Tiger smiled softly, his voice deceptively calm.
"Girls stay. The rest of you brats—get out. Or stay, and I'll keep you all here."
The threat hung heavy in the air.
Mason, still crying, froze.
"I'm leaving! I'm getting out right now!"
Tiger was the unchallenged boss of Crescent Bay, the rough old district of Veyra City. A local underworld king, no one dared cross him.
Mason forgot everything about impressing Lina. Survival was all that mattered.
But he wasn't that lucky.
One step toward the door, and the huge bodyguard grabbed him by the head.
Mason felt weak, his strength nothing compared to the brute's.
"You crawl out."
"I—"
"Huh?!"
Mason swallowed his pride.
Slowly, he bent to his knees.
Suffering the humiliation, he crawled out, inch by inch.
"Hahahaha!"
Tiger and his men roared with laughter at Mason's pathetic display.
The students seethed.
Humiliated by Tiger's thugs and Mason's cowardice, abandoning the girls like that?
No, worse—crawling away like a dog.
As Mason crawled through the door, Tiger kicked him square in the ass.
He slid across the floor.
Tiger puffed on his cigar.
"Run along and tell your father and Dragon Boy if you're brave enough."
Mason scrambled to his feet, bowing and apologizing.
"Never! Tiger, have fun! The girls here are students, fresh and tender."
"Get out of my sight!"
Mason scurried away, terrified.
The girls, who'd once admired Mason, saw him for who he truly was.
Self-serving, shameless, a fraud through and through.
Jake couldn't keep up the act either.
He stumbled toward the door, apologizing profusely.
"Wait. You don't leave."
Tiger called out.
He needed to curry favor with Liam Wang, the real director.
A fake music director was the perfect pawn.
"Imposter! You're not going anywhere."
Jake begged for mercy.
"It wasn't my fault! That guy who ran out forced me to pretend! I'm innocent!"
"I don't care about innocent. Dong! Get him to the corner!"
The 1.9-meter brute, Dong, lifted Jake like a grocery bag—with one hand.
Now only Kael and the students remained.
Tiger took another slow drag from his cigar.
"What? Not leaving?"
The boys exchanged worried looks.
Tiger was clearly dangerous, but leaving felt like surrender.
Nathan, the rural boy, had no idea what to do.
He turned to Kael, whispering.
"Kael… what do we do?"
Felix and Jasper hid in the corner, trembling.
They'd stayed to support their friends, but courage failed them now.
The girls huddled together, scared silent.
All except two.
Aurora stood beside Kael, her expression calm as water.
Not a flicker of fear in her eyes.
Calm even colder than Kael himself.
Tiger's gaze lingered on the girls, especially Lina and Aurora.
They were stunning—far more beautiful than his B-list celebrity companion.
"You. Come sit beside me."
Tiger licked his lips, pointing at Lina.
Her exotic allure was too much for him.
His celebrity companion pouted, pushing him away.
Tiger patted her thigh, soothing her.
"What's promised is promised."
It was just a transaction for her—a shot at the show.
Lina froze, her body trembling.
"I-I'm not going!"
Tiger sneered.
"Dong. Grab her."
Dong stood, his presence overwhelming.
A former martial artist from a mountain temple, he'd become an underground boxing champion before Tiger took him under his wing.
The pressure was palpable.
Lina backed away, cornered.
"HALT!!"
Aisha jumped forward, shouting.
"Touch her, and you have to go through me first!"
He was gasping for air, red-faced, terrified.
But he stood his ground.
A real man protects what he loves.
Unlike Mason, who lied and schemed, Aisha put his heart on the line.
And when it mattered most—he fought.
In that moment, Lina finally saw him.
Raised on strength and courage, she admired bravery above all.
Aisha wasn't the strongest, but he'd stood up.
Touched.
Dong turned.
Looked at Aisha.
And then—the punch.
Whoosh!
A lightning-fast blow.
Aisha was knocked dizzy, spinning around before crashing to the floor.
Lina's hopeful gaze froze.
Knocked out? Just like that?
Aisha lay still, his eyes rolled back.