The garden is quiet, one of the few places on campus where the noise doesn't reach as easily, where everything feels slower and more contained.
I sit on the bench with a book resting in my hands, one leg crossed over the other as my eyes move steadily across the page. It's another one of those stories—vampires, werewolves, fate, destiny. Love that feels inevitable.
I don't know why I keep reading them.
"...Eline."
I keep my eyes on the page as her footsteps stop in front of me.
"I've been looking for you."
I turn the page, finishing the line before answering. "...What is it?"
"Elinee.. Ugh.. That guy has been bothering me about you all week."
"...Then stop talking to him."
"That's not the point."
"Why not? What do you mean?"
"He just wants to talk to you.. like.. you could at least give him a chance."
Rin lets out a quiet laugh as she drops onto the bench beside me.
"Give him a chance?!? She doesn't give anyone a chance." She grins. "Seriously, Eline. You've got way too many suitors."
Ivy nods immediately. "It's actually ridiculous. Guys, girls—it doesn't matter. They all circle you like it's a hobby."
Rin leans back, folding her arms. "And not one of them even makes you look twice."
"...Is that supposed to be a problem?"
"It should be," Ivy says. "At least a little."
Rin smirks. "You're telling me not one of them caught your interest? Not even a tiny bit?"
"Uhm.. nope!"
Ivy groans. "See? This is what I mean."
Rin nudges her. "Face it. Your guy doesn't stand a chance."
"He's not my guy."
"You're defending him again."
"I am not—"
I close the book with a soft thud. "I think you want him for yourself," I say calmly.
Rin immediately laughs. "Oh, she definitely does."
"You two are so annoying." She blushes.
Rin leans closer, clearly enjoying this. "Be honest. If Eline said no, you'd go for him, wouldn't you?"
"...Uhm, maybe?"
"That was fast," Rin says.
"Very fast!"
"Oh my god," Ivy groans, covering her face. "You guys are unbelievable."
Rin grins. "We're not the one blushing."
"I am not blushing."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You are."
I glance down at the book in my hands.
Fate. Destiny. Love that's supposed to mean something... Right.
I close it.
"Anyway, I have a student council meeting."
Rin drops back against the bench. "Of course you do."
"Vice president duties," Ivy mutters, still flustered.
"I'll see you later."
Rin lifts a hand lazily. "Try not to break anyone."
"I don't."
I leave the garden, the noise of campus slowly picking up again as I head toward the main building.
We already have a student council meeting on the first day. I exhale quietly.
So much for my elective.
I didn't even want to join. It's not like I had a choice anyway—people voted for me before classes even started. Not because they wanted to, but because they expected to.
Next in line. Future clan leader. It doesn't feel like anything. Just something I'm supposed to do.
Still, I already know how this is going to go—long discussions, pointless arguments, people talking just to hear themselves.
I could be doing something else. Anything else.
I head toward the meeting hall, the noise of campus picking up as I walk.
A few people pass by.
"Morning, Eline."
"Good morning."
By the time I reach the room, most of them are already there. The moment I step inside—
"There you are," the president says, visibly relieved. "I was starting to think you weren't coming."
"...But, I said I would."
"Yeah.. but it's better when you're actually here.
..Should we start?"
"Today's agenda," one of them begins, glancing down at their notes, "there have been complaints about the fines for littering."
A few people shift in their seats.
"They're saying it's too expensive," another adds. "Some students think it's excessive."
"That's because they keep getting caught," someone mutters.
"That's not the point," another argues. "It's discouraging people from even reporting it."
"It's a rule," someone else says. "If they break it, they pay."
The discussion splits, voices overlapping.
I lean back slightly, listening.
The president looks at me and says. "...Eline. What do you think?"
"Well, if the rule exists, it should be enforced."
A few of them glance at each other.
"If people know there's a consequence and still choose to ignore it, then lowering the penalty won't change anything. It just tells them it doesn't matter." I rest my arm lightly on the table. "The rule isn't the problem. The behavior is."
"...Right," the president says quickly. "That makes sense."
"See.. This is why we need you here."
"Alright," he adds, clapping his hands once. "We'll keep the policy as it is."
The meeting ends soon after. People start getting up, talking as they head for the door.
I stay where I am for a moment, then reach for my things.
"Eline??" The president walks over, a little too confident.
"So.. there's this place just outside campus. I was thinking maybe we could grab dinner sometime."
"...No."
"...Oh."
"I have my next class," I add, already turning away. "I'm late."
I leave before he can say anything else.
I head toward my next class, taking the longer route across campus.
Law and Governance.
By the time I reach the room, a few students are already inside. The moment I step in, a couple of heads turn.
"Oh my god... Eline's here."
"No way.."
"Shut up.."
"Guess I'm not dropping this class anymore."
A quiet laugh follows somewhere behind them.
I ignore it and walk to the front, taking a seat.
I prefer it here. Fewer distractions. Just the lecture.
The room fills gradually, voices settling into a low hum as more students take their seats. A few glances still linger, but they fade once the lecture begins.
It's exactly what I expected.
Structures. Systems. Authority. Why rules exist, and what happens when people decide they don't matter.
I follow along easily.
A few students behind me start talking, their voices low but not quiet enough.
"Not gonna lie... having her here makes this class way better."
"Yeah, seriously. At least there's something to look at now."
"...Dude, you're so obvious."
I keep my eyes forward.
Most of it is straightforward—cause and effect, consequences, order.
If something exists, there's a reason for it. If it's broken, it gets corrected. That's how it works. People just don't like rules when they apply to them, and there's nothing complicated about it. You either follow the system—or you deal with what happens when you don't.
—
I don't think about it much as I head to the cafeteria, grabbing food more out of habit than hunger. It's busy when I walk in, but I don't pay attention to it. I make my way to the usual table at the corner and set my tray down before sitting. A moment later, Rin and Ivy join me.
Rin leans forward slightly, resting her chin on her hand. "Hey, Eline—so Ivy wants to know if that guy is a real hard pass... so she can have him."
Ivy freezes. "Rin—" she hisses.
I take a sip of my drink. "...Please. He's all yours."
"I didn't say that," Ivy mutters, already looking away.
Rin grins. "You were thinking it."
"I was not."
"You were."
I set my cup down. "Listen, you've been talking about him all week."
"That's because he keeps asking about you," Ivy shoots back.
"And you keep answering," I say.
Rin laughs quietly. "Exactly."
Ivy exhales. "Can we not do this again?"
"Alright then," Rin says. "Let's change the subject—what about Mira?"
Ivy perks up immediately. "Oh—Mira—"
"...She's okay.."
Ivy raises a brow. "Then why not give it a chance?"
"...I'm not interested."
"Ok? But why not?" Rin adds.
I lower my gaze slightly, my fingers resting against the edge of the tray. "...I don't feel anything when I see her. No spark. No pull. Nothing that makes me want to stay."
Ivy lets out a small laugh. "You're such a hopeless romantic."
"I'm not."
"Wow.. you kind of are." Rin adds after a second, shaking her head. "Even Mira didn't make the cut."
"I know, right?" Ivy says. "That's Mira. She's kind of a big deal."
"...And you're just—what—'okay'?" Rin says, amused.
I don't argue. They're not wrong. Mira is a big deal—next in line for the Land of Coin, well-known, admired, constantly surrounded by people who want her attention.
Just like me.
And I see it. The way people look at her, the way they lean in, the way something in them shifts—I've seen it enough times to recognize it.
But when I look at her, there's nothing. No warmth, no pull, no quiet tension beneath the surface—no moment where my breath changes or my chest tightens or anything in me reacts. It's just still. Empty. Like looking at something I'm supposed to feel and don't.
Then all of a sudden the noise in the cafeteria spikes all at once.
"Fight!"
"Yo—did you see that—?"
"Move—move—"
Chairs scrape as people stand, bodies crowding toward the center.
Rin straightens immediately. "Hey—what's going on?"
Ivy leans forward, trying to see past them. "Eline, I think there's a fight happening—"
I'm already on my feet. I move before either of them can say anything else, stepping into the crowd as it tightens.
"Eline—be careful," Rin calls after me.
People are packed in close, shifting, trying to see over each other. I push through them, slipping between shoulders, forcing space where there isn't any.
"...What just happened?"
"No way—"
"He just dropped—"
I catch a glimpse of the center. A boy is already on the ground, struggling to push himself up. And in front of him— someone's standing there. I can't see clearly yet. Just a figure, long black hair falling straight down her back. Before I can get any closer, an older professor pushes through the crowd, his voice cutting over everything.
"What is going on here?"
The energy shifts almost immediately. Students begin pulling back, some returning to their seats, others stepping away as the space opens again.
I stop where I am, close enough to see now—but not part of it.
She stands there, head slightly lowered as the professor speaks, completely unaffected by the attention around her.
Then she lifts her head.
And she smiles.
Something shifts immediately, sharp enough that I feel it before I can even process it. My pulse stutters, then spikes unevenly, and a sudden warmth spreads through me, too fast to ignore, sinking into me in a way that feels unfamiliar and hard to place.
For a moment, everything around me fades at the edges—not gone, just distant—like the world has stepped back, leaving only her in focus.
And then it hits all at once—fireworks, magic, a pull so strong it feels like it anchors itself somewhere inside me and refuses to let go. My breath falters under the weight of it, not from surprise, but from how undeniable it feels.
"...What..."
The word slips out quietly.
Is this what it's supposed to feel like? Is this the Mark? This—this is what everyone else feels. The shift, the pull, the way something inside you responds without permission.
And yet—
...it's her.
The feeling doesn't fade. It presses in instead, heavier now, spreading through me in a way I can't ignore. The thought doesn't feel like a question. It lands—and stays.
⸻
"...Eline?"
The voice pulls me back. The noise of the cafeteria settling in again all at once. Rin is in front of me, brows slightly furrowed.
"Hey—are you alright?"
Ivy steps closer. "You kind of just... froze."
"...I'm fine..."
Rin hesitates for a second, then exhales. "Alright. Come on—let's go back."
My gaze stays on that girl.
...Who is she?
I watch as she walks out of the cafeteria beside the professor, her pace unchanged, her attention already elsewhere.
I keep looking until she disappears from view. Even after she's gone—the feeling doesn't.