Arc 1

The bell rang, signaling the start of the lunch break. Ye Jin sighed in relief. As resilient as she was, it was really weird having a creepy teenage boy stare at her neck for more than four hours. She really wanted to poke his eyes with needles.

"[Don't have such thoughts, Host,]" GMS 005 warned.

Ye Jin smiled. "Ah, cutie, you're back. Where did you go?"

"[I was asleep.]"

"Ah, okay," Ye Jin replied.

"[But seriously, Host, do not harm the target.]"

"Relax, I won't do anything to harm your Gu Yan. If I'd wanted to, I'd have killed him a long time ago."

"Hi!" Gu Yan's voice chimed in Ye Jin's ears as he stuck his playful face close to her. "Let's go buy some milkshakes together."

Ye Jin glanced at him before turning away. "I can very well go by myself," she replied coolly and walked away.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yan trailed behind her, bouncing with every step while singing:

"Good little rabbit,

Open the door,

Open it quickly,

I want to come in.

Won't open,

Won't open,

I won't open it.

Mom is not at home,

I won't open it for anyone."

When they arrived at the café, Ye Jin ordered boba tea. However, before she could pay, Gu Yan stepped in, offering the cashier his card. "I want exactly what she ordered, and I'll pay for both."

Ye Jin frowned slightly but didn't protest. When the server handed over the boba tea, Gu Yan offered it to her. "Here you go."

Ye Jin, without hesitation, took the tea, punctured it with the straw, and took a long sip.

Gu Yan chuckled a bit. "Calm down, it's not going to run away."

Ye Jin replied, "I have to make sure I finish it before you regret paying for it."

"Hehe," Gu Yan chuckled. "I thought you didn't like me." His tone became curious. "Why accept my boba tea?"

'What kind of stupid question is this?' Ye Jin thought.

She smirked with a bit of disdain. "Who rejects free things? Especially in this harsh economy? Besides, I always make sure to separate my enmity from free gifts."

Gu Yan laughed, clearly amused. "Well, that's an interesting way to look at it."

As they walked back to class, Ye Jin had a fleeting thought.

Her approach to accepting free things, her fear of people taking back what they had promised to give, was probably a result of her time as a homeless orphan. She was always starving and had to search trash bins at times for whatever she could eat. She had once been promised warm, hot bread in return for her service. She was told to pickpocket a particular woman's purse, and she did exactly that, but not without suffering some injuries. However, she was laughed at and beaten when she asked for the hot bread that was promised. On her bloodied body, the man dropped a dry morsel of bread, muttering that she should be grateful.

She was pissed. They clearly had a deal.

But she, after recovering from the beatings, found herself eating it—if not, she would have starved to death that day.

Returning to the nearly empty classroom, Gu Yan continued to bounce around her. "Why didn't you go to the rooftop today?" he asked, taking a sip of his own drink.

Ye Jin shrugged. "I didn't feel like going there today." She didn't even really like the rooftop anyway.

Gu Yan stopped bouncing and placed his hands on his cheeks, showing an aggrieved expression. "I've wondered, why don't you want to be friends? Am I not pretty or cute enough?"

Ye Jin sighed, her gaze softening slightly before she flicked his forehead, an action that felt oddly familiar and comfortable. "Fix your attitude first, then I might consider being your friend."

Gu Yan rubbed his forehead, his eyes, glued to her fingers.

He really wanted to cut off her fingers and keep them for himself because they looked so pretty and they were soft.

"Keep having those thoughts and I won't even consider being your friend," Ye Jin warned.Then she smiled, the smile, threatening and dangerous "And besides, I don't even think you have the ability to do so,"

Gu Yan's eyes widened, filled with delight and fascination. This weird girl could really read his thoughts—not once, but twice.

If he could just… no, he couldn't. Not yet. Some things taste better when left to simmer