Night had fallen, and the Academy grounds were quieter than usual. The students had finished their evaluations, but the tension still lingered in the air.
Jin sat near the cliffside behind the dorms, gazing at the moon. His journal lay beside him—unwritten.
Bo snuck up from behind. "Still brooding over 'She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named'?"
Jin smirked. "Don't call her that."
Bo plopped down. "Then just talk to her, genius."
But Jin didn't answer. Instead, he looked toward the forest edge where fireflies floated like stars.
Meanwhile…
Yooha sat by the lake, her feet dipped into the cool water. Xie Luan was beside her, silent as ever.
Yooha finally broke the quiet. "Do you think I was too harsh today?"
Xie Luan didn't reply immediately. "No. But you were afraid. I could feel it."
She turned away, not answering that.
Suddenly, Meiqi's voice echoed from the woods. "There you two are!"
Meiqi walked over, dragging Jin behind her like a sack of rice.
"Enough awkward looks and secret sighs. Talk. Now."
Jin and Yooha stared at each other, unsure.
Bo appeared too, with snacks. "I brought popcorn."
Under the moonlight, Jin sat across from Yooha.
"I've seen the way you fight," he said softly. "You're holding back."
Yooha's eyes dropped. "I don't want to lose myself again."
"You won't," Jin said. "Not with us here."
Her gaze finally met his. For a second, everything slowed down—until Bo yelled:
"NOW KISS—"
Meiqi smacked him on the head. "Idiot."
The moment shattered, but something lingered.
Later that night, Jin wrote in his journal:
"The moon was quiet tonight. But her eyes were louder than any storm."
To be continue....