The following day, Freya bided her time until English class, waiting for a moment when she and Tae-min were alone. Her nerves got the best of her as she spotted an empty seat beside him, her eyes darting around for any excuse not to sit. But when he gave her a playful smile, she couldn't help but grin back and eagerly took the seat next to him.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you." She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "There's something important I need your help with. Something no one else can know about."

Tae-min was wearing his black-rimmed glasses today, which he normally doesn't. They made him look sophisticated and kind of gorgeous, like a geek in a good way. Freya felt more at ease in his presence this way, like she could trust him more. He adjusted his glasses, intrigued. "Sure, what's up?"

Freya started, "You seem like you're an intelligent intellectual, so I don't know how much you know about Reese and his family, but..."

Tae-min cut in, "You want to know about their shady business deals?"

"You seem to know a lot about technology, and that means you have access to tons of information. I figured you might be able to help me out."

Tae-min, pondering for a moment, replied, "I can help. But I should warn you; it's not great. Why the sudden interest?"

"Because I received threats from both Reese and Nikki, and I want to get to the bottom of it," Freya whispered, her voice filled with desperation.

Tae-min expressed pity for her, not because she was a girl, but because she looked kind of cute when she asked for his help. Shaking his head, he pushed thoughts of Freya away. Nothing good could come from getting involved with his best friend's crush. "Listen, I want to help you, but I'm actually swamped. I'm one man down for the robotics club competition, and my robot is having a glitch. No one's been able to fix it."

Freya perked up. "A glitch? What kind?"

"It messes up whenever it navigates obstacles," Tae-min replied. "It just smashes into things instead of dodging them."

Freya didn't speak at first, thinking. "Huh, that's frustrating. Have you tried using a combination of ultrasonic and infrared sensors? It might improve its spatial awareness."

Tae-min's eyes widened, and his ears opened. "You really think that will work?"

Freya scoffed, pleased to show off her skills. "I mean, I used to take a robotics class back at my old school. Since I really liked that older kid's movie, Zathura, I learned a thing or two about fixing them."

"I'm impressed, Freya. I shouldn't have underestimated you," Tae-min admitted, catching Freya off guard.

"Wait a minute, you were testing me! You knew about my classes at my old school!" she blurted out. "Did you look me up?"

"Of course! I had to satisfy my curiosity about the first and only girl to attend our boys' school," Tae-min replied with a smirk. He then proposed a deal, "If you agree to be my partner in tomorrow's competition, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Deal!" Freya said, extending her hand to seal their agreement with a firm shake. As their hands met, a spine-chilling spark surged between them, almost as if the air around them was strengthened with unspoken secrets.

"You know," he said slowly, before class began, "there's more to you than what's on the surface. Are you ready for what's coming?"

Before long, Freya's mind became thick with fear, sensing tomorrow could unravel more than just a robotics competition.