Ehh??

Part I

"Now then, that concludes the pairings,"

"Your survey on luxury consumer behavior is due at the end of this month."

"Please move to your respective partners and begin planning."

The moment the words leave the teacher's mouth, a heavy, suffocating silence drops over the classroom.

Then, the whispers start.

"Wait... is he actually walking over to her?"

"Isn't that the girl who tripped right in front of everyone during introductions?"

"No way... why her of all people?!"

Murmurs ring out across the room.

All eyes instantly lock onto me.

S-someone

Someone just please erase me from existence right now...

My hands trembling as my mind spins into a full-blown panic,

Before I can lose myself entirely, a tall shadow appears over my desk.

Renz pulls up a chair without a word and sits directly across from me.

"Is something the matter?"

"Nn-no... right! N-nice working with you!"

The moment the words leave my mouth, a collective ripple of clicks echoes from the desks around us.

"tskk, acting all close..."

"As if you know Renz,"

"Don't you look this way,"

Almost deafening, one after another, the audible gasps increases.

As the girls from the second row shooting me with absolute death glares.

My head—

As chatters around us turns into muffled background noise,

My mind completely shuts down until my brain short-circuits.

"Uhmm..."

Renz mutters, pausing as he looks at me.

Slight confusion flickers in his eyes, as he watches me stare blankly into space.

"Did you catch any of that?"

"A-Ah! N-No! I mean, yes! I'm listening!"

Renz gives a quiet, barely noticeable sigh before seamlessly continuing with our strategy.

"The faculty hasn't disclosed which commercial enterprise, nor do we know which senior mentor we'll be assigned to for oversight."

"Since we don't know who or what we're dealing with..."

"First, we'll establish a baseline framework for luxury consumer behavior in BGC,"

Renz explains, his pen moving smoothly across his notebook.

Baseline framework...

Luxury consumer...

Target demographic...

The words bleed together into pure white noise.

I have absolutely zero idea what's happening.

If he stops and asks me for my opinion right now, I'm genuinely going to have to roll off this chair and pretend to pass out.

"Does that make sense to you?"

I jump slightly, instantly forcing a strain smile as I nod like I understood every single word he said just now.

"R-right! Sounds good!"

Eventually, as he leads the discussion, our planning finishes in what feels like a flash.

"That should cover it for today,"

Finally, it's over.

I survived...

Having wrapped up our outline before anyone, we became the first pair in the entire classroom to finish.

With our work done early, we spend the remaining time watching the rest of the room struggle.

Nearby, Khyle and Sarah are the second pair to wrap up.

"See? Easy stuff,"

Khyle says, winking smoothly at Sarah.

He leans back in his chair, casually running a hand through his hair with a confident smirk.

"Though to be honest, working on a consumer behavior survey with you... is kind of hard..."

"Huh?! And why is that?!"

"Because you're already taking up 100% of my demand,"

Sarah's entire face instantly turns bright red.

She freezes, her mouth hanging open before she buries her face in her hands,

"S-stay back! Don't come any closer!!"

It isn't until thirty minutes later that the rest of the class finally finishes coming up with their topics.

"Class dismissed."

As the school day officially comes to an end,

The vibrant orange glow of the sunset filters through the quiet corridors.

Renz and Khyle walk side-by-side toward the main gate,

They are among the very last students to leave due to their class representative duties.

"Bro... my partner is a total phantom. I swear she barely breathes,"

Khyle laughs, shaking his head in amusement.

"Every time I try to say a word, she just looks at me like I'm trying to sell her something. She is always pissed!"

He pauses for a beat before adding with a sly grin,

"Though I gotta admit, if she's a ghost, at least she's boo-tiful!"

Renz's eyes twitch slightly.

His expression visibly contorts into a cringe,

A flick of genuine irritation.

"Bro, what's with that face..."

Without offering a single word, Renz quietly increases his pace,

Putting as much distance between himself and Khyle as possible.

"Hey! Wait up, man! Don't leave me behind over a pun!"

"..."

"Oh yeah... now that I think about it..."

He scratches his chin, a sudden spark of recognition flickering in his eyes.

"You know... that girl. Hana. I think I might had seen her somewhere before."

"Hmm?"

"Doesn't her face ring a bell to you?"

"I think her face is really familiar, but I'm not sure."

Renz keeps his eyes trained ahead, his tone completely flat.

"No, I can't remember."

"I see,"

Khyle replies, letting the subject drop with a light shrug.

After that, they step out through the main gates, finally bringing a peaceful close to the long, chaotic day.

Part II

By the time Mayu-nee and I get back, my legs feel like lead and my brain is completely fried.

"Mayu-nee... I'm going to my room to rest. See you later,"

I groan, dragging my feet toward the hallway.

"Wait, Hana-ojousama!"

Mayu-nee calls out, her face with genuine concern.

"At least let me prepare some food for you first! Or would you prefer I draw a warm bath to help you—"

"I'm good... just need to lie down..."

Before she can fuss over me any further, I slip into my bedroom, shut the door, and collapsing face-first into my pillows.

The entire afternoon was an ordeal.

Ever since Renz walked over to my desk, the hostile glares followed me out the door and all the way to the school gate.

Cold treatments, icy atmosphere,

Sharp whispers...

I couldn't even talk to Sarah.

Sigh, I wonder what she's up to right now,

Her face earlier feels like, she's in distress as well.

Buzzzzzz.

My phone vibrates against the mattress.

Who could it be at this time...

Could it be Sarah... Rhea...

I mumble, lazily reaching out my hand.

"Huh—"

"An unknown profile?"

Could it be...

Is the threats not over yet?!

Does the glares followed me all the way home?!

[Hey. It's Renz.]

"Huh?!"

Am I hallucinating or something?

My hands shake as I open the chat.

[Regarding our macroeconomic survey on luxury consumer behavior.]

[I managed to find out which senior mentor we're assigned to.]

[It turns out an acquaintance of mine was the one who got picked as our mentor.]

[For now, We'll start by gathering baseline data on consumer trends in BGC.]

[Let's meet at 2:00 PM at school this Saturday to compile everything. Don't be late.]

I stare at the screen, my heart pounding loudly.

Since when did he have my social media?!

Wait?! More importantly...

2:00 PM?

Just the two of us?

On a Saturday afternoon at a luxury shopping plaza?!

"Is... IS THIS A DATE?!"

No, no, it's a school project!

But it's on a weekend!

Just the two of us!

A private meeting??

I roll across the bed, kicking my legs wildly and burying my scream into my pillow.

In the end, I didn't get a single wink of sleep for the rest of that night.

The next morning, I sit at my desk,

With massive dark bags hanging under my bloodshot eyes.

"E-heh... E-hehe,"

"H-Hana... what on earth happened to you?"

"You look like you got run over by a truck, but you're grinning like a maniac."

She's right, I indeed look weird,

"Well... You see..."

Unable to contain the chaos inside my head,

I lean in and whisper everything to Sarah.

"Ehh??!!"

"Renz did what?"

Sarah's eyes widen before she slumps in her seat.

"Must be nice... working with Renz."

"Working with him means your project is basically already done."

"Meanwhile, my situation is looking utterly tragic. I swear, I can't stand him."

"Surely he can't be that bad—"

"He really is!"

"..."

"I swear! If he drops one more cheesy line on me today, I'm going to—"

"Hey, Sarah!"

A loud voice booms right beside our desks.

"E-eek!"

Sarah nearly leaps out of her skin, her soul briefly ascending to the heavens.

In a blur of sheer panic, she hides behind my back and transforms me into a human shield,

Furiously rubbing her hands together while whispering weird exorcism chants.

"Stay away! Unclean spirit, Begone!"

Sarah stammers, her face flushed bright red.

What did he even do, for her to react like that?!

Khyle blinks, completely ignoring her panic.

"Look, I just came to discuss the survey—"

"H-hana... say it as well, My chants alone are not very effective!"

Suddenly, a hand reaches out and snags Khyle from behind.

"Stop harassing them,"

Renz says coldly, pulling Khyle back like a unruly dog.

"Hey! I'm not harassing anyone! I'm literally just talking to my partner!"

Khyle protests, waving his arms around.

A stunned silence washes over the classroom,

And then... It erupts.

"What?! A fight?"

"No way!"

"Hey, it's Alcaraz!"

Everyone simply stares in wide-eyed shock, completely bewildered by the sudden chaotic scene unfolding in front of them.

"Hey it's Renz,"

"What's happening?"

"Are they fighting?"

"He's talking with that shameless person."

Renz ignores them, as well as Khyle who is currently flailing around.

His dark eyes shift, landing squarely on me.

"Hey,"

His clear voice echoes loudly across the silent room.

All eyes in the classroom snap back onto us.

Renz steps forward, looking straight at me with an utterly deadpan face.

"So about the stuff we talked about yesterday..."

An absolute, deafening silence drops over the classroom.

He pauses, his tone completely indifferent as he delivers the line that destroys the room's sanity.

"Let's go out this Sunday."

Before I can process the phrasing, Renz effortlessly grabs Khyle by the hood of his blazer and turns around.

"The homeroom teacher needs us in the faculty room. Let's go."

Khyle freezes mid-step.

His eyes dart between me and Renz, his jaw slacking open in total disbelief.

A second later, reality catches up to him as Renz hauls him toward the hallway.

"Wait-hey! I haven't finished talking to Sarah yet!"

Khyle yells, his eyes wide with intrigue as he gets dragged out the door like a sack of rice.

Click

The door closes shut

For three seconds, nobody breathes.

Then...

The silence explodes.

"Ehhh???!!!"

The girls in the room breaks into heavy, serious gasps,

their eyes glaring at me with terrifying, murderous intent.

The boys, on the other hand, look completely stunned.

Their shock instantly souring into deep, bitter jealousy.

My face turns a ghostly, reddish-pale.

I sit completely paralyzed, my brain burnt.

Sarah's jaw drops so low it almost hits the floor.

"H-Hana... WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Is he talking about... WHAT I THINK IT IS?!"

"I... I... I don't know..."

I stammer, buried up to my neck in pure embarrassment as my hands give out.

Sensing the immediate danger radiating from our female classmates,

Sarah instantly grabs my wrist and drags my trembling body out of the room, sprinting full speed toward the cafeteria.

It doesn't take more than an hour for the news to spread like wildfire.

By lunchtime, the damage is already done.

The forums are flooded, and the threads go viral overnight.

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