Eun-chae had a decision to take. And it followed her home like a shadow that refused to loosen its grip. Their apartment was small. Too small for any hesitation whatsoever.
Stepping into the apartment, the kitchen light flickered faintly as her mother ironed their uniforms for the next day, with careful and precise movements. As if pressing the fabric could press any stability into their lives.
"You're home late," her mother said, the moment Eun-chae walked through the door.
"Yes," She stuttered in. "I stayed to study for a while." Though that wasn't what happened, it wasn't entirely a lie too.
Her younger sister, Chae-young was already asleep on the fold-out mattress near the window. Textbooks stacked neatly beside her. Eun-chae stood there for a while, watching the steady rise and fall of her sister's breathing.
Watching her so peacefully asleep, makes her want to do more. To change their situation, and not make her go through what she was going through.
Midterms were next week. And scholarship reviews followes immediately after. A single mistake, a slip and one drop in rank means she loses everything.
Dumping her bag on her study table, she strolled into the washroom. Within minutes, she was out. She lay down on her thin mattress but instead of sleep, the rooftop replayed in her mind over and over.
If you want my protection, you belong under my roof.
Belong.
The word didn't sound romantic.It sounded binding.
She turned onto her side, staring at the faint crack in the ceiling paint. Quiet survival had always been her rule, her thing. Head down. Endure. Graduate. That simple.
But this quiet survival got her locked up in a storage closet. Gotten her notes dumped into a toilet. And was slowly costing her everything.
That evening, Eun-chae couldn't sleep. She just kept tossing and turning. And didn't realize how long she had been awake. But at 3:17 a.m, she stopped pretending she would sleep and finally made her decision.
*******
At 7 a.m Eun-chae was already at school. But the morning at Seonghwa High felt sharper, the air was colder. And the stares were heavier than they initially were. Whispers followed her immediately she walked through the gates to the main building.
"She was locked in." One student muttered.
"I heard she cried." Another said.
"Serves her right." The other student added.
Eun-chae just walked through them without reacting. But today, her steps did not drift toward the lockers. Instead, they led her up the stairwell. Exactly where she knew she would find him.
The door to the rooftop creaked as she pushed it open. And truely, Jaxon was already there. He was so predictable from her observation.
She found her seated on the ledge like he had nowhere else to be. A knee drawn up, and gaze fixed on the skyline. As if the sky answered to him.
"You're early," he said, without turning.
"You're always here." She muttered, stating the obvious. But he didn't say anything. A brief silence stretched between them. Then, he finally glanced at her.
"Did you come to decline?" He asked, as if testing her. Eun-chae who had all along been standing at the entrance, fully stepped onto the rooftop, letting the door close behind her.
"No." She felt the wind pressed against her back, but she stood steady. "I'll do it," she said.
Jaxon's steady gaze traveled carefully at her. "Say it properly." He snapped.
Eun-chae's pulse quickened, just thinking of it but she didn't look away. "I'll move into your apartment," she said. " Openingly pretend to be your girlfriend." The words tasted strange in her mouth. It was binding.
He slid off the ledge slowly. "No pretending, Eun-chae." he corrected. Her brows drew together slightly. "Let's make things clear. This only works if no one doubts it," he continued. "If you hesitate or flinch, it falls apart."
"I won't." She uttered and he instinctively stepped closer.
"You don't get to look uncomfortable when I stand close." Involuntarily, she swallowed at his words.
"I won't." She repeated.
"You don't correct people when they assume things." He added, as if laying down rules and regulations.
"I won't." Eun-chae's reply was that simple.
"You don't run back home when rumors get ugly." Her jaw tightened.
"I won't." She managed to say.
The room fell into silence as he studied her face, like he was searching for fear. And he found it. But he also found resolve. Found someone who was ready to fave the risk.
"And you family," he said. "What are you going to tell them?"
"That I got an academic arrangement closer to campus," she replied, as swiftly as the question landed. "It won't be unusual. Given the fact that I often stay late."
"You're good at lying after all." He nodded.
"I'm good at surviving. I will put it that way if you ask me."
Those words earned the faintest shift Jaxon's indifferent expression. Briefly, he turned away running a hand through his hair as he tried to mask it.
"You move in this weekend," he said. Her heart stumbled, not expecting things to go this fast.
"So soon?" She asked.
"The longer we wait, the more suspicious it looks. Don't you think?" And he sure wasn't wrong.
"And at school?" she asked.
"It starts today." Her breath caught, as his words landed.
"Today?" He looked at her like she'd asked something obvious.
"You think protection begins next week?"
In the moment, the rooftop door creaked open behind them. And voices of students echoed faintly from the stairwell. Jaxon's gaze held hers.
"Lesson one," he murmured. "Don't look nervous." But her pulse was already hammering against her chest as footsteps approached.
In the next minute, the door swung open wider, and two junior boys froze at the entrance when they saw them.
Eun-chae felt the weight of their stares instantly, while Jaxon stepped closer. Closing the space left between them.
Her breath caught at the closeness, but she forced herself not to step back. Slowly His hand found it's way up, in a deliberate prescension. Then, he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
The gesture was gentle and intimate. Making her entire body go rigid for half a second before it clicked, Don't flinch. The words echoed in her mind.
The boys' eyes widened at the sight before them. And Jaxon took advantage of it; he lowered his voice, just enough for it to look private.
"You're thinking too loud," he murmured.
"I'm adjusting," she whispered back.
His fingers lingered a second longer than necessary before dropping. The boys were quick to look away and then, disappeared back down the stairs.
Eun-chae exhaled shakily. "That was unnecessary," she muttered.
"It was necessary," he corrected. "They'll talk."
"That was the point of all this?" Eun-chae questioned.
"Yes."
Her stomach twitched, ' this was real now.' She told herself. Intuitively, he stepped back slightly, though but not far.
"Lunch," he uttered. "You sit with me."
"And what about your friends?" She was quick to ask.
"I don't have any." He replied.
That shouldn't have surprised her. But it did anyway. And before she could react, he had already started toward the door, but he paused.
"You bring essentials this weekend," he added. "I'll send you the address."
She blinked. "You have my number?"
He looked flatly at her. "I can get it." Of course he could. Without any doubt.
"And Eun-chae." He called, and she looked up. "If you're going to live with me," he said, "don't treat my apartment like a temporary shelter."
The words weren't cruel, neither were they serious. But what does he even mean? She had no, or less time to analyse anything. She slowly nodded. "I won't."
With that, he opened the door and stepped into the stairwell.
And this time, she followed along.
******
By lunch break, the entire school knew. The moment Eun-chae stepped into the cafeteria, there was a shift and she felt.
The silence that quickly filled the room. For the first time, Jaxon was already seated at his usual table near the windows, all by himself.
He didn't glance at her and neither did he gestured. There was no need for it. Because Eun-chae was already headed towards him. Every step felt like stepping onto a stage, with the tensed gazes fixed on her.
Min-ji's was no different. Her sharp eyes were locked onto her across the room in disbelief. But Eun-chae gave her no attention. The moment she got to the table, she placed her tray down and sat.
Jaxon leaned back slightly in his chair. "You're late," he said.
"It's been five minutes."
"It still counts." They sounded normal, and causal.
But the entire cafeteria felt like it was holding its breath.
Min-ji stood abruptly from her table. For a second, Eun-chae thought she would walk over. But she didn't. She just sat back down slowly. The message was clear. Min-ji was hesitanting.
Meanwhile, Jaxon reached for Eun-chae's water bottle without asking and took a sip. Gasps immediately rippled softly around them. Eun-chae's pulse fluttered, despite her calm expression.
His protection had begun, and so had something else.
Because sitting across from Jaxon Vale, and watching him act like this, wasn't natural.