The warm buzz of the school day carried on like normal—but not for Izumi Aoyama.
He sat at his desk, elbow resting on his open notebook, chin resting in his palm. The teacher's words blurred into the background as his mind wandered back to the weekend. The image of Marina quietly facing her mother at the dinner table… the way her shoulders had stiffened… the strange distance between them.
Something was off.
And now, the school atmosphere seemed... different.
"Hey. Aoyama," Ren's voice cut through his thoughts from behind. "You notice the stares?"
Izumi blinked and looked around. Sure enough, some classmates whispered behind their hands. Others avoided his eyes altogether.
"What's going on?" he murmured.
"Rumors," Ren said dryly, flipping a pen between his fingers. "Nasty ones. I don't know who started it, but someone's been digging into Kamihara's past. Old tabloid-level stuff."
Izumi's stomach tightened. "What kind of rumors?"
Ren glanced sideways. "Things about her being cold… manipulative... That she dated some rich heir back in middle school and broke his heart."
"That's not true," Izumi said immediately, fists clenching.
Ren shrugged. "Obviously. But truth doesn't matter in gossip."
At lunch, Marina didn't come to class.
Instead, she stayed behind in the Student Council room, gazing out the window, pretending not to hear the soft buzz of her phone as message after message lit up the screen.
"They're just rumors," Niko said, arms crossed as she sat on the table nearby. "Jealous kids trying to tear you down 'cause they couldn't handle your glow-up."
"I've ignored worse," Marina said quietly. "But… Izumi doesn't know all of it."
Niko raised an eyebrow. "Does he need to?"
Marina hesitated.
Back in class, Izumi stepped into the hallway and found Anzu leaning against the wall, arms folded.
"You planning to do something about it?" Anzu asked bluntly.
"About what?"
"About your girl being targeted. Don't pretend you don't know."
Izumi looked away. "I don't want to cause more drama."
Anzu's voice softened, for once. "Listen. The Marina you know—she's not the kind of girl who talks about herself. She's spent her whole life pretending she's fine even when she's crumbling. That's her way of protecting herself."
"…I know."
"Then stop hesitating." Anzu looked him in the eyes. "Stand beside her. Even if she says she doesn't need it."
Izumi hesitately agree."y...ya, I got it. Then I have to go."
Later that evening, as the sky turned a deep violet, Izumi found himself walking to the Kamihara estate again.
He didn't have a plan. He just knew his heart was full, and he needed to see her.
At the gate, one of the bodyguards gave him a knowing smile.
"She's on the balcony. Alone."
"Thanks."
"And, Aoyama—" the man added, "Protect her heart. That's the real test."
Izumi just smile at him and walk away.
Izumi walked through the dim halls until he reached the high glass doors leading to the balcony. The wind blew gently through Marina's long hair. She didn't look back.
"You heard about the rumors?" she asked quietly.
"I did."
"…You want to ask me if they're true?"
"No," he said firmly.
She finally turned, surprised. B..but.."
Suddenly izumi turn his finger to her lips
"I don't care who you were," Izumi said. "Only who you are now. And I know who that is. You're Marina. The girl who's too proud to cry. The one who can eat ten macarons in one sitting and pretend she's still classy. The one who's never faked a smile around me."
Her lips trembled. And izumi remove his finger from her lips.
"You're not a rumor to me," he added. "You're real. I only fell for you, Marina."
She stepped toward him, her voice barely a whisper.
"Then why do I still feel scared?"
He reached out and gently took her hand.
"Because people will always talk," he said. "But I'll always listen. To you."
There was silence between them—one not of awkwardness, but of understanding. A shared space where nothing needed to be said anymore.
"Izumi," she said, voice shaking slightly, "please don't leave. No matter what comes."
"I won't," he promised.
Behind the curtain, one of the bodyguards stood smiling like a proud parent.
In the shadows of the garden, Ashford watched from a distance, sipping tea with narrowed eyes.
"Good," he murmured. "One storm down… let's see how he handles the next one."
Marina think herself with a sold smile. "Izumi, you really did become bold."