So I shamelessly said, “But I’m scared.”

To be fair, I had been genuinely terrified earlier, but now I was mostly acting.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aaron’s expression grow even stranger. Even so, he still didn’t push me away.

Clinging to him, I told him everything that had happened. “Maybe someone was just pulling a prank. Honestly, there are no real ghosts. I’m a firm believer in science.”

Aaron replied calmly, “Probably. Someone must have done it on purpose to scare you.”

“That is so messed up.” I fumed.

He gave me a faint, unreadable smile. “And what exactly were you doing out here?”

“I came to look for a key,” I admitted. “They said the dorm manager has it.”

Aaron looked at me for a long moment, his eyes full of meaning. “Then go get it.”

I tightened my grip on his arm immediately. “But what if someone jumps out and scares me again? Can you come with me? Please?”

I played it up. He didn’t walk me back, so I kept clutching his sleeve like a koala.

He finally had no choice but to walk me toward the dorm.

That was when I glanced at my watch. It read 11:56 p.m.

My stomach dropped. The girls had said I had to be back before midnight or the doors wouldn’t reopen.

I grabbed Aaron’s hand and sprinted toward the building.

By the time we reached the dorm, I was gasping for air. The entrance was still open.

I checked my watch again. It was 12:03.

“Thank goodness,” I said, patting my chest. “Mrs. Lawson must have forgotten to lock it. I’m really lucky tonight.”

Then I remembered the key.

I hurried to the dorm manager’s door and knocked politely. “Mrs. Lawson, I need a key. Do you have a special one in there?”

I didn’t notice the strange smile on Aaron’s face.

He spoke lazily. “Mrs. Lawson, she wants it. Just toss her the key.”

A small gap opened in the door. A red key slid out and dropped to the floor.

I snatched it up, delighted. “Mrs. Lawson, you’re amazing. Thank you so much.”

One million secured.

What a beautiful surprise.

Inside the room, the dorm manager said nothing.

What I didn’t see was that Mrs. Lawson no longer looked human at all. The kind, cheerful woman from earlier now stood without a head, blood dripping down her neck.

I waved to Aaron and headed back to my room.

But no matter how hard I knocked, the three girls inside refused to open the door. They insisted I was a ghost trying to trick them.

“Have none of you ever taken a science class? You really don’t believe in materialism? There are no ghosts in this world.”

They still refused.

With no other choice, I went to room 206 across the hall. It was empty, so I slept there instead.

The next morning, when I walked out, the three girls looked at me as if they had actually seen a ghost.

“How did you get back? Did you get the key?”

“Nope.”

I wasn’t stupid enough to show off my newfound wealth.

Lily stared at me, clearly conflicted. “You really are… lucky.”

I ignored them. After last night, I had no desire to keep living with them anyway. I grabbed my things and officially moved into room 206.

The next day, I headed to class.

Aaron was already in his seat, reading.

I held up a bag of snacks I had bought and trotted over to him. “Good morning, Aaron.”

Unlike before, he actually looked up at me.

“Want some snacks?”

His voice was cool and crisp. “No.”

All the snacks ended up in my stomach anyway.

But maybe it was just my imagination. During class, I kept feeling his gaze land on me every now and then, soft and light like a butterfly touching down on a flower.

A few days later…

One night, half-asleep, I vaguely heard screaming and something that sounded like growling outside. I wanted to get up, but my eyelids grew heavier and heavier until I slipped right back into sleep.

The next morning, two of the six new girls had withdrawn from school.

That day, our homeroom teacher entered the classroom carrying a thick stack of test papers. She wore a strange smile. “We’re having an exam today. Only students who pass may stay and continue studying. Those who fail will be punished.”

What?

I have to take exams in a dating-sim otome game?

What kind of broken game is this?

I completely missed the second half of what she said.

I did notice, though, that Lily and the others looked even paler than before. They clearly wanted nothing to do with exams. Honestly, same. I graduated high school ages ago. Everything I learned back then has already gone back to the teachers long, long ago.

When the test landed on my desk, I glanced at the questions and nearly spit blood.

What even was this?

Calculus?

Linear algebra?

Since when do high school seniors learn this stuff?!

My head dropped onto the table as I groaned. “I’m done. Absolutely done.”

Aaron shot me a sideways look.

I grabbed onto that look like a drowning person spotting a life preserver. I put on my most pitiful expression. “Save me! Please, great master, help this poor child.”

Aaron answered calmly, “I don’t know how to do it either.”

Right. Right. Great. We’re both academic disasters.

Two hours later, the exam ended.

Aaron was sprawled over his desk asleep. His test was completely blank.

Mine was full of random scribbles. My old teacher always said, “If you don’t know it, at least write something. You might get a point for showing your work.” So I did exactly that.

Once the test was over, I felt much lighter. No matter how miserably I failed, it wouldn’t affect my mission to romance the male lead.

But Lily and the others looked absolutely terrified. Their faces were ghost-white, their eyes full of despair, like they were about to be marched to execution.

That evening.

I was heading back to the dorm when I saw three tall guys blocking Aaron’s path. Their expressions were hostile, and their presence screamed trouble.

Instantly, I remembered the male lead’s backstory. He suffered constant bullying. He was supposed to be fragile and pitiful.

These three must be the school bullies.

I couldn’t just stand by. This was my chance to “shine.”

I rushed to Aaron’s side and yanked him behind me.

All three guys stared at me in shock.

I glared at them. “Stop bullying him. I’m warning you. Back off, or I won’t be polite. I learned martial arts.”

I completely missed how strange Aaron’s expression became.

His eyes were deep and quiet, almost unfathomable, like he could swallow me whole. His mouth curved slightly as he gave the three boys a small nod.

One of them, a buzz-cut guy, sneered. “And what if we… don’t?”

I responded with action.

A few minutes later, all three were on the ground, groaning.

I hated bullies more than anything.

Once I had taken care of them, I turned to Aaron with a big, toothy grin.

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, they won’t lay a finger on you again.”

I even patted his shoulder reassuringly. “I’ll protect you.”

Aaron’s eyes darkened with a strange, shifting emotion. “You want… to protect me?”

“Of course,” I said. “I’ll protect you.”

What I didn’t notice at all was that the three guys lying on the ground looked absolutely miserable. But since they’d already committed to playing dead, they had no choice but to keep pretending.

Aaron looked at me for a long moment, as if he could see straight through me.

The next second, his lips curled into a smile.

I froze. My heart immediately spun out of control.

His face already resembled my idol Wayne, but I’d always admired him the way one admires a pretty face.

This feeling was different.

My heartbeat jumped like a startled fawn and even the tip of my tongue tasted sweet. I had never felt this way before, not even the day I lined up for eight hours just to see Wayne at a fan signing.

Aaron had smiled before, but never like this. Never this bright.

“Alright,” he said softly.

Night fell deeper and deeper…

---

Faculty Office

The homeroom teacher handed a stack of exam papers to Aaron, all respectful and deferential.

Aaron took a red pen and pulled out one sheet titled Ivy Fisher.

Three minutes later, he gave a quiet laugh, a warmth flickering in his eyes that even he didn’t seem aware of.

He murmured, “How can someone be this hopeless… Not a single question right.”

---

The Next Day

The teacher entered the classroom with the score sheet.

“Lily, sixty-one.”

Lily sagged in relief.

“Summer, sixty-five.”

Summer smiled faintly.

“Wendy, fifty-six.”

“Jennifer, fifty-eight.”

Both girls turned ashen.

“Ivy…” The teacher’s expression shifted, and she glanced at me.

I ducked my head, already mourning my dignity.

“Seventy.”

I nearly slammed my hands on the desk from excitement.

Seventy!

I scribbled nonsense and still managed a seventy!

Turns out I didn’t completely forget the math I learned in freshman and sophomore year. My college professors would be so proud.

Lily stared at me as if I had committed a crime against the natural order.

Then the teacher approached, pulled a blue key from her pocket, and placed it on my desk.

“This is your reward.”

I picked it up, grinning.

This had to be worth money too.

Aaron sipped the milk I brought him, his eyes warm and gentle.

My heart melted. This was the first time he ever drank something I gave him—though only because his water bottle broke and he couldn’t get water from the dispenser. Technicality, whatever. It still counted.

---

When I got back to the dorm building and was about to enter 206, Lily stepped in front of me.

She demanded the blue key.

I laughed. “Why would I give it to you?”

“If you don’t hand it over,” she snapped, “you won’t be leaving this place alive!”

I gave her the ‘are you out of your mind’ look and said, “Does this game run on whatever rules you make up?”

I turned and walked off. I didn’t even bother arguing with her.

---

Early the Next Morning

When I woke up, my neck felt strangely sore, but I brushed it off.

When I entered the classroom, I was stunned. Only Lily and Summer were there. All the other girls were missing.

I told Aaron about it.

Aaron bit into a snow cake cookie and said flatly, “They all withdrew from school.”

“What? Why?”

“If you don’t pass the exam, you leave.”

My eyes went wide.

What kind of school was this?!

“If we have another exam, I don’t even know if I’ll pass. What if I fail next time? Will I have to leave too?”

There was the faintest hint of amusement in Aaron’s eyes. It flashed too fast for me to be sure.

“You won’t,” he said.

---

One Week Later

That day, Aaron didn’t come to class.

After school, I went to the convenience store to buy snacks.

Recently, he finally stopped refusing them.

I’d also discovered his favorite snack was snow cake cookies, so I started buying them for him every day.

Since he wasn’t in class today, I decided I’d just bring the snacks straight to his apartment.