"D-Dorian?" Sayana was surprised and flustered when Dorian suddenly hugged her, making her mind go completely blank as her body became stiff as if she froze on the spot.
Still, with her head pressed against his firm chest, she could hear his strong heartbeat, which for some reason seemed pleasant to simply listen to, and the rhythm seemed quite hypnotic.
"My mother said that whenever someone feels sad, it's best to hug them and make them feel better," Viktor said as he warmly hugged her, though he felt that his feelings were going a bit out of control and had no idea how Umilia would react if she knew about it.
Sayana didn't expect that Dorian would try this hard to make her feel happy, but his gesture itself was enough to uplift her mood and put a soft smile on her lips.
She then gathered some courage and asked in a low voice, "Then…c-can I hug you too?"
"Why not..."
Sayana felt her heartbeat racing as she raised her hands and hugged him back as well, closing her eyes to relish in his warmth and the pleasant sense of comfort she was feeling.
"Are you feeling better now?" Viktor asked in a low voice.
Sayana nodded as she felt her mind getting clear and refreshed, "Mn."
"So you are not worried about what happened on the roof?" Viktor asked since he could feel that she was disturbed by what she almost did, and he knew she wouldn't be able to move forward unless she accepted the part of herself dormant within her.
Sayana remembered back to the moment when she suddenly felt an intense amount of anger and frustration pumping through her blood and making her think of thoughts she never thought she was capable of thinking, especially wanting to bash people's heads.
All she wanted was to vent her anger on those boys by beating them up while protecting Dorian at the same time.
"Did I…scare you?" Sayana asked anxiously since this was something that troubled her as well, wondering what Dorian would have thought when he saw her like that.
"Of course not. I felt that you were cool and strong. Who wouldn't want to be like that? Those bad guys deserved the lesson you taught them. If nobody disciplines them, then the world won't be a better place. Don't you think so?"
Dorian's words made Sayana's expression contemplative as she thought about how fists and violence could make the world a better place. She had learned martial arts as a way to defend herself and didn't expect that she would get more violent while using it.
But she felt that Dorian's words made sense about how going lenient on bad guys will only ruin the world further. If she had not beaten them up there, then something worse might have happened to her or Dorian, making her feel less bad about how things ended up. In fact, she was starting to feel glad that she stood up and fought back.
"But I don't know if they will cause trouble for us now that I beat them up. Don't worry. I will take full responsibility for what happened," Sayana said with full determination since she didn't want Dorian going down for something he was innocent of. She was only worried if this would affect Taya or her mother in some way.
Viktor smiled, feeling how cute she was, trying to protect him but also found it admirable since not every one of her age would be ready to take responsibility for things like these without hesitation.
"Don't worry about it. I don't think they will disturb us again since they must have gotten scared of you after you taught them a lesson. Besides…I won't ever let you take complete responsibility. My mother had taught me that I should always be there for my friends no matter what. So even if something happens, we will face it together. Okay?"
Sayana's eyebrows relaxed as she felt butterflies in her chest hearing his words, taken aback by how he was ready to share her troubles without any hesitation.
"Oh, somebody's here?" Suddenly the voice of a man echoed in the room as Sayana got off from Dorian's embrace like a startled cat, making Viktor subtly smile seeing her reaction.
Viktor already sensed that the college doctor was back, and Sayana went out to greet him, "Uhm…doctor, we couldn't find you, and my friend needed treatment, so I applied first aid myself."
The doctor was a sixty-year-old man with a gray beard and mustache who smiled with an astonished look, "Wow, you already helped your friend out? That's impressive, even if it was just a small injury, it seems. Do you want me to take a look, just to be safe?" The doctor asked Dorian.
Viktor was about to say there was no need, but Sayana suddenly looked at him and was beseeching him with her eyes, making him feel like giving in to her and saying, "Okay. As long as it will put my friend at ease."
—-
It was around 8:30 PM when Umilia came out of her cafe shop and started walking back home. As she walked into a smaller street that was dark and quiet without anyone walking around, a certain figure wearing a hoodie began to follow her from behind.
He had his hands in his pocket and his head lowered, though his gaze was strongly fixed on Umilia's shapely back.
Umilia, who had already taken notice of this man stalking behind her, frowned as she felt that this man was courting death.
But instead of turning around, she continued to walk at her normal pace, trying to search for a desolate narrow street where she could find out who he was before taking care of him.
She didn't have to search long as she walked into a narrow, dirty street and turned around with crossed arms as she waited for the man to show himself.
And as expected, when the man walked in, he suddenly froze his steps, seeing that Umilia was prepared to face him astonishingly.
