Rain fell, smooth and soft over the city, making slick stone mirrors of the undisputedly pristine courtyards of Seoyeon Academy.
Most students stayed indoors.
Tae-ung did not.
He stood beneath the overhang at the gym, watching the drops drip from the edge of the roof. Hood up. Hands in pockets.
Waiting.
Not for her.
Just.. .watching.
Until her quiet was broken by footsteps.
Gabin, blazer off, sleeves rolled, her ponytail slightly damp from the drizzle like she hadn't cared enough to rush.
She saw him.
And, for the first time, *walked toward him.*
He didn't move.
"Are you stalking me again?"
Tae-ung shrugged. "You came to me this time."
Gabin took a sharp breath through her nose. "Funny."
He said nothing.
She leaned against the wall beside him. Not close, not far, just within the storm's edge. "Why are you really here?"
"I already told you."
Copy that.
"No. You didn't."
An uncomfortable, charged moment in time.
He glanced at her, then back to the rain. "I'm not here for attention. Or drama. Or school."
"So why *this* school?"
She turned. Facing him full-on now. "Why me?"
Another pause.
Then:
"Because someone thinks you're a threat."
The words hung between them like a blade.
She fixed him with an inscrutable look. "To who?"
"Don't know yet."
A dry laugh escaped her lips. "You're here to monitor me? Like some kind of spy?"
""I've come to protect you," he said evenly. "Like it or not."."
She moved a step forward, anger dancing in her eyes. "I don't need you to protect me."
"I saw those guys yesterday."
"I could've handled them."
"I know."
Then he looked at her. Looked, really looked.
"And I also know you've been watching your back since day one. You think no one sees it. But I do."
She faltered - just a flicker. A crack in the armor.
"You are good," he added. "But whoever's behind this? They're better. They've already started."
Her voice was quieter now. "Started what?"
He nodded toward the rain.
"Storm's coming, Gabin."
"And I think you're at the center of it."
---
That night, Gabin sat in her room alone, with a cross-legged posture on the floor, a tablet before her and the lights off.
She gazed at the screen for a long time.
New file.
New threat.
**Subject: Kang Tae-ung**
**Status: Unknown**
**Allegiance: Unverified**
**Origin: Redacted**
Even her system couldn't trace the full file.
She clenched her jaw.
She was not afraid of having her every move watched.
She was afraid of not knowing *why.*
And the worst part?
Somewhere deep in her gut, beneath all the logic and strategy and training--
She believed him.
That scared her more than anything else.
--
Tae-ung sat at the window of his apartment, earbud in place, hearing a call that never played music, only silence. Someone was there. Listening.
He spoke low.
"She's starting to ask questions."
A pause. Then static buzzed softly.
"Good," the voice finally said. "Keep her close. Before they do."