The South Tower

In reaction to this, he left abruptly amid the conversation at this. I was quite surprised at his rude personality and felt a slight distaste for his sheepish attitude.

I disliked the fact he left in the middle of my interrogation, as I declared that I was no longer interested in finding out his past.

I mean, it wasn't any of my business and I didn't feel curious about him at all, not anymore. Or so I convinced myself.

It seems that the rumours about him might turn out to be true, I thought after impulsively walking into a narrow neglected part of the building.

As I made my way back, I noticed something odd. When I first entered this area, the doors had been securely locked.

Now, as I passed by, they were mysteriously open. It struck me as peculiar, but I hadn't dwelled on it too much earlier.

I had been exploring the building, meticulously adding it to my almost-finished map.

Each wing held four rooms on either side, with a displaced octagon-shaped room nestled in the middle of the hallway connecting the two wings.

After nearly an hour since I last saw Jun, the late hour urged me to consider heading back.

 I had gathered sufficient information for my map and didn't want to risk getting caught in the dimly lit halls for too long.

As I prepared to turn back, a faint light caught my attention. Peering through the small gap in the curtains of the octagonal room, I could see a dim glow illuminating the space within.

Curiosity stirred within me as I wondered what secrets this room held, and who was inside it, making me curious to explore further despite the late hour.

Dark chocolate silhouettes stood amid the soft light that now illuminated the room. They stood talking at the far end of the room as I squinted my eyes to get a better view.

As I slowly neared the window curiously, my single footstep echoed and bellowed my palpable presence.

One of the figures suddenly flinched, as if they heard the faint sound of my unsteady breathing and my small footsteps.

Just then, I was struck with a petrifying fear at the intimidating aura of the person who scanned their surroundings, making me freeze.

I thought to myself that this person must have a high cultivation level in order to have such a dominant aura. 

Then, a formidable force swept me away, partially securing me to the wall in front of me. Jun.

I was confused about how he even got here. How did he know I was here?

Standing a safe distance away, his icy hand gripped my shoulder firmly as we listened to the figures cautiously return to their conversation after scanning the room.

Meanwhile, the air between us was cold, the tension palpable.

Jun, looked more human in the small light that illuminated his face, just for one minuscule second. But returned to his very emotionless plain expression.

Releasing his hand off my shoulder and backing away as if he just come to the realisation, he whispered amongst the silence.

"I apologize if I seemed rude or arrogant earlier," Jun murmured, his voice lacking its previous sharpness.

"I'm simply acquainted with the principal... In ways I honestly do not wish to be." Taking a short pause to see my reaction, but I had my neutral expression as always, though feeling quite smug.

"I do not wish to see another accident happen, because of simple curiosity, Li Wen."

Almost like it struck a familiar chord in my mind, where have I heard that line before?

His words took me by surprise, softening the icy barrier that seemed to surround him. I thought, maybe he wasn't such a bad kid after all.

I nodded in acknowledgement, but internally I wondered what he meant about 'another'.

Nevertheless, I was grateful that he had helped me though he didn't have to.

I was almost partially surprised by the fact he knew my name.

We continued listening despite me, almost being caught and despite his warning on curiosity.

Maybe it was almost an unspoken agreement to find out what they were talking about.

"I guess I wasn't the only one with curiosity." I bluntly whispered a distance away from the room to myself.

However, they whispered, making it difficult to decipher what they were saying as we neared the room.

We silently listened as the conversation inside the room grew more vigorous.

A woman with with silvery aqua hair and strong blue crystal eyes voice rose sharply, mentioning Jun's name, her tone carrying a hint of authority.

She subtly raised her voice to a threatening pitch that we could all hear, yet it carried tender care within it.

Slightly turning my neck, I caught a glimpse of Jun beside me. His jaw was clenched, and an unfamiliar emotion flickered in his eyes—anger, perhaps.

The realization hit me suddenly. The woman with the silvery aqua hair must be closely related to Jun because as I listened closely the conversation seemed to revolve around him.

The man moved around impatiently in response to this, as he seemed to be in a fit of frustration.

 Suddenly, I saw his face for a brief moment as the light illuminated his features, the man standing next to her... was the principal.

As they continued to speak, their voices were distant and yet far more audible than before. Audible enough for both of us to understand everything they were saying.

"You know very well the lengths it took to get Jun here, and, you know very well that Jun is different from the others don't you? " she asked calmly, yet with an interrogative tone.

The principal remained silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. But then, as she continued to probe, he finally relented.

"I know, I know, but... It doesn't change the fact that he's out of control. You know very well that because he was born with... That he could hurt others. " The principal persisted in a slightly softer manner.

The woman was silent for a few seconds, as she responded in an emotionless manner, "I understand and for that... I give you my thanks, but you know the deal we made and it's too late to break. If the boy can't control himself then let himself be lost to it."

At that single last sentence, the woman uttered, Jun stood up from his crouched position and began to turn away, wincing like he had been cut by a crystal knife.

His footsteps made small audible taps due to his bulky shoes. However, the principal and the woman were too engrossed in their conversation to notice this time.

In an attempt to stop him, I whispered desperately, "If you leave they might hear us, well... me. Are you leaving because... Well, it doesn't matter I'm not curious it doesn't matter what you heard it's safer if they leave first-"

"My mother is a sponsor of the school," he explained, his voice tinged with a hint of resignation. "She has certain... interests here which align with her plan to get rid of me."

It was quite unexpected how openly he shared details about his personal life with me.

I couldn't help but wonder if I gave off an approachable vibe that made him feel comfortable opening up, or if he was just indifferent to who he shared his thoughts with.

The way he said it felt as if he had pressed on a numb wound, which didn't bleed anymore.

However, the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together, it answered why the principal subtly disregarded his presence in our first meeting.

I was surprised that the principal would cave into bribery like this, or was it because he needed a sponsor?

He looked like a dignified man who would spite injustice at any chance given and would never mistreat a student, or did I just misread him and his personality?

Despite this, there were still many unanswered questions lingering in the air. There seemed to be many secrets of the South Tower which I was curious to unravel.

It felt strange to think that in the own story, I wrote there were so many questions. It almost didn't feel right.

I found myself also drawn deeper into the mystery, with Jun as an unexpected variable too, as I wondered curiously what was so special about him.

What made him 'different' to the others?