A bright morning, the sun shone brightly but didn't feel hot, and the air was cool. Droplets of water dripped from the rooftops, and puddles were everywhere.

That peaceful atmosphere made everyone look happy and calm. However, there was one person who wasn’t enjoying it.

"Ugh, this sun is so bright!" Aswa covered his face with his hand to block the sunlight.

Aswa walked to school alongside other students. Unlike the others, he looked unmotivated.

"Hoaaahhh..." He let out a long yawn, his eyes still drowsy.

Aswa spotted a public minibus (angkot) filled with students from his school.

"Come on! This is a first-day promo! That means it's free this time! Just for today! Hop in!" shouted a man who looked like the bus conductor.

The sign on the minibus read "MERUYA SELATAN."

Seeing this, Aswa grinned. "Free? Hehe... Sounds good." He walked toward the minibus.

"You wanna ride too, kid? Alright, hop in! Come on, come on! Anyone else?" the conductor called out.

Inside, there were already ten students. "Alright, looks like we’re full. Let’s go now!" said the driver.

The minibus started moving. Within minutes, Aswa had already dozed off, resting his head against the seat.

Unlike Aswa, the other students seemed excited, chatting enthusiastically with each other.

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"Are you a first-year too?" one female student asked.

"Yeah, I’m a first-year," another girl replied.

"Oh, you too? That makes us the same," another student joined in.

"Looks like we’re all first-years here."

Then, a male student raised his hand. "I'm a second-year student."

The atmosphere fell silent as everyone turned to look at him—except Aswa, who was still asleep.

"Wah!! That means you're our senior?!" a girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, but don’t worry. I’m not one of those delinquent troublemakers," the second-year student assured them.

The students sighed in relief.

"Speaking of delinquents, ever since that fight, this school has been a lot more peaceful, right?" the first girl said.

"Yeah! Serves them right for getting beaten up," another student added.

"They must be ashamed. Getting taken down by just one person..."

"HAHA!" The students laughed.

"Wait... Do you guys even know who defeated them? That guy was insane. His strength was unreal!"

They all fell silent and shook their heads.

"I know who he is," the second-year student said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Eh, really?! Who is he?"

"He’s... my friend," the second-year student said.

Their jaws dropped. "Ehh!!"

"So he's your friend, Senior?! That’s so cool! Doesn’t that mean you should be respected at our school too?"

"Senior, please give me your number!" The students scrambled to take out their phones.

"Haha, relax, one at a time." The second-year student grinned, clearly enjoying the attention.

The girls eagerly fought over his contact information—except for one girl.

She didn’t seem interested in the conversation at all. Instead, she looked out the window.

"Eh!!" she gasped in her mind.

—Meanwhile, at Meruya Selatan High School, in a different first-year class from Aswa’s—

Everything felt like a normal school day. There was no violence or bullying, just students chatting and joking around.

"Good morning!" a girl greeted cheerfully.

"Morning," replied another girl sitting down, scrolling on her phone.

"Hmm... I don’t see your friend. Where is he?" the first girl asked.

"Oh, he’s on his way. He said he took a free minibus that’s doing a promo... Oh, and he also said he got the number of the guy who beat up the seniors yesterday," Rika replied.

"Whoa, wouldn’t that be really useful?"

"Yeah!..."

—TO BE CONTINUED—