Chapter Nine: Echoes in Velvet and Smoke

Baekhyun Academy was back to normal the next day. Or, as normal as a place with secret courtyards, underground ballrooms, and more Prada loafers than textbooks could be.

But Hae-won wasn't the same.

Rumors still clung to her like perfume, faint but ever-present. Some people smiled tighter when she passed. Some whispered louder. But no one dared approach her directly—not after Kyung-min had escorted her out of the party wearing a dress fit for a queen. The photo had circled around again, this time with a new caption: "The dog got a diamond collar."

"I can't tell if they're insulting you or asking for grooming tips," Skylar said, scrolling through the comments. She snorted. "Someone said you bewitched Kyung-min. Girl, blink twice if you hexed him."

"I don't even know him. I mean, not really," Hae-won muttered. Her voice cracked on the last word. She'd replayed the party too many times in her head. The way he had looked at her. Touched her waist. Whispered about pity. But also protected her.

She didn't know what to make of him. Or the way her knees had buckled a little when he leaned in to adjust her hair.

And then there was Jin-woon.

He hadn't spoken to her since the confrontation after the gala. But she felt him watching. In class. At lunch. During fencing orientation.

Yes, fencing.

Because Baekhyun Academy, apparently, thought swordplay was an essential life skill.

Ji-ae and Skylar had chosen media and fashion club respectively. Hae-won had wanted to join the literature society, but it was full. And her second choice—art—was mysteriously "restricted." So she ended up in fencing because she had written "light footwork" under physical skills on her application and someone took it way too seriously.

That's where she saw him again.

Jin-woon.

Dressed in black. Watching from the second level balcony that overlooked the training space. Like he owned the building. (He probably did.)

When Hae-won turned and met his eyes, he didn't look away. He tilted his head, just slightly, and then... smirked.

"What's up with that one?" a girl next to her whispered. "Is he, like, actually dangerous or is he just doing a mafia prince cosplay?"

"Shh," another girl hissed. "That's Jin-woon Kang."

"And?"

"And his grandfather's the founder of Baekhyun Academy. And the reason the fencing club has silver-lined foils."

Hae-won turned away.

It was getting harder to breathe around him. Not because he was particularly beautiful—though he was. It was the way he looked at her, like he was pulling threads only he could see.

At the end of the session, while she tried to sneak out unnoticed, she found him leaning against the marble railing outside.

"You handled the sword better than I expected," he said, voice like velvet over smoke.

She stiffened. "Thanks. I think."

"Still pretending you don't know why Kyung-min helped you?"

Hae-won frowned. "I told you, there's nothing between us."

"Mm. And I told you to stop lying."

She swallowed. "Why do you even care?"

"Because this school is a chessboard, and I don't like it when people start moving pawns I didn't account for."

She stepped back. "So that's what I am? A pawn?"

He leaned forward, voice dropping. "No. Not a pawn. A spark. And sparks can start fires in the wrong places. Be careful who lets you burn."

Then he walked past her like she was nothing. And left her heart racing like she was everything.