"Hey…"

The soft voice behind him immediately made Azaan stop searching. His heartbeat, which had been racing with fear moments ago, suddenly slowed down.

He recognized that voice instantly.
Slowly turning around, Azaan saw Viki standing there near the corridor entrance.

The moment he saw him safe, relief flooded through his entire body. Without even thinking, Azaan hurried toward him.

"Where were you?!" he asked breathlessly. "Are you okay? Did you fall somewhere? Does your ankle still hurt?"

Before Viki could even answer, Azaan carefully checked him from head to toe with worried eyes.

Viki stood there speechless for a second, completely stunned by Azaan's reaction. No one had ever worried this much about him before.

Seeing Azaan panic like this made something warm spread inside his chest.
Finally, Viki gently grabbed Azaan's shoulder.

"Calm down… I'm fine," he said softly.

Only then did Azaan finally relax. He let out a deep breath he didn't even realize he had been holding.

"Then where did you go?" he asked quietly. "I searched everywhere for you."

Viki blinked in surprise.

"You searched for me?"

Azaan quickly looked away after realizing what he had admitted.

"I-I just…" he stuttered nervously.

Viki tilted his head slightly, waiting for an answer.

"I went to the restroom," Viki explained first. "Because of the construction work near the staff restroom, I used the regular restroom instead."

Azaan nodded immediately, feeling embarrassed by how worried he had become.

Then Viki looked at him curiously and asked in a soft teasing tone,
"But why were you searching for me so desperately?"

For a moment, Azaan completely froze.

He couldn't tell the truth.

He couldn't admit how terrified he felt thinking something had happened to Viki.

"I…"

His voice shook slightly.

"My phone," he finally replied awkwardly. "I left it at your house yesterday… so I came to take it back."

The moment he said that, Viki's expression changed slightly.

So… that was the reason?

A small disappointment unknowingly settled inside his chest, though he quickly hid it behind a calm expression.

"Oh," Viki murmured softly. "It's in the staff room. I kept it there safely."

Azaan immediately smiled. "Then I'll collect it after college."

After saying that, he quickly hurried back toward his classroom.

But even after he left, Viki continued standing there silently.

For some reason, Azaan's earlier panic kept replaying inside his mind.
Was he really only worried about the phone…?

Later that, Azaan entered class a little late because of everything that happened. Their language teacher, Josh Sir, looked at him sternly.

"You're late, Azaan. Stand outside the class."

Azaan quietly obeyed and stood outside near the corridor window.

A few minutes later, Viki walked toward the staff room to return some papers.

While passing by, he noticed Azaan standing outside the classroom alone.

He immediately stopped walking.

"Azaan?"

The moment Viki called his name for the first time, Azaan's eyes widened slightly.

For a second, he completely forgot where he was.

The sound of his name coming from Viki's lips made his heart race uncontrollably.

A small smile slowly appeared on Azaan's face as he turned toward him.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here?" Viki asked.

"I got punished for being late," Azaan replied sheepishly.

Viki frowned slightly before suddenly walking inside the classroom.

Josh Sir looked up in confusion. "Yes, Viki?"

Viki stood straight and calmly said,

"Sir, it's actually my fault Azaan came late. I called him to the staff room for some work."

Azaan's eyes widened in shock.

He never expected Viki to cover for him like this.

Josh Sir sighed lightly before nodding.

"You should've told me earlier, Azaan. Fine, go inside."

"Thank you, sir," Azaan replied quickly before entering the classroom.

But even after sitting down, he couldn't stop smiling.

Viki had called him by his name.

And even stood up for him.

For the rest of the class, Azaan's heart felt lighter than ever before.

After college ended, Azaan almost ran toward the staff room, pretending he only wanted his phone back.

But deep inside, he simply wanted another excuse to see Viki.

When he entered the room, Viki was already waiting there.

Without saying much, Viki handed him the phone.

"Here."

Azaan accepted it carefully, their fingers brushing slightly against each other.

Both of them immediately looked away awkwardly.

Trying to hide his nervousness, Azaan asked,
"Are you going to the bus stand now?"
Viki nodded. "Yeah."

For a moment, Azaan hesitated before softly asking,
"Can I come with you?"

Viki looked surprised. "What about your friend Sam?"

Azaan smiled faintly.

"I want to go with you today."

Those simple words completely stunned Viki.

Unable to refuse, he quietly nodded.

The two of them slowly began walking toward the bus stand together.

At first, silence surrounded them. But strangely, it wasn't uncomfortable.

Viki walked near the roadside where vehicles passed continuously. Suddenly, a speeding bike rushed toward them recklessly.

Before Viki could react, Azaan instantly grabbed his wrist and pulled him safely toward his side.

"Be careful!" Azaan scolded worriedly.

Viki stared at him in surprise.

Then, after a few seconds, he smiled playfully.

"So protective…"

Azaan immediately looked away, embarrassed.

To keep Viki safe, he switched positions and walked on the roadside instead while making Viki walk on the safer side.

Soon they reached the bus stand and entered a crowded bus together. Since there were no empty seats, both of them had to stand close to each other.

As the bus suddenly crossed a speed breaker, Azaan lost his balance slightly and almost fell onto Viki.

For a moment, their faces were dangerously close again.

Both of them froze.

Viki could feel Azaan's breath against his skin.

Azaan quickly held the support rail beside Viki, trapping him between his arm and the bus window unintentionally.

Neither of them moved away immediately.

Then Viki softly laughed and whispered teasingly,
"You really need to be careful too."

Azaan's ears instantly turned red.

After getting down from the bus, they walked together until they reached their stop.

Before leaving, Azaan turned back and called out softly,
"Bye, Viki… see you tomorrow."

Viki smiled gently and nodded.

That small smile stayed inside Azaan's heart the entire night.

The next morning, fate once again brought them together on the way to college.

"Good morning," Azaan said happily while walking beside him.

"Good morning," Viki replied softly.

As they continued walking together, Azaan suddenly became serious.

"There's something I want to talk to you about after college," he said quietly.

Viki looked at him with confusion.

"What is it?"

But instead of answering, Azaan only shook his head lightly.

"I'll tell you later."

Then he walked inside the college building, leaving Viki standing near the gate completely confused and curious about what Azaan wanted to say.