Chapter 28

Dori lets out a short, incredulous breath, almost a scoff. “I should ask you that.”

His gaze flicks past Isamu, straight to Yuki, and his hand lifts, pointing at her. “Because that’s my f*cking girlfriend. So, what the f*ck were you doing alone here with her, huh? Holding her like that.”

Isamu’s eyes flick over his shoulder to Yuki. She stands there frozen, color drained from her face, but her eyes are on him. Wide, glassy, and pleading.

The look hits Isamu square in the chest, and his jaw tightens as he turns back to Dori.

“She’s not your girlfriend,” he snaps, eyes burning now. “And looks a hell of a lot like you’ve been bothering her.”

Dori’s mouth twitches.

Isamu doesn’t give him time to speak.

“Besides,” he adds, “I heard some shit about you. That you killed someone. That true?”

For a split second, Dori’s face darkens.

It’s subtle but unmistakable―the flicker of something cold and ugly crossing his eyes, his jaw tightening like he’s been caught off guard.

Then he laughs, slow and dripping with mockery. “The f*ck you on about? Who told you that nonsense?” he sneers, tilting his head.

But the amusement dies as quickly as it came. His gaze snaps back to Yuki.

“Come on, babe. Let’s go,” he says as he reaches for her arm, but Isamu’s grip clamps down on his wrist before he can touch her.

Dori’s eyes flicker with irritation and a vein of impatience tightens in his jaw. He pulls his arm back violently, his face twisting into a sneer of disgust.

“Don’t f*cking touch me,” he hisses.

Isamu doesn’t blink.

“I’m calling the police,” he says. “Because she’s clearly scared of you. Look at her. She’s shaking, she can’t even breathe right.”

He takes a half-step forward, deliberately placing himself more firmly between them.

“And because people are saying things about you. Serious things. And I’m not going to gamble on whether those things are true.”

He brings his phone up, thumb already moving to dial.

But he doesn’t even make it past the first tap.

Dori suddenly lunges.

He snatches the phone straight out of Isamu’s hand with brutal force, and in the same motion, his fist connects with Isamu’s face. The impact is sharp and sudden―a crack of knuckles against bone.

Isamu staggers, the world tilting violently, and he goes down hard, back hitting first, then his head snapping against the ground. The metallic taste of blood washes across his tongue.

“Isamu!” Yuki screams.

Without thinking, she drops to her knees beside him, her hands trembling violently as she reaches for him.

Her fingers brush against his bloodied jaw and the back of his head. She cradles his head against her chest, holding him protectively as if her body alone could shield him.

Then her eyes flick up toward Dori, wide with fear, anger, and defiance.

“You’re insane,” she spits out, her voice cracking a bit.

But Dori doesn’t even glance at her. He’s focused entirely on Isamu’s phone, scrolling through it quickly.

When he finds what he’s looking for, a slow, cruel smirk spreads across his face.

It’s the video of Mei and the principal. His eyes narrow with satisfaction as he taps the screen, and in an instant, the file is gone. Deleted completely.

When he looks up and sees Yuki cradling Isamu’s head against her chest, a flicker of something dark and tense crosses his face.

The sight gnaws at him.

He notices the way her hands shake as they support him, the careful way she brushes hair from his forehead, and the worry etched into every line of her face.

A jolt of possessive anger and jealousy surges through him, twisting in his chest. He feels an almost physical ache, frustration and longing, that the closeness, the care, the tenderness he craves from her is being given to someone else.

For a moment, the heat of it flares, threatening to spill over, but he clamps it down.

His eyes narrow, and his jaw tightens as he forces the smirk back onto his face, sharper now, colder.

He scrolls through Isamu’s contacts with a quiet confidence until he finds Mei’s number.

He calls her.

The line rings, and rings, and rings, each tone stretching longer than the last. He tilts his head, his smirk lingering.

Isamu groans softly, trying to shift slightly despite the pain, and his eyes narrow as he catches Dori’s movements.

“What.. are you doing?” he rasps. “Who are you calling..?”

That’s when the line clicks.

Dori’s smirk sharpens again. He slowly lifts the phone to his ear. “Hey Mei,” he says, his voice dripping with amusement. “It’s me. Dori.”

A pause, then his tone turns mocking, venomous. “I just deleted that little nasty video of you and the principal from Isamu’s phone.”

Isamu’s eyes go wide, terror flooding his face. His chest rises and falls in shallow, panicked gasps, each breath shaky as if he can’t quite catch it.

“N-No.. No, you didn’t..” he manages, his voice raw and half-choked.

“Mhmm,” Dori continues slowly, “So you can tell your daddy now.. take your revenge. He can’t stop you anymore.”

Isamu flinches, a strangled sound escaping him, while Yuki’s grip on him tightens, her hands shaking as she glares at Dori.

On the other end of the line, Mei’s voice is low. “F*ck off. I don’t believe you. This is probably a setup. I mean, why the f*ck would you even help me?”

“Ah, no. You’ve got it wrong,” Dori says, his tone flattening into something almost bored.

“I’m not helping you. I did it because it suited me. Isamu here is a problem in my way too. Anyway, if you won’t make the call, I will do it myself. But here’s the thing.. your dad won’t believe me instantly the way he’ll believe you. And every second that takes, will give the police a chance to get involved first, and if they do, Isamu could slip right out of his hands. He will.“

Yuki’s voice cracks as she screams, “Stop it!” She lunges toward him, hands reaching for the phone, but Dori shoves her back.

She loses her balance, crashing to the floor with a thud.

“Are you okay with him just being.. handled by the system?” he continues, as if nothing happened.

“He’s seventeen, so the court might treat him like a kid, he could get leniency, he could be shuffled into juvenile facilities and walked out in a few years. Is that.. enough for you? Enough for someone who paralyzed you, who almost killed you, to get off lightly like that?”

There’s a long, loaded silence on the other end of the line. Mei doesn’t answer, her voice gone completely.

It’s clear she’s thinking, weighing the words..

Before anyone can process it, Yuki screams again, furious and desperate, “I have the video! I have many backups! I swear, if you do something, I will leak it!”

Dori actually chuckles. Slow, amused, and a little too calm. “Don’t worry, Mei. She’s lying. She only had that clip on her phone, but I got rid of it.” 

Yuki snaps, “I do have it!”, and scrabbles into her bag, fingers fumbling as she pulls her phone out.

She frantically opens the gallery, thumbs flying over the screen, checking albums, searching recent files, then the ‘recently deleted’ folder.

Nothing.

Her frown deepens, and her breath comes faster.

Dori chuckles. “Doesn’t seem like you do..”

Yuki glares at him, wide-eyed and tense. She mutters under her breath, “Y-You.. bastard.”

Dori ignores her, his voice calm as he continues the call with Mei. “Anyway, we’re in the first study room on the second floor. I would hurry if I were you, Mei. This is your only chance to get back at Isamu..”

He doesn’t wait for a response; his thumb taps the screen, ending the call.

Yuki turns to Isamu, her face draining as she takes in the sheer terror in his eyes.

He’s breathing too fast, hands trembling as he mutters, “I-I have to go.. I have to get out of here,” and forces himself up despite the way his body wobbles beneath him.

He staggers toward the door, desperation driving him forward, but he barely takes a step before Dori’s foot slams into his stomach. Isamu’s breath leaves him in a sharp gasp as he folds and crashes right back down to the floor.

Yuki screams his name, lunging toward him. “Stop it!” she yells at Dori, her hands shaking as she protectively pulls Isamu closer to her.

Dori’s jaw tightens, and his smirk falters for a moment as he watches her clutch Isamu like that again.

Then, footsteps are heard in hallway, fast and uneven, followed by a familiar voice: “Where the shrimp did that white boorger go?”

Dori’s eyes snap to the door. He moves instantly, sliding it shut and yanking a chair beneath the handle, blocking any chance of someone barging in.

The moment his back is turned, Yuki fumbles for her phone, dialing the police with shaking fingers. But Dori’s head snaps back, his eyes catching the glow of the screen.

In a blur, he lunges at her, slamming his foot into her hands. Yuki lets out a startled squeal as the phone is ripped from her grip and smashes against the wall.

Dori looks down at the phone in his hand when the screen lights up with Mei’s message: “I just told my dad. His men are coming rn.”

A slow, cold smirk curls on his lips, his grip tightening around the device.

Then he hears it―heavy, multiple footsteps thundering down the hallway. A deep, commanding voice cuts through the noise: “Out of the way!” followed by Worman shouting from behind, “Hey!”

The sound makes it unmistakable.

They’re Mr. Hanekawa’s men.

Ever since the incident, they’d been scouring the school, questioning students and piecing together any trace of what had happened. And with Mei tipping off her father, Isamu had become their clear target.

Dori moves without hesitation. He yanks the chair away, steps back, and the door swings open.

The men shove in, rough hands closing on Isamu; he screams, panicked and raw, “No! Please! Help! Call the police!”

Yuki lunges to stop them but is shoved aside as they wrench Isamu to his feet and begin dragging him toward the hallway.

He kicks and claws at their grips, tears cutting tracks down his face as he keeps shouting for help.

“Please! They’ll kill me! I don’t wanna die! Y-Yuki!”

Yuki runs after them, trying to intervene, but Dori steps in front of her, blocking her path with an almost casual menace.

From the hall, Worman calls out, stunned, “What’s going on?!” Yuki’s voice breaks as she screams, “Stop them! They’re kidnapping him!”

Worman’s eyes widen, his heart hammering, and without hesitation, he sprints down the hallway after them, pulling out his phone as he runs. But at the same time, the school bell rings, shrill and deafening, and the corridor floods with students rushing to their next class.

Bodies bump and shove against him, backpacks swinging, voices shouting in chaos, making it nearly impossible to push forward. He weaves through the crowd, phone in one hand as his fingers fumble over the screen, trying to call for backup.

Yuki surges forward, trying to push past him again, but Dori’s hand snaps out and grabs her arm before she can slip by.

“Let me go!” she yells, twisting and pulling, but he doesn’t release her.

Acting on instinct, Yuki jerks her arm closer and bites down hard on his hand.

Dori hisses in pain, his grip loosening instantly. That’s all she needs.

She wrenches her arm free and bolts past him, shoving the door open and stumbling away before he can grab her again.

Adrenaline courses through her veins as she sprints down the hallway, following the path the men had taken with Isamu. Her breaths come in sharp, panicked gasps as she rounds corners, nearly tripping over her own feet, desperate to catch up.

Outside, she spots Worman pacing back and forth. Without thinking, she darts toward him. “Where is Isamu?!” she cries, her voice raw with fear.

Worman lets out a long, tense sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know exactly.. they moved too fast. By the time I got outside, they were already gone. It all happened so quickly.”

He pauses, rubbing the back of his neck, the weight of the situation pressing down on him.

His gaze falls on Yuki, trembling and wide-eyed. “Hey, don’t worry,” he says softly. “The police have been notified, and they know they’re Mr. Hanekawa’s men, so that gives them a solid lead.”

He reaches out, placing a steady hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “They’ll find him,” he says firmly, locking eyes with her.

“He’s strong, and the police have enough to track these guys down. You just stay calm for now, okay? He’s going to be alright.”

Suddenly, a low, mocking laugh cuts through the moment. Yuki freezes, and Worman’s hand tenses on her shoulder.

“I doubt it,” Dori drawls, stepping into view. “Even if they catch up.. I wouldn’t be so sure he makes it out alive.”

He tilts his head, his eyes glinting with menace as he watches Yuki flinch, savoring the fear he’s stirred.

A teacher leans in through the open door, frowning at the three of them. “Bell rang! Move it!” she snaps.
 
○○○
 
After school, the campus is buzzing with students heading home.

Dori stands a little distance away from the main paths, beneath the shade of a large tree beside the school building.

From there, he watches without being noticed, his phone pressed to his ear.

“Tanaka,” he murmurs, and his eyes narrow. “I want you to check something about your detective again..”

The noise around him fades from his awareness, his jaw tightening as his expression slowly hardens.
  
 
TO BE CONTINUED...