Just as Damon stepped out the door, he nearly collided head-on with a girl walking alone, earphones in, head lowered.
"Ah—!"
Maria clutched her forehead, wincing. Before she could even look up at him, she quickly said in a careful, apologetic tone,
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
"It's fine. Are you okay?" Damon asked gently, looking down at the girl before him—
a fragile-looking figure whose cautious voice carried a trace of fear.
Maria hadn't bumped into him on purpose. But Damon… had done it intentionally.
With his current quadrupled human-level intelligence and agility, there was no way an ordinary person could accidentally run into him—
especially with his 3D spatial awareness active at all times.
Maria—she was the protagonist of Mirror Girl.
A timid, insecure, and fragile soul.
At school, she was isolated and bullied by her classmates;
at home, she faced a submissive mother who always obeyed her father,
and a father who treated her strictly, never caring what she really felt inside.
Her only friend, Lily, saw her not as a companion but as a convenient "fat friend"
to make herself look better in comparison.
Whenever Maria was bullied, Lily would never stand up for her.
Up to the age of seventeen, Maria was a doormat—
someone anyone could trample on without consequence.
But after turning seventeen, things changed.
She began switching consciousness with another personality—Airam,
her deformed twin sister who had been abandoned by their father at birth.
From that moment, the quiet, broken Maria began her path of revenge,
becoming the vengeful heroine of her own story.
To be honest, Maria was stunning—so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.
Damon couldn't understand it.
How could a girl this beautiful have no one willing to help her?
Were all those male classmates blind?
Fine then, if they didn't cherish such a gem, he would.
Damon didn't mind lending a hand to such a pitiful girl.
No ulterior motive—
he just wanted to give her a warm place to belong.
"Ah, I-I'm fine…"
Maria's eyes brimmed with tears.
It hurt—so much!
It felt like she had just crashed into a wall of steel.
But this hard, solid man's voice… was surprisingly gentle.
She hadn't felt such warmth from a classmate in so long.
Maria found herself thinking that.
Yet, because of her past, she still couldn't bring herself to trust easily.
Everyone who'd gotten close to her before had hurt her in some way.
Her heart was already full of scars—she didn't dare to believe anyone anymore.
Instinctively, Maria glanced toward her "friend" Lily,
her eyes silently pleading for help.
The blonde girl in the distance—looking every bit the classic mean girl—
caught her gaze. For a moment, Lily was about to turn away, pretending not to see.
But then she noticed Damon's handsome face, unique temperament,
and solid, well-built physique.
Her eyes lit up.
"Hey, handsome!"
Lily walked over energetically, completely ignoring Maria's pleading look.
With a self-centered smile, she said breezily,
"Sorry about that! I'm her friend, Lily. Maria's just… a bit of an idiot. Don't take it personally."
"Did you know? When she was six, she couldn't even say a full sentence properly!"
As Lily smirked mockingly, Maria quickly hid the small, hopeful smile that had begun to form—
her head lowering once again in shame.
Yeah… she really was just a stupid girl.
Unlike Lily — smart, confident, and able to befriend anyone in minutes.
Damon and Madison both frowned almost instinctively.
Especially Madison — she could smell the same kind of person from a mile away. One glance was enough for her to see that Lily was a tea girl — someone who thrived on attention and manipulation.
Poor Maria, Madison thought. Just another background prop meant to make Lily look good.
Damon ignored Lily, who had been trying to start a conversation with him.
"You're Maria, right? That's a beautiful name," he said with a calm smile. "I'm Damon — senior year. You can just call me Lin if that's easier. Or Damon. Either's fine."
He could feel Madison's sharp gaze from the side, but she didn't break the moment. She disliked Lily even more than he did.
Despite Madison's reputation — people called her "Mad Bitch" behind her back — she was at least genuine. She never used her friends as tools. When someone needed help, she was there without hesitation.
Maria looked up, startled. Damon's honest smile struck right through her heart like a ray of warmth.
He's so handsome!
Her mind went blank; her face flushed. In panic, words tumbled out of her mouth incoherently.
"Ah— uh, Damon? I… I'm sorry!"
She didn't even know why she apologized. All she knew was that Lily's envious glare from the side made her feel oddly good.
He's looking at me.
In his eyes… I'm better than Lily.
For as long as she could remember, she had always been overshadowed by Lily — the outgoing one who took the spotlight without even trying.
Whenever someone new approached, Lily would step forward first, smiling, talking, laughing — and Maria would quietly fade into the background.
Even when Maria tried to talk to people, Lily would somehow slip into the conversation, smoothly taking control until Maria had nothing left to say.
It made Maria believe, somewhere deep down, that Lily was simply better. That people came to her because Lily was the one they truly liked.
But now… Damon's eyes were burning into her.
Could it be… that he actually liked her?
For the first time, a bold thought flickered through Maria's timid heart — until her gaze shifted to Madison.
Beautiful, confident, effortlessly radiant — everything about her screamed power.
Next to Madison, Maria suddenly felt small again.
And Lily noticed it too.
Frustration flared in her chest as Damon completely ignored her attempts to speak.
Why is he not even looking at me?
I'm way more outgoing than that timid Maria!
"Maria," Lily said abruptly, forcing a smile, "didn't your mom tell you to head home early? Let's go."
She grabbed Maria's wrist and tried to pull her away.
Madison snorted. "Maria, your friend's something else. When you need help, she steps on you — and now she's bossing you around without even asking what you want."
Her tone turned sharp. "Here's some advice: stay away from people like that. She'll never help you when you actually need it. She'll just make sure she's your only friend."
Maria froze, startled — and then saw it: the flicker of panic in Lily's eyes.
"Hey, what did you just say?" Lily snapped, dropping Maria's hand and stepping toward Madison. Her eyes burned with fury.
"I'll tell you what — whatever's between me and Maria is none of your damn business, you bit—"
SMACK!
A crisp slap echoed through the air.