After the first class, Ersel planned to go to the school canteen to have his lunch.

​I'm so hungry now. ​Ersel thought.

“Excuse me!” a deep male voice called out from behind Ersel once the latter was outside of the classroom.

Ersel turned around and saw a tall, muscular guy coming towards him.

“Are you going to eat lunch?” the taller guy asked.

“Yes,” Ersel replied. “Want to come with me?”

“Yeah,” the tall and muscular guy said eagerly. “By the way, my name is Van. You are…?”

“Ersel,” Ersel replied while feeling glad that he made a new friend.

“Nice to meet you, Ersel!” Van declared cheerfully and extended his right hand to shake it with Ersel.

Ersel felt that he would get along well with this guy, so the former also extended his right hand and shook hands with his new friend.

I can tell that this guy is very friendly. Ersel thought. We'll be really good friends with each other!

“Nice to meet you too, Van!” Ersel replied with a smile.

First, let us describe what Van looks like.

His thick black hair was tousled back neatly, and he wore a pair of glasses. Ersel could see that the guy has a rather large and nice build, with his arms taking a nice shape and his breasts being large, indicating that he must be going to the gym regularly. He is very tall, with his height being 185 centimeters. He has a rather handsome-looking face, with his kind eyes, sharp nose, and pinkish lips. He has wide shoulders and fair skin too.

“Shall we go now?” Ersel asked eagerly.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Van exclaimed cheerfully.

Naturally, the two new friends got to know each other more while eating their lunch.

“Any sports that you engage in?” Ersel asked Van.

“Oh! I engage in basketball, volleyball, and swimming!” Van replied cheerfully. “What about you?”

“I engage in chess only,” Ersel replied. “Sports requiring physical activity are not really something I am good at.”

“I see,” Van answered, surprisingly impressed. “Playing chess sharpens a person’s mind, so just keep playing it.”

“Really?!” Ersel asked in a surprised tone.

“Yes, that is true. Creating strategies to defeat your enemy is a way to sharpen your analytical skills,” Van explained.

“I see. I did not know of that before,” Ersel answered while feeling glad that he learned something new.

“Got any girlfriend, man?” Van inquired.

“None,” Ersel replied, feeling slightly embarrassed. “What about you?”

“I don’t have any right now,” Van answered. “The last relationship I had was already one year ago.”

“Oh.," Ersel mumbled. "That was so painful, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. That girl...I caught her cheating on me,” Van replied in a more serious tone than before.

“So, how many girlfriends have you had so far?” Ersel asked interestingly.

Van closed his eyes, searching his memories.

“Hmmm...If I remember correctly, I have already had four of them. What about you?”

“I have never had a girlfriend before,” Ersel replied rather awkwardly.

“So you are an NGSB (No Girlfriend Since Birth)? Why not?” Van asked curiously.

Ersel tried to think of an excuse. He could not afford to tell Van that the former is actually gay for fear that the latter might be disgusted with the former.

“I just...do not have plans to have any yet,” Ersel replied while his voice was slightly quivering.

“I see,” Van replied with a smirk. “Well then, I hope you find your own girlfriend someday!”

“Same to you,” Ersel answered. “You do not have any right now, after all.”

Both of them laughed.

"Anyway, let's eat now," Ersel declared.

"Yeah, right!" Van replied cheerfully.

While they were eating, Ersel felt like he was being watched. He looked to his right and saw the person who was watching him. The guy looking at him was seated to another table a few meters away from theirs.

To his amazement, Ersel saw the same handsome and muscular guy he bumped into that morning. He was staring at Ersel with a cold, piercing glare, as if the former wanted to kill the latter.

Ersel broke his eye contact with the mysterious guy while feeling chills over his spine as he continued eating his lunch.

What’s up with him, anyway? Ersel thought anxiously. I have already apologized to him for accidentally bumping into him this morning, so why is he still mad at me?

Ersel could feel that the guy was still gazing at him intensely, making the former begin trembling in nervousness.

“Ersel,” Van called out, startling Ersel. “Is there anything wrong?”

“What do you mean?” Ersel asked, his voice slightly quivering.

“You are looking paler than before,” Van remarked with a slightly anxious tone. “And you are trembling, too.”

“Oh! It’s nothing,” Ersel replied, his voice still quivering. “Let us finish this quickly before our next class.”

“Okay,” Van said although he didn't seem to be convinced by Ersel's answer.

Van continued to look at Ersel with a worried face, making the latter feel rather conscious.

“Van,” Ersel called. “Please don’t look at me like that.”

“Why not?” Van asked in a worried tone.

“You are making me feel...conscious,” Ersel replied awkwardly.

“Okay then. Sorry,” Van answered, breaking his gaze on Ersel and resuming to focus on his lunch.

I can't let Van know about that guy staring at me or we might get involved in some kind of trouble. Ersel thought while trembling. I have to hurry and finish eating, or I might become even more anxious. For some reason, he is still glaring at me intensely. Why? Why? Why?

The school bell rang as the classes ended for the day. At the hall, Ersel and Van heard many female students screaming in admiration, as if there was a handsome celebrity at the hall.

Feeling curious about who it was, Ersel decided to check it.

“Van,” Ersel called.

Van turned around and asked, “Yes, what is it, Ersel?”

“I will check what is going on there,” Ersel replied. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Van answered with a smile. “I will wait for you outside. Please do not take long.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t take that long,” Ersel reassured while grinning.

“See you later, then,” Van replied, waving his hand and smiling at Ersel.

Ersel waved and smiled back at Van before proceeding to push his way through the crowd of girls to check who the person was.

To Ersel’s astonishment, the guy that the girls were going crazy for was the same mysterious guy he bumped into that morning.

Oh, so he is also popular among girls. Ersel thought. Well, I can’t blame them at all. He is tall, dark, handsome, and has a muscular body. Even I myself find him very attractive.

While the mysterious guy was walking, he suddenly looked at Ersel with the latter slightly flinching upon meeting the former's gaze. Afterwards, the guy’s blank facial expression turned into a serious facial expression with a cold, piercing glare, making Ersel feel the same chills he felt at the canteen before go down his spine again.

With his body trembling and his heart beating fast in nervousness, Ersel broke his eye contact with the mysterious guy.

Oh no...here he goes staring at me like that again. Ersel thought fearfully. I have to get away from here now.

Ersel walked away, disappearing among the crowd of screaming girls.

Ersel did not know yet, but that mysterious guy was actually Lino, his childhood best friend. Lino actually recognized Ersel during the first time they met that morning, but the latter did not recognize the former.