65

"It's because of me. I'm sorry to have brought him here."

"I'm more worried about Miss Lucia than I am. He's a bit reluctant to be friends."

"We're not close. If you ignore him, that's enough."

Raphael was more worried about Elena's safety than himself. Ren's notoriety was so high that he was worried that Elena would suffer.

"You don't see me? Aren't you talking too openly about me?"

"I didn't tell you to listen. Please pretend you didn't hear that."

Ren laughed meaningfully when Elena hit back with a hint of dislike.

"Look, you're just saying honorifics, but you don't have respect for me. With impertinence. Or was it always like that?"

"You're mistaken. I'm very polite."

"Mistaken?"

Ren laughed at her.

"That's the funniest thing I've heard this year. But what can I do? Is it worth it or not?"

"What?"

"If I pretend I don't know, you'll be fooled."

Ren shrugged his shoulders, leaving a chewing aftertaste, and turned his eyes to a picture.

'What? Fool me?'

Elena was uncomfortable with what Ren had said. Ren didn't care, and walked around the art room with his hands folded, trying to start a fight.

"It's a horror, all the pictures are gloomy. Horror."

"…"

"Hey, human anatomy. Could I be the killer?"

Looking at Ren, she realized that his way to get on a person's nerves can be so creative. When Elena, who didn't know anything, tried to say a word in anger, Raphael stopped her.

"It's okay, but don't lose your strength, we'll do what we usually do. He'll do that."

"But."

"I don't care if I concentrate anyway."

When Raphael smiled and spoke, Elena couldn't keep her willpower up either. She sat facing Raphael and the easel, about three paces away.

Raphael took the oil paint from the palette with a brush and took it to the canvas. He showed a frightening concentration in an instant and moved the brush without hesitation.

How long has it been? Ren in the back intentionally knocked down the steel pedestal on the desk.

Ssaeng!

A harsh sound made a loud echo in the studio. Elena made an impression without even realizing it. The sound of scratching my nerves left goosebumps all over her body.

But Raphael was an exception. He kept moving his brush busily, changing the canvas with Elena. What an amazing concentration.

"Oh."

Ren also gave a fairly surprising demonstration and came to the back of Raphael and stood up. He crossed his arms and pointedly stared at the portrait of Elena at work with blurry eyes.

"Isn't this an abstract painting? She doesn't look anything like that."

Raphael was still unresponsive. He was busy moving his brush as if he was only focusing on painting.

"Her eyes are so bright. When she takes off her glasses, she looks so sharp, doesn't she?"

"Is that so?"

Raphael, who was calmly responding, asked back and turned. Then the palette in Raphael's hand suddenly lost its balance and spilled over to Ren.

Ren turned around with surprisingly agile movements, but he could not avoid the oil paints that flowed down and splashed away.

"What's this?"

Ren looked at the paint tinged raindrops on his uniform with a look of disgust. It was a messy looking splattering of bright paint, of all things.

"What should I do?"

"Do you know how much this uniform costs?"

Raphael replied calmly to Ren's threat.

"Not school uniforms, but paints."

"What?"

"If this paint had been on the canvas, it would have been a work of art, expressing some kind of beauty. It's a shame that it's only a stain on your clothes."

Clang!

Ren slammed the table menacingly. Startled, Elena shuddered. He had hit it so hard that she could hear the wood inside cracking.

"Do you think you can handle the trouble with me?"

"It's just an artistic interpretation. I didn't mean to make a mistake."

Despite the threat, Raphael made a calm excuse without showing any signs of abating. Ren, who was rather angry at the nonchalance, felt like a strange man.

"Oh, what the hell is this?"

"…"

"Why are you turning me upside down in this fresh way?"

Ren kept whining about Raphael's response, wondering if he could laugh even though he was dumbfounded. Even in this situation he was enjoying it.

"Ha, really."

Elena, who was watching from the side, thought that she shouldn't leave it like this, so it was time to leave.

"What are you trying to do? I'm getting angry already. You're just sitting there, aren't you?

"Senior."

"You're scared to look at me. This is why it's hard for villains. That's enough for today."

Ren walked slowly out of the studio. Then he waved his hand.

"See you again."

Soon there was a whistle that was sung by Ren in the hallway. Elena said anxiously as the sound calmed down.

"Senior, that was too dangerous. The more you deal with him, the more you lose. Just ignore him."

"Well, why was he so impatient with Miss Lucia?"

"I don't know either. I guess he just doesn't like me. He's always like that."

"That's the kind of person he is. I see."

Raphael and Ren are of the same age, graduating this year. Although his undergraduate studies were different, he could hear rumors about Ren until he was scabbed in his ears during his academic career. He also witnessed Ren's bullying of the students.

"Are you sure you don't mind if I leave him like that? I don't know why, but I'm worried that feeling hostility might harm Miss Lucia."

Raphael, who is sensitive, was worried about Elena's safety after reading Ren who was sent out with hostility. Because there are many students who have been misjudged by Ren and have given up the Academy, he was very worried.

"What can I do? There's no good way right now. Why don't we fight back?"

Elena laughed as if not to worry. She felt sorry that Raphael was worrying because of her.

***

Elena left the recording studio to visit the studio earlier than the promised cycle. Raphael's concentration fell due to the interruption of the uninvited Ren during his last visit, making the progress of the work slower than expected.

'You son of a bitch, I underestimated you. I never thought you'd come all the way to the studio and do that.'

Elena didn't have the face to see Raphael when she thought of that day. Raphael's work efficiency had been reduced because of Ren's influence.

Raphael was experiencing the most important time in his life as a painter. It was a transitional period when he might overcome his slump and grow into a master of his time. He had recently shown signs of overcoming his slump, but then Ren walked in and struck a candle. Elena was very sorry that Ren's interference had happened to him.

'What am I going to do? Even if it's me, I can't stand in your way.'

When Elena, who left the library, reached the side of the annex and was about to enter the building, girls were blocking her way. They belonged to the Avella faction and were fierce-looking girls who persecuted Elena with Mitchell.

"I see you again?"

"I was wondering if she'd like to say hello today. I guess it's right that we have to fix her."

"Sigh."

Elena sighed irritably, feeling caught up in a troublesome affair.

'Again?'

In the past life, she lived only as a Veronica, so there were no colleagues or seniors who had made such a fuss. They wouldn't want to be caught unless their liver came out of the boat. But not Lucia.

When Elena didn't respond, the big girl lashed out, apparently feeling ignored.

"Wouldn't you relax your head?"

"You're ignoring me again. Huh! Don't you know we're talking?"

Elena ducked her head reluctantly. It was a formal courtesy. As long as they didn't get along well, she had to keep a low profile to save their spirits.

"Good morning. I'm busy at the moment, so can you please just make it simple?"

"Hey, what's she saying?"

"You don't see much, do you? You're running around believing that senior Ren would be a black knight?"

At the moment, there was no sense, so Elena burst into laughter.

'I've heard all the words that the motherfucker is a black knight.'

Maybe it seems that way because he saved Elena from being bullied at the right time. When it came time to be a party to it and even experience what happened afterwards, they wouldn't have said something like that.

"If you want a black knight, I can hook you up. I can make concessions."

"What? What?"

"What's she talking about?"

She really wanted to hand over Ren if she could.

"You really need education. You know your senior as much as dog shit."

"That's a vulgar expression. Uneducated."

"U-uneducated? Ha! You're really no good. Come on, follow me. Let's have a look."

"Why should I do that?"

Elena didn't lose a word and answered back. Actually, she thought for a moment that it would be better to do what they told her to do, beg that they wouldn't do it, get one or two hits, and end it.

'There's no way it'll end.'

It was Elena who had reigned supreme over the numerous padisa of the social circle. This was how the psychology of ladies and the others was working. Elena would confidently say that the bullying would be so severe that it would go beyond degrees and border on abuse. Because once you brand them as your footsteps, it's their habit to try to push you in any way and means they can.

"Even if you don't like it, you have to go? Because she wants to see you."

The large female student who had been bumping into Elena at every turn waved her hand, and five or six female students came out from inside the annex and surrounded Elena. They folded their arms to prevent her from escaping, blocked the front and back of the building to cut off her vision, and took Elena as if they were dragging her with them.