Raha suddenly fell to the ground.
The boy quickly got out of the car and ran toward her.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" he asked nervously.
Raha simply shook her head — no.
"Thank God! Be careful while walking. What if something serious had happened?"
Without replying, Raha stood up and dusted her clothes.
The boy frowned slightly.
"Hey! I'm talking to you."
Raha gestured gently — I couldn't speak.
The boy's expression changed instantly. Guilt flashed across his face.
"I'm really sorry… Let me drop you home."
Raha refused through gestures, but he insisted and opened the car door for her. Reluctantly, she sat inside.
While driving, he tried asking her name using signs.
Raha took out a small notebook and wrote:
I can speak. I just don't.
He smiled a little.
"Then what's your name?"
She wrote: Raha.
Then added: And yours?
He laughed lightly.
"Ooo… you don't know me?"
Raha shook her head.
"Just kidding. I'm Shawn Dela Cruz. I'm from the Philippines."
Raha's eyes widened. She quickly wrote:
Philippines? Wow!
Shawn chuckled.
"Do you study at Foreign Affairs International School?"
Raha nodded.
"Nice. I just transferred there. By the way… the school uniform suits you."
Raha smiled faintly and gestured for him to stop the car.
He parked.
"Is this your house?"
She nodded again.
Shawn waved goodbye and drove away.
When Raha entered the house, her mother still hadn't returned.
Suddenly, Rohan's face flashed in her mind.
What if he did something to Mom?
Anxiety tightened her chest.
She freshened up and sat on her bed. Meena's words echoed in her head. It hurt knowing Meena might change schools.
Then Ms. Garcia.
Were they even human? They pushed a teacher so far that she…
Raha shut her eyes tightly.
Her previous school had been painful.
But this one?
It was worse.
A prestigious school hiding something dark.
Her thoughts drifted—
Mr. Lee being humiliated.
Rohan's cruel smile.
Subin's kindness.
Is he really from the President's family?
Does he… like me?
No. That's impossible. He's just a friend.
Then—
Shawn Dela Cruz.
Handsome. Rich. Different.
But what kind of person was he really?
Just then, the door opened.
Her mother entered, breathing heavily.
Raha rushed to her and gestured anxiously — What happened?
Her mother sat down and asked for water. Raha quickly brought a glass.
"Nothing happened," her mother said after drinking. "I just walked home."
Raha let out a slow breath.
But fear still lingered.
She wanted to tell her everything about Rohan.
But if she did… her mother would worry.
Instead, she ran to her room, brought her notebook, and wrote:
Mom, you don't need to work there anymore.
Her mother looked confused.
"Why? What happened?"
You don't have to go there anymore.
Her mother smiled gently.
"Then who will pay your school fees? What will we eat?"
Raha wrote again:
I'll work. I'll find a part-time job. But please… don't go there.
Her mother's face grew serious.
"You're too young to work. Your job is to study. And they are good people."
Good people?
Raha's eyes filled with tears.
"If your father were alive…" her mother whispered.
That was enough.
The accident.
The memories.
Raha ran into her room and locked the door.
She cried while holding her father's photograph.
Outside, her mother knocked desperately.
"It was just an accident! It wasn't your fault!"
After a long time, Raha opened the door.
Her mother had fallen asleep outside.
At the slightest sound, she woke up and hugged her tightly.
"Don't ever lock the door like that again."
They ate together quietly.
Her mother had brought leftover food from work.
Raha noticed… but said nothing.
Meanwhile, Subin lay on his bed.
He was watching sign language tutorials.
He wanted to understand every gesture Raha made.
A maid knocked.
"Sir, dinner is ready."
"Tell them I'll eat later. I'm busy."
A few minutes later, his grandfather — Mr. President — entered with a plate.
"What are you doing?"
"Learning sign language."
"Why?"
Subin smiled softly.
"Just like that."
His grandfather didn't push further.
But Subin kept smiling to himself.
Rohan stood under the shower.
Water ran down his face, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
Raha's eyes.
The moment they collided.
Her silence.
"What's her name…?"
He had never seen her before.
Was she new?
Did she really not speak?
Her face kept appearing in his mind.
Shawn stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his uniform.
"Tomorrow… everyone will go crazy."
He smirked.
Then suddenly—
Raha's face appeared in his thoughts.
"Raha…"
He smiled softly.
"She's different."
He picked up his phone and called Rohan.
After some teasing, he asked casually—
"Do you know a girl named Raha?"
Rohan replied, "No."
Shawn wasn't convinced.
But he let it go.
After ending the call, he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Tomorrow… I'll see her again."
"I'm excited."
"Raha…"