The music was softer now, background noise to the hum of conversation and clinking glasses. Mira stood near the refreshment table, sipping from a glass of sparkling water when Yo Ri approached, her eyes gleaming with something less than friendly.
"Mira," Yo Ri began, her tone sweet but sharp, "are you still on those mental meds? Or did they finally admit you into an asylum?"
Mira didn't respond. She just looked at her, calm, unreadable.
Yo Ri smirked at the silence. "Oh come on, don't go all mute again. You always did have that little breakdown stare."
Before Mira could even move, another voice joined in a familiar one, one that scraped like old bruises.
"Well, well," the boy who used to bully Mira Hae Min back in school sauntered up beside Yo Ri. His grin was wide and mocking. "You really grew up, Mira. I mean, just look at you. You're an adult now. You probably need work, right?"
He leaned in a little too close, his words low and vile. "I can pay you really well. You just have to play with me.… at the office."
Yo Ri burst out laughing beside him, clearly enjoying the moment.
Across the garden, Ben (the boy from U.S)., a classmate who'd once tried to defend Mira, stepped forward instinctively but he didn't get the chance to intervene.
Because Ares was already there.
His presence was ice and steel.
He stepped in smoothly between Mira and the bully, his voice dangerously calm. "Maybe you need to play with me," Ares said, tone razor-sharp. "And I promise, after that, you'll never be able to play again."
The bully froze, his smirk faltering.
Ares's next words cut through the tension: "Stop torturing my girlfriend."
Gasps fluttered through the group.
Before anyone could recover, Ares grabbed Mira's hand gently, but firmly—and led her away, out of the centre of the crowd.
Silence followed them for a beat.
Then Ben approached So Ri, who was watching it all unfold with narrowed eyes and clenched fists.
"So," she said, crossing her arms, "you really came back. Honestly didn't think you'd show your face here again after what happened."
He gave a small smile, gaze following Mira and Ares. "I had to come. I came to take back something I think still belongs to me."
Then he looked straight at Mira, his voice softening. "How are you? You look…."
He hesitated. "You have a boyfriend now?"
Before anyone could speak, Mira cut in, her voice quiet, but clear.
"No. We just work together in the same office. Ares is.… we're kind of like friends."
Ares, standing a step behind her now, didn't say anything. His jaw tightened, but his gaze stayed on the boy.
The boy from the U.S. smiled gently at her words. "That's.… really good then. I'm glad."
But something in his expression said otherwise.
Later that night…
Ares stood near the garden's edge, arms folded, watching Mira speak with an old classmate.
Ben approached him slowly, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed but eyes serious.
"You care about her," Ben said.
Ares didn't answer immediately. "What gave it away?"
Ben chuckled lightly. "You don't threaten people for fun, I assume."
"She's not someone you get to mess with," Ares said simply, but his tone was final. "Not anymore."
Ben nodded, looking toward the moon. "Good. She deserves someone who can stand up for her. She's been alone for too long."
A moment later.
"You know," Ben added, quieter now, "back in school.… when the whole mess happened.… people assumed I transferred because of my mom's job. But that's not the truth."
Ares glanced at him, silently waiting.
So Ri joined them then, her voice low but sharp."You don't know the full story, do you, Ares?"
Ares frowned. "What story?"
"It was Hae Min and Yo Ri," So Ri said bitterly. "They made up something horrible and pinned it on Mira. Rumours, lies that would've destroyed her completely."
"She didn't even fight back," Ben said, his voice suddenly bitter. "Just took it. Like she believed she deserved it."
"But Ben didn't," So Ri continued. "He stepped in. Took the blame. Told the teachers it was him who did it even when he didn't. His mom was furious. She transferred him the next week to get him away from the scandal."
Ares's jaw clenched."She never told me."
"She wouldn't," Ben said with a tired smile. "She's always trying to carry her pain alone."
Ares looked toward where Mira stood, laughing faintly at something a classmate had just said.
"I'm not going to let her do that anymore," he said quietly. "Not if I can help it."
Ben's gaze lingered on Mira for a moment longer. Then he smiled not defeated, but accepting.
"Good," he said. "Then take care of her."
Ares didn't say anything. But his silence held a promise.