Days went by as she continued to avoid her family. The fest was drawing near, and everyone was busy with their own tasks.
Havey stood before the class and announced, "Guys, there's been an addition to the program—another event."
A chorus of groans filled the room. "No, please!"
"Come on, guys, it's not like I decided it alone. The student council wanted to try something new for this fest."
"Hah, seriously? Why now? We're already exhausted with all the work!"
few students rushed into the classroom, urging everyone to be silent as the student council members arrived.
The room quickly fell quiet.
A group of them entered and stood at the front, beginning to give instructions. The girls in the class buzzed with excitement, whispering and giggling, completely mesmerized by how handsome they were.
"Hey… it looks like someone's dozing off."
Everyone turned to see who it was.
It was Ivy.
Exhausted from handling both backstage work and volunteering, she had fallen asleep in class. Lea tried to wake her, but Ivy didn't even flinch.
"Haha… that's… that's… maybe she's just too tired from all the work. Don't mind her," he said with an awkward laugh.
The student council members soon left, and a deep silence filled the room.
Everyone let out a collective sigh. "Safe…"
"She's bold to do that," they whispered among themselves.
Meanwhile, Ivy remained fast asleep, completely unaware of everything that had just happened.
Lea and Havey woke Ivy up around noon for lunch. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking at them, still too drowsy to fully wake up. She stretched her arms lazily, letting out a soft sigh.
The two of them exchanged a glance.
She looked just like a sleepy, lazy cat.
They found it adorable.
Heading to the cafeteria, they went to get her lunch while she sat at the table, still drowsy and half-asleep.
"Hey! Isn't that the girl who was napping earlier? Do you know her, Anos? She's from your class, right?"
"No," he replied, rolling his eyes.
What is she trying to do now? Another way to seek attention…
"Huh… once an attention seeker, always an attention seeker. She's quite bold to pull something like this in front of me," he murmured to himself.
"Hey! Kylan, what are you going to do after lunch? Do you have any plans for this evening?"
"Nope," he replied casually, grabbing his lunch and heading to a table.
The moment he appeared, the cafeteria erupted.
"Hey, hey—it's Kylan Maverick!"
"He's so hot!"
"Wow, my eyes are blessed just seeing him ,the icon of our college!"
"He's not just an icon—he's the president of the student council. A genius… someone you rarely come across. And not just that… he's also known for his ruthless behavior."
A brief pause
"But still… he's handsome."
"Aahhh!" they screamed.
Kylan grew irritated by the noise, his expression darkening.
"Seriously… can't they just shut up?" he said, his voice low and cold enough to send a chill through the room.
Everyone fell silent in an instant. He continued eating as if nothing had happened, while his friends laughed among themselves.
"Haha, you scared them, man! They look like they can't even breathe. Just look at their faces ,your temper really got to them. Isn't it nice having fans? What do you say?"
"You can have them if you want," Kylan replied in a cold, detached tone.
"Nah, man. I've got my own fan base. What do you say, girls?" he said mischievously, winking at them.
The girls screamed in excitement again ,only to fall silent the moment Kylan shot them a cold glare.
"Oh man, seriously? You're shutting up my fans now? Isn't it enough that you control yours? Now mine too? That's not fair, Kylan."
"Enough, Yoshua. This isn't a playground."
"Cool, cool. Got it. So what's the plan for the evening? Isn't it our mandatory program to invite all the freshers for a party before the fest? What are we going to do?"
"Maybe it would be better if we ask the class president and secretary to pass the message to the students. What do you guys think?"
"Hmm, that's a good idea, Evyan. What do you say, Kylan?"
"Let's just go with that," he said, picking up his plate and walking away.
"Oh man, that's not cool ,just leaving us here and walking away," while shaking their heads.
"Anyway, Anos, take care of it. I'll text you this evening about the venue and time." with that they left.
"Wow… aren't those the AHartK? They're so cool!"
"And… what's that—AHar… something? What does it even mean?" she asked, placing the plates on the table.
"Seriously, bro? It's AHartK. And you don't know that?" He turned to Ivy. "Hey, Ivy, you know what it is, right?"
She nodded in response.
"See? Even Ivy knows it." He looked Lea up and down.
"AHartK means Alpha Heart Killers—that's their nickname. It can also be broken down like this:
A – Ace of the group: Kylan Maverick
H – Hunk: Yoshua Harper
K – Killer Whale: Evyan Darts."
"They were given that nickname by their fanbase. Not only are the fans crazy about them, but they'll practically go wild if anyone gets too close to them. They're fiercely loyal."
Kylan Maverick—he's the leader of the group, considered the ace. His family owns an electronics company, an entertainment company, a massive mall complex, and even mines. They're among the richest tycoons in the country.
Yoshua Harper is a genius with computers. His family owns jewelry businesses, a horse racing stadium, and antique shops.
Evyan Darts is the group's planner the one who executes their strategies. His family owns e-sports entertainment companies, commercial businesses, and restaurants.
All of them come from the richest families in the country. And there's one more family that stands on equal footing with them the Rogers.
Anos Roger, our classmate, belongs to that family. Together, they're known as the four major powerhouses of the country."
Havey explained the legend of AHartK to Lea, while Ivy quietly recalled the part of the story where they were first introduced.
"In the novel, all four of them are considered love interests, but… Kylan Maverick is the most powerful among them. He is also the male lead of the story.
Even though he's called the protagonist, he's more suited to be an antagonist. His cruel nature and cunning mindset make him highly calculating he never does anything that doesn't benefit him.
The other two are like his henchmen, they're more than just friends. They are fiercely loyal to each other ready to live or die, even kill, for one another."
"Anyway, those people won't come close to us. They're beyond our reach. But Ivy… don't you like the food? You've been staring at your plate without eating."
"That's not it," Ivy replied, finally starting to eat.
"Havey, are you envious of them? Why don't you become an icon yourself—the second most popular one?"
Slurping his drink, he shrugged. "Well, that's not really needed… but don't you guys know that...we're already famous as the King of Rusties," he said, laughing.
They both stopped eating and looked at Havey in surprise. He laughed at their expressions.
"So… you guys really don't know the name we go by?"
"But… why are we famous? And what are we even famous for? What does KING OF RUSTIES means? " Lea asked, confusion written all over her face.
He smiled as he took a bite of his food, then looked at them.
"So… poor, you guys."