"Huh?" Rai said, his tone flat and unbothered, though his eyes sharpened on the man standing in front of him.
"You're ignoring me, aren't you?" Julian pressed, taking another step closer into Rai's personal space. His posture was stiff, shoulders tense, and his eyes narrowed in obvious, simmering irritation. The thin veil of the polite, friendly colleague was completely gone now. "You didn't even reply to my texts. I looked everywhere for you during the interval."
"Why?" Rai asked neutrally, keeping his voice entirely level as his hand tightened slightly around the leather strap of his bag.
"Just because."
"What do you mean, 'just because'?"
"I just want to talk," Julian snapped, the frustration finally bubbling up to the surface of his voice.
Rai let out a quiet, tired breath, maintaining a steady, detached gaze that seemed to irk Julian even further. "Look, Teacher Julian. I don't know why you're so intent on talking with me. We don't even know each other."
