The tension in the air was thick, electric.

Jae rolled his sleeves up slowly, his sharp gaze locked on the Section D boys. Kai stood beside him, cracking his knuckles, his usual laid-back smirk gone.

“Last chance to walk away,” Jae said, voice low and dangerous.

The leader of Section D scoffed. “You think we’re scared of you?”

Kai chuckled. “You should be.”

A moment of silence. Then—a fist flew toward Jae.

He dodged effortlessly, countering with a sharp uppercut that sent the guy stumbling backward. The second he hit the ground, the rest of Section D launched themselves into the fight.

Ava, still catching her breath from her own battle, barely had time to react before chaos erupted around her.

Kai moved like a storm, his strikes precise and fast. One of the Section D boys tried to tackle him, but Kai twisted at the last second, slamming his elbow into his opponent’s ribs.

Jae, on the other hand, was ruthless. Every punch was filled with pure fury, his movements sharp, controlled—deadly. The boy who had grabbed Ava earlier barely had time to react before Jae grabbed him by the collar and landed a brutal punch to his face.

Blood splattered.

Ava wasn’t sure if it belonged to Jae or the guy he hit.

More bodies crashed into each other, fists and kicks colliding. The sound of grunts and the occasional sharp intake of breath filled the air.

Despite being outnumbered, Jae and Kai weren’t losing.

Ava’s lips curled into a smirk.

Of course they weren’t.

From the sidelines, someone watched Ava carefully.

Hidden within the shadows of the hallway, a boy—one Ava barely noticed in class—stood with arms crossed, his gaze trained on her.

While everyone else was focused on the fight, his attention never left her.

The way she wiped the blood from her lips.

The way her eyes flickered with amusement as she watched Jae and Kai fight for her without hesitation.

She was fascinating.

And utterly oblivious to the fact that someone else had started to fall for her.

Hard.