Rooftop___
The door creaked open.
Aria stepped out.
Heat hit her immediately.
The noon sun burned down on the rooftop, heavy and sharp, the concrete almost glowing under it.
Her eyes scanned the space—
And found him.
Zorvath sat in the shaded corner, one knee up, back against the wall.
Still.
Waiting.
Aria walked straight toward him.
No pause.
No hesitation.
Her face—tight with anger.
"What is your problem?" she snapped.
"Do you think everyone here is your punching bag? You just hit them whenever you lose control?"
Zorvath looked up at her.
"Where were you?"
That stopped her for a second.
Then—
"That's none of your business," she shot back.
His jaw tightened.
"I called you," he said, his voice low, dangerous.
"Again and again."
A step closer.
"You didn't pick up even once."
Aria felt it.
That shift.
The warning in his tone.
A flicker of Aswin's words crossed her mind—
He's like a mad tiger now.
For a second—
She thought.
Then—
She exhaled slowly.
Changed.
"Zorvath…" her voice softened.
"I get that you were worried. But that doesn't mean you can beat them like that."
"I did it because they crossed a line," he said immediately.
She held it in.
The argument.
The anger.
"…Okay. Then tell me what was so wrong," she said, forcing calm.
"He broke the rules," Zorvath said.
"Rules are for everyone."
His eyes sharpened.
"No one brings outsiders to that shelter without my permission."
A pause.
"Who does he think he is?"
Aria understood now.
Still—
"Then why hit the others?" she asked.
"They're hurt. Do you even know how bad it looks down there?"
Zorvath didn't reply.
He just stared at her.
Then suddenly—
His hand moved.
He pulled her by the waist—
hard—
And pushed her lightly against the wall.
Aria gasped slightly, caught off guard.
He stepped in close.
Too close.
His eyes—red.
Anger still burning.
"I'm hurt too," he said, voice low.
"I have bruises. Blood."
A pause.
"And you're worried about them?"
Aria froze for a second.
Confused.
Thrown off.
But she didn't lose control.
Not here.
Not now.
"Yeah," she said, steadying herself.
"But you're the reason for all of this."
A beat.
"That's the difference."
Something shifted in his expression.
"How dare you care about other men in front of me?" he said.
That—
Almost broke her patience.
Who are you to me?
The words burned in her throat.
But she swallowed them.
Hard.
"…Fine," she said instead.
"Then let's fix your wounds."
He didn't move away.
But he didn't stop her either.
He turned slightly, opening a small old table beside him.
A medical kit lay inside.
"This is the medical room of KHSS," he said casually.
Aria didn't reply.
She took the kit.
Sat down in front of him.
And started cleaning his bruises.
Carefully.
Quietly.
He wasn't as badly hurt as Rithul.
But still—
She forced herself to stay calm.
"To cool him down," she reminded herself.
"I get that you're angry," she said while applying medicine.
"But do you think beating people solves anything?"
"He won't repeat it," Zorvath said.
"He tested my patience."
Aria pressed her lips together.
An awkward smile formed—
Forced.
She kept working.
Zorvath watched her.
Closely.
"You look cute when you're angry," he said suddenly.
Aria paused.
Looked up.
"I'm not angry."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Another rule of KHSS—" he said, leaning slightly closer,
"don't lie to the king."
She didn't respond.
She took a bandage and raised her hand toward the cut near his lips.
Her fingers slowed—
too close.
And suddenly—
A memory struck.
That day.
The street.
Zorvath losing control—
pulling her in—
kissing her.
It was sudden.
Rough.
Unexpected.
She should have pushed him away.
But for that one second—
she hadn't.
Worse—
she had felt it.
A strange warmth.
A pause she couldn't explain.
Now—
That same feeling crept back.
Like butterflies twisting low in her stomach.
Unfamiliar.
Unsettling.
Her eyes stayed on his lips.
Stuck in that moment.
Zorvath noticed.
A slow, playful smile curved on his face.
"Do you like my lips that much?"
Aria snapped back instantly.
Her hand dropped.
Her breath hitched.
For a second—
she realized what she had been doing.
And regret hit just as fast.
That's when Zorvath came close to Aria.
Just an inch distance between them.
Both of them were staring into each other's eyes.
Aria didn't know what she was doing, or why she couldn't take her eyes off him.
In that noon, under the burning sun, and due to the small distance, Aria was looking like a hot tomato.
And Zorvath started noticing everything—every tiny feature of her.
She was becoming more and more beautiful as he came closer and closer.
Then his gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips.
Slowly… slowly… he bent forward to kiss her.
Aria didn't resist.
She was also waiting for him to reach her.
Zorvath's hand rested firmly on her waist, holding her close.
Aria's hands had come up, lightly resting around his neck, holding onto him without even realizing it.
That's when—
Zorvath heard a sound near the door.
He turned his head slightly.
And saw Aswin, Sreya, and Leo peeping at them through the small gap of the door.
Zorvath didn't flinch.
He didn't move back.
He stayed exactly the same—holding Aria.
Aria didn't notice anything.
She just looked at Zorvath in confusion.
The one who was about to kiss her—
was now looking somewhere else.
She didn't understand what he was doing.
That's when Zorvath said,
"Come out."
Slowly—
Leo, Aswin, and Sreya came out.
Following them—
Rithul, Mirzand, and Danvy also stepped in, with awkward smiles.
They all stood in a line—
like they were caught by a principal.
That's when Aria realized.
Her eyes widened.
She felt embarrassed.
Shocked.
She immediately tried to move away from Zorvath—
But he didn't let her go.
He kept holding her by the waist.
Aria froze.
Her face still burning.
The others stood there.
All of them.
Leo.
Aswin.
Sreya.
Danvy.
Rithul.
Mirzand.
No one spoke.
Just standing.
Like they had walked into the wrong place at the wrong time.
Zorvath looked at them once.
Calm.
"What are you all doing here?"
Silence.
They looked at each other, unclear what to say.
Aswin cleared his throat.
"We came to call you."
"For what?"
Aswin paused.
"…That…"
He looked at Leo.
Leo stepped in.
"We heard noise."
Zorvath stared.
"So you came to watch?"
Leo went quiet.
Sreya raised her hands.
"We didn't come to watch."
A pause.
"Just… to check."
"Check what?"
Sreya didn't answer.
Danvy sighed.
"We were bored."
Zorvath raised an eyebrow.
"On the rooftop?"
Danvy shrugged.
"Ugh… hmm…"
Mirzand spoke suddenly, trying to act normal.
"I told them not to come."
Rithul, still sitting tired, looked up slowly.
"No, you didn't."
Mirzand froze.
"…I was about to."
Aswin rubbed his face.
"This is going nowhere."
He pointed awkwardly between Zorvath and Aria.
"So… are you done?"
Zorvath looked at him.
"With what?"
Aswin immediately looked away.
"Nothing."
Aria closed her eyes for a second.
She wanted the ground to open.
Danvy leaned slightly toward Sreya and whispered,
"We should've stayed downstairs."
Sreya nodded.
"Definitely."
Zorvath's lips curved slightly.
"You're all still standing here," he said.
That was enough.
"Okay, we're going," Aswin said quickly.
"Yes, going," Leo added.
"Not seeing anything," Sreya muttered.
One by one—
they turned,
almost bumping into each other,
and rushed back toward the door.
Rithul stood up slowly, still tired,
gave one last look,
then followed.
Mirzand went behind him.
The door closed.
Silence.
Zorvath looked back at Aria.
Still holding her.
"Now…" he said calmly,
"where were we?"
Aria stared at him—
completely done.