Kian’s POV

Oh god, this is so awkward...

Kai sat across from me, eating his lunch in absolute silence.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief when I saw Sun returning. But my jaw nearly dropped when Senior Moon walked over right alongside him!

The four of us ate together without saying a single word. Every eye in the canteen remained glued to our table, whispering under their breath. I had no idea how to communicate with either of them—they were our upperclassmen, after all. Seniors demanded complete respect, and I knew that if I accidentally said the wrong thing, they had the power to make our lives miserable.

It's definitely safer to just stay silent, I thought, focusing entirely on my food.

Once lunch was over, Sun and I headed back to class. But as the afternoon wore on, my heart began pounding faster and faster with every passing minute.

I suddenly remembered what Kai had told me yesterday: Meet me at the student club after class.

A wave of dread washed over me, leaving me terrified of what might happen. Yet, strangely beneath the fear... there was a small, fluttering sense of excitement.

Why am I feeling excited? I asked myself, my face warming up.

Maybe it was because despite his freezing cold voice and emotionless expressions, Kai was the only person who had never disrespectfully looked down on me. Instead, he had protected me, retrieved my clothes, and even carefully applied medicine to my cuts—not just once, but twice now.

When the final bell rang, I excused myself and walked nervously over to the student club .

I reached the doorway and peeked inside. Kai was already there. The moment his gaze landed on me, he silently gestured with his eyes for me to take a seat on the chair across from him.

I stepped inside, looking around the room. There were stacks of books, carrom boards, footballs, and cricket gear scattered around—equipment the seniors probably used during their free time.

I sat down on the edge of the seat, holding my breath.

Without warning, Kai suddenly stood up and leaned over me, trapping me against the chair.

My heart hammered wildly against my ribs as I squeezed my eyes shut.

Oh god... I am completely done for today!

As I kept my eyes squeezed shut, bracing for the worst... nothing happened.

I slowly opened one eye.

Kai was standing right above me, staring down with a flat expression. "Stop being so scared of everything. I'm not going to eat you up. You don't have to be afraid of me."

I let out a quiet breath, my pulse still racing. "W-Why did you tell me to come here then?"

"All my friends are busy today," Kai said simply, leaning back. "So you're staying here and playing with me."

"Play with you?" I blinked, thoroughly confused. "Play what?"

"Basketball."

My jaw dropped slightly. Why on earth was he asking me to play basketball? I tried to wriggle my way out of it immediately—mostly because I had zero clue how to play. "I... I don't know how to play. Besides, I really need to go home and study."

Kai raised his voice slightly, his tone stern yet commanding. "I'm the top-ranked student in our batch, and I still find time to hang out with friends and play sports. Don't use studying as an excuse. And if you don't know how to play, then I'll teach you. Let's go."

He grabbed a basketball from the corner and started walking toward the door.

I remained glued to my chair, too stunned to move.

Kai stopped, turned around, and raised an eyebrow at me. "What? Do you seriously have a hearing problem?"

"C-Coming!" I blurted out, jumping up from the seat and scrambling after him.

We walked out to the outdoor basketball court. The area was completely deserted—it was just the two of us.

Kai tossed the ball over to me without much warning. In my panic, I fumbled it completely, letting it hit the ground before I awkwardly scrambled to scoop it up into my arms.

"Sorry!" I stammered, holding the ball tightly against my chest.

Kai walked over and stood right behind me. He reached out and placed his large, warm hands directly over mine—not grabbing the ball itself, but holding my hands on the ball.

My breath hitched at his sudden closeness.

"Hold it like this," he instructed softly, his voice vibrating near my ear as he adjusted my grip.

He took the ball back briefly to demonstrate the form before handing it back. I followed his instructions, taking a deep breath, and threw the ball toward the hoop.

Clatter!

It missed completely and bounced off the rim, dropping onto the court. Every single attempt I made ended up dropping short or bouncing away embarrassingly.

"Do it again," Kai ordered calmly, tossing the ball back to me. "Like this."

Seeing my frustration, Kai stepped up directly behind me again. He took my hands, adjusting my grip on the ball, and guided my arms up above my head. With a subtle push from his hands over mine, he demonstrated the arch.

Swish!

The ball arced through the air and landed smoothly right through the center of the basketball net.

After that, he stepped back and made me try it on my own. But no matter how many times I shot the ball without his help, I missed every single shot. It was so humiliating.

Yet Kai kept ordering me to keep trying.

"Again," he said flatly. "Do it again."

It was becoming so exasperating! I was completely exhausted, my shoulders were aching, and he just kept pushing me. In a burst of pure frustration, I hurled the ball toward the hoop with all my strength—

SWISH!

My jaw dropped. It actually went in!

A huge, foolish grin spread across my face. I stood there staring at the net, completely forgetting how exhausted I was after four grueling hours of trying to make a single shot. All the fatigue in my body vanished in an instant.

Kai walked over, picking up the bounced ball with a calm expression. "See? It’s not that hard. Even when you feel weak, scared, or tempted to run away from a situation... it’s always better to stay and fight back. Even if you have to fail a thousand times first, running away solves absolutely nothing."

I stared at him, my breath catching in my throat.

Did he bring me all the way out here just to teach me this lesson?

He really hadn't gotten over the fact that I ran off the stage without standing up to that bully, had he?

Kai stepped closer, taking the ball out of my hands. "We'll play football tomorrow."

Before I could even open my mouth to protest, he added in a cool, commanding voice, "Don't even try to say no."

Once again, no words came out of my mouth. I just gave him a meek, obedient nod.

"Let me drop you home," he said, walking toward his car.

I followed him outside, climbed into the passenger seat, and let him drive me back to my house under the evening sky.

Life is really something, isn't it?

One second, I thought Kai was being genuinely kind to me—even with that moody, cold expression he wore all the time, or the harsh way he delivered good advice. But the very next day, reality hit me hard.

I went to meet him after class for football practice just like he ordered. And wow... he showed absolutely zero mercy.

During practice, I tripped and scraped myself on the turf. I thought he would let me take a break, but he didn't give me even a second to breathe!

"Getting hurt while playing sports is natural," Kai said, his voice as cold as ice. "Get up and make a goal."

Every single time I tried to kick the ball into the net, Kai easily blocked it. It was beyond frustrating! My knee was bleeding and my body was aching, but he still forced me to keep playing.

After four grueling hours of continuous shooting without a single goal, Kai finally sighed. "Okay. Stop for today. We'll play football again tomorrow."

The moment the words left his mouth, I collapsed onto the grass, completely drained of energy.

Kai walked over, pulled out his first-aid kit, and carefully cleaned and bandaged my bloody scrape. At this point, getting bandaged by him was becoming my daily routine. It really feels like he doesn't care about my pain at all...

The next day was even worse.

My body was still throbbing with pain from yesterday's bruises, but Kai forced me right back onto the field. Somehow, through sheer desperation, I finally managed to kick the ball past him and score a single goal!

A tiny wave of relief washed over me. Finally! Maybe he'll let me rest now.

"Okay," Kai said, tossing his water bottle aside. "Now run around the ground 10 times."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I opened my mouth to protest, but before a single word could come out, he shot me a sharp, commanding glare.

"Fast. No complaining. Do as I say—I don't want to hear an answer no."

Seriously?! What the hell does he want from me?!

This was pure exhaustion and sheer torture wrapped into one! I turned around and slowly began jogging along the edge of the field.

Oh god... this is honestly worse than someone bullying me or throwing insults at my face!

Here I was, foolishly thinking he was kind deep down. But no—he was actually the worst out of all of them! Why did I even listen to everything he said? Did I even have the option to deny an Alpha like him?

My life had turned into a complete rollercoaster. Every time I escaped one problem, I immediately plunged straight into another.

Fine... it's okay. I'm good at enduring things. It's not that hard to just run, right? Just run.

I dragged my aching legs through ten full laps around the massive college field. By the time I finally finished, the sun had already set and the sky was completely dark.

Kai watched me panting for breath, then simply said, "Let's go."

Just like before, he drove me home under the dark evening sky, leaving me to crawl straight into bed.