79 Confession

Returning to his classroom, Hayden sat there in deep contemplation. A few seconds later, Hayden turned his head to Faye, who was staring at him.

The second the two's eyes met, Faye's countenance expeditiously blushed, scrambling for the book sprawled on her desk. Consequently, Hayden acted confused and inquired, "Um… Is there something on my face?"

"N-no, nothing…" Faye slightly pouted her lips and looked the opposite direction of Hayden. Meekly, she followed up, "Don't forget that we'll meet in the garden later."

"Yeah… Okay…" Hayden squinted his eyes, returning back to his thinking. Planning things over, Hayden put his hands inside his bag and took out a tablet alongside a drawing stylus from his essentials Space Ring.

"I guess I should do it as early as I can." Hayden deep breathed deeply and cracked his knuckles, activating his Divine Perception in the process. 'Oh yeah, I should probably get a new Space Ring for my hobbies… And I got to get rid of that stupid corpse.'

Launching the paint tool, the first one he was going to draw was the oldest member, Aiko. Through Divine Perception, Hayden didn't need to lay down the typical outlines that an artist does when sketching a face, instead, for efficiency, Hayden drew the shape of Aiko's face from memory and the features of her face.

It's not like anything could go wrong with his Divine Perception. Plus, this was a digital drawing, he can easily erase things if he did make a mistake.

Within the matter of a minute, Hayden has seamlessly sketched Aiko's face in 2D digital painting style. The sketch itself can exclusively be described as elegant and already pretty lifelike, an astonishing feat in itself.

Pressing on the color palette wheel, Hayden started to color in, becoming absorbed in his work. Regardless, Hayden didn't let his sense of surrounding get lost as that would be too dangerous. He had some kind of feeling that there was danger approaching.

That was how he noticed Faye watching him work with unconcealed amazement contained in her eyes. Hayden didn't care as it was no secret that his artistic skills were good.

Slowly, his classmates noticed him working. With intrigue, they approached Hayden. Those that didn't have that much knowledge on arts were impressed while those that were knowledgeable had contorted expressions.

They were questioning what kind of art style Hayden was using, simply coloring in things without a care. That was the absurd thing, Hayden seemed to be carelessly coloring, yet the painting came to life every stroke of a stylus.

What appeared to be an initially 2D digital painting became a 3D digital render. It was nothing short of amazing. This made them go insane as most of them had to put in painstaking amounts of effort to produce a singular great painting.

"I knew it! She did look familiar." One of the non-VERSE classmate of them had an expression of enlightenment.

One by one, they were enchanted of Hayden's graceful, albeit outrageous, drawing style. They were enchanted of Hayden's incredibly detailed 2D digital painting that was akin to a 3D digital painting. A few minutes later, Hayden finished Aiko's detailed painting, in which she was wearing an elegant white flower crown and had her head tilted a wee bit to the side as she grinned.

Stretching his neck, Hayden saved the artwork and moved on to another canvas, disregarding the existences of his classmates watching him. After all, he was used to them gaping at his feats for the past six months. From him playing basketball, to his piano playing, and to his dancing, they all were always watching him with those kind of eyes.

At first, Hayden was kind of irked from being in the limelight, but he got used to it quite fast. He stoically accepted it as training for his life as a celebrity. In fact, many women were always in the gymnasium during their practice for basketball, though Hayden was annoyed by their incessant screaming every time he made a move.

Anyhow, if Hayden was to become a celebrity, he'd have to get used to this attention as it would be more intense when he stepped in the big leagues. Moving on, Hayden began to sketch the second oldest on CHORUS, Mi-sun.

For a few minutes, the crowd surrounding him continuously left and returned, fascinated of Hayden's 2D '3D digital depictions' of the CHORUS members. Some of them who had no previous interest on CHORUS were astounded of the faces that Hayden drew.

In spite of them seeing CHORUS from time to time as a leading girl group, they had never paid attention to them.

With that, this 30 minutes of Hayden was occupied with him being watched whilst painting, and him finishing five paintings in total. It was an impressive feat that made those who witnessed this depressed. Specifically, the artists.

What kind of a monstrous existence was Hayden to do all that in a short timeframe of 30 minutes? He can literally cause people to lose jobs with his skills!

In addition to his intricate drawings style, his grasp of the depth perception and sense of lighting was mind-blowing. Imagine easily turning a 2D sketch into a nonsensically detailed 3D drawing?

These made all of them to recall back the times Hayden presented his artworks. They couldn't help but think 'Was that Hayden going easy?'

Nevertheless, as smart people, they opted to not compare themselves to Hayden. Hayden was too much of a genius in all kinds of fields that they didn't want to contrast themselves beside him.

I mean, can you blame them? A basketball prodigy, good pianist, a hegemon in War of Honor, extremely attractive, and, now, a genius artist? Who the hell in their right mind would want to compete with such a monster?

Thereupon, the class of 3-8 spent four hours without being able to remove Hayden from their minds. Especially Faye, who was Hayden's seatmate. As of this moment, she was cursing and chiding herself as to why she had to sit beside Hayden.

She couldn't focus at all in class due to the aura that Hayden was emitting. His charm was too distracting that it affected people from the far side of the room and the teacher herself, what more Faye, who was the closest to Hayden.

'Uh…' Faye internally groaned, her pupils shifting sideways from time to time. Recollecting on the night that Hayden ran out on her, she chided, 'Just where the hell did he go that night? If my confession was answered, I wouldn't be this bothered!'

It was not only in the present that she was this distracted. For the entirety of her Christmas vacation, she was deliberating on this Hayden fiasco and whether she should message him or not. This resulted in her not enjoying her vacation whatsoever, to the point that she suffered insomnia.

'However, right now…' Faye slowly rotated her head to eye Hayden. It was one of those moments where she was genuinely engrossed by Hayden. 'I wish he likes me back…'

In a while, she regained her sense of self and listened in on the lecture forcefully. She didn't think that Hayden detected this little act of hers, he just overlooked it.

He was preoccupied of articulating his emotions into a letter. It was frustrating for him as he couldn't find the right combination of expressions to sound friendly and a fan at the same time.

'Wait…' Hayden thought back to the time he was backed by them in the camp. 'Chung-hee also helped me back in South Korea… Okay… I can express my gratitude… I'm good at expressing gratitude.'

On that note, the gears within Hayden's mind finally functioned in writing a letter. He immediately felt his shoulder lighten as if a heavy burden was lifted on it. Needless to say, externally, Hayden didn't display any of this relief, putting on a façade of utter focus.

Like that, the hours flew by. By the end of the classes, Hayden has produced a short letter of appreciation in his mind. The letter consisted of his thankfulness that their music brought him during his un-awakened days, allowing him to pass the days with minimal sadness. Back in the days, he considered them the light on a cloudy day.

As for his letter to Eun-ha, that was more personal as she was his girlfriend. The boundless sense of indebtedness that he had for Eun-ha was indescribable.

Packing up his bags, Hayden was about to exit to go to the gardens when his phone vibrated. Pulling it out from his right pocket, Hayden's eyes widened as it was from the seller of the land from Quezon City.

Without delaying, Hayden opened his Chatbox and glossed through the message in a nanosecond. In essence, it was an apology for not replying earlier and that there was a buyer other than him offering a large amount of money for the plot.

The last words of the message deeply unsettled Hayden. 'Please meet me at the Itim na Bituin (Black Star) in Grande Mall later at 8:00 PM. I urgently request it.'

As it was a message, Hayden didn't know how to process the tone of it. He had an awful premonition of this message. However, can he let go such a remarkable plot of land simply because of a message? No. Besides, he wasn't even certain. As there was no use dwelling on it, Hayden chose to ignore it.

Mulling something for a second, Hayden fished his earphones and called Eun-ha up, who was on the beaches of Palawan as part of their shooting. It was their first time in the Philippines, and it was a given that during their first times in a country, they'd vlog their trip for uploading in Streamlink.

Hayden walked to the elevators and dialed Eun-ha simultaneously. Shortly, the phone was answered and a sweet flowery voice reverberated in his ears. "Hey, you. Why did you call honey?"

"Can't I want to check in on my girlfriend?" Hayden talked in Korean so that the crowd wouldn't understand his and Eun-ha's conversation.

Well, that still didn't stop from attracting unwanted attention, did it? Hence, Hayden spoke silently to diminish the people who can hear.

Eun-ha chuckled. "Seriously. Why did you call?"

"Good news." Hayden enthusiastically answered, snubbing the students and teachers surrounding him that were glancing at him incredulously. "The seller of the plot of land in Quezon City has responded."

"That's nice!" Eun-ha said cheerfully, clearly happy for Hayden. "Nonetheless, if I truly know you… You wouldn't call without a bad news. What's the bad news?"

"Heh," Hayden snorted at Eun-ha's remark. "There is a bad news; and that is the seller requesting a meeting later at 8:00 PM."

"You should go." Eun-ha replied without hesitation. "You don't have to worry about me. I stand by what I said when I told you I wholly support you. In fact, if you want me to come, I'll come with you."

"No, thanks." Hayden smiled wryly. "No offense, but you'd definitely instigate trouble with your looks alone."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just kidding you." Eun-ha giggled, obviously teasing Hayden. "And you're also thinking that rumors may start, right?"

"Yeah, that too." Hayden's tone rose up a pitch, agreeing with Eun-ha. Thereupon, the two laughed, with Hayden going inside the elevator. "Okay, got to go. I have basketball practice."

"Okay, honey. You want me to come to your house later?" Eun-ha queried casually. "Or do you want to rest for today?"

"You can come, you can come." Hayden hurriedly conveyed his desire to be with Eun-ha. "What kind of rest would it be if you weren't there?"

"That's sweet." Eun-ha was thrilled of Hayden's rejoinder. "I love you so much."

"Yeah, I can't say that in here. Howbeit, you know that I do too." Hayden didn't want to gamble saying 'I love you,' even in Korean as it was a well-known praise worldwide, with the Korean wave and all.

Cracking up at Hayden's situation, Eun-ha hung up. Afterwards, Hayden went to the gardens and waited at the outdoor nipa hut in it. In his boredom, Hayden took out his tablet and stylus to draw Mieko.

It was not long before Faye arrived at the nipa hut and sat in front of Hayden. Considerately, Hayden ceased his activity. He directed a faint smile in Faye's direction causing Faye to blush horribly.

"Um…" Faye didn't know how to commence a conversation with Hayden. "So... Are you going to the fansign of CHORUS?"

"Yep." Hayden nodded, replying in a relaxed manner. He pointed to the half-finished drawing. "This will be one of the gifts I have prepared for them. Why did you ask? Are you going?"

"Y-yes." Faye stammered. "I-I'm a big fan of CHORUS as well… I was fortunate enough to win a fansign ticket…"

"I envy you." Hayden sighed in jealousy. With his luck, he'd, without a doubt, not win even if he bought a million copies. When it came to these kinds of things, Hayden wouldn't be lucky at all, the source of his anxiety when it came to relying on his luck. "I hate my luck. I needed to acquire one through a backdoor."

"O-okay." Faye couldn't grasp how to respond. She was usually loquacious and was a skilled conversationalist, yet in front of Hayden… "I-I… Uh…"

Hayden gazed at her without saying anything at all. Hayden's astute eyes were impossibly captivating. Her breathing hastened and her heartbeat increased. 'I-I can't do this…'

Inhaling deeply, Faye closed her eyes to calm herself down and clear her mind. Opening her eyes, Faye slowly confessed, "Ever since the first day of school, I've seen you as one of the handsomest man in my life. Over time, your charm grew, including your quirks. Whenever you listen, you have that glint in your eyes. It's cute. Whenever you smile, you're so charismatic that people can't help be magnetized to you. My point is, you're impressive and… I like you."

"Faye," Hayden's smile disappeared and was replaced by a solemn countenance. As someone who wanted to be prepared for any type of situation that may come at him, Hayden has read on how to gently reject women.

He didn't want to be a mean person who'd reject a woman in the harshest manner possible. That'd be idiotic. He was an introvert, not an apathetic.

"I'm honored, but… in my opinion, we are too incompatible. Don't get me wrong, you're beautiful, kind, and you're passionate…"

"Then… Why?" At this point, Faye was visibly holding back her tears.

"It's just that…" Hayden sighed sadly. "You are an outgoing person, and, believe it or not, I'm not. I hate crowded places and parties. You're not shy and afraid of the spotlight, and, again, believe it or not, I am. Don't mistake this for me attacking you or something. If anything, I admire you for being you… Unfortunately, this is also the source of our incompatibility. I'm sorry."

Of course, Hayden left some words unsaid, such as her fierce and challenging personality trait. He didn't verbalize that as that may be seen as an ambiguous attack. In addition, he has another reason why he can't be with Faye. He was a wielder, and she's not.

"I…" Faye couldn't muster up any words and burst in tears. She's been wanting to put her feelings into words for such a long time only to be rejected. It hurt so much.

Witnessing this, Hayden inched towards her and patted her back softly. "I… I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry. It's not your fault." Faye cried out. She wasn't some sort of dumbass that can't see that Hayden was being nice to her. He didn't have any feelings for her at all. And judging from his tone and his words, he never will.

'It kind of is… But sure…' Hayden dryly coughed, uncomfortable of the situation he's in. 'Oh boy… I didn't think that rejecting a girl will be so hard…'

Prior to this event, Hayden didn't imagine that there'd be a tougher thing than socializing. He was awfully mistaken.

'I hate this…' Hayden persisted to pat her on the back. 'I'm also going to be late for basketball practice…'

"You can go…" Faye muttered dismally. Rubbing her eyes and wiping her tears, she put on a brave face and spoke, "You have basketball practice, right? Don't worry about me. You can go. I can handle myself."

"If… If you say so…" Hayden reluctantly agreed with her. Sometimes, people, not exclusively women, actually meant the counterpart of what they said. It was confusing, and Hayden wasn't a mind-reader.

He can read people's emotional states and how their emotions can affect their decisions, sure. Howbeit, he wasn't a mind reader that can predict people, was he? He hasn't even spent that much time with Faye.

Moving on, Hayden silently packed his bag and gave Faye a cursory glance. Handing her his handkerchief, Hayden quietly exited the nipa hut, breathing heavily. Shaking his head, Hayden threw this matter on the back of his mind and intended to concentrate on basketball practice.

Abruptly, the instant Hayden stepped out from the nipa hut, a young man ahead of him screamed and ran over to him. Leisurely, Hayden walked towards the man.

"Hayden…" The youth gasped for air as he mumbled Hayden's name. "The coach has been searching for you."

"Why? What happened?" Hayden inquired, he sensed something was amiss. "Did the street basketball players who wanted to challenge me came back?"

"No…" The man shook his head whilst resting his hands on his knees. "The coach of the Annual Youth Pride, Coach Ardiente, personally came to observe our practice."

"Oh." Hayden shrugged. "Okay, I'll leave you here. It seems urgent. Thank you for the arduous effort you've exerted on finding me."

Hereafter, Hayden ran to the gymnasium. When he entered the gymnasium, his coach, a tall burly man with a Hollywoodian facial hair style and short black hair shouted at him, "Go change in the backroom right this instance."

"Yes, coach." Hayden courteously bowed a little. He noticed the existence of an old man in the bench where the coach was supposed to sit. 'That's Coach Ardiente, huh? Kind of unassuming.'

The old man was wearing a red tracksuit and rubber shoes. He had trimmed white hair atop his head and a stubbly face. His wrinkled old face was scrunched up in a frown with his stare radiating a wolf's viciousness.

With his Divine Perception, Hayden perceived that the old man's body was quite toned for a man his age, or what his appearance told people anyways.

Precipitously, the old man's ferocious gaze was directed at Hayden, causing Hayden to feel a sense of dread. His gut feeling screamed that this coach was dangerous for some reason. 'Is he a wielder? Or not?'

Hayden was having second thoughts until a deep, old, and disembodied voice, that Hayden was certain came from Coach Ardiente, rang out in his head, "Hello, Hayden. It's nice to finally see a basketball talent in the world of wielders worthy of grooming."

Flinching, Hayden nonchalantly and cautiously squinted his eyes at this Coach Ardiente. When he did that, he discerned five 16, 17, or 18-year-old men in black jerseys behind Coach Ardiente, and a young woman the same age with black hair standing beside Coach Ardiente. It was Sophia.

'What the fuck is she doing here?' Hayden thought, further narrowing his eyes into slits.

Out of the blue, Sophia leaned in and whispered to Coach Ardiente's ears. For some reason, Hayden couldn't make out of Sophia's words whereas he should have been able to with his Divine Perception.

Noticing the black necklace in Sophia's neck that he already previously seen, Hayden had this nagging feeling that there was something to be wary about it. It was bizarre as he never had these kinds of instinctual reactions from objects. What more, it was stronger than the first time he saw it.

A second later, Coach Ardiente's stern face softened as the voice resounded in his head again, "Oh yeah. Don't worry, kid, I'm from Puting Araw as well."