Chapter 3: Dome 1 Paradisus (Pt 3.)

"The hell are you looking at, four eyes?" Minhee's voice cut through the tension like a sharp blade, casual yet cold. She leaned against the windowsill, exhaling a lazy plume of smoke, her silver hair shimmering faintly in the dim light. Dalle, her back pressed tightly against the locked door, was trembling. Her heart raced wildly, the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she stared at Minhee, unable to answer.

Minhee raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by the intrusion. Taking a small puff of her cigarette, she let the smoke linger in the air as she dropped her headphones to rest around her neck. "If you're going to stare, you'd better find another place to skip class," she said, her tone firm but indifferent. Privacy was sacred to her, and she cherished the quiet moments she carved out for herself.

Before Dalle could muster a reply, hurried footsteps echoed outside the washroom, accompanied by frantic voices. "She's not here. Did you check the washrooms?"

"No, but I bet she's hiding in there!"

Dalle's legs began to tremble as the voices grew closer. Her mind spun, trying to figure out what to do. Minhee, watching her with mild curiosity, noticed the unmistakable fear in Dalle's wide eyes. She'd heard the rumors about Dalle's bullying but hadn't paid much attention—other people's drama wasn't her business. Still, something about the frantic desperation in Dalle's posture felt different this time.

A loud bang against the door made Dalle flinch.

"It's locked. Get Minji!" someone barked.

Panic surged through Dalle, her body shaking like a leaf in a storm. She took a step back, then another, moving instinctively toward the safety of the far wall. But Minhee, who valued her personal space more than anything, reached out and stopped her with a firm hand.

"Sucks being you, huh?" Minhee said, her voice laced with a cruel sort of amusement. There was no empathy in her words, just detached observation.

Dalle turned to her, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. In a moment of desperation, she grabbed Minhee's hand, her voice trembling as she whispered, "Please."

Minhee's face remained impassive, though her gaze flickered briefly with something unspoken—annoyance, perhaps, or the faintest trace of pity. She yanked her hand free, shaking her head. "Find someone else, four eyes," she said smoothly, her voice a calm sea in the middle of Dalle's storm.

Suddenly, the door burst open with a deafening crash, the hinges flying off as Minji and her lackeys stormed in. The air grew heavy with malice as Minji's sharp eyes locked onto Dalle like a predator spotting its prey.

Minhee leaned back against the windowsill as she watched the chaos unfold. She took another slow drag from her cigarette, exhaling smoke into the now-crowded room. Whatever happened next, she wasn't about to get involved—not her fight, not her problem.

Minji came to an abrupt stop, her predatory stride faltering as her eyes landed on Minhee, who leaned casually against the windowsill, exuding an air of unbothered confidence. Minhee, the only student on campus who could rival Minji's fearsome reputation, had always been an enigma. Rumors swirled about her—a solitary figure who had once taken down a group of bullies without breaking a sweat. The truth of that incident was a mystery, but her aloof demeanor and reputation were enough to make anyone think twice before crossing her.

"Stay out of this, Minhee," Minji ordered, her voice sharp with authority.

Minhee didn't reply. She didn't even flinch. Instead, she took a slow drag from her cigarette, her calm demeanor an unspoken challenge. The tension in the room thickened, and Minji, irritated by the lack of response, snapped her fingers. One of her lackeys, eager to please, stepped forward to subdue Dalle.

Minhee's gaze shifted lazily to the group. Something about them seemed off—something sinister. They reeked of death, a scent all too familiar to her. Her expression didn't change, but her eyes narrowed slightly as she put out her cigarette against the windowsill and moved to stand between the lackey and Dalle.

Minji's brow twitched in irritation. "Are you some kind of hero or something?" she sneered, her voice icy.

Minhee tilted her head, slipping one hand into her pocket. "Mm, not really. But I have to ask—what's the switchblade for?" Her tone was casual, almost bored, but her sharp eyes betrayed a dangerous edge.

Minji's expression twisted into something unhinged, her smirk widening unnaturally. "Are you crazy? Didn't you hear the announcement earlier?" she spat, her voice rising in frustration.

Before Minhee could respond, one of Minji's lackeys lunged forward. "She's alone! She can't take all of us!" the girl declared, her confidence brimming as she charged.

But the moment her fist swung forward, her vision blurred and then shifted upward. For a split second, she was staring at the ceiling, confusion flashing across her face. Minhee had vanished from sight. In a blur of motion, she reappeared, executing a perfect handspring and delivering a precise uppercut to the lackey's chin. The force sent the girl stumbling backward, completely disoriented.

With fluid grace, Minhee pinned the lackey to the floor, crouching down as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her piercing gaze locked onto Minji, who was visibly seething.

"Are you really going to kill her?" Minhee asked, her voice chilling, the words laced with quiet menace.

A cold aura radiated from Minhee, the temperature in the room seeming to plummet. The rest of Minji's lackeys froze, paralyzed by an invisible force that weighed heavily on their bodies.

Minji's smirk faltered for a fraction of a second, but she quickly recovered, her fury boiling just beneath the surface. Minhee, however, remained unshaken, her calm, dominant presence filling the room like a storm about to break.

Minji extended her hand, her expression shifting into a calculated smile. "As expected of the strongest," she said, her voice laced with feigned admiration.

Minhee rose to her feet, brushing off imaginary dust with a look of indifference. She wasn't one for flattery, especially when it came from someone as untrustworthy as Minji.

"Why not join me, Minhee?" Minji offered, her tone dripping with allure. "Together, we might stand a chance to escape this doom."

Minhee raised an unimpressed brow, her lips curling into a half-smirk. "Thanks, but I have no clue what kind of nonsense you're spewing." She tapped her temple mockingly with her finger, her expression taunting as she leaned slightly forward.

Minji's calm demeanor cracked, her eyes narrowing with irritation. Raising both arms theatrically, she let out a harsh laugh. "Then there isn't much I can do for you. But…" Her voice dropped into a venomous hiss, her face twisting into a sneer. "Die, like the rest!"

At her signal, three girls from Minji's group lunged forward, their confidence bolstered by their numbers. They charged Minhee with the kind of reckless abandon that came from underestimating their opponent.

Minhee didn't move at first, her sharp eyes calculating their movements. As the first girl swung her fist, Minhee stepped back gracefully, letting the attack miss by a breath. In one swift motion, she drove her foot into the girl's chest with precision, sending her flying backward with a startled gasp.

The second girl saw an opening and rushed to pin Minhee while she was mid-move. But before her hands could reach their target, Minhee's body twisted with an almost supernatural fluidity. She delivered a devastating roundhouse kick that landed with a resounding crack, knocking the second girl unconscious before she even hit the ground.

The third girl froze, her bravado evaporating in an instant. Her instincts screamed to flee, but as she turned to escape, Minhee was already in front of her, closing the distance with terrifying speed.

"Boo," Minhee said softly, her voice low and taunting.

The girl shrieked, falling to the floor in terror and scrambling backward on her hands and knees until she reached Minji. She clung to Minji's legs like a lifeline, her face pale and drenched in sweat.

Minji, in stark contrast, remained eerily calm. Her sharp eyes flickered over Minhee, her expression unreadable. With a resigned sigh, she bent slightly to pull her trembling lackey to her feet.

"This isn't over, Minhee," Minji declared, her voice carrying a promise of retribution. She turned sharply on her heel and strode out of the room, her remaining conscious lackeys trailing behind her like wounded animals.

As silence settled in the aftermath, Dalle stared at Minhee in awe, her heart still pounding from the chaos. But the moment was short-lived as Minhee's steely gaze snapped to her.

"Start talking," Minhee demanded, her tone as sharp as the violence she had just unleashed.