CH 2 THE MAN AND HIS SLEEP

The Man and His Sleep

Break Time

Gin staggered toward the school cafeteria, still feeling drowsy with sleep clinging to his eyes. In an instant, he became the center of attention as he passed by other students. His strange appearance made them murmur among themselves.

When he arrived at the cafeteria, Gin ordered his food and sat down at a table. He was still the center of attention, but this time, things got even stranger as he fell asleep in the cafeteria. The most bizarre part was when his food arrived; he immediately started eating without opening his eyes.

"Sleeping while eating?" muttered anyone who saw him.

"Hey, one order, please," Bayu said as he arrived at the cafeteria. After ordering, he sat down with his four bandmates.

They chatted about their band, which they were currently focused on. As they were talking, Bayu was startled by the sight of Gin, still eating while asleep.

"I think I've seen him before," Bayu mumbled. He stood up and walked over to Gin, studying his face intently.

"Hey, wake up, you jerk!" Bayu yelled, realizing that it was Gin who had bumped into him earlier that morning.

Gin, still eating without opening his eyes, just sighed. "Hmm?"

At first, Gin had only wanted to enjoy his lunch in peace. Despite the cafeteria being full of students staring at him strangely, he didn't mind. As long as there was food in front of him, that was enough.

However, his peace was disturbed when Bayu and his friends approached, looking furious.

"Do you think I'll just stay quiet after what happened this morning?" Bayu glared at Gin with intense eyes.

With a relaxed expression, Gin opened his eyes. "Who are you? Have we met before?" Gin asked, which only made Bayu angrier.

"Stop pretending to be stupid!" Bayu slammed his hand on the table, making some people in the cafeteria look their way. "You were the one who bumped into me this morning, right? And now you're acting like you don't know me?!"

Gin chewed his food calmly and then opened his eyes again. "Huh? The one this morning? Oh... the one running like a lunatic, yeah?"

Bayu clenched his fists. "You little punk!"

One of his friends, Jefry, chimed in, "You also insulted our band! You think we didn't hear that, huh?! You called our band lame! What do you mean by that?!"

Gin blinked. "Huh? When did I say that?"

Bayu got even angrier. "Who do you think you are, huh?! The new kid trying to act tough!"

Seeing Bayu getting more agitated, Gin just sighed and raised his hand as if trying to stop the drama. "I don't have time for this. You want to be mad? Go ahead. I want to eat."

"Let's go behind the cafeteria!" Bayu ordered, grabbing Gin's collar and dragging him to the place he wanted. He signaled his friends to follow.

Gin reluctantly followed Bayu's command, still holding his half-eaten plate of food.

---

Back in Class 3-A

Tesa, feeling lazy about going to the cafeteria, didn't want to meet her boyfriend there. She hated when they argued in front of so many people. It was better to stay in class, listening to songs on her beloved phone.

"Tesa... Tesa... Tesa, it's bad, Sa," Aini, her seatmate, shouted as she returned from the cafeteria.

"What is it, Ni? Coming in all loud like that?" Tesa grumbled, feeling annoyed.

"Your boyfriend is fighting with the new kid in our class. He's beating him up," Aini said.

"Well, whatever, if that's the case, my boyfriend won't get hurt, right?" Tesa replied indifferently.

"Yeah, you're right, why should I be worried?" Aini said, looking foolish as she realized it.

"Do you like the new kid or something? Why are you so worked up?" Tesa teased.

"It's not like that, but don't you care if your boyfriend gets labeled as a thug? His reputation will go down the drain."

Tesa suddenly realized something—one thing she had always maintained was her reputation at school. She didn't want people to think badly of her. She stood up and rushed to the cafeteria. Aini, watching Tesa run quickly, could only sigh.

"That jerk made me mad this morning, and now he wants to ruin my reputation here. Should I just break up with that lame band guy?" Tesa thought to herself, cursing her boyfriend's behavior.

No matter what, Bayu was still her boyfriend, and if this incident reached the teachers and Bayu got punished, how embarrassing would that be for Tesa? All the students would have such a bad opinion of her.

"Ha... ha... ha..." Tesa gasped as she reached the back of the cafeteria. And to her surprise, she saw what was happening there.

---

Behind the Cafeteria

As soon as they reached the quiet area behind the cafeteria, Bayu shoved Gin, causing his back to hit the wall.

"You've made a huge mistake, kid," Bayu threatened.

Gin sighed and then stared at his half-eaten plate of food. "You know, I've been patient enough..."

Jefry sneered. "Heh, patient? Don't talk too much, newbie!"

But just then, Gin moved.

Bam!

In one swift movement, Gin's elbow hit Bayu's stomach, making him stagger backward. Before Bayu could react, Gin kicked Jefry, who was trying to attack, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Ugh…" Jefry groaned, clutching his stomach.

The other three were shocked but immediately tried to attack Gin together. Unfortunately, their moves were too predictable.

Quickly, Gin dodged their punches one by one and then retaliated with swift strikes to their jaws, chests, and stomachs. Within less than a minute, all five were lying on the ground, helpless.

Gin stood calmly on top of them, still holding his plate of food. "Hmm… still good," he said, sitting down on their piled bodies and resuming his meal in peace.

Tesa clenched her teeth.

Her eyes were fixed on the scene in front of her—Bayu and his four friends were lying in a pathetic state, while Gin casually ate, leaving behind a trail of chaos as if it were no big deal.

He glanced at her briefly with a neutral expression. "Tell him I'm sorry, don't drag it out, okay?" he said lightly before walking away.

Tesa was frozen. She didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. On one hand, her boyfriend was beaten up, and his pride as the leader of the school's band had fallen in front of everyone. On the other hand, for some reason, there was a strange feeling stirring in her heart. A feeling that shouldn't be there.

Gin Kazama… who exactly was he? How could he take down five people at once as if it was nothing? Was he once a thug? A child of a fighter? Or... was he just an ordinary person who was too genius in everything?

Tesa shook her head hard. "No way," she muttered.

Snapping out of her trance, she quickly rushed over to Bayu, who was still lying weakly. His face was bruised, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and one of his teeth seemed to be missing. Tesa bit her lip, trying to hold back the embarrassment.

"Bayu... are you okay?" she asked half-heartedly, though she showed some concern.

Bayu groaned, his eyes barely open, but his gaze was full of rage. "That... bastard... has to pay..." he muttered weakly.

Tesa sighed. "You better go to the nurse's office first, or you'll get even more embarrassed in front of people," she said curtly.

Bayu tried to sit up with the help of his friends. His eyes were full of hatred, but it was clear he couldn't do anything right now. His body was too weak.

Meanwhile, Gin had disappeared from sight, leaving the cafeteria as if nothing had happened.

That day, Gin Kazama's name started circulating throughout the school.

---

The Next Day

In Class 3-A, the classroom buzzed with talk about yesterday's incident. Several students who had witnessed the "fight" behind the cafeteria couldn't stop admiring Gin.

"I didn't expect that new kid to be that strong," one student whispered.

"Yeah, and he's always sleeping in class!" another replied.

"Poor Bayu, though... but... he kind of brought it on himself."

Tesa sat at her desk, pretending not to hear the conversation. But secretly, her ears caught every word.

She glanced toward Gin's desk in the corner of the room. As usual, he sat calmly, his head down on the desk, as if he were really asleep.

"Doesn't he feel guilty at all?" she thought.

But there was something that made her curious.

Gin Kazama... who was he really? Why did he always look so sleepy? Was he really sleeping all the time? Or was he just pretending?

Tesa bit her lip. Somehow, the more she thought about Gin, the more questions popped into her head.

---

Break Time

Tesa purposely didn't go to the cafeteria like usual. This time, she decided to leave the classroom and find someone.

Sure enough.

In the school's back garden, under a shady tree that was somewhat hidden, Gin was sitting against the trunk with his eyes closed.

Tesa approached, standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. "Are you really sleeping?" she asked.

Gin didn't answer.

Tesa rolled her eyes in frustration. "Hey!"

Still no reaction.

Finally, annoyed, Tesa stretched out her finger and pushed Gin's forehead. "Wake up, lazybones!"

Gin slowly opened one eye, blinking a few times. "What's up?" he mumbled sleepily.

Tesa huffed. "I want to ask you something."

Gin yawned and scratched his head. "Go ahead, ask," he said, then rested his head back against the tree.

Tesa crossed her arms. "Who are you, really?"

Gin just smiled faintly. "Just a regular transfer student."