An hour ago...

"Hey! Chase after him!"

After that call, some of the students chased Mr. Travis as he hastily went out of the classroom. The teacher was being so careful that in his every quick yet gentle footstep, no sound came from his footings.

Soon after he took a turn to the left, students who followed after him met a huge brick-striped wall in front of their faces.

...It was a dead-end...

"Fuck! We lost him!"

Every time they turn or look around, there were no other directions or paths..... nor they could see Mr. Travis himself. They wondered why they couldn't detect him when in fact, they clearly chased after him. He turned to the left, right? So they turned to the left too. Yet in that case, why was it there's no Mr. Travis around? Did he jump over the wall?

...This twenty-meter tall wall?

What kind of creature would jump over this gigantic wall? And with a speed as the light. Is he even a human? An alien or what?

His pace was like a clap of thunder, none of the students was fortunate to track even his shadow. It was like chasing after a frivolous mist.

••••••••

A few moments after...

A person in his forties carefully backed away from an intruder who had entered his studio without making a sound. The invader, an adult-aged cappuccino brown-haired guy dressed in a three-piece pin-striped suit with vest and a necktie, had single-handedly injured all of the owner's guards outside. All of them weren't able to stand, guess their injuries made them like that. He even had no single drop of blood on him. This demonstrated how professional he was in terms of this.

"S-Spare me!"

The intruder came behind the middle-aged guy before he could go far. The sharp, biting pain of the hand tightening around the middle-aged man's neck made scream impossible. Blood poured down his shoulders as a result of the earlier injuries, straining his once-unsullied white suit.

"I am s-sorry!"

The middle-aged guy then looked down at the barred windows and the closed door, wondering how he might get away from this invader. His limbs stiffened with terror and rage, and he felt dread and sorrow when he couldn't find anything other than being trapped with this invader's hand. But none of this matters if the reason for his death is there in front of him, choking him tightly.

"I am certain you know why I'm here, correct?" the invader spoke, showing his sharp and threatening smile.

To let the middle-aged man speak, the invader loosened up his grip on his neck. Afterward, the mid-aged man choked and suddenly knelt on the ground, drooling as he tried catching his breath.

"You're the president of this school yet you're acting like a criminal... Well, can't blame you though. That's how government officials do." The intruder then lifted up the mid-aged man's chin to face him eyeball-to-eyeball. He smiled murderously with his eyes flaring saying that he's not going to let this one go. "Now, why don't you hear my request?"

The mid-aged man, known to be the President, looked at him halfway with his full pity eyes, begging for his life. Breathing heavily, he spoke desperately, "Anything! Anything! I will do anything!" The president bowed down his head many times as he trembled on the ground. "Do you want money? I will give it to you right away! One million? Five hundred million? How about billion? Name your price, just spare my life!"

The intruder lifted up his head to think carefully for such an offer. "Hmm... I don't want any of your money though."

Not a second, the president forwarded and met the intruder's foot. Finding some ways to eagerly let the intruder spare his valued life, he hopelessly held the invader's feet as his face shoved onto his shoes. "T-Then what do you want? Prosperity? Job? Life insura---"

"How about your life?" The intruder snapped his fingers, smiling still.

The president's heart seemed to have stopped. "H-Heh?" He was deeply frozen in his spot. He wanted to live. He has a family to take care of. And most of all, he wanted to achieve his goal. He was so desperate yet the intruder won't let him. How can things turn out like this?

"Please!" Tears ran down his cheeks. "Don't kill me! Please! Have mercy on me! I have a family! I don't want to die this early!"

Suddenly, the intruder laughed as if there's no tomorrow. While he continued holding his stomach because of too much laughter, the poor president was stunned to speak that he also laughed nervously. He was trying to read the room. He thought that maybe if he ride with him, the intruder would spare his life.

He stopped laughing after the intruder stopped also. Later that moment, the intruder kicked the president's face forcefully. The hapless man spat out a huge sum of blood that he unconsciously stained the wall as he was booted. He almost fainted and nearly cannot breathe a single word.

"That's what people with illness say, almost every second. Let's say, for example, a kid with leukemia. They also have a family though. They had no choice but to die early. Yet here you are, acting like a coward. Is death really that alarming?" the intruder calmly sat on a couch.

He placed both his hands together and clasp his fingers to one another. He placed his left leg on the top of his right leg while staring at the president. He didn't mind all of the scattered papers and books in the room. Lights flickering, almost ran out of electricity. The majestic sun was setting, saying the night has come.

"A-Am I spared?" the president nervously spoke, shakingly pointing himself.

"Are you serious? I was just asking what would happen if I trade your life with something else. Rest assured, you're already freaking out. I won't kill you."

With that in mind, the president silently laughed in disbelief. He wailed in hushed tones, hardly audible above a whisper. He then wiped his tears off his eyes out of relief. Happiness came across when he knew he was saved.

"I thought you knew my intention here, Mr. President. I am disappointed," the intruder spoke.

Anxiously, he was sweating and despairingly wanted to satisfy the intruder. He would do anything if that's what could save his life, "I-I will do anything! I am good at making promises! What is it that you want, hmm?"

The intruder smiled out of satisfaction, "You see, I have students who yearned to be part of this school curriculum. They wanted to be treated equally as the others. So here's my request. I want you to discover methods upon making my students be finally part of this school. That's all I want."

"A-Are you..... the new teacher the rumors say?"

"Oh finally! You knew! As expected from the President!" Smiling still, the intruder known to be the Class 11-5's class teacher, Mr. Travis, stood up, putting his hand inside his pocket, "And I want you to stop the discrimination by that time."

"B-But--- I am not the one who made all of those rules! I am not in the authority to---"

"Then find some ways. So simple. You just have to ask the chairman, right?"

Kneeling, the wretched president of the school still hesitated, "H-How about the CEO? H-He's the one who has the power and all."

The intruder, Mr. Travis, sighed, "Of course you have to ask the person who runs the board... which is the chairman himself. No need to ask the CEO."

The president clasped his fists as he tried thinking whether he'd do it or not. "Okay! I will do it!"

"Rest assured. If you're anxious about the CEO finding out about this, I'll be the one to handle it."

That smile of his elicited a sense of mischief, of simple joy, and it liberated the president at that moment. The weird thing is, the president had no notion he had ever been imprisoned. Mr. Travis would be a champion if there was a global leader board of smirkers.

"By the way, if a single word gets out of this, I'll make sure you end up killing yourself."

The president was confused, "W-What do you mean I will kill myself?"

"Do you know the phrase 'a desire to conceal or flee?' So, basically, if you try to hide or escape, humiliation will kill you," Mr. Travis sat back again at the couch.

"W-What did I do?"

The president was perplexed because he needed more perspective, to take a step back and view the wide-angle version. There was so much more to see that it's no surprise he wasn't able to figure things out.

When his mind was completely operational, Mr. Travis flashed an exciting simper. "You attempted to film my worried students in your office using CCTV. They are not permitted to enter the school grounds, right? And, most importantly, they are not permitted to enter such rooms; otherwise, they will be expelled from this school..."

The president shook. The words Mr. Travis spoke had shattered his soul. He had no idea this class teacher was aware of the situation all along. He even kept the recordings under wraps... within his security. Even his coworkers were unaware of this.

"I also predicted you will be posting the recordings online too... and that alone is enough to worsen their problems," Mr. Travis drew a fake smile on his face. His intentions became so serious when he knew this was part of a higher-up's scheme.

"...Yet you lured them to your office," Mr. Travis continued.

A masking fear. Nervous nerves. A panic attack. "I-I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry! Please! Forgive me!" He didn't think this would come out. Now that he was almost at the brick of saving his life yet this wrong timing, he messed up. Terror sucked the very breath from his mouth.

"Putting a headline 'President of the Bihira International School tried framing the students in a certain class' would be enough for your disgrace. I wonder what kind of grief your family would take."

"I-I am so sorry! I promise! I will erase all of the records!" The president bowed down his head again many times.

"No need. Erased or not, you'll find yourself in a detention facility as soon as you spread it."

"Yes! You have my word! I won't spread it! And I will delete it right away!"

So determined. So desperate. Yet so stubborn...

Real dangers and recollections of threats can both provoke worries. Unlearning fears is difficult for humans. When people become aware that they are afraid, they must question themselves whether the threat is genuine or if they have begun to generalize their fear and seek facts to reinforce it rather than criticizing it.

At least that's what the president underwent...

"I should've gone to the chairman myself to ask him about my request. But you dragged yourself into this, that's why I came into you instead," Mr. Travis softly stated.

"I deserve all of this! This is my punishment! This is what I get for not standing justice to your students!"

The wise president allowed fear to teach him but never deceive him. He was wise enough to claim it's his fault.

"Of course, it's not just me who will gain anything. I want you to tell me what you want, I will grant it. In exchange, you will do what I asked."

"What I want?" The president looked down, thinking what he might say. All of the memories of his family were left running on his head. A picture of a 10-year old daughter; A smile of a 44-year-old woman; A guy in his 20's, wearing a military uniform. All of those kept repeating in his head. "Can I trust you? Can you save lives?"

"Anything is possible," Mr. Travis answered politely.

"T-Then....."

END OF FLASHBACK