something she had long gotten used to.
Her sapphire-colored eyes scanned the crowd briefly before stopping on one person.
Zeyn.
"Hi there," Aidera greeted with a soft smile. Her steps stopped right in front of him. "We meet again."
For a brief second, nobody spoke.
The earlier commotion. The argument. Even the near fight from moments ago… all of it seemed to disappear under the strange silence that followed her words.
Zeyn stared back quietly. Crimson eyes meeting sapphire blue. Two completely different colors colliding in the middle of the crowded hallway.
And somehow…
Everyone around them suddenly felt like background characters.
* * * *