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🌙 Chapter 47: Rivalry
Keifer's POV
By lunchtime, the entire school knew.
Not just the usual gossip circles.
Not just our section.
The whole school.
The engagement between Jay Jay and Yuri had officially been cancelled.
It spread through Higher Value International School like wildfire.
Students whispered in hallways. Phones buzzed with messages. Groups gathered around lockers, discussing the news like it was the most exciting drama the academy had seen in years.
For them, it probably was.
For me, it felt like the ground had shifted under my feet.
Because the moment the engagement ended…
Everything changed.
I stood near the classroom window, staring out toward the courtyard.
Section E was still loud behind me.
Blaster was pacing back and forth while talking.
"I'm telling you, this is huge," he said. "Do you understand how powerful their families are?"
Ci-N leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head.
"Obviously."
Drew looked confused.
"So… what does this mean?"
Blaster pointed toward me.
"It means Romeo over there might actually have a chance again."
"Shut up," I said without turning around.
Blaster grinned.
"Oh, he's grumpy today."
David lifted his head from his desk slightly.
"Let the man suffer in silence," he muttered before dropping his head back down.
The bell rang, signaling lunch break.
Students immediately started pouring out of the classroom.
The hallway outside quickly filled with voices.
I didn't feel like staying in the room any longer.
So I grabbed my jacket and walked out.
The air outside was warmer than inside the building. The courtyard was full of students sitting around the fountain, talking loudly, eating lunch, or scrolling through their phones.
And right there—
Standing beside the fountain like he owned the place—
was Yuri.
His red hair made him impossible to miss.
He leaned casually against the stone railing, scrolling through his phone like nothing in the world bothered him.
Of course.
That was Yuri.
Nothing ever seemed to bother him.
But the moment he noticed me walking toward him, he slowly lifted his eyes.
And smirked.
"Ah," he said calmly.
"Keifer."
I stopped a few steps away from him.
The fountain water splashed quietly behind him.
Students nearby immediately started paying attention.
They didn't pretend very well.
Some slowed their walking.
Others stopped completely.
Everyone in this school knew who we were.
And they could smell tension from miles away.
"You look relaxed," I said.
Yuri shrugged slightly.
"I am."
"That's surprising."
"Why?"
"Your engagement just ended."
For a second, he studied my face.
Then he chuckled quietly.
"That engagement was my idea .....but never my problem."
A few nearby students exchanged curious glances.
I folded my arms.
"So you're fine with it."
"Completely."
He slipped his phone into his pocket.
"You look more upset about it than I do."
That irritated me more than it should have.
"You're not even pretending to care," I said.
"Why would I?"
"Because she was your fiancée."
Yuri smirked again.
"Technically."
The word hung between us.
Technically.
Like the entire engagement had been some kind of joke.
Students had fully stopped pretending not to watch now.
A small crowd had formed around the courtyard.
Not too close.
But close enough.
Yuri leaned back against the railing again.
"You know," he said casually, "I should probably congratulate you."
My eyes narrowed.
"For what?"
"Your biggest obstacle just disappeared."
The words hit harder than he probably intended.
"She was never yours," I said coldly.
A few students murmured quietly.
Yuri tilted his head slightly.
"Technically she was my fiancée."
That did it.
My fists tightened before I even realized it.
The tension in the courtyard spiked instantly.
A few students backed away slightly.
Someone whispered,
"Are they about to fight?"
Right then—
Ci-N suddenly appeared beside me.
"Easy," he muttered under his breath.
Blaster and Drew weren't far behind.
Blaster looked between us.
"Oh great," he said. "We're doing this now."
Yuri looked amused by the whole situation.
"Relax," he said casually.
"I cancelled the engagement too."
That sentence caught everyone off guard.
Even me.
"You did?" Ci-N asked.
Yuri shrugged.
"Of course."
"Why?" Drew asked.
Yuri glanced toward the school building for a moment.
Then he answered simply.
"Because forcing someone into a marriage they don't want is pathetic."
The courtyard went quiet again.
That wasn't the answer anyone expected.
But Yuri wasn't finished.
He pushed himself away from the railing.
Then he stepped closer to me.
Not aggressively.
Just enough to make the conversation more personal.
"But now," he continued calmly, "the real question begins."
I stared at him.
"What question?"
Yuri's smile returned.
The kind that meant trouble.
"Can you actually win her back?"
The words felt like a challenge.
No.
Like a test.
Blaster groaned quietly.
"Oh fantastic. Now he's starting a psychological war."
Ci-N looked thoughtful.
"That's actually pretty effective."
Yuri stepped back again.
The tension eased slightly.
But the damage was already done.
Because now everyone in the courtyard was whispering again.
Students talking quietly about Jay.
About me.
About Yuri.
About everything that had happened.
Yuri glanced at the growing crowd.
Then he looked back at me.
"One piece of advice," he said.
"I don't need your advice."
"You do."
He turned slightly, preparing to leave.
But before walking away, he said one more thing.
"Jay isn't the type of person you chase half-heartedly."
My jaw tightened.
"Then don't chase her."
Then he walked away.
Just like that.
Leaving the courtyard behind.
Leaving the whispers.
Leaving the tension hanging in the air.
Blaster exhaled loudly.
"Well."
"That was fun."
Ci-N looked at me carefully.
"You okay?"
I didn't answer immediately.
Because Yuri's words were still echoing in my head.
Can you actually win her back?
The truth was…
I didn't know.
But one thing was certain.
Jay wasn't Yuri's fiancée anymore.
Which meant the distance between us was no longer forced by families.
It was her choice.
And somehow…
That made things even harder.
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