A heavy silence fell upon the room for exactly three seconds. Then—

“OH MY GOD!” Lily screamed, practically jumping onto her desk. “YOU GUYS ARE TOGETHER?!?”

Kai dramatically clutched his chest and fell to his knees. “Ava… my love… my sunshine… my reason for breathing… You chose that bastard over me?!” He let out a fake sob, shaking his fists at the ceiling. “Curse you, Jae! I knew you’d steal my future wife one day!”

Jae rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Kai.”

Eli, who had been sitting quietly, smirked and ruffled Ava’s hair. “I’m proud of you, kiddo. But damn, I really thought you’d hold out longer. What happened to all that talk about never dating an arrogant prick?”

Ava smirked. “I changed my mind. He’s my arrogant prick now.”

The class collectively lost it.

“OH, SHE CLAIMED HIM!”

“MR. PRESIDENT, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE WHIPPED?”

Jae sighed, rubbing his temples, but the slight pink dusting his ears betrayed his usual cold demeanor.

Minho, the ever-silent observer, nodded approvingly. “Took you long enough.”

“EXACTLY!” Kai shouted, jumping back up. “The tension between these two was suffocating us all! The stolen glances, the unnecessary touching, the possessiveness—IT WAS A ROMANCE NOVEL WAITING TO HAPPEN!”

Ava laughed, but Jae just crossed his arms. “I was not that obvious.”

The whole class groaned.

“You were literally ready to throw hands every time a guy even looked at Ava,” Lily pointed out.

“You beat up two guys in an abandoned school building for her!” Minho added.

“And don’t forget the way you looked at her during gym class,” one of the boys piped up. “Man, I thought you were about to eat her alive!”

Jae shot them all a deadly glare. “Would you all shut the hell up?”

Ava, enjoying the rare sight of flustered Jae, smirked up at him. “Aw, babe, are you embarrassed?”

Kai gasped. “SHE CALLED HIM ‘BABE’! I AM SUFFERING!”

Eli chuckled. “Man, I can’t believe Ava got herself a boyfriend before Kai even got a first date.”

Kai placed a dramatic hand on Eli’s shoulder. “Don’t remind me, brother. The pain is unbearable.”

The class burst into laughter, and even Jae couldn’t stop the small smirk that tugged at his lips.

Ava turned to her classmates, raising a playful eyebrow. “So, does this mean I have your approval?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Lily giggled. “You’ve had our approval since the moment you called Jae an ‘overgrown, emotionally constipated control freak.’”

Minho nodded. “Yeah. That was a great moment.”

Jae sighed. “I hate all of you.”

Kai wiped away fake tears. “And yet, you love Ava. Life is cruel.”

Jae wrapped an arm around Ava’s waist, pulling her against him. “Damn right, I do.”

The class erupted into another round of screaming.

And just like that, the legend of Section E’s favorite new couple began.

A heavy silence fell upon the room for exactly three seconds. Then—

“OH MY GOD!” Lily screamed, practically jumping onto her desk. “YOU GUYS ARE TOGETHER?!?”

Kai dramatically clutched his chest and fell to his knees. “Ava… my love… my sunshine… my reason for breathing… You chose that bastard over me?!” He let out a fake sob, shaking his fists at the ceiling. “Curse you, Jae! I knew you’d steal my future wife one day!”

Jae rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Kai.”

Eli, who had been sitting quietly, smirked and ruffled Ava’s hair. “I’m proud of you, kiddo. But damn, I really thought you’d hold out longer. What happened to all that talk about never dating an arrogant prick?”

Ava smirked. “I changed my mind. He’s my arrogant prick now.”

The class collectively lost it.

“OH, SHE CLAIMED HIM!”

“MR. PRESIDENT, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE WHIPPED?”

Jae sighed, rubbing his temples, but the slight pink dusting his ears betrayed his usual cold demeanor.

Minho, the ever-silent observer, nodded approvingly. “Took you long enough.”

“EXACTLY!” Kai shouted, jumping back up. “The tension between these two was suffocating us all! The stolen glances, the unnecessary touching, the possessiveness—IT WAS A ROMANCE NOVEL WAITING TO HAPPEN!”

Ava laughed, but Jae just crossed his arms. “I was not that obvious.”

The whole class groaned.

“You were literally ready to throw hands every time a guy even looked at Ava,” Lily pointed out.

“You beat up two guys in an abandoned school building for her!” Minho added.

“And don’t forget the way you looked at her during gym class,” one of the boys piped up. “Man, I thought you were about to eat her alive!”

Jae shot them all a deadly glare. “Would you all shut the hell up?”

Ava, enjoying the rare sight of flustered Jae, smirked up at him. “Aw, babe, are you embarrassed?”

Kai gasped. “SHE CALLED HIM ‘BABE’! I AM SUFFERING!”

Eli chuckled. “Man, I can’t believe Ava got herself a boyfriend before Kai even got a first date.”

Kai placed a dramatic hand on Eli’s shoulder. “Don’t remind me, brother. The pain is unbearable.”

The class burst into laughter, and even Jae couldn’t stop the small smirk that tugged at his lips.

Ava turned to her classmates, raising a playful eyebrow. “So, does this mean I have your approval?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Lily giggled. “You’ve had our approval since the moment you called Jae an ‘overgrown, emotionally constipated control freak.’”

Minho nodded. “Yeah. That was a great moment.”

Jae sighed. “I hate all of you.”

Kai wiped away fake tears. “And yet, you love Ava. Life is cruel.”

Jae wrapped an arm around Ava’s waist, pulling her against him. “Damn right, I do.”

The class erupted into another round of screaming.

And just like that, the legend of Section E’s favorite new couple began.

The moment Ava and Jae walked into the classroom together, side by side, all hell broke loose.

A heavy silence fell upon the room for exactly three seconds. Then—

“OH MY GOD!” Lily screamed, practically jumping onto her desk. “YOU GUYS ARE TOGETHER?!?”

Kai dramatically clutched his chest and fell to his knees. “Ava… my love… my sunshine… my reason for breathing… You chose that bastard over me?!” He let out a fake sob, shaking his fists at the ceiling. “Curse you, Jae! I knew you’d steal my future wife one day!”

Jae rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Kai.”

Eli, who had been sitting quietly, smirked and ruffled Ava’s hair. “I’m proud of you, kiddo. But damn, I really thought you’d hold out longer. What happened to all that talk about never dating an arrogant prick?”

Ava smirked. “I changed my mind. He’s my arrogant prick now.”

The class collectively lost it.

“OH, SHE CLAIMED HIM!”

“MR. PRESIDENT, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE WHIPPED?”

Jae sighed, rubbing his temples, but the slight pink dusting his ears betrayed his usual cold demeanor.

Minho, the ever-silent observer, nodded approvingly. “Took you long enough.”

“EXACTLY!” Kai shouted, jumping back up. “The tension between these two was suffocating us all! The stolen glances, the unnecessary touching, the possessiveness—IT WAS A ROMANCE NOVEL WAITING TO HAPPEN!”

Ava laughed, but Jae just crossed his arms. “I was not that obvious.”

The whole class groaned.

“You were literally ready to throw hands every time a guy even looked at Ava,” Lily pointed out.

“You beat up two guys in an abandoned school building for her!” Minho added.

“And don’t forget the way you looked at her during gym class,” one of the boys piped up. “Man, I thought you were about to eat her alive!”

Jae shot them all a deadly glare. “Would you all shut the hell up?”

Ava, enjoying the rare sight of flustered Jae, smirked up at him. “Aw, babe, are you embarrassed?”

Kai gasped. “SHE CALLED HIM ‘BABE’! I AM SUFFERING!”

Eli chuckled. “Man, I can’t believe Ava got herself a boyfriend before Kai even got a first date.”

Kai placed a dramatic hand on Eli’s shoulder. “Don’t remind me, brother. The pain is unbearable.”

The class burst into laughter, and even Jae couldn’t stop the small smirk that tugged at his lips.

Ava turned to her classmates, raising a playful eyebrow. “So, does this mean I have your approval?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Lily giggled. “You’ve had our approval since the moment you called Jae an ‘overgrown, emotionally constipated control freak.’”

Minho nodded. “Yeah. That was a great moment.”

Jae sighed. “I hate all of you.”

Kai wiped away fake tears. “And yet, you love Ava. Life is cruel.”

Jae wrapped an arm around Ava’s waist, pulling her against him. “Damn right, I do.”

The class erupted into another round of screaming.

And just like that, the legend of Section E’s favorite new couple began.