The real beginning of everything...

"I'm so glad to see you here, Zoan. I always knew you had it in you," Lisa purred, her voice dripping with satisfaction. She squealed in excitement as Zoan stepped into the dimly lit room, the acrid stench of beer, smoke, and cheap alcohol clinging to her like a second skin. Lisa and the others had rented the place to spend the entire night drinking.

Zoan hadn't wanted to come. She really hadn't. She'd already been in bed, curled beneath her blankets and ready to sleep. But then the message arrived—a picture from Lisa, showing Mei at the bar with them. Her clothes were revealing, far more than Mei would ever normally wear.

Her face was bruised.

That picture had dragged Zoan from her bed. She'd thrown on a sweater, climbed out through her bedroom window, and bolted through the night to the bar where Lisa and her friends were waiting.

Now, standing in the doorway, Zoan bit her lip, her mind racing.

Why was Lisa so hell-bent on making Mei's life worse?

And why was Zoan always unable to stop it? Was she really that weak? That helpless?

—

"You have that look on your face," Ving remarked casually as she sat beside Zoan, who hadn't even realized she was staring off into space. She had completely forgotten she was in the middle of answering her review test.

It wasn't necessary, but this was usually Zoan's way of remembering and understanding things. "What?" she tried to play it off, looking back down at her book and scribbling a random answer on the test sheet.

Ving hummed, tapping her nail on the desk as Zoan refused to meet her gaze. "Stop talking nonsense," she murmured. Zoan shot her a stink eye, while the other let out amused scoffs.

This lightheartedness was strangely out of character for someone as stone-faced as Ving, who was more accustomed to frowning than smiling.

How suspicious, Zoan thought, annoyed. Ving had stopped asking her about how she had suspended Aliani. Zoan suspected that Ving had found out, or maybe not—who knows?

Ving remained quiet, finally giving Zoan the peace and quiet she needed. The other girl had also pulled out her book, paging through it silently. Now that Zoan thought about it, where were Jovi and Jiho?

Usually, they would be here by now. Before Zoan had gone to the club room, she had seen Jiho at her desk, jotting down some notes. Zoan had mentioned she was heading to the club room first.

"Did you see Jiho on the way?" Zoan asked Ving, who raised her head and shook it lightly. She seemed to be considering it. "She followed after you," she said, and Zoan frowned, nodding slightly.

"Right... okay, maybe she's just with Jovi right now. They seem to hang out a lot," Zoan commented half-heartedly. She wasn't too bothered, but she did feel uneasy being left alone with Ving. The girl had a way of making her feel both uncomfortable and annoyed.

No one else could do that—maybe Mei back then, but Mei had been her only friend. Now she had Jiho, Jovi... and ugh, Ving. Should she consider Ving a friend? Maybe—not.

"I should also thank you for the socks," Ving said, a smug smirk on her face. Zoan couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance. "I didn't know what you would like, so socks it is," she replied.

Ving hummed, her eyes scanning Zoan's face while the latter busily jotted something down in her book.

Zoan was by no means unattractive—though there was something about the way she dressed that made Ving think she might've been better suited to being born a man than a woman.

It wasn't just the clothes, either. The way she moved—it wasn't exactly feminine. Not in the way Ving had expected her to be. But—

Ving's gaze drifted, almost against her will, to Zoan's eyes. Usually hidden behind the lenses of her glasses, they were now fully visible. The color struck Ving for the first time. A warm, deep brown.

And when the sun hit them just right, there was something else—a hint of red, a subtle tint that made them burn like embers. Ving vaguely recalled there being some scientific explanation for why the retina could reflect red light under certain conditions. But in that moment, it didn't matter.

For some reason, her breath caught as she stared.

"What are you doing?"

The sharp edge in Zoan's voice snapped Ving out of her trance. She'd been staring for almost half a minute, and Zoan was now glaring at her, clearly creeped out.

"Seriously, what?" Zoan asked again, her scowl deepening. "What are you staring at?"

Ving quickly looked away, the faintest hint of pink dusting her cheeks. "Nothing," she said, struggling to sound nonchalant as she forced any trace of emotion from her voice.

Zoan raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Weirdo," she muttered under her breath.

The word stung, and for a moment, Ving was tempted to throw it right back at her. But she stopped herself. Being petty wasn't her style.

Maybe some of Zoan's personality is rubbing off on me, she thought wryly, shaking her head.

—

Zoan found Jiho right after lunch ended. She was in the library, scribbling notes and working diligently. Apparently, Jiho had chosen not to go to the club room so she wouldn't disturb Zoan, who usually rested there.

"Don't be stupid. I don't mind," Zoan grumbled, crossing her arms.

Jiho giggled, knocking herself lightly on the head in mock apology. "Silly me, then! Uhm, anyway… earlier, I saw Vin." Jiho hesitated, scratching her cheek.

Zoan blinked, slightly confused. "Okay?"

"I saw her in the dean's office again," Jiho continued. "I just thought you should know, since you two seem… close."

The dean's office? Zoan thought, averting her gaze. What happened this time? Did Vin get into another fight?

"That girl," Zoan muttered under her breath, exasperated.

Before she could dwell on it further, Ving entered the room. "No class today," she announced flatly.

The students erupted into cheers, quickly grabbing their bags and filing out without hesitation.

"No class? Why?" Zoan asked, frowning as she and Jiho approached Ving, who was wiping the board clean.

Ving shrugged nonchalantly. "Orders from the top. Not sure why. Apparently, it's a half day. We can't be picky, though—just go home and rest."

Jiho's eyes lit up. "Me and Jovi have been wanting to check out this study café!" She turned to Zoan and Ving with an eager grin. "Do you guys want to come?"

Ving sighed. "I'm not sure. I'm still part of the student council, so I can't just leave right away. But," she added when Jiho pouted dramatically, "send me the location. I'll catch up later if I can."

Jiho perked up immediately, pulling out her phone to show Ving the café's location.

Zoan waved them off. "Same here. I'll follow later. Just send me the location."

Jiho called after her, "Hey, wait!" But Zoan didn't stop, jogging out of the room without looking back.

She wasn't surprised to find Vin sitting outside the building on one of the wooden benches, her face patched up with fresh band-aids.

"What happened this time?" Zoan asked, letting out a weary sigh as she sat beside her.

Vin hesitated, her voice trembling. "You told me not to fight, but… how can I not? They still have the video of my friend… naked." Her voice cracked slightly as she met Zoan's gaze, desperation flickering in her eyes.

Zoan's face twisted in anger for a brief moment before she forced it into indifference. She knew she shouldn't get involved in this mess. This wasn't her problem.

She thought of Gilena—her own problem. Thank goodness the girl, with her inflated ego and pride, had never told anyone about what happened in that old volleyball court.

But if Zoan helped Vin now, it meant she'd have to fight. And fighting meant hurting someone.

And if she did that…

"Please, help me," Vin begged, tears streaming down her face as she wiped them with the heel of her hand. "I know you can't do much, but please… please help me tell the teachers. No one listens to me. They think I'm lying because I'm a troublemaker."

Zoan patted Vin's back awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Even she didn't have the power to do anything. And if she told Atiro or Ving, what could they do? They couldn't even handle Aliani properly. What hope did they have against her little gang of assholes?

"Is… Aliani the leader of all these jerks?" Zoan asked, her tone laced with mild curiosity.

Vin bit her lip and looked down at her lap, nodding shamefully.

Zoan sighed, leaning back against the bench. She'd already known the answer—it was painfully obvious. The way Aliani moved, the way she acted and spoke to people, like everyone else was beneath her—it couldn't have been anyone else.

She sees everyone as someone below her; it was very obvious. Vin's phone rang, causing her to flinch. Retrieving her phone from her pocket, she answered, "H-Hello?" Hesitation laced her voice.

Zoan didn't lean in, but she assumed something bad was being said as Vin's face paled. "Are you—" Zoan started, but Vin lowered her phone and, startled, stood up. "I-I have to go," she said, refusing to meet Zoan's eyes as she quickly ran off. "What? Wait! Ah, damn…" Zoan mumbled, dragging a hand down her face in frustration.

"Jeez, that girl, I swear," Zoan muttered under her breath. It was then she noticed Vin's bag on the ground, tucked under the bench. Bending down to pick it up, she saw a keychain on the zipper pull. She tugged on it, flipping it over.

"Vin Noi," it read. Turning it again, she saw, "If lost, give it back!! D:<" Zoan chuckled softly. Who knew Vin had such a funny side? It reminded her of Jovi, who loved using emoticons in every message to Zoan.

Jovi often asked Zoan to buy art materials and paid her back later since Jovi wasn't allowed to leave her dorm past 7 PM and tended to remember what she needed only after that hour. So, Zoan did it for her, in good will, of course.

"You're still here?" a voice said from behind. Zoan turned to see Ving, her head tilted in question. As Zoan stood up, she replied, "I wasn't waiting for you. I was talking to someone until she had to leave. She left her bag here."

Ving snorted, a mocking chortle that made Zoan raise a brow. "I didn't ask… Are you going to give that back?" she eyed the bag in Zoan's hand.

"I will, but the problem is I don't know where she lives," Zoan rubbed the back of her neck.

Ving hummed, walking up to her and grabbing Vin's bag, noticing the keychain. "Vin Noi? She's your friend?" Ving asked, raising a brow. Zoan didn't reply, crossing her arms as Ving studied her face for a moment before opening Vin's bag and rummaging through it.

"Woah, hey, what are you doing?" Zoan exclaimed, surprised as Ving let out a relieved sigh and closed it back up. "There were reports from multiple students that Vin Noi often brings a knife with her… That's against the student manual," Ving said, handing the bag back to Zoan, who sighed.

"Still, you just checked her stuff without consent. Is that how the student council—no, the SSG works?" Zoan teased, grinning at Ving, who huffed.

"Unfortunately, I have to use underhanded techniques to catch students who refuse to follow the rules," Ving said, pulling out her phone and tapping something before showing her screen.

Zoan leaned closer; there, in digital form, was Vin Noi's home address. "Wah, terrifying! You have access to all of this," Zoan mumbled as Ving pocketed her phone. "If you want, I can bring her bag back to her. You go first; Jovi has been bombarding the group chat, pinging you to come by quickly," Ving suggested.

Zoan winced when she saw at least 35 messages from their group chat. "Right, you're right, I should go. I don't want Jovi to start calling me," she said, handing Ving the bag with a sigh.

Ving smiled slightly before dropping it when Zoan turned to her, catching the smile on her face.

"So you do know how to smile," Zoan prodded with a grin, but Ving only gave her a stone-faced look. "Is it because of me?" Zoan added, teasing her, but Ving just sighed and walked past.

Zoan chuckled. There was always one way to get Ving off her back: teasing her. Now that Zoan thought about it, there was probably a reason why Ving couldn't handle teasing—no one ever teased her, which was kind of funny and sad at the same time.

At least Ving was experiencing something new; everyone else was always so serious around her. She may be weird, but somehow manageable.

—

"Oh? It's you again," Zoan said, surprised to see Velionas crouched in front of a fish tank outside the pet store. Upon hearing Zoan, Velionas quickly stood up, looking as if she had just been offended.

Now that Zoan was looking at her, it almost made her feel guilty, despite the fact that Velionas had been the one to tell her to back off from Ving. Who was Ving to her, anyway? Zoan had never seen Velionas around the other girl. In fact, no one really hung around Ving—everyone seemed to look up to her as if she were some sort of goddess, and it was really starting to annoy Zoan.

"You," Velionas muttered, like a villain spotting the hero.

"Yes, me," Zoan replied, tilting her head before standing beside her and peering down at the fish tank, where two goldfish swam around each other.

She chuckled under her breath and turned to look at Velionas, whose face was flushed. "Fish, huh? That's adorable, I suppose. It certainly doesn't fit your whole bad girl look, though," Zoan said, gesturing at her.

"Why are you here?" Velionas muttered under her breath, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Just passing by. I was heading to that study café right around the block," Zoan waved a hand in the direction she was going.

Velionas raised an eyebrow. "That's a dead end."

Zoan glanced at her phone, frowning. "Really? It says here that—oh, what? You're right." She mumbled the last few words as Velionas scoffed.

"Are you really the person who got first rank? You pushed my friend's rank down to Class 2," Velionas said, sounding more whiny than accusatory. Zoan gave her a look.

"If you think I got into this school using my family's connections, you're wrong. I aced the entrance exam and got placed in Class 1. Trust me, I didn't even know there were rankings here," Zoan scoffed back. Velionas huffed and fell silent as Zoan returned her attention to her phone, grumbling in frustration while trying to find the café on Google Maps.

Both of them stood there, Velionas tapping her foot impatiently as she watched Zoan grow increasingly confused. Finally, Velionas snapped, "Give me that," snatching Zoan's phone.

She typed something quickly before handing it back to Zoan, who let out a small "Oh." "So, I passed by it earlier," Zoan murmured, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly as Velionas sighed.

"Whatever, I'm leaving. Don't talk to me anymore," she grumbled, bumping her shoulder against Zoan. Velionas expected Zoan to stumble, but instead, she found herself teetering toward the fish tank.

"Ah!" Velionas yelped, tripping and bracing for impact when a hand grabbed her arm, holding her in place. "What?" Velionas opened her eyes, surprised to find Zoan steadying her.

"You okay?" Zoan asked, but Velionas blinked at her in confusion.

"What. was. that?!" Velionas yelled, pushing Zoan away, but Zoan held her ground, unmovable.

"You almost fell on the fish tank you clearly liked," Zoan pointed out. Velionas growled, pulling her arm away. "Don't touch me… weirdo," she said, stomping off in anger, her face burning with embarrassment.

She was a fencer, for god's sake—used to carrying heavy objects and managing intense activities. But how had this nerd, without even trying, almost sent her crashing to the ground?

Zoan watched her leave, confused. Shaking her head lightly, she muttered, "What is wrong with everyone today?" Just then, her phone dinged. It was a message from Ving: "Come to me right now, I will be sending my location."

Zoan let out a confused noise. Was Ving lost too?