By Zephyria As always, the road to school was lined with cars, bumper to bumper. They were the vehicles of parents dropping off their children for class.
Koi, as always, pedaled with all his might, passing the cars waiting at the light, and quickly crossed the street. A car approaching from afar slowed down slightly at the sight of Koi’s bicycle. Koi moved his legs even faster and entered the school grounds. Kids arriving at the same time got out of their cars and greeted each other.
“Sarah, over here!”
“Did you see Eternity yesterday? I cried so much at that scene. How could it end like that?”
“My dad wants to go camping again. It’s so lame.”
He parked his bicycle in the designated area and headed for his locker, passing by the kids chattering on all sides. The kids gathered in groups and gossiped, but no one greeted or spoke to Koi.
It was such a familiar situation that he opened his locker without a second thought and took out his textbooks. He closed the locker door again, clutching the books he needed for the morning classes in his arms, when he suddenly heard a commotion. Koi, who had inadvertently turned his head towards the sudden, excited atmosphere, soon understood why. The starting six of the ice hockey team were walking over, talking loudly.
As expected, they immediately drew attention. The six guys, who usually hung out together, were all significantly larger than their peers, and handsome to boot.
Even among them, Ashley Dominic Miller was the most eye-catching. Standing in the center as if it were natural, he casually ignored the gazes of his classmates, joking and chatting with his friends. But contrary to his reaction to his surroundings, everyone was staring at him intently. Of course, Koi was one of them.
He’s even more handsome when he smiles.
Koi held his breath for a moment and looked at him. There was no one at school who didn’t know him. No, anyone who liked ice hockey would know him. Koi had always thought his nickname was very childish and cringeworthy. But at this moment, he reluctantly had to admit it.
The Prince of the Ice.
Ugh.
Koi almost pretended to vomit, clutching at his throat. He didn’t want to admit that he had momentarily agreed with the nickname. But from his dazzling silver-blonde hair, which gleamed subtly in the morning sun, to his slightly furrowed brow, he was unbelievably handsome. The deep-set eyes surrounding his blue-gray irises, his thick, wide lips, his sharp nose that looked like it had never been broken, and his angular jawline. His face, with its distinct shadows, had such clear lines that his face could be used instead of a plaster cast.
And what about that sturdy body? He was nearly 190 centimeters tall, and even though he was wearing a plain T-shirt and jeans instead of his uniform, his broad shoulders, bulging chest, solid thighs, and nicely rounded buttocks were all clearly visible. He was perfect.
Of course, he’s the captain of the Buffalo High School ice hockey team, which has never missed a championship.
Koi, who had barely enough muscle on his body to survive, could only shrink back in silence when he saw him, so perfect that he couldn’t even dream of admiring him without feeling guilty.
That’s when it happened. Ashley, who happened to turn his head, spotted Koi and smiled brightly, waving his hand. Koi, who had been trying to slip to one side, was bewildered by the unexpected situation and stared at him with wide eyes.
Huh? Me?
Half in doubt, he cautiously pointed at himself with his index finger, and Ashley smiled even wider, his eyes full of laughter.
Ashley Miller knows me?
In fact, they were taking most of the AP classes together. Of course, Ashley was usually with his friends, and Koi was always alone in a corner seat, a faint presence like dust. But the ice hockey star knew Koi. And he even greeted him first.
Well, we do have a few classes together.
Koi looked at Ashley approaching him, making a plausible guess. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like a very long time to Koi.
The platinum-blonde ice hockey team captain, smiling brightly at him, was enough to take his breath away for a moment, even though they were both men. And the fact that the most popular guy in school was greeting him first made Koi even more excited.
“Hi…”
He was looking at him with a dazed expression and raised his hand when suddenly someone rushed past Koi, creating a gust of wind. Soon after, Ashley’s gaze, which had been on Koi, naturally shifted to her.
“Hi, Ash.”
The girl, who was smiling sweetly and kissing him, was Ashley’s girlfriend, and, of course, the captain of the cheerleading team. Watching the typical sports star and cheerleader captain couple that every school has, Koi realized that he had made a mistake.
He was smiling at his girlfriend.
He felt a sudden wave of embarrassment and his face flushed. He usually lamented that his presence was worse than dust in the corner, but now he was so grateful for it. Otherwise, everyone would be laughing at him right now.
He was mortified and didn’t know what to do, when one of the guys in the group passed by Koi and muttered gruffly.
“Get out of the way, idiot.”
The guy nonchalantly pushed him out of the way, unintentionally blocking his path. Koi ended up bumping into the locker, but no one paid any attention to him. Of course, everyone’s eyes were on the group of guys moving away past Koi. Koi rubbed his arm where he had bumped it and lowered his gaze in embarrassment.
Ashley Miller doesn’t know me.
Of course not. To him, Koi was just one of many ordinary classmates. The more he thought about it, the more awkward he felt, and he scratched his head. He belatedly tried to lock his locker, when suddenly someone violently smacked him on the head from behind.
“Ah!”
He screamed and cringed, but that wasn’t all. Another guy kicked away the books Koi was holding. Koi tried to catch them in a hurry, but unfortunately, the books only grazed his fingertips and fell to the floor with a thud.
“Loser.”
“Get a grip, you moron.”
Nelson and his gang laughed and walked away. Koi stared blankly at the books on the floor, sighed, and quickly gathered his things. Class was about to start.
He hurried down the hallway and arrived at the classroom to find that almost all the seats were already taken. Ashley and his friends were, of course, sitting in the middle of the classroom. There were usually six members who always hung out together, but three of them must have been taking other classes, as there were only three of them now, including Ashley. Nevertheless, their presence was still strong. Koi glanced at them and headed for a corner seat as always. He didn’t really intend to, but their conversation naturally came to his ears.
“So what’s going to happen? Can we add someone new right now?”
“I don’t think they’re going to change the choreography. I heard they’re looking for someone who’s good.”
“Haven’t you heard anything, Ash?”
Ashley shrugged at his friend’s question and replied.
“They asked me too, but is it easy to find a member who can suddenly join the cheerleading squad and run the season with them? It’s better to change the choreography.”
“But? Ariel doesn’t want to?”
“She says that choreography is essential.”
“How great can that choreography be?”
Ashley answered indifferently to another friend’s question.
“I don’t know, either. Anyway, Ariel will give up if the situation doesn’t work out.”
After saying that, he turned his head and looked at Koi. Koi, who was passing by them at the time, reacted momentarily, but it was the same as before. It seemed that Ashley just made a perfunctory smile because their eyes met while he was turning his head, and then he turned his head away again.
I knew it.
Feeling disappointed, he moved to sit in the corner seat while the guys, including Ashley, continued to ramble on about useless things. Koi tuned out the trivial things they were listing, such as the results of the game they had watched the day before, or the fight they had with their siblings at home, and prepared for class.
The teacher came into the classroom not long after. Soon the classroom became quiet, and she started the class calmly as usual. It was a morning no different from any other.