"Yo..." a voice whispered. "Dude, wake up."

A young man lay sprawled across his desk, sleeping so peacefully that a tiny string of drool had escaped the corner of his mouth. Not exactly his proudest look.

A sharp elbow nudged his side.

"Mnhmmm..."

"You’ve got ten seconds, dude...!" his friend whispered again.

"...Shit. I warned you, man. Don’t complain to me later."

Footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Three... two... one..."

Bang!

The classroom door slammed open hard enough to make everyone turn at once.

Standing in the doorway was a beautiful girl wearing an icy glare. Her brows were tightly knit as her eyes swept across the entire classroom.

Then they locked onto the sleeping boy in the back.

The temperature of the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

She marched straight toward him.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Stopping beside his desk, she shot a razor-sharp glance at the boy sitting next to him.

"Does he sleep through class like this every day?" she asked coldly.

"H-Hieek! I-I don’t know!"

"Are you covering for him?"

The poor guy glanced at his peacefully unconscious friend.

Sorry, dude. Survival comes first.

"Y-Yes! He sleeps through lessons too!"

Hearing that, the girl slowly looked back at the culprit.

Then—

Bang!

Her palm slammed onto the desk.

The sleeping boy jolted upright instantly.

His vision was still blurry as he lifted his head, only to find himself staring at an incredibly beautiful girl...

...whose expression looked terrifying enough to send anyone to their grave.

A few seconds later.

Ah... fuck. I’m cooked.

The girl standing before him was none other than his childhood friend.

Miria Anjolie.

The school’s infamous Fierce Cold Princess.

She was also the current student council president, having won the election by an overwhelming landslide.

Simply put.

She was the number one student in the entire school.

"Liam."

Just hearing his name from her lips felt like someone had dropped a bag of bricks onto his shoulders.

"Y-Yeah? What are you doing here... Student Council President?"

Miria tilted her head.

A gentle smile appeared on her face as she closed her eyes.

For some reason, the classroom suddenly felt ten times darker.

"What am i doing? Oh! I was simply worried about my—"

She paused for half a second.

"—our school’s lowest-ranked student. If our academic standards drop because of you, I’ll be the one dealing with the consequences."

Liam could only stare at her.

Who would’ve thought...

The childhood friend who used to depend on him had grown into someone this cold... and this terrifying.

...I miss the way she used to say my name.

That was all Liam could think about.

Then he forced a grin.

"Oh, don’t worry about that, Prez. I’ve got everything under control. You can trust me."

Miria let out a quiet chuckle that practically screamed I don’t believe a word you just said.

"Really? Because your grades have been declining every semester. Is that what you call having things under control?"

Liam quietly looked away.

It wasn’t because he was lazy.

And it definitely wasn’t because he lacked ability.

Every day after school, he spent his time taking freelance illustration commissions or designing logos for clients.

Not because he enjoyed working himself to exhaustion.

Because he had to.

Liam was alone.

He lived in a tiny, cheap apartment, and the only thing he could truly rely on was his talent for drawing.

Back in middle school, Miria had insisted he apply to the same high school as her.

An elite academy.

He had agreed because he was convinced he’d fail the entrance exam anyway.

Somehow...

By what could only be described as a miracle—or a cosmic clerical error—he passed.

Now he had tuition to pay on top of rent and daily expenses.

So he worked twice as hard.

Stayed up nearly every night.

Then caught up on sleep during class.

That had become his daily routine.

And now...

His childhood friend was scolding him because of it.

"Come to the Student Council Office."

Miria folded her arms.

"Now."

"...Huh?"

"Was I unclear?"

"N-No!"

Liam hurried to his feet.

Miria turned around and walked out first.

Before following her, Liam glanced at the friend sitting beside him.

His friend slowly dragged a finger across his own neck.

"You’re dead, dude."

The gesture couldn’t have been clearer.

...Ah, fuck.

Liam reluctantly followed Miria through the hallway until they arrived in front of the Student Council Office.

She quietly opened the door.

The room inside was spotless.

Everything was perfectly organized.

Liam almost let out a "Whoa..."

"Come in."

Miria was organizing a stack of documents.

Once she finished, she turned to the boy standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Liam."

"Yeah?" Liam answered with an awkward smile.

"...You’re not eating instant ramen every single day, are you?"

Huh?

Liam blinked.

He had been fully prepared to receive the scolding of his life.

Instead...

She was asking if he’d been eating properly?

He scratched the back of his head.

"...Well... kinda."

For just a brief moment...

Genuine concern crossed Miria’s face.

It disappeared so quickly Liam almost thought he’d imagined it.

"...How are your finances? You’re doing okay... right?"

What’s with her?

This wasn’t how Liam expected the conversation to go.

"Oh, of course! You know I’m pretty good at drawing. I’ve been taking freelance jobs every day, so... yeah. I eat three meals a day."

Grrrrrr...

A painfully loud growl echoed through the office.

Miria slowly looked down at Liam’s stomach.

"...Haha."

An awkward silence settled between them.

One that refused to leave.

"Anyway!" Liam quickly changed the subject. "I’ll work harder on my grades. I’ve had a lot of clients lately, so my schedule’s been packed. But I’ll improve my time management. So don’t worry, Prez."

"Besides, even the teachers said my grades have been improving. They seemed pretty impressed... especially since they still catch me sleeping in class."

"Sooo..." Liam looked at her. "Umm... what are you doing?"

Miria had been quietly tapping and swiping on her phone the whole time.

"Liam."

She raised her eyes to meet his.

"Tell me honestly."

"Why won’t you depend on me?"

Depend on Miria...?

How was a guy supposed to rely on his childhood friend like that? My pride would probably evaporate on the spot.

Liam chose to stay silent.

"I see."

She lowered her head until her bangs hid her eyes.

"So you don’t want to answer."

Then, without warning—

She shoved her phone right in front of Liam’s face.

On the screen...

A pink spiral slowly spun in circles.

It looked exactly like one of those ridiculous hypnosis effects from the doujin manga Liam occasionally read.

...Wait.

Don’t tell me...

Is she actually trying to hypnotize me?!