“Huh? What did you say?”

  Lily Pierce blinked in confusion as her gaze moved between Serena Sterling and me. Her face clearly showed that she didn’t understand what was happening. It was understandable. There was no obvious reason for Serena to want to team up with me.

  “So… are you joking?”

  Her voice faded as she turned to look at me. Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes searched my face for an explanation.

  “A joke? Why would you think that?”

  Serena replied with a gentle smile. Seeing that smile made Lily’s lips form a small pout, as if something about the situation bothered her.

  “But your grades are excellent.”

  “And?”

  Serena gave a faint, crooked smile, silently encouraging Lily to continue.

  “Oliver’s practical scores are bad, and his training results are average. Why choose him? Wouldn’t it be better to pick someone else?”

  “Ah, maybe.”

  Serena glanced briefly in my direction. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, and her eyes held a trace of amusement.

  “But I heard that no one has been able to beat his theory scores since middle school.”

  “Oliver is good at theory… unnecessarily good.”

  Hey, Lily.

  You really have a lot to say.

  “Our team already has enough strength with Nina and me. What we needed was someone smart. We don’t even know what kind of test it will be.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  Lily nodded as if she understood, but she continued to look at Serena with a somewhat uneasy expression. Serena simply kept her calm, polite smile.

  “But Lily, why did you want Oliver on your team?”

  “Uh… well…”

  Lily glanced at me from the corner of her eye, her lips moving quietly for a moment.

  “I just thought someone should look after him. Have you seen him train? Who else would even take him into their team?”

  “You’re being unusually harsh today.”

  I sighed in annoyance. Lily responded with a smug grin, looking like she was ready to bring up old stories.

  “Oh really? Who was the one who needed help during the practical exam? If I hadn’t stepped in, wouldn’t you have failed?”

  “And you used to beg me for help with written exams all the time.”

  “I did not! When did that happen?”

  “Last time you were almost crying all day because you thought failing the written exam meant your allowance would get cut.”

  “Ah! I can’t hear you!”

  Lily covered her ears and stomped her feet like a child.

  “Hehe.”

  Serena watched our argument with a mysterious smile.

  “You two seem very close. I heard you broke up.”

  “Well… that’s…”

  Lily stopped speaking and glanced at me.

  “Who asked for the breakup?”

  “Why are you interested in that?”

  “I don’t mean anything bad by it. If that question bothered you, I’m sorry.”

  Lily’s eyebrows twitched slightly, clearly annoyed by the subtle jab. Serena really did have a personality that could irritate people.

  “Oh. Is it this late already? I should get going.”

  Suddenly Serena looked at her watch. As if she had already said everything she wanted, she gave us both a quick glance before saying goodbye.

  “See you later, Oliver. Lily.”

  With that, Serena walked away. Nina, who had been quietly listening the whole time, followed behind her.

  Lily watched them leave in silence before quickly turning back to me.

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  “You seem pretty close with her.”

  “Close? We’ve only talked a few times.”

  “Really?”

  She muttered that with an obvious hint of irritation.

  “For people who’ve only talked a few times, you looked pretty friendly. Is something going on between you two?”

  “There’s nothing.”

  “And Serena… isn’t she acting a little strange? Like she’s doing it on purpose?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know… like…”

  When I pretended not to understand, Lily’s face twisted with frustration and she let out a long sigh.

  “Forget it… it’s nothing.”

  She muttered quietly to herself, complaining that some people were completely clueless. I wondered who she meant.

  “If you two are talking behind each other’s backs like that, it sounds like you don’t get along.”

  “I’m not gossiping.”

  Lily shot me an irritated look.

  “Then what? Are you jealous? Life must be hard when you’re popular.”

  “Ha. What are you even talking about?”

  Lily laughed dismissively and pushed her hair back in annoyance.

  “Jealous? Of what?”

  “If you say you’re not, then there’s no reason to react so strongly.”

  “You’re the one saying nonsense.”

  She replied with a scowl. Watching her reaction made me think that Serena might be bothering her more than I first thought.

  “By the way, how are things going with Julian these days?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve heard rumors that you two have been getting along well.”

  “What?”

  Lily hesitated for a moment and bit her lower lip.

  “Where did you hear something like that? That’s not true.”

  “Really?”

  “You don’t actually believe those rumors, do you?”

  She looked at me carefully, almost cautiously. I simply shrugged.

  “It doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Good. Then let’s just leave it at that.”

  Lily nodded quickly, though her eyes carried emotions that were hard to read.

  Compared to middle school, it felt like we had grown somewhat closer again, but there was still a long distance between us.

  Alright then. Maybe I should give them a bit more time together.

  Lily Pierce’s dream had always been to become a hero.

  Since she was a child, that dream had never changed or faded.

  The events of that day had planted the idea of becoming a hero deep inside her heart.

  It was a moment she would never forget for the rest of her life.

  With that dream guiding her, she passed the entrance exam for Vanguard Academy together with her childhood friend, Oliver Brooks.

  To be honest, she had been worried that Oliver might fail the exam. But in the end, he managed to get in, making all her worries seem unnecessary…

  …even though he entered through the supplementary acceptance list.

  Still, the important thing was that he got in.

  She was genuinely happy.

  Happy that she could attend Vanguard Academy with him.

  Since it was the most prestigious hero training academy in the nation, school life would certainly be difficult. Even so, she was excited to take another step toward her dream with Oliver beside her.

  It felt like only good days were waiting ahead.

  But then…

  “Let’s break up.”

  Oliver suddenly said those words.

  “We’re about to graduate from the academy soon. Shouldn’t we try having a real relationship at least once?”

  At first, Lily was surprised by Oliver’s half?joking suggestion. But after thinking about it, she ended up agreeing with him.

  Even if they stopped pretending to date, their relationship wouldn’t change. She was sure of that.

  After all, they had been childhood friends for more than ten years.

  Back in elementary school, they went to watch cherry blossoms together. On summer nights, they held hands while watching fireworks. They even got scolded together once for secretly drinking makgeolli at home. There were countless nights when they stayed up talking until morning.

  The bond they built over the years wouldn’t disappear just because they stopped pretending to be a couple.

  They had been together since they were children, and they would continue to stay together in the future.

  If you joked about it, Lily Pierce and Oliver Brooks were almost like family.

  So everything would be fine. Their relationship wouldn’t change.

  At least, that was what she believed.

  But…

  “Oliver, let’s go to the snack bar. I’ll buy you a pastry.”

  “I’m a little busy. Julian seems free, so why don’t you ask him?”

  When had it started?

  “Let’s go eat. They’re serving steak today.”

  “Ah, I’m not feeling well today. You should go with the others.”

  Oliver started turning down her invitations.

  “Do you want to play a game after academy?”

  “There’s too much homework today. Let’s do it next time.”

  Recently, he rejected her more often than he accepted. Back in middle school, he used to go along with her every time.

  Was something bothering him?

  But it didn’t seem that way. His tone and behavior were the same as usual. When she spoke to him, he responded normally and still laughed at her jokes. He didn’t look angry or offended.

  Then what was the reason?

  While she was thinking about it, the homeroom teacher announced that it was time to choose teammates for the practical assessment.

  Teammates…

  Lily smiled to herself.

  If she didn’t take care of him, who would? Oliver was weak in practical tests. If she offered to team up with him, he would definitely be grateful.

  Teaming up with Oliver wasn’t bad for her either. They had known each other for so long that they worked well together. Individual ability was important for team evaluations, but wasn’t teamwork even more important?

  Thinking that, she went over to suggest it.

  But…

  “I’m already on the same team as him.”

  Serena Sterling answered with a bright smile.

  Lily couldn’t understand why Serena would choose Oliver as her teammate. However, if Serena was on the team, failing the practical exam would be unlikely. So for Oliver, it probably wasn’t a bad situation.

  But after that day, the two of them seemed to talk more and more.

  Of course, the practical exam was next week, so teammates would naturally have a lot to discuss. Still, something about Serena’s behavior bothered Lily.

  She couldn’t explain it clearly, but it left her feeling uneasy.

  Was it the slight flirting? Or the casual touches? And Oliver simply laughed it off every time.

  “….”

  While thinking about all this, she suddenly remembered that a new café had opened near the terminal. It was having a big opening sale.

  She decided she would take Oliver there this Saturday and eat some sweet cake. After all, sweets were the best cure for stress. If he refused again, she wouldn’t just let it go.

  “There’s a new café near the terminal. They’re having discounts right now. Let’s go this Saturday.”

  “Oh, this Saturday? I don’t think I can.”

  “What now? Again?”

  “Sorry. I already have plans. And I’ll be busy this week preparing for the practical assessment. There’s a lot I need to research.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  But he somehow had time to chat with Serena.

  “Sorry anyway. See you Monday.”

  “Wait.”

  Oliver quickly left the classroom as soon as class ended.

  Lily bit her lower lip as she watched him run off. What was so urgent that he had to leave that quickly? Did he really dislike spending time with her?

  “Whatever.”

  Lily snorted and decided to visit the café alone.

  She planned to relieve some stress by eating sweets.

  When she entered the café…

  But then—

  “Huh?”

  In a corner of the café, she spotted something familiar.

  “…Why are they here?”

  Sitting there were Oliver Brooks and Serena Sterling.