Chapter 18 || Starting From Scratch

Chapter 18: 18 || Starting From Scratch

Riven stepped out of the bathroom wearing a green sleeveless shirt and black shorts, a white towel resting around his neck.

He had barely taken a few steps toward his bed when—

Knock. Knock.

Riven turned toward the door.

He walked over and looked through the peephole. After seeing who was outside, he unlocked it and opened the door.

Juro stood on the other side, still dressed in his butler uniform.

Riven stepped aside to let him in.

Juro entered quietly and Riven closed the door behind him.

Riven walked over to his bed and sat down.

"What’s wrong, Juro? You’re still putting on your uniform."

Juro’s expression was unusually sad. "Hey, Riven...."

Riven looked at him.

"I’m... I’m sorry for what happened..."

Juro looked him directly in the eyes. "I’m sorry for... everything."

Riven blinked.

For a moment, he simply stared at Juro before a small smile appeared on his face.

He pulled the towel from around his neck and tossed it into the basket beside his bed. Then he lay back, staring at the ceiling.

"You don’t have to apologize, Juro. It wasn’t your fault. It was... mine."

Juro immediately stepped forward.

"No, Riven. It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I was the one who stopped you from telling the class the truth in the first place. I was at fault."

His voice gradually became quieter.

"Everything... was my fault. I shouldn’t have made you keep it a secret. You trusted and listened to me, and now everything has fallen apart. Everyone thinks all what you did till now was just so you could get their favour and one day seize their coins."

Juro rubbed his forearm nervously and lowered his head. "And I’m sorry for that."

Riven stared at him for a moment.

Then he looked back up at the ceiling.

"I guess that makes two of us."

Juro raised his head.

Riven continued. "We were both at fault."

He sat back up and rested his hands on the mattress.

"There’s no point in either of us taking the blame."

Juro’s voice was quiet. "...Yeah."

Riven smiled faintly. "But, if you look at it at the bright side, it’s a good thing the truth is out."

Juro froze. "What do you mean?"

"If I had continued like this, I would have felt guilty each day I led Class D. But now that the truth is out, I believe we can start from scratch, Juro."

Juro’s eyes widened slightly.

Riven continued. "We can build everything back the way it was. So cheer up, we aren’t done yet."

Juro remained silent for a while.

Then a small smile slowly appeared on his face.

He nodded. "Okay, Riven. Let’s win back Class D’s trust."

Riven smiled. "Mmmm ."

He stood up. "Let me prepare tea for the both of us."

Juro shook his head. "It’s fine."

Riven paused.

Juro took a step toward the kitchen. "I’ll prepare it."

Riven blinked. "Really?"

Juro nodded. "Yes."

Riven looked at him for a moment before sitting back down.

"Alright then."

Juro walked toward the kitchen.

The room fell silent.

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything.

Then—

Beep.

Riven turned toward the table and picked up his phone.

He looked at the screen.

"A message from Ivy..."

...

The Next Morning — Class 1-D

Slide.

The classroom door opened, and Code stepped inside.

The morning light from the windows caught the white bandage wrapped around his hand.

He slid the door shut behind him.

"Code!"

Something suddenly grabbed his leg.

Code looked down.

Caden was clinging to him like a drowning man.

"Thank God you’re here."

"What’s wrong, Caden?" Code asked flatly.

Caden’s face was pale. "This watch... I told you both yesterday that it won’t come off, right?"

"Yes."

Caden lowered his voice. "I told Torin and Ken that what if Code 11 is using this to spy on us. What if she’s a voyeur? Think about it."

Torin sighed. "Who gave Caden a dictionary?"

Ken shook his head. "Caden, even if she was spying on us, that doesn’t make her a voyeur."

Caden looked at them with disbelief. "You both know nothing."

Torin glanced at Code.

"Don’t listen to him, Code. He probably just saw a fancy word in the dictionary and decided to flaunt it around early in the morning."

He looked down at Caden. "We get it, Caden. You found a new word. Now move on from it."

Caden frowned. "I wasn’t talking to the both of you. I was talking to Code. He understands, right, Code?"

He looked up at Code expectantly.

Code stared at him for a moment.

Then his eyes drifted toward the watch on Caden’s wrist.

"At least it’s water resistant."

Caden’s hopeful expression disappeared.

Ken and Torin burst out laughing.

Caden slowly stood up. "Is that supposed to make me feel better, Code? Really?!"

He leaned closer, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Caden eventually walked back toward his seat.

"I’ll find a way to remove this watch from my hand, and when I find evidence against Code 11, you three will be the ones I’m gonna call first."

Ken smiled. "Sure. I can’t wait."

Torin’s gaze shifted to Code’s bandaged hand. "What happened to your hand, Code?"

Ken looked at the bandage."Did you get into a fight with the seniors?"

Code shook his head. "No. I cut myself while cooking."

Ken whistled.

Torin’s expression softened. "Sorry. How’s it now?"

Code glanced down at his hand. "It’s better. Thanks."

He walked to his seat, dropped his bag beside the desk, and sat down.

Aria, who had been reading her book, turned toward him.

Her sharp eyes immediately settled on the bandage.

"What happened to you?"

Code glanced at her briefly. "Nothing worth worrying about."

Aria narrowed her eyes slightly. "You didn’t do something stupid to add to the class’s problem, did you?"

Code’s expression remained completely unchanged.

"I simply cut myself while cooking. I don’t think that has anything to do with the class."

Aria stared at him for a moment.

Then she quietly returned to her book.

The front door suddenly slid open.

"Good morning, everyone~"

Ivy stepped into the classroom with her usual radiant smile.

This time, there was no hair clip in her hair.

She walked gracefully toward her seat as if nothing unusual had happened.

Neela brightened when she saw her.

"Ivy, I’m glad you’re here! How was your master yesterday?"

Ivy tilted her head, tapping a finger against her chin.

"Hmm, I don’t really know... but it was okay, I guess."

Sena smirked. "Oh, you just don’t want to tell us."

"No, it’s not like that!"

Ivy gave a small, nervous laugh.

Code watched her silently.

The door slid open again.

Meira walked into the classroom.

Her soft golden-blonde hair caught the morning light.

Instead of the silver star-shaped clip she usually wore, a dark ribbon rested near the top of her head, tied into a simple bow.

She walked toward her seat.

"Good morning."

She sat down and placed her bag beside her desk.

Ivy smiled. "Morning."

Sena looked at the ribbon. "The bow fits you better than the clip, Meira. Way to level up."

Meira gave a small smile. "Thanks. I actually got it yesterday."

Ivy’s eyes brightened. "I might get one myself. Why don’t we all go to the mall after school?"

"Agreed," Sena replied.

Neela raised a hand. "Don’t forget about me."

Ivy laughed. "We won’t."

She looked toward Lily. "Are you coming along, Lily?"

Lily froze. "Well... I don’t really see what I’m going to do there anyway, so..."

Ivy cut her off with a cheerful smile. "It’ll be fun. Just tag along and see for yourself."

Lily hesitated before eventually nodding.

"Alright then."

At the back of the classroom—

"Code. I need you to do something."

Aria spoke without looking up from her book.

"I plan on asking the girls about their generations, and I need you to ask the boys. It’ll be faster that way."

Silence.

Aria turned another page.

"Are you listening?"

She stopped.

Code was already asleep.

His head rested against his desk, his arms folded beneath it. He looked completely undisturbed by the conversation.

Aria stared at him for a moment.

A quiet sigh escaped her.

Then she simply turned back to her book and continued reading.