Saving the Villain

'She's definitely upset,' Maxen thought, glancing over his shoulder while Cosette was walking just a step behind him.

When Cosette stepped outside the school gates, Maxen immediately sensed she was upset about something. At first, he thought it was because she didn't want to clean or it could also be she was upset about walking home alone. But now, he was certain it was because of something else.

So, he slowed down until they were walking side by side.

"Huh?" she hummed with an arched brow, gazing up at him. Maxen was still staring ahead, but she knew he was probably intrigued by why she was so silent.

A shallow breath slipped past her lips as she gazed down.

"Did you hear the rumor about us?" she asked after a minute, making Maxen arch a brow and gaze at her. "They said we're dating."

Maxen studied her side profile and sighed secretly. He didn't know about any rumor as he absolutely didn't care what other people say about others or about him.

"I told you to stop following me. Rumors like that are bound to happen," he said in the same distant tone. But Cosette cast him a quick look.

"Maxen, can you be honest with me? You think this is a good thing so you can push me away, don't you?"

'No.' That was his honest truth, but he ended up keeping his mouth in a tight slash. He was just telling her this because hanging out with him would do her no good. Things like this were bound to happen.

A deep frown resurfaced on her face. "Do you think that's what upset me?" she muttered while Maxen furrowed his brows and glanced at her once again. She already had her eyes down, clicking her tongue while kicking a pebble on the way.

"Even if they spread rumors we're already married, it doesn't matter. But to think that they will add something as Maxen blackmailing me or I needed to be careful around you… it makes me angry to the point I'm tearing up."

His steps slowed down, watching her seethe in anger until her tears were tempted to escape her eyes. What did she just say?

"I mean, how can they jump from that ridiculous conclusion of getting blackmailed? I learned enough self-defense to protect myself!" Cosette continued to vent her frustration about this world and what they were automated to do.

'Why?' he wondered as his eyes were fixed on her side profile. 'Why are you angry about something so... trivial?'

His mind was being clouded by many 'why's?' He couldn't understand why she would get angry about something like that. Of course, people would think like that because he was… a bad, ugly guy. Not that this sort of opinion still affected him; he was already used to it.

So, why?

Why was she so angry, as if she would cry at any moment? They didn't say anything bad about her. If anything, people were just concerned about her since she was associating with a delinquent with no future like him.

So, why?

Why, Cosette?

Why…?

"It's so unfair…" after blabbering, Cosette finally hit a breaking point where she choked. "… this world is. Why am I the good one and Maxen is not? It's actually me who harassed you, and people just let me get away just because. I hate this world."

Cosette bit her lower lip as hard as she could to suppress the tears that were tempting to escape her eyes and failed miserably. She couldn't stop her tear, so she looked away to hide it from him.

Reading Maxen's story already broke her heart. But seeing it for real was entirely a different story. It was just like the first time they met.

In the novel, it was written that Maxen 'would be in a constant fight while growing up.' That one sentence didn't give justice to how deep it was because of how beaten Maxen was at that time. She could barely recognize him if not for his ID.

How unfair that a character's life was only written in just one sentence.

That was why she was even more upset. This world was built to give Maxen hell so he would become a vicious villain who would meet a miserable end.

As Cosette wallowed in her woes and wiped her tears with her arm silently, Maxen's eyes softened. He shouldn't be smiling at this situation, but he couldn't help it.

'I also asked many, many times why this world is so unfair…' he replied internally, letting out a faint breath. '… and I also detest this world because of how unfair it is. But… for you, who is blessed to have everything and yet is starting to hate it because of someone like me…''

Maxen raised his hand and planted it on top of her head. When she looked up at him, surprised, he looked ahead but kept his hand on top of her head.

'Thank you for crying in my stead,' he expressed inwardly, moved by this gesture that was never done to him before. 'You don't have to burden yourself anymore because I'm already used to it.'

Cosette hiccuped as she blew her nose using her handkerchief. The hand on top of her head was rough and a bit heavy, but it somehow comforted her. Maxen was not the person who knew how to comfort others but patting her head was already more than she could ever ask.

"They're annoying, right?" she spoke as soon as she stopped shedding tears. "I'm still upset and what makes me even more upset is I can't do anything about it."

"You don't need to do anything about it." Maxen withdrew his hand and cocked his head back, eyes on her. "Let them talk. It's them who is wasting their time or you can just stop pestering me, which is the best for the both of us."

Cosette frowned, thinking he was using this chance to persuade her to stop pestering him again. "I am upset, Max. But that doesn't mean I changed my mind about you."

"Hah... sucks."

She looked at him, wide-eyed. This was the first time she had heard him laugh and smile. Albeit briefly, it was genuine. His brow quirked as he glanced at her aghast expression as if she had seen a ghost.

"What?" he asked and the space between his brows creased when she pointed at him.

"You smiled."

"Huh?"

The side of her lips stretched as she leaped a step closer to him. "Do it again."

"Do what again?"

"Smile!"

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue and shook his head, but Cosette persistently nagged him. "Stop… I won't…!"

"Just one, pretty please?!"

"Stop it. Tsk!"

Cosette giggled as she tugged his sleeve while he stretched his neck away and looked away. Although from the outside, he showed an irritated look while she didn't care. Deep down, his heart was smiling.

"Oh, a convenient store!" she intoned as they were passing by the convenience store they had been passing by whenever they walk home. Cosette grabbed his sleeve and looked at him innocently.

"I'm upset, Max. Let's buy some ice cream and eat it as we walk home. Ice cream is second on my list to make me happy." She grinned until her eyes squinted into slits. "Seeing you doing well is number one, just in case you don't know."

She didn't wait for him to ruin her mood as she dragged him inside the convenience store to buy some ice cream.

That day, it was the first time Maxen treated her to some ice cream, which they both enjoyed as they walked back. That day… Cosette didn't have to walk behind him, nor did Maxen have to look back to check if she was still there.

That day and the following days after that, they would always walk side by side while eating popsicles every once in a while.