You Are In My Town

He’s the guy Vero met on her birthday. She was so sure about it. Vero would never forget that face anywhere. A handsome young man with a distant, cold impression, his pale face was so easy for Vero to recognize.

As soon as she saw him, two things happened simultaneously within her.

Her memory of the young man covered in blood in the hotel room gave her chills. Then an unstoppable curiosity welled up within her.

How could he be here when Vero had to hide and leave her life because she thought he was dead?

With no hesitation, Vero stood up from the chair. The sound of her chair creaking caught the attention of her new friends. They stopped chatting and followed Vero with their gazes while she walked towards Lev’s table.

“You,” Vero said as soon as she arrived in front of Lev’s desk. She stood straight and folded her arms in front of her chest. “How could you be here?”

Lev, who was sitting facing to the side, listening to his friends chatting, glanced at Vero with an expressionless face.

Now everyone in the class focused their attention on Vero and Lev. Nobody talks or plays on the phone anymore. Even students who were walking down the hall outside the classroom stopped and looked through the windows to see what was going on.

All that attention didn’t make Vero falter. She was used to being the center of attention. The most important thing now is to get the truth from the young man named Lev.

“Did you prank me? You know it was my birthday, so you-“

Lev raised his hand, telling Vero to be quiet. Vero’s breath stopped at her half-opened mouth, which was ready to bombard Lev with various questions.

“Who are you?” asked Lev, in a nonchalant tone. He tilted his head to the other side but did not change his sitting position.

The question, and the way Lev said it, made Vero feel humiliated.

She didn’t want to be humiliated like that in public. Especially after Lev messed up with her birthday and forces her to move to this remote town.

Vero smashed the table with one hand. Its voice was so loud in the middle of the silence that now surrounds the class. Her palm throbbed and felt hot from the impact.

“Don’t mess with me,” Vero hissed as she leaned forward, passed half the table, and brought her face closer to Lev. Her eyes narrowed with hatred. “In case you forget, I’ll refresh your memory,” she gave him a cynical smile, then continued, “We met at The Queen’s Secret Palace and left the club together. That night, we were supposed to spend the night enjoying ourselves, you said, in the hotel room, but you—” Vero stopped.

The image of blood that flooded Lev’s body and her own made her sick. As if it had just happened, Vero could almost smell the blood in the air.

When Vero felt nauseous from the terrible memory, Lev turned his body and now they were facing each other. Vero hated the way Lev leaned his back casually against the back of the chair and one hand stretched out on the table. He tapped his forefinger on the table and momentarily averted his eyes.

A small, mocking grin appeared on his face. His canines were shiny and sharp and reminded Vero of something. But right now, she couldn’t think of anything other than her pride and her desire for answers.

When Lev looked back at her, the scornful expression was gone. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Are you new here?”

Vero flinched at the question. “It has nothing to do with our situation right now.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“And you didn’t answer my question either.”

Lev lifted his chin. “Let me tell you something,” he said. “No one in this place dares to talk to me unless I start it, let alone bang on my desk and make cheap accusations without proof.”

Proof. Vero has proof.

“Thank you for bringing up the matter of proof,” said Vero in a satisfied tone. “I will present the proof to you, Your Highness. And when that happens, you must kneel before me and apologize.”

“Sure,” Lev said with a pout.

The debate had to end because the lecturer entered the class. All students returned to their seats, as well as Vero.

Before returning to her seat, she gave Lev a warning glare, which Lev returned with dim eyes of indifference.

*

Because she was too busy with her own thoughts, Vero didn’t notice the change in the behavior of her new friends. They fell silent and glared at Vero as she returned to her seat.

Vero’s daring action just now makes the girls, especially Lev’s fans, feel disturbed. They couldn’t leave Vero alone.

*

Of course, Lev didn’t know that Vero took a photo of him covered in blood and sent the photo to her friend. He must have thought that she had nothing against his evasion.

It’s a shame that campus regulations forbid Vero from carrying a cell phone during lectures, so she left it in the dorm. Vero could only return to the dorm at lunchtime.

She rushed towards the dorm and went up to the fourth floor via the elevator. When the elevator door opened, Vero was busy looking for the room key in her bag, so she didn’t know someone was waiting for her in front of her room.

When Vero looked up, she was so surprised to see someone other than herself there that she dropped the key.

“You? What are you doing here?” Vero asked Lev.

Lev stood leaning against the wall, next to Vero’s bedroom door. “You got a room with a good view,” said Lev, nonchalantly. “Congratulations.”

Vero crouched down to pick up the key, then she stood up and held the key in Lev’s face. “You know me!” she hissed. “You know me, but you play dumb in front of everyone!”

Lev got rid of Vero’s hand from his face by nuzzling it aside, using the tips of his long, icy fingers. “Unlike you, who easily reveal personal disgrace, I have a good name to protect,” he said.

Vero didn’t like Lev’s easy-going and nonchalant impression, as well as his extraordinary self-control, which made her look like a mass of emotional outbursts in front of him.

“Now tell me. What happened then?” asked Vero. Her neck and shoulders tensed as she asked. “I saw you die! You were covered in blood!”

“I have no obligation to tell you,” said Lev.

“Then what did you come here for? Do you want to silence me? Are you afraid that I will reveal evidence that will make you couldn’t evade and damage your reputation?” Vero gave as much ridicule as she said the word ‘good name’.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Lev said, firmly. He pulled away from the wall and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “I just don’t like it when there are pesky flies around me.”

“I’m not a pesky fly-“

“Listen,” Lev interrupted. “If you want to live peacefully in this place, you must forget about that incident. Never discuss it with anyone and have no desire to seek answers about it.”

“You think I’m afraid of you?” Vero replied. She snorted with a mocking smile. Vero folded her arms across her chest and looked out the window at the end of the hall. “No one can get away from me after they dare to threaten me.”

“It’s your call,” Lev said. He walked away and stopped after a few steps, then looked over his shoulder. “Maybe you are something back in your hometown. But now you are in my town.” One corner of his lips moved up. “I warned you. Don’t blame me if anything happens to you.”