The morning sun brought no relief from the confusion of the previous night. Bomi sat at her desk, staring blankly at the chalkboard while the teacher’s voice droned on in the background. Her fingers traced the edge of her notebook, but her mind was entirely stuck in that dark, narrow alleyway. She kept looking across the aisle at Tani. He was perfectly back to normal. He was currently chewing lightly on the end of his eraser, entirely focused on sketching a tiny, intricate flower in the margin of his notebook. His shoulders were softly slumped, and his face held that signature, untroubled innocence that she had spent her whole life protecting. *What on earth was that?* Bomi thought, a hot blush creeping up her neck just remembering the heavy, possessive weight of his hand on her breast. *There’s no way Tani could do that. He doesn’t even look at the girls in our class when they wear shorter skirts. He literally looks away out of politeness.* Her mind raced back to her wild theory. Possession. It had to be. A succubus or an incubus—some kind of entity that was the exact opposite of Tani’s pure soul, using his body to satisfy its own ravenous, physical desires. The thought made her shiver, a strange, dizzying mixture of fear and a dangerous, unspoken thrill pooling deep in her stomach. When the bell finally rang for lunch, Tani turned to her, his eyes bright and sweet. “Bomi-ah, do you want to eat on the roof today? The weather is really nice.” “Ah… yeah, let’s go,” Bomi said, shaking herself out of her trance. She gave him her usual bright, playful smile, determined to act like nothing was wrong. “But you’re buying the strawberry milk today!” “Okay,” Tani chuckled softly, his cheeks dimpling. “I’ll buy it.” --- They sat on the concrete bench of the rooftop garden, the gentle breeze rustling Tani’s soft hair. Bomi reached out instinctively, her fingers weaving through the dark strands, gently pulling them away from his eyes. “You really need a haircut, Tani,” she teased, though her heart gave a strange, erratic thud as she remembered how Kage had looked at her through these exact same eyes. Tani leaned his head into her palm, closing his eyes contentedly. “If I cut it, you won’t have anything to play with.” Bomi froze for a fraction of a second. It was such an innocent comment, completely genuine, but in the wake of last night, it felt loaded. Before she could reply, the heavy metal door to the rooftop creaked open. Two girls from their class walked out, holding their lunch boxes. When they saw Bomi and Tani, they stopped, whispering to each other before walking over with mischievous grins. “Wow, you two are always together,” one of the girls, Hana, said, leaning against the railing. “Seriously, aren’t you guys sick of each other yet? You’ve been glued at the hip since kindergarten.” “We’re best friends,” Tani answered simply, offering a polite, shy smile. “Just friends?” the other girl giggled, looking between them. “Come on, Tani. Bomi is really pretty, and… well, she’s got a great figure. You really don’t see her as a girl at all? Are you a robot?” Tani blinked, looking genuinely perplexed. He looked at Bomi, his gaze entirely pure, like he was looking at a cherished family member. “Bomi is just Bomi. She’s the most important person to me, but… we don’t do things like romance. That would be weird.” The girls laughed, teasing him for being so dense before walking away to the other side of the roof. Bomi forced a laugh, turning her head away to sip her milk. A strange, bitter pang hit her chest. *’That would be weird.’* He really didn’t see her that way. To Tani, their friendship was a sacred, untouchable box. But deep within the dark, suffocating corners of Tani’s subconscious, someone else was listening. *A robot?* Kage’s voice snarled in the dark, his rage simmering. *An untouchable friendship? You pathetic, blind fool. You’re holding her back. You’re holding ME back.* The emotional sting Bomi felt, combined with the sudden, intense frustration brewing inside Tani’s own mind about his inability to understand the world like others did, began to thin the barrier once again. The stress of the girls’ teasing and Tani’s internal confusion became a volatile catalyst. --- “Bomi?” Tani suddenly gasped, clutching his chest. His lunchbox slipped from his hands, clattering onto the concrete. “Tani! What’s wrong?” Bomi instantly dropped her milk, leaning forward to grab his shoulders. Tani’s breath became ragged, his eyes rolling back slightly as a violent shiver racked his frame. “My head… it hurts so bad, Bomi—” Then, the shivering stopped. The soft, vulnerable posture evaporated in an instant. The boy sitting in front of her straightened his spine, his shoulders broadening as a terrifyingly dominant aura washed over the rooftop space. When he lifted his head, the innocent, confused boy was gone. Kage smirked, his dark eyes instantly fixing onto Bomi’s face before slowly, deliberately traveling down to the tight fabric of her school blouse, tracking the heavy contour of her breasts. “He’s so boring, isn’t he?” Kage rasped, his voice smooth, hot, and entirely dripping with a wicked, seductive confidence. Bomi gasped, backing up against the concrete bench. “You… you’re back.” “I never left,” Kage whispered, leaning forward with lightning-fast reflexes. He caught her by the waist, pulling her flush against his chest. The sheer physical contrast was dizzying—he felt incredibly strong, unyielding, and completely driven by a dark, obsessive urge. “He thinks romance is weird,” Kage muttered, his hand sliding up her back, pressing her tighter against him so she could feel the heat radiating from his body. “But I don’t. I’ve watched you grow up through his eyes, Bomi. I know how much you want to be looked at like a woman. And I want nothing more than to break you open.” He leaned down, his lips brushing against the sensitive skin of her neck, sending a violent shockwave of pure desire straight through her.

Shifting Tides