He walked through the corridors searching for Shiu, but he had already vanished.

“Hey, did you see that dark-skinned guy who just walked by? He’s so handsome!”

“He’s to die for! He’s tall, buff, and he has that bad boy vibe. Those eyes, looking so sleepy—wow!”

“Did you see those big muscles? They looked so soft, like they were begging to be squeezed. Those two big—”

“Wait!” another girl interrupted. “Isn’t he the new guy from class A2?”

“What was his name again?”

“Shiu.”

Damio overheard the girls from class B2 mentioning Shiu’s name and approached them. “Excuse me, did you see Shiu pass by?”

Since he was tall, the girls had no choice but to look up at the handsome student. “H-he went upstairs…”

“R-rooftop,” they stammered, unable to speak coherently in front of Damio’s strikingly gorgeous face.

Damio lowered his indifferent gaze. “Thank you.” Then he left.

“Our school is full of pretty and handsome boys!”

"Right. He looked..."

"Forget about that. It's a shame we're not in the same class."

Damio climbed the stairs. When he reached the door to the rooftop, he opened it and stepped outside. He scanned the area, trying to find Shiu, but he couldn't see him. Suddenly, he heard a voice say, 

"Why are you following me?"

Damio's eyes widened as he turned to his left. There was Shiu sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his attractive, toned chest. A bead of sweat trickled from his jawline down to his chest, and his striking hazel eyes locked onto Damio's.

"This isn't the first time, is it? Can I help you with something?" Shiu asked.

Damio's gaze traveled from Shiu's body and settled on his stunning face. He gulped hard and fought the urge to pin Shiu down right then and there. His heart raced in his chest as he looked at the young man in front of him like a perfect, irresistible dessert. He put his hands behind his back and squeezed them tightly, trying to control the desire that threatened to surge forth.

He swallowed hard again and licked his lips.

"This is bad," Damio muttered as he sat down next to Shiu. He felt that if he stared at him for too long, he might actually do something he would regret.

"Shiu, do you really not remember me?" he asked.

Shiu paused and removed his headphones, watching the birds flying freely in the sky. "Aren't you my brother's best friend? The kid who used to come to our house every day to play 

He paused, deep in thought. 'I think we were around seven years old?'

Damio was in shock. 'He does remember me!' he thought. "Then why are you treating me so coldly… like a stranger?" he pouted, clearly upset.

Shiu looked at him in confusion. He didn’t remember being close to Damio at all. He recognized him the first time he saw him, but since they weren’t close, he didn’t feel the need to talk to him or be overly familiar.

Since he was little, Shiu always thought that Damio didn’t like him, so he wasn’t expecting him to approach him that afternoon with the ghost. 

Shiu had a brother named Anshio Vandaster, who was the same age as him and Damio. Their father had sent Anshio abroad due to his behavior. Damio and Anshio were very close as children, and, as far as Shiu knew, they still were. Every time Damio came to the house it was to see Anshio, Shiu never had any contact with him.

Damio would usually just stare at him, and that was it.

"I don't remember us ever being friends. We've never really spoken to each other, so I don’t see why I should be friendly with you," Shiu said.

Damio was so surprised he couldn’t respond for a moment. "I did try to talk to you one day, didn’t I? But you ignored me."

Shiu squinted, trying to recall the day Damio was referring to. The only time he remembered Damio trying to engage him in conversation was—ah!

"Ahh... that day." The day Damio attempted to talk to Shiu was when Shiu’s dad told him he would have to train in his brother's stead to help the organization. Since he was little, Shiu had been taking lessons and training for this.

That day, his dad and older brother had dumped all of Anshio's responsibilities onto him. To complicate matters, his uncle was trying to sabotage the organization by sending assassins after him—responsibilities that were supposed to be Anshio's. However, due to Anshio's troublemaker reputation, the family had decided to cut him off from any inheritance and plans until he changed his behavior.

After speaking with his father, Shiu returned home only to find his brother and Damio chatting happily, oblivious to the chaos around him.

Understandably, Shiu was furious. When Damio tried to greet him, he shot him a fierce glare and ignored both him and his brother.

He couldn’t understand why someone who had never even greeted him before would suddenly want to talk—especially on such a terrible day. Normally, when Damio came over, he would just stare until Anshio pulled him away to his room.

"That day, I was angry at my brother, and you just happened to be there too."