Chapter 0.138 Leona's First Kiss

Jin had barely stepped out of the café when a voice called out to him—light, unfiltered, and recklessly bright.

"Jin! Over here—here! Jin!"

He turned, slowly, as if burdened by the weight of inevitability. Across the plaza, Leona was waving both arms wildly, her white hair catching the breeze like silk set aflame by the moon. Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she ran toward him, her energy entirely out of place in the stillness of the morning.

"You left class so fast!" she said, half-laughing, half-accusing. "Not even a goodbye."

Jin blinked once, lazily. "And now you're chasing me through the streets. What do you want?"

Leona grinned—too wide, too bright. "Alcohol."

Jin raised a crimson brow. "Are you insane?"

"We're at the Academy," he added, voice flat. "I'm fairly certain drinking is prohibited."

Leona crossed her arms, pouting theatrically. "Yes, yes—but *not here*! Not outside the dorms! Everyone here's awakened, remember? We're practically adults—no one will care."

Jin's crimson gaze sharpened, slicing through her lie like a razor through gauze. "That sounds suspiciously like a lie."

Her smile twitched. She clasped her fingers together, playing innocent. "What? No! Never!"

He kept staring.

"Okay, okay!" she finally admitted. "It's technically only allowed for second and third years. But still!"

Gene sighed. "Then why are you dragging *me* into this?"

Leona leaned in, lowering her voice like a conspirator. "Because *you're* a Rotschy Everyone's afraid of your family. You could walk into the headmaster's office with a bottle of bloodwine and no one would dare stop you."

A smirk touched Jin's lips. "You're not wrong."

"So, you'll do it?" she said, eyes gleaming with triumph.

"Lead the way," Jin replied, hands in his pockets.

Leona clapped her hands with glee and spun on her heel, skipping ahead through the rows of street vendors and twilight-colored shops. She wore a loose athletic shirt and tight training pants, looking more like someone heading to a track meet than a covert alcohol mission.

They passed a quiet alley, a bakery, a bookstore—and then, at the far edge of a slanted street corner, she stopped.

"There!" she said, pointing with theatrical flourish.

A small shop sat nestled between two brick buildings, with a flickering neon sign above the door: *Finest Spirits & Arcane Brews*.

Jin stepped forward, his coat swaying behind him like a shadow with a mind of its own. Inside, the air was thick with aged wood and fermented magic. He walked straight to a shelf lined with heavy, dark bottles, pulled one with idle elegance, and approached the counter.

The shopkeeper—an older man with tired eyes—looked up, and froze.

The crimson eyes. The impossible aura. The black card with the Rotschy sigil—a silver crescent moon—slid silently across the counter.

The man swallowed hard.

"No need to pay, Lord rotschy," he stammered, fumbling behind the counter. "Please—take one more. As a gift."

Jin took both bottles with a soft, mocking smile. "Charming."

He left without another word.

Outside, Leona stood beneath a tree, bouncing slightly on her heels. When she saw him approach, the bottles in hand, her eyes lit up like fireworks on a battlefield.

"Success!" she cried, grabbing one bottle greedily. "You're the best, Jin!"

She dragged him toward the Academy gardens, toward a secluded bench framed by rose hedges and iron lamplight.

There, she plopped down like a child at a picnic, uncorked the bottle with a hiss—and began drinking.

"You want some?" she asked mid-swig, her voice already growing loose.

"I don't drink."

"Perfect. Two bottles for me," she declared, tilting the neck again. "To hell with decorum."

Jin sat beside her, arms folded, watching her spiral with the cold interest of a scientist observing a specimen.

As the liquid vanished, so did her coherence. She began humming. Then singing. Then talking to herself. Then, eventually—to a tree.

"You… you remind me of my mother," she told the tree. "She never liked me climbing things either… But you're nicer. I like you."

Jin raised a brow.

The first bottle emptied. She opened the second without pause.

"Hey…" she slurred, swaying as she sat. "If I pass out—call Lilia. She'll… she'll drag me back to the girls' dorm. She's good at dragging. Strong legs."

Jin didn't respond.

Then, from nowhere, a tiny dog—more fluff than flesh—wandered into the garden.

Leona gasped.

"Oh my moonlight—it's a plushie! A walking plushie!"

She stumbled forward, arms outstretched. The dog barked.

Leona cooed, then scooped it into her arms like a long-lost lover. The dog squirmed, clearly distressed, but she held it firm.

"A magical creature of softness!" she whispered.

Then, without warning, she kissed it—full on the snout. Lips and everything.

Jin blinked once.

"Wonderful," he muttered. "She just lost her first kiss to a dog."

He didn't stop her. He didn't even try. He just pulled out his phone and took a photo.

"For the archives," he murmured.

Leona stumbled back toward the bench, still cradling the poor dog.

"You're warm… softer than Jin... Jin's like… a marble statue with sarcasm issues…"

She hiccuped. Then paused. Then looked at the bottle in her hand like it had betrayed her.

"You lied to me," she whispered to the bottle. "You said you'd make the sadness funny. But all you did was make the flowers look like they're judging me."

Jin looked at her—fully sprawled now, one arm over her eyes, the dog wriggling in her lap—and exhaled through his nose.

"Should I call Lilia now," he asked aloud, "or wait until you start reciting poetry to insects?"

Leona moaned.

"Tell her to bring snacks…"

Jin kept looking at Leona, his crimson eyes flashing with amusement. 

"That's funny if someone asked her how she lost her first kiss would she say she lost it with a dog" 

..... 

Heat: Congratulations Leona you lost your first kiss congratulations everyone say congratulations Leona in the comments section 😂