A week passed after the incident at the art gallery with Axel. And during that time, Jonea never saw Aland at school.
Jonea went to the east tower in the middle of class. She's been skipping school more often now. The girl looked around, looking for Aland almost every day. She thought she could see Aland there that day, taking a nap. But, the east tower is empty. Jonea was so disappointed.
As the girl was about to turn around and leave, suddenly, from the stairs downstairs, Aland appeared and confronted Jonea. Aland still looks as usual, cold and indifferent.
"You still run here when you're angry?" he asked.
Jonea became nervous. Aland continued up the stairs and approached the girl. Jonea took a few steps back; they were close to the east tower window. A strong wind hit them.
"I thought you wouldn't come here again," Jonea whispered fearfully.
"Why? How about your wound? You seem all right." Aland said flatly.
"I don't know," Jonea muttered softly. "I feel you are different now. You're not rowing anymore? I read an article about you. They say you will stop rowing. I thought you really loved the sport."
Aland looked away and headed to the east tower window. The tower is entirely made of bricks.
"I'm just bored," Aland said without looking at Jonea. "How about going out with a Hunter? Was it fun?"
Jonea's eyes widened. She didn't expect to get that question from Aland. It was so painful to hear that question directly from Aland's lips.
Jonea quickly answered even though her voice was so hoarse. "I'm not dating Hunter. We are not lovers. He just fantasized about it."
Aland pulled Jonea's hand until the girl came closer to him. Jonea stared at Aland, whose face looked so scary because it was so cold.
Aland's eyes, decorated with thin eyeliner to look more pointed like an eagle's, looked so sharp and piercing when he looked at Jonea. The girl felt that Aland was so cold.
"You don't need to be that anxious." Aland lowered his head and put his lips close to Jonea's ear. "Even if you date him, we can still be friends."
Jonea really got goosebumps hearing those words from Aland. There was a tucked of disappointment and regret in her chest. Jonea didn't know how to respond.
"Hmm... you're right." Jonea tries to smile but looks awkward.
She smelled Aland's unique and addicting scent. The girl closed her eyes, and there was a feeling of happiness in her chest.
But Aland still lowered his body and whispered words again into the girl's ear.
"Or do you want something more from me? Do you want us to be more than friends? How about we date? We can date without Hunter knowing."
There was a cold grin on Aland's lips. Jonea was completely frightened by the young man's reaction and words. Jonea immediately withdrew her hand and backed away from Aland.
As soon as he saw Jonea shocked and frightened, Aland laughed out loud.
The girl gaped and couldn't believe what she was seeing. The ends of Aland's hair, which were made a little messy, looked blown away by the wind. Jonea was so happy to see the young man laughing happily. But there's another side to Jonea that also scares her. Aland was utterly different from usual.
"I'm just kidding. Do not take it seriously. You're always surprised like that."
Seeing that Jonea wasn't laughing or smiling, Aland stopped and stood up straight. He winked and tilted his head slightly to look at Jonea.
"Or could it be… you take it seriously?"
Jonea looked away and again tried to control herself. Jonea told Aland, "I'm just here to ensure you're okay. Seeing that you can laugh so contentedly like that, I don't think there's anything wrong or hurt about you. In that case, I should return to class."
Jonea still lowered her head and immediately left Aland alone in the east tower.
However, when the girl was about to climb the stairs, Aland hugged her from behind tightly.
"I only realized something was so important when I could get it back," Aland whispered.
Jonea rebelled and wanted to turn to look at Aland. But, the young man forbade it. Aland kept Jonea in his arms.
"I'm not late, am I?"
***
Mrs. Abraham was in Paris for her business trip. She received the report file from the assistant while at the hotel. The report contains an incident at the art gallery. After reading it briefly, the woman slammed the report file on the table.
"What does all this mean? How could this happen without my knowledge?"
Sorry, madam. Young Master has already resolved everything himself. Nothing to worry about. There was almost no media coverage. If anything, Young Master had already managed to prevent it. So there is nothing to worry about," said the secretary.
Mrs. Abraham hissed and folded her arms over her chest. "I don't like my son to change. There were too many changes in him. How could all this happen without my knowledge? Even though he finished everything, this is getting out of hand."
"What must I do to get everything back under your control, Ma'am?"
Mrs. Abraham took some photos from the file she had previously read. She handed the image to the assistant.
"You know who this girl is?"
The female assistant glanced at the photo and shook her head.
"Was she also at the scene when it happened?"
"The hunters from our pack have investigated the case. They checked the CCTV footage in the vicinity of the incident. Unfortunately, all of them have been deleted. However, we managed to get one photo from the car camera of someone who happened to be there. The girl you asked about, yes, she was at the scene."
Mrs. Abraham clenched her fists tightly. "Too many coincidences for him to always appear in cases involving Hunters. You have to do something with him."
***
As Jonea was about to return home after ending school hours for the day, she stopped at the school canteen. Only a few students were there. They had all rushed home too. But Jonea's gaze fell on the television screen in the middle of the hall.
The television was also mobbed by several students. They jostled to be able to see and listen to the news delivered on television. Out of curiosity, Jonea approached and wanted to see.
The girl was stunned when she read a news headline on the television.
"A scandal has occurred again with a member of the Hamilton family. Anya Hamilton is reportedly in a relationship with a married businessman. Anya finally made a clarification. She will fight for her love and remove the last name Hamilton from her name. Following Anya's divorce from her ex-husband 10 years ago with the same problem. Now, Anya has again amazed the public. She announced she was no longer part of the Hamilton family and left her only son with her father to pursue her love."
Jonea was stunned to read the news headlines. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
The girl then backed off and ran into the boys' dormitory at Abraham High School. As Jonea crossed the path that separated the school and dormitories, Hunter saw the girl running. Hunter said hello, but Jonea didn't hear him.
"Where is she going?"
Out of curiosity, Hunter followed and followed Jonea's departure.