Leona’s POV.
"Where the hell is he...?"
It’s 3 in the morning and Rin still haven’t co to their dorm room apartnt.
It’s been almost 10 hours since Rin left saying that he has sothing to do.
Leona thought contacting instructor and telling them that Rin is still not in the apartnt.
But she held herself back.
Yeah she was slightly worried for him since it’s 3 in the morning but she knows that contacting Instructor would bring more trouble for him.
So, she held herself back.
For his sack but if didn’t return by morning she would report it.
"Really, he’s not doing anything dangerous, is he? He said he’d be right back, so why isn’t he here yet?"
The mont she muttered to herself, familiar footsteps began to sound from the hallway.
"Oh, what? He’s here."
The door lock opened and she heard a voice.
"Hey, I bought lona."
However, even though the Rin she had been waiting for had returned, she was overwheld by an indescribable feeling.
She had never felt wary of Rin before. Simply in terms of ability, he wasn’t skilled enough to harm her.
But the Rin she was facing right now after just an hour had passed exuded a completely different energy than when he had left the room.
It was like when she first saw Ryen and Leo at the entrance ceremony. No, the energy that was emanating from him was perhaps even more violent than theirs.
"Hey, you...!"
So, the mont she grabbed his shoulder to ask him sothing...
"Huh?"
As if it were a lie, the energy disappeared, and the weak and fragile Rin who was holding a lona appeared before her again.
"...Why? Should I have bought sothing other than a lona?"
The way he spoke, like he was strangely frightened, was exactly like the kind of boy she felt she had to protect.
’Was it an illusion...?’
Leona narrowed her eyes.
"No... never mind." She pulled her hand back from his shoulder, slowly. "You’re late. Ten hours late."
Rin flinched. "I, uh... got caught up."
She folded her arms. "Caught up where? You didn’t answer any of my ssages."
He avoided her gaze, holding the frozen treat out like a peace offering. "I said I’d be back soon, didn’t I? I brought lona. You like these, right?"
Leona sighed, taking it without much thought. It was still cold. He must’ve just stopped by a store on the way back.
"You were out training again, weren’t you?"
Rin paused. Not denying it. Not confirming it either.
She watched him closely. His eyes were tired—red at the edges like he hadn’t blinked in a while. His clothes were damp with sweat that had long since dried, and there was dirt on his sleeves. But it wasn’t just that.
There was sothing in his presence that still lingered, even if it was faint now. Like the final note of a song still echoing through an empty room.
"...What did you do, Rin?" she asked, more softly this ti.
He sat down on the edge of his bed, rubbing his palms together.
"Nothing but traning. I lost the track of ti while doing so."
Leona narrowed her eyes. She didn’t believe him.
"Training, huh?" she said, her voice quiet but pointed. "And what kind of training makes you feel like a completely different person when you walk through the door?"
Rin looked up at her, confused—or pretending to be.
"I don’t know what you an."
"You ca in here like a different person, Rin." She took a step closer. "Your energy... it was cold. Wild. For a second, it felt like you were soone else entirely."
He flinched again, but this ti it wasn’t from guilt. It was more like he was bracing for sothing.
"You’re imagining it," he said.
"No, I’m not."
There was a beat of silence. She could hear the low hum of the fridge and the faint tick of the clock on the wall. Rin still hadn’t looked her in the eyes. He stared at the floor like it would offer him an escape.
Leona took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to rein in her frustration.
"You don’t have to tell everything. But at least tell if you’re in danger."
"...I’m not."
"You sure about that?"
He finally looked up at her. "I promise, I’m fine."
She studied his face. There was sincerity in his voice... but it was wrapped in sothing else. A veil. Maybe even a lie he was telling himself.
"Tch," she clicked her tongue and turned away, peeling the wrapper off the lona bar. "Fine. But next ti, at least answer your damn ssages. Or I will report you. Got it?"
"Got it," Rin said softly.
The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t quite peaceful either. It was like sothing invisible sat between them—sothing Rin wasn’t ready to say, and Leona wasn’t sure she wanted to hear.
As she took a bite of the ice cream, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
’Just what the hell happened to you out there...?’
And why did it feel like she was seeing only half of Rin now—like the other half had been left sowhere in the dark?
She watched him as he quietly peeled off his shoes and shuffled to the bathroom.
No limp. No wince. No signs of injury.
But still, sothing wasn’t right.
He was... too calm. Not in the usual quiet-Rin way either. It felt off, like soone had taken the boy she knew and painted over him with sothing colder, darker. She didn’t know what kind of training could make soone co back changed like that. Unless it wasn’t training at all.
The way his presence had spiked for that brief mont still lingered in her mory, like a claw grazing past her senses. That violent aura—it reminded her of the upper-ranked cadets. No... it was sharper than theirs. Hungrier. As if sothing inside him had woken up and was still testing its chains.
She tightened her grip on the lona bar.
If she hadn’t reached for his shoulder... if she hadn’t spoken... would that presence have stayed?
Her instincts weren’t wrong. Sothing happened out there. Sothing Rin wasn’t telling her.
And if he wouldn’t say it now, then all she could do... was watch. Wait. And be ready.
Just in case the boy who walked through that door tonight wasn’t the sa Rin who had left ten hours ago.
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