The sound of applause echoed throughout the classroom.
Kyle Valen smiled. It was the kind of smile that seemed to belong to glossy magazine covers, the one his teachers always praised as "humble" despite its sculpted perfection. The homeroom teacher had just announced the exam results. Kyle, once again, ranked first.
He really couldn't remember when he had ever failed to ace anything.
"Perfect as always, Valen," the teacher said with pride lacing their tone. "And congratulations on your new modeling campaign."
The class erupted with chatter. A few boys muttered in envy. A group of girls whispered excitedly, staring at Kyle like he wasn't a peer but something above them. Compliments, adoration, even rivalry seemed to be pouring from all directions, leaving him with only one thought. Boring. Very predictable.
Kyle bowed his head slightly, modest in posture, flawless in execution. But behind the polite mask, his thoughts were flat and his eyes did not really show any ripple.
Again. Always the same.
He tucked his report into his bag. No triumph warmed him. He felt no thrill nor disappointment. Just the bland rhythm of a life on rails.
When the bell rang, he rose with that same practiced grace. And waiting by the door was a classmate who usually kept to herself in group activities. Her name was Marin.
Her hands trembled, but her eyes shone with desperate courage.
"Kyle Valen," she began, her voice trailing, "I… I like you. I've admired you for so long. Please… will you go out with me?"
The hallway hushed around them, whispers spreading like wildfire.
Kyle met her gaze. For a moment, he wondered what it would feel like to say yes. Would it shatter his monotonous life? Would it stir something inside his heart?
No. He already knew the answer.
"I'm sorry, Marin," he lowered his head and said softly. His voice was velvet but the rejection could not be mistaken. "You're a wonderful classmate to me and everyone here. But I wouldn't lie to you. I don't think I feel the same."
No hesitation. No crack in his perfect demeanor. Just like all the others.
Marin's heart clenched. The pain wasn't in his refusal. It was in how effortlessly he said it. As if her confession were a line in a script he'd read a thousand times before. For some time, she wondered if she just failed to convey her sincerity in full, or Kyle had just become too used to getting confessions and eventually developed a spiel for whenever he encountered one.
'It hurts.' The pain showed in the girl's beautiful eyes that were now hidden by her bangs.
Kyle also bowed slightly, then walked past her. His classmates parted as he moved, every step measured in their eyes.
The crowd buzzed again. Some sighed, some laughed, some pitied Marin. But to her, the world had gone silent.
A male classmate clicked his tongue. "What a heartless guy."
Her throat felt raw. She wanted to scream, cry, or laugh at her own stupidity. But she did none of those. Instead, she stood frozen until warm hands steadied her shoulders.
"Marin! Are you okay?" Elira's voice snapped her back. Her best friend's dark eyes burned with worry.
"He just—he just…" Marin stammered, unable to finish.
Elira tightened her grip and indignation showed in her eyes. "That smug, perfect—ugh!" She spun toward the fading figure of Kyle Valen. "What, does he think he's too good for anyone? Why does he have to be like that? It was like he didn't even think about it!"
Marin's lips quivered. Then she shook her head weakly. "Forget it, Elira. He… he's always been like that. I know it since I've seen it happened many times."
"That's exactly the problem," Elira hissed. She hugged Marin close, protective, her indignation swelling into something sharper.
Marin muttered softly. "Maybe like those girls, maybe deep within me, I harbored an illusion in my head, that maybe my sincere feelings will reach him and move him. Elira, it's not entirely his fault."
Unfortunately, the words did not reach Elira's mind which was already preoccupied with something and overpowered by the indignation she felt on her friend's behalf.
Someone needed to take him down a notch. Someone needed to show Kyle Valen he isn't untouchable.
Her gaze lingered on his retreating form, flawless even in distance. The way sunlight framed him nearly made her choke in annoyance.
For the first time, Elira felt a faint shiver crawl across her spine which made her narrow her eyes. It was not because he was beautiful, not because he was cruel.
But because in that moment, she felt that there was something unnatural about how perfectly untouched he seemed.
She shook it off. He was just a boy, she told herself.
Just a boy who needed to be taught what it meant to feel, she thought to herself as she glared at that boy's back.