Few days later at school, White sat at his desk, gathering his thoughts about every little clue he had regarding Shu's issue.
For Zen, he had already asked Aris to help locate him. Zen never came to school but often returned home late at night. If Aris managed to convince Zen and bring him to the place White had mentioned, then all White had to do was execute the plan—though he would think about the details later.
But as for Shu, he was mostly clueless. He had known her for a couple of months, yet he never had the chance to truly understand her.
'Damn it.'
If only he knew her better. Still, he understood one thing: to rid someone of these emotion-formed creatures, the first step was to uncover the core reason behind those emotions. He had a small hint—it was related to Shu being physically abused by her parents.
But that alone could not solve anything. He needed more clues. As far as he knew, Shu never spoke to anyone else in class besides Zen and himself.
He considered asking others, but that would consume too much time, and he had no idea how much time was left.
As he glanced toward Shu, who was about to leave school for home, he observed her carefully. Her behavior and the way she spoke hadn't changed.
Maybe he could just ask her. But he knew it wouldn't help—he had tried before and failed. Shu kept wearing that fake mask, pretending everything was fine.
"I don't know what to do…" White muttered, scratching his head. Then an idea struck him—maybe Luna could help.
But after what he had seen yesterday about Luna, he wasn't sure whether he should involve her. Still, he had no choice; she was the only hope to find out more about Shu.
Taking his bag, White headed toward the club room. When he arrived, he tried to open the door, but it was locked. Confused, since classes had just ended, he figured Luna might be in the council room.
It was his first time visiting. The aura around the room felt heavy, as though it might crush him if he let his guard down. Just as he touched the doorknob, someone suddenly covered his eyes from behind.
"Tell me who I am," a cheerful girl's voice said.
"Miss Claire," White replied, shocked at first but recognizing her instantly. Her aura was so bright he couldn't forget her.
"Bingo! You won," she said, releasing her hands.
As he turned, she leaned closer. "Oh! The 100-score guy from before… what was your name again?" she asked energetically.
"Ah, yes, that's me. I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm White, second year, Class B. Nice to meet you."
"Yo! Claire here. So why are you at the council? Need something?" she asked.
"Well… do you know where I can find President Luna?" White asked.
"Oh, Luna? She didn't come to school today. She messaged me saying she has a fever and is taking the day off," Claire said casually.
White hesitated, unsure where else to find her. Claire continued, "Well, if you want, why don't you visit her? I was planning to go, but I have to meet my friends. I came here to ask Blake, but I know he'd complain."
Before White could respond, she handed him some medicine, papers, and a cheat sheet with Luna's address. She also exchanged contacts with him.
This worked in his Favor—now he had a way to reach her.
Following the address, White arrived at a tall, luxurious building. "Apartment 707… here goes nothing," he murmured.
He took the lift to the seventh floor and found her apartment at the end of the hall. Taking a deep breath, he rang the bell. When the door opened, he saw President Luna in pink pyjamas, coughing continuously.
It stunned him—it was the first time he had seen her outside her school uniform.
"If you came here just to stare, I'm closing the door," she said, annoyed.
As she started to shut the door, White quickly said, "Wait, please. I'm sorry. I came to deliver this to you."
He handed her the medicine and papers Claire had given him. She tried to close the door again, but White stopped it with his hand.
"Don't you think it's polite to invite someone in for tea when they visit?" he asked.
"Sorry, but we don't have any, and I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I'm sick; you'll catch it if I let you in," she replied.
"Don't worry. I have good immunity. Nothing will happen, so please let me in," he pleaded.
After a brief struggle, she released the doorknob. White lost his balance and nearly fell forward. He almost landed on her, but Luna calmly stepped aside, and he fell flat on his face.
Covering his hurt face, he heard her say, "What were you trying? A rom-com scene?"
"Stop that," White muttered through the pain.
I felt that talking to her now was much more comfortable than at school. Perhaps she had lost her intimidating aura after falling sick.
"So, why are you so eager to get into my apartment? Do you want to talk about those emotion-formed creatures I mentioned before?" she asked.
"It's possible," White admitted.
"To get rid of that creature?" she pressed.
"Yes," he said firmly.
"Don't be stupid. It's impossible," she claimed.
"No, it's possible. Well, you're not wrong either—it can't be ended by anyone else but the host itself," White explained.
She looked confused, so he told her everything Aisha had told him.
"Well, that makes sense. Emotions can't be altered by others, only by the person who carries them. As soon as the emotions cease, the creatures will die," Luna said thoughtfully.
Looking at him, she asked, "Where did you get this kind of knowledge?"
"Ah… well… I was searching and came to this conclusion. That's all," White laughed nervously, hiding the truth.
"That sounds suspicious, but forget it. So, you came here to tell me this? It won't help you," she said.
"No… I came here because I know you can help me. Do you know anyone related to Shu besides her parents?" White asked.
"Hmm… Well, after yesterday, I also tried to find information about her. Besides the parents you mentioned, the mother is not her biological mother—the abuser is her stepmother. I also found that Shu was bullied in middle school. Other than that, I don't know," Luna said cautiously.
"That's a big point. Anything else?" White asked.
"No, nothing more." She wrote something in a notebook and handed him a note.
"Here. This is the name of her middle school. Maybe you can find more about her there."
"Thank you…" White said, standing up to leave.
"President… no, Luna, as I said, I'm going to save my friends. Just as I promised." With that, he bid farewell.
As he left, Luna whispered softly, "Maybe if I had the courage, you have now, back then, I could've… Well, good luck, White."