1 Knowing the Known.

The noises of the students are ringing into his head, making him miserable than he already is. If there is one thing that he hates the most, it is probably waking up early. He cannot still fathom why he has to do that every single day, except for weekends, but then he remembers that he actually has a dream that he wants to achieve in the future.

If he would just give up immediately, then, he would not be able to make that dream a reality, or something like that.

He is walking through the corridor with heavy feet, and students are looking at him and whispering. This scenario is not new for him by now, being one of the oh-so-called famous college students ever. With the major of management, and the spirit of a leader, it would be easy for him to be the talk.

"Here goes Kiel," he hears someone say, "look at him! He still looks very tired like no one made him breakfast and I would love to take care of him."

As if that would truly help, Kiel just decides to look at the person who talked, a short brunette who happens to be talking to another brunette, but taller than her. Their eyes met, and being Kiel Alexander Piper that he is, he ends up winking.

There are yells heard after that, but he only continues his journey. There is nothing to be done there anymore, and it is time to get going anyway.

He immediately spots his friends as he enters his first class. Luckily, the teacher is not there yet and he still has time to converse with his said friends. Kiel approaches them, then drops his bag by his chair as he pats Jeffrey on his back in an attempt to get his attention.

It is not like they are very close, but in this class, they are the ones that he likes talking with the most.

"Oh, Kiel, didn't know that you already got here." The other four companions notice his existence because of that, sending him a wave. Kiel merely waves back.

"Yeah, I'm glad that I'm not late yet... What's up?"

"We're just talking about the upcoming talent show that the school will hold — it's quite amazing, isn't it? I didn't think that universities still offer this kind of events!"

"Eh," Kiel shrugs, "how come you're excited about that? Isn't that like, a waste of time? We can go out instead of watching that."

Gregg shoots him a look, then playfully shoves him. "You're handsome but you're also stupid. Don't you get it? If the event is actually on going, we have to do anything besides studying. If it isn't, then, there would be school days! You get me?"

Is there anything that would actually get through Kiel's head? "Oh yeah, yeah, sure. You probably just wanna check someone out during that time. Now tell me, who are you spying on?"

As if one cue, his five friends are starting to giggle among themselves, and he feels betrayed that he has no idea what they are talking about. Kiel rolls his eyes. "Now, now. Tell me or else—"

His threat is cut off once the professor arrives, making him roll his eyes once again. Kiel decides that there is still another time to ask about that, but also, it is not that important. At least that is what he thinks.

—————————————————————

"I need a valid reason as to why you need a picture with me."

It is true that Kiel could come off as an asshole, but he thinks that it is because he is able to build his reputation like that, and there is no way that he would ruin that reputation that he has.

One thing that he is doing this is because, he has experienced something related to this. It might not be a big deal, but back in high school, when he was still a "baby", with his soft heart and all, people took advantage of him. Someone spread the news that they were dating, which reached his family, and also created conflicts between them. As young as he was, it was difficult, and because of that, he knows that he has to be careful.

"Come on, Kiel. Don't be like that to her," Sinclair, his bestest friend ever, tells him.

The poor girl only has her head bowed down, as if she is just being forced to do this. And the fact that Sinclair even defends her, there is really nothing that he could do about it.

Kiel stands beside the girl, and she looks pretty delighted. This is probably just a dare for her. She hands Sinclair the phone, and Kiel smiles, and before they know it, the session is done. Kiel just smiles at her before she runs off, and he runs off to Sin as well.

"Did I look good at the photo you took?" Kiel teases, although he knows the answer. Sinclair enjoys photography, and this is why he took it as his major.

"You always look good," Sinclair teases back, and Kiel's eyes widen.

"What did you just—ugh, nevermind," Kiel scoffs, then wraps an arm around the other. "It's your vacant, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Let's get something to eat."

"Okay, sure."

"My treat."

—————————————————————

As soon as he reaches the comfort of his dorm room, Kiel does not hesitate to fall down, face first on there. He has not taken his clothes off yet, too lazy to even bother, and too tired, although this is already the typical day for someone like him.

He is almost falling asleep when his phone rings, which is luckily just on his pocket. He reaches for it, then answers without even looking at it. "Hello?"

"Kiel," a deep voice said, and Kiel immediately finds himself sitting up straight, as if the caller is in the same room as him. "How are you doing?"

"Dad," he breathes out, "I'm doing alright... I'm surprised that you called."

"Yeah," his dad replies, "yeah, I know. I'm sorry I'm not being a great father to you, but I need your help right now."

"What is it?"

There is a pause on the other line, and Kiel thinks that his father already hang up, but the breathing makes him realize that he is still there.

"One of these days, you need to meet with me and help me buy a gift for your mother... Our anniversary is fast approaching."

This makes him happy because despite everything, they are still there for each other, through thick and thin. It is what he needs.

"Of course dad, I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you, my son. I love you."

"I love you too, dad."

After that phone call, Kiel thinks that no one is going to disturb him anymore. He can take a shower, but once he is about to get up, his phone vibrates, making him frown.

Message Received from: Sinclair 📸

Check twitter, bro.

That does not do anything good for Kiel, that as soon as he reads that, his hands start to shake.

And once he sees what he is supposed to see, he could not help but roll his eyes and slump down again.

"Oh, give me a break."