Chapter 20
The man in his thirties who had been hitting on Joanna turned pale the moment he saw Gavin charging toward him, radiating pure aggression. He didn’t say a word—just yanked up his pants and ran for his life.
Gavin glared after him, murderous. He spun the butterfly knife between his fingers, clenched his jaw, and growled through his teeth, “Next time I see you, I’ll feed you to the rats–piece by piece.”
The crowd quietly backed off. No one wanted to mess with Gavin.
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Then, just as suddenly, Gavin turned back around, looking like a kicked puppy, and tried to take Joanna’s hand again.
The way he switched moods–killer to pitiful–was honestly theatrical. He could’ve made a career in drama.
The whiplash had the recently–retreated onlookers staring in disbelief.
A group of high schoolers stood nearby, peeking out from behind their backpacks.
“Wait… isn’t that Gavin from Aurelia Academy? Since when does he have a girlfriend?”
“No way. Gavin? With a girlfriend? Every girl who’s ever crushed on him ended up getting shoved down a flight of stairs–at best.”
“And now he’s apologizing? I must’ve hallucinated. Drank too much milk this morning or something.”
Gavin casually tucked the butterfly knife behind his back, pretending nothing had happened.
“I mean, deep down… I’m actually really gentle. I’m not just some violent guy, you know?”
Besides fighting, he could ride a bike too.
Then he pulled out the apology letter he’d written the night before and began reading again, more seriously this time.
“From now on, I swear–I won’t take the side of bad guys, I won’t throw punches in front of you, won’t scare you, won’t shed blood around you, no more V clubs. I’ll turn over a new leaf and live right! I’ll be a gentle, respectable person!”
‘A gentle person… who punches people?‘
Joanna raised an eyebrow.
“What’s V clubs?”
Gavin scratched his head, clearly embarrassed.
“V clubs? It’s, uh… a place to fight with people. V stands for victory.”
He even held up a V with his fingers like it made sense.
Joanna stared at him, picturing someone beating people up and then flashing a peace sign. A laugh slipped out.
“So dumb.”
Gavin lit up like a Christmas tree.
“You laughed! That means you’ve forgiven me, right?”
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Chapter 20
Joanna shook her head.
“There’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t wrong me, and you didn’t piss me off. But if you keep talking, I’m going to be late.”
She said it bluntly.
But with her delicate features and calm tone, Gavin misunderstood.
His silver hair drooped, like a dog’s ears folding down. His whole posture sagged with disappointment.
She still hadn’t forgiven him.
He muttered, “Late? That’s fine. I skip class all the ti–uh, no! I never skip class!”
Gavin nearly slapped himself.
He thought, ‘What am I doing? I just promised to change! Be a good person!
‘How could I let her know I skip class and get into fights all the time?
‘I have to become someone decent. A reliable brother. A better man.’
Just as he was silently vowing all that, Joanna said flatly, “I meant I’m going to be late.”
His face turned crimson.
“I… I…”
He was the reason she was running late. He deserved to be hit by lightning.
As he panicked, Joanna casually walked over to the bike, swung one leg over, sat on the back seat, and waved at him.
“Hurry up. We’re on the clock.”
Gavin instantly came back to life–fully recharged. He even felt like singing.
He thought, ‘She talks to me!
‘She got on my bike!‘
He was over the moon as he hopped on and rode the bike like it was made of glass, terrified of bumping her. The whole time, he kept glancing back and asking, “Too fast? Is it windy? Are you cold?”
Joanna finally had enough and called out, “Stop.”
He immediately hit the brakes, yanked off his helmet, and asked nervously, “Was it too fast-”
Before he could finish, Joanna snatched the helmet out of his hands, threw her long leg over the bike, and said, “You talk too much. Get on. I’m driving.”
She thought, This guy is way too slow.’
Gavin hesitated. He was a hardcore tough guy–he’d never sat on the back of a bike in his life. He liked being in control.
Looking at her face–even knowing she could fix bike–he still saw her as this delicate girl he needed to protect.
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Chapter 20
So he mumbled, “Alright, fine. You drive. Just… go easy on the spee-”
VROOOOM!
Before he could finish, Joanna slammed the throttle, and the bike launched forward in a straight line like a bullet.
