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"I'M NOT BELIEVING THAT cute act at all. It's too suspicious. And let's be honest, I think we learned enough from Felix here," Ari comments while still staring at Blade, who is now sitting in his seat and chatting with Ren.
"What does that suppose to mean, Faulkner?" Felix angrily retaliates, but before Ari could even defend himself, Keigo interrupts them and says, "No, he's really like that, even outside J.S High. There's no gimmick either. Blade just has a bubbly personality compared to Killshot."
"Yeah, Killshot's more like Hee-joon. He's like the ice prince 2.0," Ervin comments, and Max and the others couldn't help but agree with the comparison.
"Killshot is close with their leader, but he's closer with Blade. Those two are considered as Kim Hee-joon's blade and arrow, but if you noticed at the brotherhood battle earlier, Blade's the one who shoots arrows, while Killshot uses blades, or kunais," Keigo then explains, making his friends realize it too.
"What's the reason for that?" Ervin asks, obviously interested to know more about it while they stuck close together, standing at the far back so no one else would be able to hear them.
"I honestly don't know either. But I feel like it's a symbolism that Blade will always have a piece of Killshot, and Killshot will have a piece of Blade," Keigo answers.
"That sounds ridiculous. What are they, a couple?" Felix then asks.
"Not really, but Soobin hyung and I are more like soulmates. We've known each other since we were babies," a bright voice suddenly answers, making the five friends freeze in place.
Everyone blinked and slowly turned their heads to the student who was able to squeeze through their group huddle without getting noticed. As soon as they realized that it was actually Blade, the five quickly moved and dispersed. Even Ari and Keigo shouted in panic.
"Soobin...hyung?" Felix asks, once again confused.
Blade giggles and suddenly pulls out a necklace that had a kunai as a pendant. He stares at it, and with a smile on his face, he explains, "Choi Soo-bin, or what everyone calls as Killshot. We're both Choi's, but we're not related. Our families are close though, and even the elders wanted us to get married. Soobin can be tough sometimes, but he's always kind to me."
"What in the kdrama is this?" Max whispers to Ervin, making Ervin chuckle.
"Blade, you're publicly gushing over Killshot again. If he finds out you've been talking about him like that again, he's going to kill you," Ren, who was still sitting in his chair, suddenly says, immediately making Blade let go of the necklace.
"Oh, that's right, people can't know his true identity," Blade says, making Ari and the rest of the class open their mouths in shock because of how careless Blade actually was. "Little bunnies, make sure to keep that a secret, okay?" Blade cutely says, and for a moment, Ari almost gives in and answers him cutely too. The poor class representative had to slap his own cheek so that he'd bring himself back to reality. It seems like Blade's bright personality is very infectious.
"He's such an interesting character," Max couldn't help but comment as he smiled to himself. He never really thought that the princes would have such a brotherhood member. If Busters has someone like him in their group too, Max is going to lose it.
"Why are you calling my students little bunnies, Mr. Choi?" Someone then says, making everyone turn their heads to the front door.
Sir Kai Barron—Class II-A's adviser—enters the room with a serious expression on his face, making everyone head back to their proper seats except for Blade, who bravely walks towards sir Barron.
"Well, hello there, sir Kai. How are you?" Blade asks, leaning close until their faces are inches away from each other. For a quick second, his bubbly personality changes and turns into a playful grin that makes the class feel unsettled.
"I thought Keigo said his bubbly personality isn't a gimmick," Max whispers to Ari, who was sitting beside him.
"I don't know. Maybe he hates teachers or people with authority."
Sir Barron doesn't look fazed and doesn't entertain Blade either, so the prince moves away from the serious professor and brightly smiles again as if nothing happened. "Always so grumpy. You're not cute at all," Blade says with a pout before going back to his seat.
Sir Barron clears his throat and glances at Blade before finally looking back at the class. "The morning assembly earlier did not go according to plan," he starts.
"You're welcome," Ren suddenly comments while flirtatiously moving his fingers, making Blade chuckle.
Sir Barron clears his throat for the second time and completely ignores the royals before continuing, "But it was not something that I, for one, would scold anyone for. The guests seem to have enjoyed the brotherhood's little play, not so much their professors, but it definitely showed them what J.S High is all about, and so I have no complaints in regards to that matter."
Everyone was surprised because sir Barron sounded like he was praising them, but he just didn't want to admit it.
"Now, as you all already know, the class will be graced by the students from the representing schools tomorrow. I have no official list yet of whoever those students would be because it seems like it will be decided through draw lots. Regardless, whoever will fall in our class, I expect everyone to be on their best behavior," sir Barron explains before looking back at Blade and the other princes. "Especially the three of you."
"Don't worry. We can barely move our arms, let alone cause any sort of trouble," Jeremy Tan clarifies while being covered in bruises and bandages.
Sir Barron stares at them and takes a deep breath before massaging his temple.
"Anyways, since today's activity is only the morning assembly, we were instructed by president Janus that all white uniforms, including the brotherhoods in the class, are tasked to clean their rooms for tomorrow's visit. So before the lunch break, make sure to make this place spotless," sir Barron commands, and the entire class groans in frustration as a response. They thought today was going to be filled with fun and exciting activities. They weren't expecting that they were only going to clean the entire day.
"Except for you two," sir Barron suddenly adds while the class is complaining about the given task. "Gavriil and Maximilian, please follow me."
Max looks at Ari in surprise before looking back at sir Barron. Their professor didn't say anything specific, so Max took a deep breath and stood from his seat.
"Alright, I'll be heading out first and will return later this afternoon. Mr. Faulkner, make sure to supervise your class."
"Yes, sir Barron," Ari quickly answers despite not wanting to 'supervise' the royals.
Sir Kai Barron looks at his class for one last time before finally heading out of the room. Gavriil immediately follows, and Max looks back at his friends first before heading out as well. As soon as Max closes the door behind him, he spots his professor and his boyfriend already walking down the hallway. So Max fixes his peak cap and brooches and quickly catches up with the two.
"Where are we heading, sir?" Max asks, walking beside sir Barron while Gavriil is on their adviser's other side.
"We're heading to the auditorium," sir Barron answers. And before Max could even ask further, he adds, "We'll be personally welcoming the guests."
"Wait, what?" Max asks in shock, quickly stopping in his shoes, making the two stop as well. "I'm sorry, but...why am I included in this? I'm pretty sure this is the task of the Elites. I don't think I—"
"As the winner of Mr. Brains & Brawn, and the unofficial face of J.S High, your appearance is necessary," sir Barron explains, but Max wasn't buying it.
"As much as I am excited to face the guests, let me remind you all that half of them...heck, maybe even all of them probably do not like me. As someone who is trying to make a good impression, letting me face them won't end well. I'm pretty sure you all already know that," Max reminds them, but then sir Barron chuckles, making Max realize that he certainly knows what they're doing for letting him personally greet the guests.
"We hope you give them an unforgettable impression," sir Barron says as he starts walking again.
Max looked at Gavriil and was mentally asking him what they were planning, but Gavriil just shrugged his shoulder and followed their adviser, which led Max to just sigh in defeat and follow them with no complain.
When the three of them arrived at the auditorium, Max thought that they would enter at the main entrance, but instead, Max and Gavriil were led to the backstage where the rest of the Elites are found, while sir Barron went straight inside.
"Max! Good to see you. I'm glad you can make it," president Ian greeted him with his signature smile as soon as he saw Max approach them.
Max smiled and waved at him before taking a peek behind the curtain to see what was happening outside. The seats were filled with professors and students wearing different uniforms, and they were all talking amongst themselves, some even discussing the brotherhood battle earlier.
"Alright, I give up. What the hell am I doing here? Why did you ask me to come here even though no one has told me that I was going to do this in the first place?" Max finally asks, turning to look at Ian.
Ian, Gavriil, Richard, and even Dustin and Heaven, who were standing at the back with bored expressions, looked at Max like they were expecting him to already know what he was supposed to do.
"I talked to Helena," Ian suddenly opens up, making Max furrow his brows in confusion. At first, he didn't know who Helena was and why she was suddenly mentioned, but then his eyes widened when he realized the owner of such a name.
"You mean Alexandra Helena August? The Elites' president in our sister school?" Max asks, and Ian smiles and nods his head.
Ian didn't even have to say anything for Max to finally know what was going on.
"No..." Max quickly says, but Ian isn't going to take a no for an answer.
"She said you made quite an impression at the House of Queens with your speech. So we'd like you to give our guests your personal remarks to officially welcome them to our great house," Ian explains with a smile that almost seemed sadistic in Max's eyes. No wonder the brotherhood leaders are afraid of him. When president Ian wants to get something done, he will make sure it gets done no matter what.
"Haven't we welcomed them enough?" Max immediately complains. "If you wanted to make an impression, you can literally do that on your own. I'm not the one to shower compliments, but your presence alone can make a room fall silent."
"Well, thank you, but I am a hundred percent sure that these students are already tired of seeing my face all morning. Besides, since our king is not allowed to personally welcome them, what better way to close the first day event with a speech from you?" Ian insists.
As much as Max wanted to grab the opportunity and have the spotlight on him again, he knew damn well what type of reactions he'll be getting from these students, which is something that the Elites are also very much aware of.
"I have this strong feeling that you're asking me to do this not to welcome them but for something else. Something more selfish that the Elites aren't willing to participate in," Max finally says, and president Ian's smile turns into something more menacing.
Without even denying Max's claims, Ian walks closer to him and leans towards his ear to whisper, "Jontell Rosario."
Max's eyes widened in an instant the moment he heard the name.
No wonder none of the Elites wanted to face them personally. As mentioned before, Jontell is a son of an underground criminal group that is protected by the government.
The reason why no one wants to face him is not that they're afraid of him and will end up losing composure. The reason is that they'll definitely end up talking back at him, and that is a risk that none of them are willing to take.
Jontell Rosario is infamous for getting people riled up. He will say things that will tick people off, which is a skill that he mastered from his family. And when people end up getting mad at him, which usually resorts to violence, Jontell would get even using his family's power. The worst part is he's doing all this for the mere fact that it's fun. He benefits nothing from it other than pleasure.
If you think about it, he's like Viktor and Cj combined, but take out all the empathy and compassion that's left of those two troublemakers.
"You're all very much aware that Jontell isn't a student of J.S High, which means our rules don't apply to him; a rule that states that whoever he is outside will not matter here," Max finally realizes, making the members of the Elites nod their heads.
"That's right. Our problem is that whoever Jontell is outside is still Jontell inside J.S High. President Janus has warned us about him. He told us that Jontell's family wanted him to enroll here before, but the president strongly refused since he knows his nature," Gavriil explains to Max. "The refusal was not taken lightly, and president Janus almost lost J.S High if not for president Janet."
Max was surprised at the newfound information. He couldn't believe that his uncle had bad blood with the Rosario family because he refused to admit their youngest son. What on earth did his aunt even do to get them to calm down?
"There's a high chance that he held a grudge and came here to make trouble," Richard then says.
"So basically, you guys are sacrificing me like a goat. You just want me to get killed while your hands stay clean," Max sarcastically asks.
"It's not like that," Gavriil immediately defends. He was about to say something, but then he stopped and looked back at Ian and the others. Gavriil didn't explain anything, but Ian got the clue and gestured everyone to leave, so they did.
As soon as Max and Gavriil were left alone, the vice president looked straight at Max and softly told him, "Leigh, you're aware that when the Stepanov Clan died, the Rosario family was one of the main suspects, right?"
Max was surprised, but then he slowly nodded his head in reply.
"It's not that I'm scaring you, but if that was the truth, they might also be involved with the death of your mother," Gavriil suddenly reveals, and this time, Max was left completely speechless.
"Are you telling me—"
"The Rosario family had close bonds with madam Luna. This is the only time you will be able to face their son like this. Like what you have always done, set their heart ablaze, introduce yourself as one of the strongest, and then face jontell with no fear. J.S High will be right behind you," Gavriil says with determination.
Max was still dumbfounded, but after letting all that information sink in, he started laughing.
"My god..." he says. "I really love this fucking school."
Gavriil smiles in relief and leans close to his lover. When their lips were only a few inches away from each other, he stopped and whispered, "Show them hell."
Max smiles back and moves away from Gavriil, no longer hesitating. Without even saying anything else, he adjusts the peak cap on his head, as well as the brooches in his collar, before walking straight to the stage to reveal himself. Without any speech planned or any idea of what he'll even end up doing, he faces the guests with the same confidence he always had.
As soon as Max appeared on stage, the noise in the auditorium started to simmer down. No one recognized him at first, and they didn't really see him at the stadium earlier either, but as soon as he stopped in front of the podium, everyone instantly had a shocked look on their faces.
Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire, the student who made the most noise in their school, has finally arrived.
Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing to look at Max, while Max gave them his famous businessman-like smile that could fool anyone into thinking that the young heir is the kind of boy who will greet them with a cheerful voice, when in fact...
"Once again, welcome everyone...to J.S High," Max finally starts, his voice echoing in the auditorium.
The students stared at him from head to toe, while some were even staring at the amount of brooches that were on his collar. Even sir Barron and the other professors stopped to listen to his unexpected speech. The members of the Elites also appeared to watch him.
"To begin," Max says as the students continue to stare at him. But as everyone's eyes were glued on the young heir, the smile on Max's face slowly turns into a grin as he added, "Let me first share with you my...humble...introduction."
- END -