6.

ALORA

As soon as the professor left the class, I retrieved my book and tablet and stuffed them into my bag, ready to disappear.

My body wasn't very good at remembering instructions, so I subconsciously let my eyes trail to the back of the glass, where I found myself staring into familiar grey eyes.

Kian never stopped looking at me for the entire class.

It was so uncomfortable because I could feel his eyes on me, watching my every move, and it made my skin crawl. I had to force myself not to turn the entire time.

“Lunch, ladies?” Hani asked, and I shook my head. I had planned to sit in my class during lunch break because I wasn't supposed to eat until dinner.

"I'll skip. I'm still full from the breakfast I ate this morning," I declined politely, loving how naturally the lie rolled off my lips.

"That's not an excuse. You can munch on a fruit or just sit with us so we can talk about anything or everything," she insisted.

"I'm good. I don't need to eat anything, but I can go with you," I told her, even though I didn't want to. Seeing all the food might tempt me into wanting to eat, but I also didn't want them prying too much.

"Okay." She clapped. "Shall we?"

Harvey linked his arms with mine and led me out of the class. While we walked to the cafeteria, they told me about how they met yesterday during registration, which I skipped because Dad had someone do it for me.

The cafeteria was bigger than I expected, and the food they served was pretty decent. I felt hungry just by looking at the meals on display, and I had to pinch myself subtly to kill that hunger.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" Harvey asked after we had settled in at a table far from the door, hidden in a corner, away from prying eyes, but looking over the large garden beside the cafeteria, which we could see through a large ceiling-to-floor window.

"Yes," I nodded, "I feel like my stomach is about to burst because I ate a little too much this morning." I forced out a smile so my story would sound more convincing.

"If you say so," he replied, but something told me that he didn't believe me, and I didn't want to find out the reason for his doubt, so I didn't pry.

"I can't believe that uni is just a glorified high school. I hate education." Harvey groaned suddenly, and the girls nodded in agreement.

"For real though. I thought I was going to fall in love with studying when I got here because of those aesthetically pleasing videos I see on social media, but I hate it even more. I should sue those content creators for lying," Hani moaned, and it clicked where I knew her from.

"Hani, you are an influencer, right?" I asked, as I recalled seeing one of her videos when I was learning how to be the perfect girly girl from social media.

She looked surprised by my question but nodded. "I do okay," she shrugged.

"Okay?" Mallory scoffed, "She has over 23 million followers across her social media accounts on different platforms."

"You make it sound like it's a big deal." She rolled her eyes. "My dad doesn't care about that."

Hani already filled me in on her life on the way to the cafeteria. Her father was Lee Soo Hyun, a big name in football, and her mother, Byeolra Kim, was a popular opera singer. Hani wanted to become an actress, but her father wanted her to do business instead.

"When you land your first big role, he'll change his mind," Mallory said, trying to encourage her, but Hani only hummed, not taking her words seriously.

"I'm fine. He's going to let me do what I want when I finish uni, so I just have to make it through these four years, and I'll be free."

"So, speaking of first days, you and Kian. I could feel the chemistry. It was crazy," Hani suddenly perked up, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she shuffled her chair so she was glued to my side.

"Kill it. Whatever chemistry is there," Mallory snapped, killing the mood.

"Mallory, what's your deal with these people? Do you even know them personally?" I asked, confused and angry with her constant warnings and remarks when it came to them.

"They are dangerous, especially Kian. I'm sure that boy is a sociopath," she pressed.

"Sociopath is a heavy word, Mal. You can't go around calling people sociopaths," I warned. "And how do you know these things? Didn't we just resume today?"

"My cousin works for their fathers," she explained. "I hear enough from him to know it's best to stay away from those three if you don't want to ruin your life." There was fear in her voice as she spoke, and I knew she wasn't faking it.

"Fathers?" I asked, now confused.

"Kian and Laurent are cousins. Their dads are brothers who control Baston Logistics. You should know that."

"I know the company, not the family," I told her with a lazy shrug.

"Man, that sounds like deep batshit trouble if you ask me. If I get any stain on my record, my dad will haul my ass back to Korea before I can spell my name."

This time, Harvey was quiet. He always tended to say less when it came to the Bastons or his life. When everyone talked about their families, he went mute as well.

Suddenly, my body became aware as my eyes accidentally caught Kian smoking under one of the trees in the garden behind us. Laurent and Mason were talking, but he just stood there, listening.

This time, he didn't see me, so I used the opportunity to feed the starved part of me that still yearned for a good and long look at the boy who looked better than sin.

His hand brought the cigarette to his lips, and he took a long drag before blowing. His hands looked rough and big from here, and I could almost imagine them on my skin, gripping, pulling, roaming.

His eyes were dark and soulless as he observed his environment with a boredom that seemed almost impossible to muster at will, yet he did. Effortlessly.

Everything about him screamed at me to run the other way, but my body seemed to have lost the meaning of that word because all I felt was the strong attraction that kept pulling me towards him.

"Are you even listening?" Mallory's voice snapped me back to reality, and I realised that they had yet to notice the source of my distraction, so I quickly averted my gaze before they would.

"Sorry, I was thinking about the things I need to do as soon as I get back home," I answered, clearing my throat awkwardly because I was embarrassed at how I almost got caught gawking.

"Oh, that means you won't be able to attend the dinner date with us?" Mallory asked with a disappointed frown.

What was wrong with these girls? Did they only eat? Weren't they scared of gaining weight?

If I ate as much as they did, I would be back to my former self faster than I could grab my phone and run out of this place.

"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you next time." I pretended to be sad, and that did the trick because they immediately forgot about it and moved on to the next topic.

I tuned them out, and my gaze began to stray again before I could stop it. I was relieved to see that Kian was still there, and he had yet to notice me, so I continued my shameless stalking.

This time, he had a frown on his face as he talked to his cousin and friend. He turned all of a sudden, and our eyes met, making me flinch back in surprise.

Kian's eyes narrowed, but they betrayed nothing. His cousin realised that he no longer had Kian's attention and turned towards me too, his face morphing into subtle surprise.

I should look away, but I couldn't. His eyes sucked me in, and I felt like I was drowning in them. I felt alive for that split moment, and I hated it.

Why was he bringing out emotions I had never felt with anyone before when we hadn't even spoken to each other yet?

I hated the way I shivered when he smirked. I couldn't understand my body's reaction towards him.

The way desperation clawed at me to move closer to him. The urgency to always have his eyes on me.

My curiosity took a turn, changing to fear.

I realised that he was getting to me when I promised myself that no one would. I hadn't noticed it earlier, but he was slowly taking space in my head.

The admission chilled me to my bones, and my body trembled with the new crack in my walls.

I had been too careless. I forced myself to look away, and I grabbed my bags.

"What is it?" Mallory asked when I jumped to my feet, almost knocking my chair back.

"I'm leaving. Something came up." My voice shook, and I made no effort to hide it or try to pretend that it didn't. I just wanted to get out of this place. Far away from him.

"Just like that?" Harvey asked, surprised as well.

"Yes. "See you tomorrow," I told them before running towards the exit.

"Wait, Alora," Mallory called after me, but I didn't turn back. I couldn't.

I ran out of the cafeteria like my ass was on fire, but it wasn't. It was my heart.

"Did you finally realise how gullible you are? Such a disgusting wimp. Weren't you confident that no one would get through your walls? I told you before. You are weak, Alora. Useless," The voice spat.

I was vulnerable, so the whispers would see this as an opportunity to attack me, and I was too weak to defend myself.

I needed my drugs, and I needed them now. My legs moved as fast as they could towards my car, even as they quivered with every step I took.

My body trembled as I ran far from the boy who was breaking down my walls from a distance.