"Wait, I'm Supposed to Become a Goddess?! But I'm a Guy!"

Adrian only grinned wider, unbothered, straightening up but not budging an inch as he sat beside Mize, slinging an arm over his shoulders and pulling him close. "Why even bother lying?" he said, amusement dripping. "I already knew it was you… but surprise, I never guessed you were a girl this whole time."

Mize squirmed, his cheeks blazing, desperately trying to scoot away, but Adrian's grip was unbreakable. 'Dear god, please let me just disappear,' he prayed silently, feeling the guy's warmth radiating through his uniform, way too close to handle.

"Well… you never noticed," Mize mumbled in defeat, his voice almost a whisper.

He gave up, just letting Adrian's arm stay where it was, their shoulders practically glued together. The heat from Adrian's body was something he couldn't ignore, and the humiliation that he was sure was written all over his face made him feel like hiding in a hole.

And if anything, Adrian was having the time of his life. He was none other than the dean's son, after all, and it hit Mize with a jolt that he had been unknowingly hanging out with an awakener this entire time.

"A surprise, alright," Adrian murmured, turning his face toward Mize.

His breath grazed Mize's neck, sending a shock down his spine as he nearly jumped out of his skin. And then Adrian's hand slid down to Mize's waist, pausing for a split second. 'Unexpectedly… slim?' He blinked, his gaze sharpening as he looked at Mize up close, taking in every tiny reaction, every twitch.

'And soft…' he mused, feeling that mischievous glint surfacing in his eyes. 'If I'd known sooner… you'd have been mine already.' His gaze turned predatory, a dangerous interest flaring up beneath his otherwise casual demeanor.

'Why… why does every hot guy I meet turn out like this?' Mize thought, barely able to hold back a wry smile.

He was practically immobilized in Adrian's hold, pressed so close he could feel every breath the guy took against his neck. The waterfall behind them seemed to fade into the background, drowned out by the wild rhythm of their heartbeats.

'I swear I'm not gay… but who could resist this?!'

Every tiny squirm, every attempt to escape, only seemed to draw Adrian's arm tighter around his waist, practically molding him into place.

Mize's patience was wearing thin, his nerves frayed from the overwhelming heat between them. Turning his face to the side, he mustered a shaky smile, his cheeks burning as he managed a soft, "C-can I go now?"

"Hmmm?" Adrian's gaze lifted from his book, his eyes locking onto Mize's with a bit too much intensity.

"Go where?" And, as if making his point, Adrian tightened his grip, pulling Mize even closer—until he was practically on his lap.

That finally broke Mize's composure. He squirmed, smile faltering, before letting out a dramatic sigh and a small cough, his last shred of courage bubbling up. "Let go of me… pervert!" he said, his face flushed and his voice wavering.

For a moment, silence fell. The word "pervert" hung in the air, and the two of them froze.

Adrian's face registered complete shock, while Mize blushed furiously, realizing just what he'd just called him.

"Oh, I see… you think I'm a pervert, huh?" Adrian's tone dropped as he slowly loosened his grip, letting Mize slide away just a bit, almost giving him room to escape.

But then—

"Ah!" Mize barely got an inch before Adrian grabbed him again, this time pulling him fully onto his lap. Mize's heart nearly stopped. "W-what are you doing?!" he stammered, his voice choked with panic, but Adrian only grinned, leaning in even closer.

Adrian's face was inches away, closing in with that infuriating, teasing slowness, his eyes half-lidded, his hand on the back of Mize's head. Mize couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't do anything but scream internally.

'Nooo! Not the routine!' His thoughts were a desperate mess, everything moving in slow motion as Adrian's lips closed in, leaving him with absolutely no escape.

'This left me no choice but to use the super secret technique' Mize sighed...

"Headbutt slam!"

PAK

"Ah!"

Mize's head connected with Adrian's forehead in a satisfying, blunt crack that sent him stumbling backward, hand clutching his head.

Without a second thought, Mize darted away, muttering under his breath, "Hope I don't see you again—bye, pervert!" He didn't wait for Adrian's reaction, already booking it down the red-tiled path as fast as his sore legs would carry him.

Adrian blinked, still clutching his forehead, the shock melting into something almost… amused. A chuckle slipped out as he watched Mize's retreating figure disappear toward the school buildings.

"Quite the little spitfire," he mused, straightening his posture. "Mize, was it?" He smirked, murmuring to himself, "I won't let you out of my sights so easily. No background, no connections… just beauty and fire."

But from a distance, someone else had been watching. Liam's jaw clenched, his gaze locked on Adrian, a cold fury brewing in his narrowed eyes. Veins popped up along his neck and clenched fist as he glared down from the hillside. His mutter barely escaped him: "An awakener, huh? Looks like there's one more pest to deal with."

Meanwhile, Mize dashed toward the towering glass buildings of the academy, the complex sprawling like an entire world within itself. Classrooms stretched on in loops and circles, some round like futuristic orbs, others climbing into the sky with sleek, geometric elegance.

Mize cast a nervous look toward Building 12-A, where his next class—Mr. Thompson's, no less—was in full swing. If he dared walk in late, looking as flustered as he did, there was zero chance Mr. Thompson would let him slip away unnoticed. "Nope, not happening," Mize decided aloud, his face flushed from all the running. Better to dodge the lecture now than face the inevitable office summons later.

He checked his watch: 11:13. Plenty of time to kill before the next class.

He could already picture the perfect spot. "The rooftop," he muttered to himself, glancing up at the building's sleek curves, "that'll be a nice place to hang out." And with a final nod to himself, he set off down the red path, making his way to the one place he knew he could be alone.

The rooftop was the second best choice of place for him to hang out at, a perfectct hiding spot as few would even bother coming up here to hang out. But of course except for those couples that seemed to be in heat and had nowhere else to vent. And such, Mize spent the rest of the time there, leaning his back against the railing as eventually, everything went into a complete darkness.

Mize jolted awake, his head aching from where he'd been slumped awkwardly against the railing. He rubbed his eyes, grimacing as he felt a line of dried drool on his cheek. One blurry glance at his watch, and it hit him like a truck.

"Did I?... "

"..." He gazed around for a moment.

"Ah... I overslept didn't I?"

The words slipped out in a dazed mumble, but realization crashed in fast, and the haze of sleep dissolved.

He was a goner. Skipping Mr. Thompson's class was bad enough, but skipping Miss Ada's and Mr. David the Killer's? Mize could already picture the creative punishment they'd whip up for him. Mr. David didn't just punish you—he turned it into an art form.

His heart sank as he pictured it: forced public dancing, maybe some sort of "grovel before the class" ordeal. The last person who missed Mr. David's class had to stand in the courtyard singing like a bird in front of everyone.

Mize could already feel the shame curling in his gut. Hugging his knees, he let out a pathetic little wail, "Why did I fall asleep… I'm so dumb… so dumb…" His legs were pins and needles from sleeping in that crunched-up position, so he just sat there, crying silently like some tragic ghost on the roof of the school.

The sun was setting, casting the entire sky in hues of red and gold, and the city below was a noisy blur. Mize's eyes caught sight of a few birds flying over, their wings silhouetted against the sky as if mocking him. He sniffed, wiping at his nose with his sleeve as he slowly massaged the sensation back into his legs.

Finally, after what felt like ages, he managed to haul himself up, his legs wobbling as he limped over to the glass door. He caught his reflection in the glass—a rumpled mess with bed hair, drool marks on his cheek, and red eyes from crying.

Lovely. Taking a deep breath, he scrubbed his face with his sleeve, trying to make himself presentable again.

But then, just as he grabbed the door handle to finally make his escape—

clak.

The handle didn't budge.

"Wait… what?" Mize's heart dropped. He jiggled it again, harder this time. The door rattled stubbornly, mocking him in its refusal to turn.

"No… no way," he whispered, his voice breaking as he looked down at the locked door with horror. His grip on the handle slackened, and he slumped against the door, his head thumping gently against the glass. "I'm locked in… I'm locked in."

A single bird cawed somewhere above him as if the universe was enjoying his misery today. What a goddess he is... a goddess of misfortunes...

Mize let his hand drop from the doorknob as he sank to the floor, utterly defeated. "Today is such a sad day," he whimpered the tears that he'd fought off before starting to pour freely now.

"I don't wanna sleep here," he pleaded softly, his voice small and desperate. But as he looked around at the empty rooftop, the reality settled in. It was almost six, and everyone would have cleared out by now. He was well and truly alone.

He rubbed at his eyes, red-rimmed and swollen, and hugged his knees, sniffing softly. He caught a glimpse of himself again in the glass door. His long black hair fell around his face, wild and unkempt from his nap, and his wide, red-rimmed eyes shimmered with fresh tears. In the fading light, his reflection looked haunting—like a little lost ghost with nowhere to go.

He slumped back, pressing his cheek against the cool glass, and sighed, resigned. "Guess I'm stuck here till morning…"

He took a few shuddering breaths, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to get a grip on himself. Why did it all have to go so wrong today? The encounter with the weird pervert, the trouble with the "redhead menace," as he'd nicknamed him, and that almost slapstick rooftop nap… it was like fate had decided to pick him out of the crowd for a personal brand of misery.

Mize slumped back, letting his head rest against the door, knees hugged tight to his chest, staring out at the sky as it darkened slowly over the city. The whole day had been one big mess—, without a doubt, the worst day ever. He sighed, long and loud, the weight of his bad luck sinking into his bones. "The path to the goddess is hard," he mumbled, trying to find some twisted logic in the chaos that had been his life today.

[The path of a miserable goddess] 

"Shut up"

He sat there for a while, lost in his pitiful thoughts until the door behind him gave a soft click.

"huh?"

"Someone is here?"

He jolted upright, already grinning, ready to launch into a flood of thank-yous for his unexpected savior. He spun around and swung open the door.

"Thank you!" he said, voice bright with gratitude.

But then—his face froze.

Standing in the doorway, with that same disconcerting, lazy smile, was Liam. The very last person he wanted to see right now. The guy leaned casually against the door frame, his black hoodie pulled low over his dark eyes, half-lidded and gleaming like he'd already won whatever game they were playing. That calm, smug smile made Mize's stomach do a weird, nervous flip.

"Oh…" Mize's hand was still on the doorknob, his body halfway between running for the hills and sinking into the floor in mortification. His earlier relief turned to dread in an instant. Of all people, it had to be him, he thought. But he forced a shaky smile, one he knew was more pathetic than grateful.

Liam's lips quirked into an amused grin. "You called for help, Mize?" he asked, his tone all casual as if they were old friends and not two people who barely knew each other—or at least, who Mize barely knew.

"Ah, I was planning to sleep here tonight" Mize forced a smile

"Really?" Liam smiled

"Reallyyy" Mize smiled back.