Her phone slipped from her hand, hit the pavement and the bike rolled over it, crushing it.

But Nyssa's eyes were locked on the stranger who grabbed her. They were standing so close.

The person stood still, staring after the bike. 

Nyssa followed the movement of their lips... they were cursing silently.

Ok, should we talk about the face too??

They looked like a character straight out of an anime. Damn handsome with a beanie that sat perfectly on their head, looking so effortlessly cool.

The person looked down at her and their eyes met.

Nyssa blinked. They blinked too

The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

The person raised a brow. 

"Not a lesbian" a deep, calm feminine voice replied.

Nyssa's jaw dropped. "Wait what?"

He's a girl?

Trans? 

Before she could say more, the girl let go of her arm, gave her one last glance and walked off.

Nyssa just stood there, confused.

But judging by the oversized hoodie and baggy trousers… yeah, definitely a tomboy.

She felt eyes on her and caught people staring.

Why? Because she's too damn pretty?

She smoothed her shirt and turned around only to find her phone on the ground. 

Dead, cracked and completely ruined.

Her soul left her body for a second.

Did that biker just murder her phone?!

Her blood boiled.

She snapped in Korean without thinking, 

"Sibal saekkiya! Siballll!" 

Everyone was staring at her like she had grown two heads.

Storming to her phone, she picked it up with all the care you give a corpse.

"Who's even gonna fix this?" she hissed, shoving it into her bag and not even bothering to zip it.

She marched off toward her car, muttering curses.

"Hey!" a voice called from behind.

She stopped. Took a deep breath and turned slowly.

"Nyomi?"she said as a girl jogged up to her, clutching a textbook and panting.

"Did a guy just leave? Black bike, tattoos of flowers on both arms?" Nyomi asked, breathless.

Nyssa nodded slowly.

The same idiot who ruined her phone.

Nyomi hissed and started leaving without another word.

Nyssa just sighed and faced her car.

**

Hours later, a black bike pulled up in front of a massive building with a wide-open compound.

The whole place screamed luxury and weirdness.

The rider took off his helmet, shaking out messy brown hair. A deep blue mask covered the lower half of his face, leaving only his dangerously attractive eyes visible.

A man in a suit rushed toward him, tie flapping wildly in the wind.

The rider got off the bike, placed the helmet on the seat and pocketed the keys.

The man reached him, bent over with hands on knees, gasping for air.

But he didn't stop and just walked past him.

The man straightened, fixed his suit, and hurried to match his pace.

"Tavian, I'm glad you made it" he said.

Tavian kept walking, his voice muffled behind his mask. "How many?"

"Just one right now. Two passed the exam. One's  in the building and I think the last one will show up tonight"

They climbed the stairs together, heading for the entrance

A while later, they were in the elevator.

Tavian held an unlit cigar between his fingers, rolling it slowly like a habit...not to smoke, just to feel it there.

The elevator dinged, the doors opened.

The man beside him moved to step out first, but instantly paused, stepping back to let Tavian go first.

As soon as Tavian stepped out, the man hurried after him into a massive room.

The walls were dark, patterned with deep blue floral designs. The ceiling above was painted midnight blue, sprinkled with tiny golden stars. It gave the illusion of standing under a real night sky but not quite. 

The cold air from the AC made the whole place feel cool and chilling.

Curtains hung down, windows sealed shut.

Expensive tattoo equipments lined the shelves along one wall.

In the center was two stools and a pair of long couches. One couch was already occupied.

A lady sat there, legs crossed, her eyes locked on Tavian as he walked in.

Ignoring her completely, he walked straight to the shelves.

She watched him closely, too closely.

He's hella hot!

Her throat bobbed once as she swallowed.

The man approached her with a forced smile.

"So... what kind of tattoo are you getting?" he asked, making her turn to him.

The lady scoffed and tilted her head toward Tavian.

"He doesn't say hello? No customer service in this luxury suite?" she leaned back, annoyed.

"Seriously, Mac and cheese? After all the money I paid and that stupid entrance exam....you ended up giving me some tattoo artist with an attitude?"

"Uh...It's Mackenzie, not Mac and cheese" he corrected politely.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please"

"What tattoo do you want?" he asked again, ignoring the attitude.

"Dîçk tattoo" she said flatly.

Mackenzie blinked, completely thrown. "I'm sorry...what?"

"A cock. A man's cock. I want it on my ass" she didn't flinch. 

"How… how many inches?"

"Eight. It should be realistic" she replied.

Mackenzie adjusted his tie, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Footsteps approached. They both looked up to see Tavian walking toward them, tools in hand and gloves already on.

Without a word, he used his foot to slide a stool toward the couch.

"Strip your lower body. Lay on your stomach" he muttered, his voice deep and muffled behind the mask.

The woman's lips curved into a slow smirk.

"Your voice turns me on, Mr masked Hottie Tattoo Artist" she said, biting her lip as she started pulling her skirt down.

__________

5 days later at Quenrose College, Nyssa sat at a table in the cafeteria with some guy in glasses.

Don't get it twisted, they weren't friends and they don't even know each other!

He had just walked over and asked if he could sit. She didn't say no.

They were eating the same thing: cheeseburger, onion rings and milkshake. 

Nyssa sighed.

Fifth day of college and she could swear she was already losing weight.

School stress? Yeah, not a joke.

Across the table, the guy stared at his phone more than his food.

He barely ate the burger. Onion rings? Ignored. Milkshake? Untouched.

She coughed loudly trying to catch his attention 

That made him glance up. 

"You choked?"

She shook her head. 

"Nope. Just wondering why your phone's getting more attention than your food"

She smirked. "I'm Curious George, if you must know"

He looked back at his screen with no reaction.

She blinked.

Did he just ignore her...?

Then he spoke. 

"I'm just checking how the website I designed on my laptop looks on mobile"

Oh okay, so he didn't ignore her after all 

She pressed her lips together, nodding slightly.

15 minutes later, she was already walking through the hallway—crowded with students chatting, laughing and just chilling against the lockers.

She rubbed her stomach, which was full, yet somehow still craving more food.

Yeah, that's her. She eats like a monster and still doesn't gain weight.

She started hearing  low murmur, scattered whispers spreading like ripples in a pond.

She turned slightly to the side and noticed students all staring in one direction.

The same direction she was heading toward.

What was going on there?

Wait wasn't she looking that way too?

Oops.

Nope. She had been staring at her shoes the whole time...those gorgeous $10,000 limited-edition heels. Priorities.

Lifting her head, she looked up and her breath froze. Right in front of her stood a whole masterpiece.

Tall. Ridiculously handsome. Messy brown hair that looked too perfect to be natural. Like someone tried to mess it up and accidentally made it look better.

A bold lollipop tattoo marked his neck looking random, strange but somehow... insanely hot.

His face was blank. Like nothing in the world could excite him.

And his lips… pink? Red? Who cared. They looked like sin.

He didn't look real. He looked like a fever dream wrapped in black denim.

Temptation, personified.

Nyssa almost laughed.

Love at first sight? Please. She used to roll her eyes at that stuff.

Called it cringe and dramatic.

Guess the joke's on her.

Their eyes met. Yep, for real. And then...he looked away.

He just walked right past her like she was air.

She blinked, jaw slightly open, but couldn't ignore the tattoo on his neck.

Why does that tattoo look familiar...?

Wait a second.

No way. That's him.

The biker!! The phone crusher!!

The guy who rolled over her $6,000 phone like it was a bottle cap.

Unbelievable. She was catching feelings for someone who committed phone murder.

He turned into another hallway and she sped up after him.

And by sped up, she meant she ran fast, very fast.

Like comic-book-hero flash. 

People turned to stare, but she assumed it was because of how stunning she looked while running.

Honestly? She looked like a beautiful princess. Literally.

She caught up and stopped in front of him, breathless but standing tall like she meant business.

Well… tall in spirit.

Physically, she had to tilt her neck way back just to meet his gaze.

His eyes slowly traveled down to her, and when their eyes locked again...this time closer, her throat tightened.

Don't lose your cool, Nyssa. His sexy, tired, soulless gaze can't stop you from speaking.

She squared her shoulders.

"Five days ago, you were driving recklessly" she began.

"In your madness, your bike crushed my phone. my six-thousand-dollar phone. I'm pretty sure you felt your tires run over something a few days ago"

Silence.

He just stared at her with blank expression.

But she stood her ground, face serious.

What he didn't know?

She was melting inside, like, she was dripping w£t underneath because of his stare.

Gosh, he should say something. Just... respond!!

But Tavian said nothing.