"He's incredibly focused," thought Noah to himself, astonished at how deeply Enel was concentrating, as if he had completely forgotten the real world and had sunk into the depths of his mind and inner world.
After a few minutes, when the clock struck 8:00 AM, the university bell rang, announcing the start of the morning period. As soon as the bell finished ringing, the door opened with quiet firmness, and silence fell over the classroom as the students watched the figure that entered.
Professor Yvain March entered the hall, her sharp footsteps echoing over the marble floor. She carried a stack of papers in her arms and looked like she had been carved from stone: her coat was meticulously pressed, and her jet-black hair was tightly pulled back. Without glancing at the students, she placed the papers on the desk and wrote her name on the board with silver chalk:
Chemistry – Prof. Y. March
"Sit down," she said, even though everyone was already seated.
Noah sat at his desk beside Enel, who was already covering the edges of his notebook with little symbols and sketches.
"Today, we'll discuss the fundamentals of chemical stability. Who can tell me: what makes a compound unstable?" March began, her tone strict as she adjusted her coat.
Before Noah or Enel could move, a student in the second row quickly raised his hand.
"Does it happen when the temperature isn't right?" the student said hesitantly.
March's eyes narrowed, and her answer shot out like an arrow:
"Wrong."
"No, that's incorrect. Instability happens when the internal energy overpowers the molecular bonds. Heat is just a catalyst, not the main cause," thought Enel coolly, tapping his pen on his notebook.
March showed no mercy, briskly flipping a page in her notes.
"Instability is an internal property. External factors merely trigger it," she continued, casting sharp glances at the students.
She began pacing between the desks, like a hunter searching for prey.
"Another question. What's the primary purpose of using a stabilizing agent in chemical reactions?"
A tall blonde girl raised her hand and said:
"To extend the solution's shelf life?"
"Wrong. The goal isn't to extend the lifespan of the solution but to calm down active reactions and prevent chemical explosions," March said coldly while drawing a diagram of two molecules colliding on the board. Enel sat staring at his nearly empty notebook, his thoughts racing.
"As you can see, without stabilizing agents, the compounds would—"
She suddenly stopped and pointed to a student near the window.
"You, predict what happens next."
"They stop reacting?" the student answered lazily, as if he had just woken up.
"Wrong," she snapped, her patience clearly gone, continuing her explanation about how bonds break and new structures form.
Noah sat in his seat, absorbing and analyzing the information without copying it down.
"If stabilizing agents intentionally slow down reactions, then they can be used to time reactions precisely... That opens the door for faster-acting medicines, more efficient catalysts, even compounds with delayed-release effects..." Noah thought silently, resting his head on his hand, taking notes and mentally refining the ideas to a higher level.
While the others were busy copying word for word, Noah was reconstructing the concepts to make them clearer and more accurate.
The chalk snapped between March's fingers, but she showed no sign of care.
"Listen well because chemistry does not forgive. One mistake can cost you your life!" she said sharply, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening with annoyance.
A brave student from the middle rows asked:
"Is it really that dangerous?"
March spun around with such force that her coat flared behind her.
"I once witnessed a failed stabilization that tore the skin off a man's body in a single second. Is that convincing enough for you?"
Silence filled the room. The atmosphere was heavy, thick with tension.
Noah glanced at Enel and noticed how Enel was tugging nervously at his shirt sleeve. Noah smiled tensely, thinking Enel's fear was a little childish, hoping the professor wouldn't notice his smile.
The class continued, and mistake after mistake piled up.
Every wrong answer was corrected in Enel's mind even before the professor spoke, while Noah had moved beyond corrections, busy inventing newer, simpler, and more efficient methods.
Just before the bell rang, Professor March stopped suddenly, as if a new idea had struck her.
She turned toward the students, her eyes gleaming with challenge.
"One last question before you leave: in biochemistry, what is the critical factor that allows enzymes to accelerate reactions without being consumed?" she asked, stepping closer to the front rows.
Silence reigned. Students exchanged lost and puzzled looks.
Then, from the back seats, Enel suddenly raised his hand, his face lit with excitement.
"The enzyme's spatial configuration! It creates an active site that matches the substrate, lowering the activation energy without changing the enzyme itself!" Enel said, his voice full of passion and certainty.
March stopped and looked at him as if she had finally found what she'd been searching for since the start of class.
"A precise answer," Professor March said in a slightly softer tone, offering a small, sharp but genuine smile.
"If everyone understood as you do, we wouldn't need to repeat these lectures," she added, unable to hide her admiration.
Noah felt a different energy from Enel; he sat upright, his face shining with rare satisfaction.
Even March, who had been cold and stern all lesson long, seemed to regain a little hope.
A silent moment passed before the dismissal bells finally rang.
The students rushed out, leaving behind the noise of chairs and footsteps.
Noah closed his notebook slowly, his mind still deep in his own analysis.
Enel sighed and leaned back.
"You did well. It must've been hard to gather your courage to answer," Noah said, turning to Enel, who followed him closely.
"..."
Enel remained silent, simply nodding shyly in agreement.
Noah followed Enel, and they completed their morning period together. By 1:15 PM, the bell rang, signaling the end of the morning session. Many students returned to their homes in their respective sectors—both male and female—while others stayed behind, waiting for the afternoon session.
The university garden was full of couples, prompting Noah and Enel to avoid that area and instead walk quietly through the corridors, with Enel hiding behind Noah.
"What's our next class?" Noah asked, feeling uneasy with someone standing so close behind him.
"I-it's just a sports class," Enel answered nervously, clutching Noah tighter whenever someone passed by, drawing curious and confused looks from others.
From a distance, Noah spotted Sirius and Neriah standing under a shaded tree, deep in conversation. Their expressions looked dark and serious, especially Sirius, who seemed ready to kill someone. Noah wanted to sneak closer and eavesdrop on them, but his plan was quickly foiled.
"Look! It's Sirius and Neriah!" Enel said excitedly, running toward them, forgetting his embarrassment. Noah followed, dragging his own slight frustration behind him.
"N-Noah? What are you doing here?" Neriah asked, clearly anxious and nervous, as if hiding something important.
"I'm here to study? What kind of question is that?" Noah asked, puzzled, his mind automatically categorizing Neriah among those idiots he didn't need to worry about.
"Hey, Noey-kun," said Sirius, greeting Noah less cheerfully and playfully than usual—something that immediately concerned Noah. He already suspected the reason behind Sirius' lack of enthusiasm.
"Are you upset with me?" Noah asked bluntly, going straight to the heart of the matter, already knowing the answer.
"Upset with you? No way, not at all. Why would you think that?" Sirius said with his usual silly smile, but Noah noticed his eyes were empty, swallowed by darkness.
"Just a hunch. You don't seem like your usual self," Noah said, realizing Sirius was lying.
"Sirius seems normal to me," Enel said, leaning closer to examine Sirius carefully.
"I'm fine. It's just that I'm still upset about the Graffiti incident. Sorry if I worried you," Sirius said, gently pushing Enel's face away, slightly annoyed.
"That's all, then. No need to apologize. Like I told you...don't worry about it. I don't want any extra attention on 'me'," Noah said calmly while hiding a slight, playful smile behind his fake mask at the end of his sentence.
"...Don't worry. I've completely moved on," Sirius said, laughing cheerfully, but he, too, was hiding his true feelings behind a fake mask. He was still deeply upset about the Graffiti incident and had no intention of letting it slide.
"So, we still have plenty of time. Let's spend it together!" Sirius said, his silly smile perfectly back in place, his eyes shining with the same energy Noah remembered.
"Yeah, let's have some fun!" Noah replied, smiling warmly.
Both of them fully aware that the other was hiding something they didn't want to reveal.