Chapter 4: Promise

The first period of the afternoon was about to begin for Kil and his classmates when their teacher entered the room, announcing, "Please take your seats, everyone, and we shall continue from where we left off yesterday."

The students moved to their respective seats; Kil settled into his, just as a breeze wafted in from the window outside.

"Oh dear, it seems I might end up sleeping through the afternoon again," Kil thought to himself as he rested his arms on his desk and drifted off to sleep.

The first period had ended, and their teacher had already departed when Miggy commented, scratching his head as he approached George, "Kil is really something else, asleep again."

"Aren't you used to it by now?" Napoleon chided, and all three laughed together just as Ken burst into Kil's classroom and halted near the door.

"Is there anyone here named Kil?" Ken demanded, grabbing the clothing of one of Kil's classmates and hoisting him into the air. "You? Do you know someone named Kil here?"

Terror was evident on the classmate's face; his hand trembled as he slowly pointed towards the back of the room. "There he is, at the very back, next to the window," he stammered, his voice laden with fear.

With a sinister grin, Ken let go, and the classmate thudded to the floor. George, Napoleon, and Miggy watched silently, their gazes fixed on Ken and his entourage as they assessed the unfolding situation.

"A student came running towards Class-1, gasping for breath, 'Listen up, Ken Clinton from Class-4... he's causing trouble in the other room,'" announced Aika's classmate.

"Why?" another student asked.

"Ken is accusing Kil from Class-2 of snitching on him to the principal when he caused a scene in the canteen."

The students murmured among themselves, and Aika and her friends were shocked by what they heard.

A student smiled from the corner of Aika's classroom, also their classmate. He is Keiran Leclerc, Keiran has a Black Hair. Not that short and not too long, it's just moderate. He has a crimson Red eye and his personality is just a ordinary student and his classmates known him as a quiet student because of he is not that one that is talking to his classmates.

Ken approached Kil and faced him as he slept on his desk. Ken's anger intensified. He gritted his teeth in fury and punched the desk where Kil was sleeping.

With the force of Ken's punch, the desk cracked, and Kil slowly opened his eyes.

"What's happening?" He lifted his head and saw the image of a muscular man towering over him. Suddenly, Ken grabbed Kil's shirt and lifted him up.

Kil's blood began to boil, and his face turned serious, though he still smiled. "What's the matter? You woke me up only to cause trouble in someone else's classroom?" Kil said, smiling and seemingly unaffected by Ken's aggression.

Just then, Aika and the students from Class-1 arrived outside Kil's classroom to see what was happening. Aika observed everything.

"Don't you have any education? It seems all you have are muscles in your brain, that's why you don't even know how to be humane," Kil said, still smiling.

"What do I care? Maybe you're the one who reported me to the principal for causing trouble in the canteen," Ken asked, his anger evident.

Kil continued to smile. "Hoooo! So what if I did? Are you going to fight me?" Kil replied.

Ken smiled back. "With that response, it's like you admitted it was you who reported me."

Napoleon, George, and Miggy suddenly smiled as they watched the events unfold.

"It seems his old self is returning. I hope nothing bad happens to that Ken," Miggy said.

"I hope so too," the other two replied.

As Kil was about to close his fist and prepare to punch Ken, he suddenly caught sight of Aika watching them. He restrained himself.

Ken noticed that Kil closed his fist. "What does that mean? Were you planning to punch me earlier? Oh? Why didn't you follow through?"

Ken raised his right hand, ready to strike Kil, but someone stopped his arm.

"Aren't you going too far, Ken?" George asked seriously.

"Mind your own business!" Ken swung his right hand to free himself from George's grip.

Just then, a teacher arrived and entered the classroom, intervening to stop the commotion.

"Can you please stop this? You have no respect. School is a place for learning, not for causing trouble," the teacher said.

"Tsk!" Ken muttered, then left Kil's classroom. "Let's go," he looked at Kil, "We're not finished, Kil."

"Go ahead, come here whenever you're bored. I'll make sure to entertain you," Kil joked.

The chaos ended, and Aika returned to her classroom, along with the other students.

After Ken left, their teacher instructed them to sit down. The students, including Kil, Napoleon, Miggy, and George, took their seats.

"What happened? Why did Ken confront you?" their teacher asked, standing in front of the class with both palms resting on the desk.

"He suddenly entered and asked if there's a Kil here, then accused Kil of reporting him to the principal when he caused trouble in the cafeteria," one student answered.

The teacher nodded, "If that's the case, Kil, did you really report him?" the teacher asked again.

"Yes, sir. He was too arrogant, so I reported him," Kil replied.

"Why did you report him? Don't you know who his family is? You can't compete with them," the teacher said.

Kil just lowered his head, his face filled with pity. The teacher left, and George approached Kil.

"Why did you stop him when he was about to hit me earlier?" Kil asked George.

"During that moment when he was about to hit you, you had no intention of fighting back, right?" George asked.

"Yes," Kil answered.

"In that case, why?" George asked.

Kil smiled and scratched his head, "Don't girls like guys who are cool and don't get into fights? I saw Aika looking at me earlier, so I just wanted to appear kind in front of her."

"You're unbelievable. Why don't you just admit it and protect her?" George said.

"Yes, I know. That's why I'll confess to her the day after tomorrow," Kil said.

"That's good," George said, and suddenly they were surprised by Kil's statement because they didn't expect Kil to say that.

"Are you serious?" Miggy asked suddenly.

"Yes, I am," Kil replied.

Kil's friends smiled and started jumping with joy, overwhelmed with excitement and happiness.

Meanwhile, Aika and her friends sat together and discussed what happened in the other section.

"What happened on the other side?" Keiran asked the person next to him.

"There was no fight, they didn't come to blows. Kil was defended by his friends," the person next to Keiran answered.

"If that's the case, Ken didn't get beaten up?" Keiran asked softly, but his seatmate didn't quite catch what he said.

"Sorry, what?" the person replied.

"Never mind," Keiran said.

"Seriously, he couldn't even defend himself. How can he protect you, Aika?" Emma said.

"Yes, and then he says he likes me? I'm sorry, but I won't get involved with a weak man who can't even protect himself and needs his friends to defend him," Aika said.

"You're right," Emma replied. "By the way, Emily's birthday is tomorrow. Let's buy a cake for her."

"Let's go after school," Aika said.

Back in Kil's classroom, he continued to converse with his classmates. After a few hours, it was time to go home.

"Aren't you going home yet, Kil?" George asked.

"You guys can go ahead. I still have somewhere to go," Kil replied.

"Okay," the three of them responded and left, while Kil remained in the classroom alone.

Kil stood up, grabbed his bag, and walked towards the door. He locked it and took a moment to look down the corridor before finally leaving.

Afterwards, he went to the back of the town plaza in their province and bought some street food, which he enjoyed eating.

Following that, he went to a local eatery, and upon entering, he spotted Emma and Aika sitting at a table, waiting for their orders.

Emma noticed Kil and called out to him, waving her hand and pointing to their table.

Kil smiled and walked over to join them. Aika turned her head to look behind her and saw Kil approaching their table.

Once Kil reached them, he took a seat in another chair and faced the two girls.

"What happened earlier? Why did you and Ken suddenly have a confrontation?" Aika asked.

"Wow, Aika's voice is so gentle. Should I just admit my feelings to Her" Kil thought to himself, shaking his head slightly. "No, it's not the right time."

The two girls exchanged glances, perplexed by Kil's behavior, which seemed to have returned to his old self.

"Heh, you know, I actually reported him to the principal for causing trouble in the canteen, and then he came at me," Kil said, smiling as if it was no big deal. He scratched his head and chuckled. "Hehehe! That guy is so full of himself, but it's fine."

"If that's true, you did report him, but the principal arrived late, as Conrad had already beaten up by Ken," Emma replied.

"Oh, right. How is Conrad doing? Is he okay?" Kil asked.

"He's fine now, but let me ask you this - why didn't you fight back against Ken? Are you just going to let your friends protect you?" Aika questioned.

Kil scratched his head again and smiled, "Hehehe! It's just not in my nature to engage in fights. That's the kind of guy I am. Anyway, let me just order my food."

"Alright," Aika responded, and Kil stood up, heading to the cashier to place his order.

"That's what I don't like about him. He tries to act cool, but he's not really cool. I don't want to be fooled by that kind of person," Aika said, and Emma laughed in agreement.

After a short while, Kil returned to his seat beside Aika, smiling as he scratched his head.

"Wow, the line was so long. It was hard to breathe," Kil said as he sat down and faced the two girls.

He noticed that Aika and Emma were just staring at him, and he wondered why.

"Why are you both looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Kil asked, placing his hand on the table.

"No, we just realized now that you look even more handsome up close," Emma replied.

Kil smiled again and scratched his head. "Oh, please don't say that. It makes me feel shy."

The two girls exchanged glances and smiled, trying to hide their amusement.

"By the way, when did Ken transfer to our school? As far as I know, he wasn't studying here before," Kil asked.

"He transferred just last month, and he's already accumulated a lot of penalties and misbehavior here," Emma answered, taking a bite of rice and drinking water. "And here's the thing, ever since he saw and met Aika, he hasn't stopped following her. Let's just say he's Aika's stalker, but he's out of luck because what Aika wants is someone who can protect her from perverted and rude guys."

Kil paused for a moment. "So, if Aika wants someone brave and capable of protecting her, then Conrad must have scored a lot of points. How unfortunate," Kil thought to himself.

The two girls looked at each other again, surprised by Kil's sudden change in demeanor.

Kil smiled once more. "So, that Ken is really a jerk, huh? Can you believe it? He's only been here for a month, and he's already acting like that. HAHAHA! But don't worry, he'll find his match someday."

"You're right about that," Emma agreed, and after a while, they finished their meal and left the eatery.

As Kil and the others walked, Kil suddenly asked where Aika and Emma were headed.

"By the way, where are you both going? It's getting late," Kil asked.

"Don't tell anyone, okay? It's our friend's birthday tomorrow, and we want to surprise her by buying a cake," Emma replied.

"Yes, it's her 16th birthday tomorrow, and we thought of surprising her since classes will be closing next month, and we'll be graduating too," Aika added.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Kil assured them, putting his hands in his pockets. At that moment, he stopped trying to act cool, and when Aika looked at him, Kil appeared genuinely cool to her for the first time.

That was Kil's true posture and demeanor, as he had always been cool and handsome. He was smart too, but he was just too lazy and only knew how to sleep during class.

Emma nudged Aika and leaned closer to her, placing her hand near Aika's ear and whispered, "Isn't it strange how Kil's behavior and posture have changed? It seems like he's no longer trying to act cool in your eyes," Emma whispered.

"You're right. But it seems forced. It's like he's still trying too hard," Aika whispered back.

They arrived at the cake shop, opened the door, and entered. Kil's movements were still different, and he seemed preoccupied.

"If that's the case, I need to score points with Aika now that I know she likes brave guys. I'll protect her from other men and from rude behavior, especially from Ken," Kil thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Emma was looking at the cakes displayed in the counter. "Aika, look at this. Emily will surely love it tomorrow," Emma said.

As Aika was about to approach Emma, Kil suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her.

Aika looked at Kil, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Aika... I promise to protect you from men who would disrespect you from now on. I'll do my best to protect you," Kil said, his hand still in his pocket.

Aika blushed upon hearing Kil's words. "What are you saying?" Aika let go of Kil's hand that was holding

The people in the cake shop, including the vendor, were both amused and surprised by what they witnessed. Even Emma was taken aback.

Kil smiled and scratched his head, "Oh, what am I saying? Alright, choose a better surprise gift and make sure that your friend will be happy, say to her happy birthday for me" Kil put his hand back in his pocket and walk through the door. "Take care on your way home." Kil opened the door and left.