Kian’s POV

Just as I was about to give up and leave for home, heavy footsteps echoed down the empty hallway.

I stepped outside the room and froze—it was Kai.

He stared down at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Why are you so late?"

My mind raced. Should I tell him the truth, or make up a lie?

If I lied and he found out later, the consequences would be terrifying. So I swallowed my fear and confessed. "I... I forgot. I had already boarded the bus to go home, but I turned back the moment I remembered."

Kai looked at me calmly. "Why didn't you just send a message? A single text would have been enough. Stop being so scared of everything around you."

Stop being scared?! I screamed inwardly. You're literally the biggest bully on this entire campus! If there were any way I could knock you to the ground and make you cry your heart out, I'd consider it! But since I know I can't... I'll just keep my mouth shut.

"You don't have my number, right?" Kai asked, extending his hand. "Give me your phone."

I hesitated for a second before reaching into my pocket and handing it over. It was an old keypad phone—nothing like the expensive smartphones everyone else had.

Surprisingly, Kai didn't mock it or say a single bad word. He typed something into it, handed it back to me, and turned toward the exit. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" I asked, taking a step back.

"Don't try asking questions," Kai said coldly.

What is his deal?! Every single time I tried to speak, he cut me off and lectured me about "deliberately letting people bully me," when he was the one bossing me around all the time!

We walked down to the parking lot and got into his car. He drove us straight to a high-end shopping mall nearby, parking right in front of a luxury electronics showroom.

He led me inside to a display case, selected a brand-new, extremely expensive smartphone, and paid for it on the spot.

Then, without a word, he turned around and handed the brand-new phone straight to me.

I stared at the sleek, expensive phone in his hand, utterly bewildered.

"Use this phone from now on," Kai said flatly. "And don't bother saying you don't have the money to pay me back. I just don't want your useless keypad phone glitching or missing my calls when I try to reach you. Use it until I'm done with you. When I'm done, I'll take it back."

Done with me? I thought, my mind racing. What does he even mean by 'done with me'?!

This was completely over the top. I shook my head and held my hands up. "There's really no need for this. My keypad phone works totally fine!"

"Don't lecture me," Kai cut in, his dark eyes narrowing. "You will use this phone from now on. I don't want to waste my entire day waiting for you while you simply forget to show up because you're off enjoying quality time with your friend. Just tell me in advance when you're not available."

Am I even allowed to do what I want?! I screamed internally. If I had a choice, there is NO WAY I'd ever want to see your face again!

I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't even notice Kai stepping in closer. He backed me up against the display case, leaning down until his face was inches from mine.

"Don't overthink things," he murmured softly, his cold gaze locked onto mine. "And definitely don't try arguing with me—even in your head. Just do as I say."

My eyes widened in pure terror. For real?! Can this guy actually read my mind now?! I seriously need to stay far away from him... he's a ruthless, cold-hearted Alpha with zero kindness!

As I spiraled into my own head again, Kai reached out, grabbed my arm, and dragged me out of the showroom.

He ushered me into the passenger seat of his car, glanced over, and sighed. "Stop doing that all the time."

"Doing what?" I muttered softly.

"Staring blankly and day-dreaming about things that will never come true."

"What do you think I was thinking?! Am I seriously not even allowed to think my own thoughts?! This is ridiculous!"

Suddenly, my heart dropped into my stomach as my brain caught up with my mouth.

Oh god... I didn't just think that. I said it out loud!

I felt myself shrink on the spot, quickly averting my eyes from his intense glare. Luckily, for once in his life, Kai didn't say a single word back. He stayed completely silent as he drove the rest of the way, dropping me off right in front of my house.

When I walked inside, I was relieved to see that my mom was already back from her business trip! I ran over and wrapped her in a big hug, telling her a little about my week. After a warm dinner together, I full slept.

The next day, college went by as usual. But when evening arrived and I went to meet Kai at our usual spot, he looked at me coldly and said, "Do one hundred push-ups."

This is insane! He STILL hasn't gotten over this?!

I tried to obey, but by the time I hit twenty push-ups, my arms completely gave out. I collapsed onto the floor, unable to lift my body even an inch higher. "I can't do it anymore..." I gasped.

"If you don't want to get punished, keep going," Kai ordered flatly.

Irritated, I forced myself through another twenty push-ups until my arms were shaking violently and burning with unbearable pain. "I'm really done! My arms hurt so much!"

Kai looked down at my trembling hands and let out a quiet sigh. "Okay, that's enough for today. Now run around the field twenty times."

Here we go again... this is completely insane!

But just when I thought I was about to collapse from running, luck finally swung my way. Dark clouds rolled in, and heavy rain suddenly poured from the sky!

Since the field was soaked, Kai gestured toward the student club . "Inside. We'll do dance practice today instead."

"What?!" I blinked in total shock.

Before I could object, Kai grabbed my wrist, led me into the student club room, and plugged in a music player. As a smooth rhythm began to fill the room, he walked up, placed his hand firmly around my waist, and stared directly into my eyes.

"Move your legs like this," he instructed softly.

Following his guidance, I tried to keep up with the rhythm as he taught me the steps. But because I was so nervous with him holding me this close, I ended up stumbling and crashing straight into his chest almost every single time!

For two full hours, we moved together under the dim lights of the club room, with the rain pouring heavily against the glass outside.

Finally, Kai paused the music and looked down at me, his hand still resting on my waist. "You definitely need a lot of practice. Let me drop you home."

As the months passed, my routine with Kai continued unabated.

He constantly pushed me to my absolute limits—making me run endless laps, practice sports, dance, and even learn basic hand-to-hand self-defense techniques. He even took me to a private shooting range once, showing me how to handle and aim a firearm!

Why was he so obsessed with teaching me all these intense skills? Only God knew. But whatever his reasons were, I was handling things infinitely better than I had during my terrifying first week on campus.

A full year flew by in the blink of an eye.

Now, Kai had finished his final third-year exams and graduated from college, while Sun and I had successfully moved up into our second year.

Over the past year, people still whispered and tried to bully me occasionally, but nowhere near as badly as before—mostly because I spent nearly all my free time glued to Kai’s side.

Yet, one thing never changed: Kai’s bone-chilling coldness. Even though I had mastered so many new skills over the past year, he was never satisfied. He kept giving me a hard time, and as usual, I couldn't bring myself to say a single word of complaint back to him.

One afternoon, as I was packing my bag in the classroom, a boy walked up to my desk along with two of his friends.

I tried to ignore them and walk past, but they deliberately stepped in my way to get on my nerves.

"You only hung out with that senior, and that's the only reason people kept their mouths shut around here," the leader sneered, grabbing me roughly by the collar. "He already passed his final exams and isn't on campus today. So, what are you going to do now, huh?!"

Remembering Kai’s harsh lessons, I reached up, shoved his hand off my collar, and turned to walk away.

Immediately, his two friends lunged forward, grabbing both sides of my shirt to slam me onto the tile floor.

Not this time.

Instead of letting them overpower me, I planted my feet, reached out, and forcefully shoved both of them back. The sudden force caught them completely off guard, sending them crashing hard onto the floor.

"How dare you?!" the leader roared.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" I stammered instinctively, taking a step back.

All three of them scrambled up at once, rushing at me together. The leader swung his arm and delivered a harsh slap across my face.

The stinging pain burned my cheek—but this time, I didn't cry, run away, or shrink back.

Instincts drilled into me over a year of brutal training took over. In a fluid blur of motion, I delivered a sharp, echoing slap right back across the leader's face, followed by two swift strikes that sent all three of them stumbling backward. Before they could recover, I landed a sharp kick straight into the leader's chest, sending him crashing into the desks with a bloody nose.

The classroom went dead silent.