A Quiet Life Denied

Both were about to unleash an attack that would annihilate the entire battlefield. The sky was divided, one half a brilliant, burning sunlight, the other a dark, violent tempest.

Then, in a single, impossible moment, everything froze.

The charging soldiers, the whipping banners, the swirling clouds, the crackling lightning, the coalescing fire—all of it stopped, a frozen tableau of imminent destruction.

A single, soundless step was taken on the battlefield, and a piercing voice, full of an ancient and absolute authority, echoed not in their ears, but in their very souls.

"Stop this madness. Now."

...

Iris jolted awake.

"Haa—nhhh—haa…" Her chest heaved, breaths ragged, shallow. Sweat clung to her pale skin, dampening the fabric of her nightwear and making it stick to the curve of her body. She sat up abruptly, clutching at her sheets, her long black hair clinging to her cheeks. The glow of the moon had given way to the thin, watery light of dawn, seeping through the curtains and painting her in trembling silver.

For a moment she didn't move, didn't blink, only sat there, trembling. Her glasses rested on the nightstand, fogged slightly from the steam of her own breath. She fumbled for them, sliding the thin frames onto her nose, her vision snapping back into clarity.

"What… was that dream?" she whispered.

Her body felt too hot, her skin flushed, her heart still pounding against her ribs like it wanted to escape. She looked down at herself. A thin camisole clung to her torso, the pale fabric sheer with sweat, revealing the outline of her skin beneath. The loose shorts she wore as pajamas had ridden up in her restless sleep, exposing the curve of her thighs. Her entire form was an odd contradiction—vulnerable, panicked, yet somehow alluring in the fragile way dawn light made every line sharper.

Her alarm clock blared suddenly, a cruel intrusion into her fragile state. "Beep-beep-beep-beep—"

Iris smacked the snooze button with more force than necessary. Silence. Her breathing slowed, but the unease still prickled under her skin like static. She pushed the sheets aside and swung her legs to the floor, her bare feet meeting the cool wood with a shiver.

"Maybe…" she muttered, dragging a hand through her sweat-damp hair. "Maybe I'm reading too many of those fantasy novels."

Her eyes swept over her room. It was the unmistakable lair of a weeb. Posters of anime characters plastered the walls—heroes with oversized swords, heroines with too-bright eyes, dragons mid-roar. A stack of light novels teetered precariously on her desk, titles filled with words like Chronicles, Eternal, Rebirth. Plastic figurines—an entire army of them—stood guard on her shelves, frozen mid-pose, their painted armor shining faintly in the early light.

She crossed the cluttered battlefield of her floor, stepping over discarded manga volumes, and picked up her hairbrush. Her hand moved mechanically, dragging the bristles through her tangled hair.

But her mind wasn't on her reflection. It circled, endlessly, back to one point.

Franz.

Her lips parted as her thoughts grew darker, softer. Why was Franz in my dream? she asked herself, staring at the mirror. Why him? Why now?

She knew her results didn't matter. She was confident—perfect scores on the written test, near-perfect on the shooting range, even if she'd only come in second. The team exam had nearly slipped through her fingers, but she had salvaged it. And yet…

"That frustrating Kafka," she muttered aloud.

The name tasted bitter in her mouth. Franz Kafka, with his sharp, unreadable eyes and his maddening composure. Franz Kafka, who was good at everything without seeming to try. The boy who had, in the span of weeks, gone from mystery to obsession, from annoyance to something dangerously close to intrigue.

"He's like an overpowered protagonist out of one of my novels," she whispered.

The brush stilled in her hand. The memory surfaced—unbidden, unwanted, but vivid. That night. When she and Lena had stumbled across him in the shower.

The steam rising in thick curls.The water streaming down the ridges of his torso.The scars—faded but jagged—etched across his skin like a history written in pain.

Her fingers trembled. She raised her hand, almost without realizing it, to her neck, tracing lightly with her fingertips. Her skin tingled. Her eyes half-closed.

That body… those scars… that was really ho—

Her fingers drifted to her lips. Her breath hitched, and for one fragile heartbeat, she teetered on the edge of something shameful.

Then reality crashed back in.

"Oh no—I'll be late for college!" she gasped, dropping her brush with a clatter.

In a frenzy, she got dressed—crisp blouse, pleated skirt, blazer—and tied her hair into its usual neat style. She adjusted her glasses, her reflection shifting from vulnerable girl to cold, precise scholar. She slid the mask back on: the calculating, confident Iris the world knew. The flush on her cheeks was gone. The trembling in her fingers buried.

By the time she stepped out of her room, it was as if nothing had happened.

The campus was already alive when she arrived, students buzzing nervously around the results board. Excitement and dread tangled in the air, a chorus of whispered hopes and bitter predictions. Iris walked through it like a ghost, unbothered, her stride purposeful, her expression unreadable.

Then she froze.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Across the courtyard, a sleek car was parked near the gate. Franz was in the back seat, his sharp profile illuminated by the morning sun.

And just behind him—

Men. Too close. Too still. One leaning forward. Another, expression cold, hand hidden.

It was the same scene. The one from her dream.

"That's… weird," Iris murmured.

Her pulse quickened, though her face betrayed nothing. She adjusted her glasses with one finger, the world flashing momentarily white in their glare. But inside, she was trembling.

A/N

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Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, andThanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, andThanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, andThanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and