Chapter 205: Welcome intrusion
Mrs. Lira froze at first, her body stiff with instinctive resistance. But the warmth of him seeped past her defenses, quiet yet undeniable. Slowly, as if against her will, her arms lifted and returned the gesture.
The embrace was awkward at first, tentative, but then... she let herself breathe. For a brief, dangerous moment, she allowed herself to sink into the feeling.
A shiver traced her spine when her cheek brushed his shoulder. It had been years since anyone had held her like this, with such audacity, yes, but also with such unguarded certainty.
No hesitation. No calculation. Just the simple act of drawing her into his warmth as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"See?" he murmured near her ear, the words low enough to stir a shiver. "Not so bad."
Her lips parted, a half-formed reprimand on her tongue, but it never left.
Because before she could gather herself, Jae tilted his head and pressed a quick kiss against her cheek. It was brief, playful, almost boyish in its delivery, yet it set her pulse racing like lightning through her veins.
Mrs. Lira jerked back, her hand rising instantly to touch the spot he’d claimed. Her composure cracked, her voice sharp with disbelief. "Jae!"
But he only grinned, the mischief in his eyes burning brighter for having provoked her. His satisfaction was unhidden, reckless, the grin of someone who had leapt from a cliff and found joy in the freefall.
"What? Too much?" His smirk curled further as he added, "Consider it... extra credit."
Her heart hammered against her ribs, louder than she wanted to admit. She stared at him, her expression caught between indignation and something softer, something far more dangerous.
Heat rose to her cheeks, betraying her, undermining the stern image she was desperate to maintain.
"I should fail you for insolence," she muttered. The words should have carried bite, but her tone betrayed her. They landed weaker than intended, like a sword swing dulled before it could strike.
"And yet you won’t," he said easily, his confidence unshaken. He took a step back at last, releasing her from the snare of his proximity. His smirk softened, not vanishing, but losing its edge, reshaping into something almost boyish. And yet his eyes, crimson and steady, lingered on her far too long, too openly, to be mistaken for anything innocent.
"Thanks for indulging me, Mrs. Lira," he said, his voice dipping into sincerity in a way that caught her off guard once again.
And just like that, he turned.
Jae’s stride was unhurried as he strolled toward the door, his hands slipping back into his pockets as though nothing unusual had just occurred. The faintest whiff of smoke trailed in his wake, subtle but present, a signature of the fire that always surrounded him whether he willed it or not.
Mrs. Lira remained by her desk, rooted in place. Her hand lingered against her cheek where his lips had brushed, her skin still burning as though marked.
Her heart refused to steady. It raced with a tempo she hadn’t felt in years, shaking her composure from within. It was unsettling, deeply so. And yet, if she was honest with herself, it was not entirely unwelcome.
She tried to shake it off, tried to summon discipline like a cloak around her shoulders. She was a teacher. He was a student. He was reckless, bold, far too young. She had duties, responsibilities, a role to uphold. Nothing about this could be allowed.
And yet...
Her fingers curled slightly against her robe, remembering the solid warmth of his embrace, the steady thrum of his heartbeat, the press of his lips.
Mrs. Lira drew in a shaky breath and lowered herself into her chair, her posture less rigid than usual. The silence of the classroom pressed in again, though it was no longer the familiar, comforting silence of order. It was charged, unsettled, alive with echoes of what had just occurred.
Her eyes lingered on the door long after it closed behind him.
"He’s impossible," she whispered to herself, though the words carried no real weight of anger.
Because even as she spoke them, the corners of her mouth betrayed her, curving despite every attempt to hold them still.
And when she closed her eyes, she saw him again, his smirk, his gaze, and the way he had spoken her beauty aloud without hesitation, without fear.
xxx
The palace at dusk was quieter than usual, its grandeur muted beneath the creeping veil of night. Marble corridors stretched like veins through the heart of the royal seat, each one washed in pale light from enchanted sconces mounted at regular intervals.
Their flames burned steady, untouched by breeze or time, their silence unnatural. Attendants drifted along those halls in near silence, their steps rehearsed, their gazes lowered.
The faint clink of silver trays, the hushed swish of robes, the soft scent of incense, all combined into a rhythm meant to soothe. Yet beneath that calm, tension hummed like a string stretched taut.
The weight of it pressed heavily on Sun as he strode through the halls. His boots struck stone in crisp, echoing beats, each step carrying the force of his agitation. His jaw was locked, his brow furrowed so deeply it seemed the scowl had etched itself into his face.
Jae. Always Jae.
The thought gnawed at him with every stride, sinking its teeth deeper no matter how he tried to shake it free.
At the academy, the name was spoken with awe. In the dining hall, in the practice grounds, even in whispered conversations Sun wasn’t meant to hear. Jae. His strength. His composure. His charm. Every word seemed dipped in admiration, as though the boy had already been anointed hero before the crown prince himself.
And the worst of it wasn’t even their praise. It was the way his own victories, hard-won, honed by discipline and sleepless nights, had begun to sound hollow in comparison. People applauded politely when he triumphed. They roared when Jae so much as lifted his blade.