Ava walked into school, fully prepared to be ambushed by her usual chaotic Section E friends.

What she wasn’t prepared for—

Was Jae waiting for her at the gate.

Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, glaring at every single person who so much as looked in her direction.

Ava groaned. “Jae, I can walk alone.”

Jae didn’t even blink. “Not happening.”

She rolled her eyes and kept walking. He followed.

Ava sighed. “Jae, I swear—”

“Try to run,” he said lazily. “See what happens.”

Ava paused, raising an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t.”

Jae smirked. “Oh, I would.”

She gasped. “You wouldn’t actually chase me in front of the whole school!”

Jae tilted his head, completely unfazed. “Test me.”

Ava shut her mouth. Damn him.

Lunchtime – Section E vs. The World

Ava thought she’d finally get a break when she reached the cafeteria.

She was wrong.

Section E was already waiting for her—and the moment she sat down, Kai plopped next to her and threw an arm around her shoulder.

Big. Mistake.

Jae grabbed Kai’s collar and yanked him back so fast that Kai choked on his own laughter.

“Do you have a death wish?” Jae growled.

Kai wheezed. “Bro, relax! I was just being friendly—”

“Be friendly somewhere else.” Jae deadpanned.

The entire table burst into laughter.

Eli smirked. “Damn, Jae. Possessive much?”

Minho grinned. “At this point, we should start charging you for bodyguard services.”

Lily sighed dramatically. “It’s actually cute. In a psychotic way.”

Jae ignored them, turning back to Ava. “Eat.”

Ava glared at him. “I can feed myself.”

Jae raised an eyebrow. “Can you?”

Ava scowled. “Are you seriously questioning my ability to use a fork?”

Jae picked up a spoonful of rice and held it up to her lips. “Open.”

The whole table erupted into screaming.

Eli: “OH MY GOD.”
Lily: “THIS IS SO DOMESTIC.”
Kai: “HUSBAND BEHAVIOR, I’M SICK.”
Minho: “I CAN’T BREATHE.”

Ava turned red. “Jae, I will stab you.”

Jae smirked. “You won’t.”

Ava clenched her fists. He was right.

Damn it.

Hallway Chaos – Section E’s Guard Duty

It got worse.

Section E had somehow decided that if Jae was going to be overprotective, so were they.

So now—

Ava couldn’t even walk through the hallway without a full escort.

Kai walked ahead of her like a bodyguard.
Eli and Minho were on either side.
Lily looped her arm through Ava’s.

And Jae?

Jae walked behind her like a shadow. Glaring at anyone who even dared to breathe near her.

Ava groaned. “This is getting ridiculous.”

Minho nodded seriously. “Agreed. We need sunglasses.”

Kai gasped. “OH MY GOD. Should we get those earpieces too? Like, ‘Copy that, target is approaching the stairwell’?”

Eli smirked. “I call sniper duty.”

Lily cackled. “This is too fun.”

Ava buried her face in her hands. “I hate all of you.”

Jae didn’t even blink. “Too bad. You’re stuck with us.”

When Things Get Serious

Ava wanted to be annoyed. She wanted to tell them all to stop being dramatic.

But the truth was…

The truth was, the message haunted her.

Someone wanted her gone.

And if Section E wanted to protect her, then maybe, just maybe—

She wasn’t so scared after all.