"Greetings to all BBA juniors. Today, remarks on the last day of your orientation. And, from here, you'll be guided by your mentor through the mentorship program."

Ta's deep voice serenades the Auditorium 3 as the man gives his closing speech. Ten seniors from the student council watch them attentively from the stage for the last time.

"I hope, by the end of this semester, these faces will remain the same. No one will leave this prestigious course. We will ensure nothing but success to all of you," says Ta. The auditorium later fills with claps as he steps down from the podium, as a remark of the ending of the orientation and the beginning of the mentorship program.

As the juniors gather according to the mentorship group, Han bids goodbye to his friend as he slowly swift towards Ta, who waits for his peer mentee at one corner of the auditorium. Yara grabs Pan's hand and drags her towards Aye Yi, who is smiling at them at ease.

"Welcome to the first meeting, folks! My name is Aye Yi. I'm gonna replace your previous mentor as she'll be busy with the other program," Aye Yi calmly introduces himself. All juniors flash a wai gesture at him before he asks them to sit down.

From afar, Zee can't leave Pan from his sight as he sees Aye Yi, chatting happily with his peer mentee. Casually, he gets a bit touchy towards Pan subtly, even the girl doesn't even fidget a bit from the gesture.

Zee's heart churns. Aye Yi indeed marks his words when he says it's his payback time. That's the problem when you trust someone blindly, that you reveal almost everything to them.

And right now, all he can do is watch.

***

Lunch is served for the last time outside the auditorium. The crowd is getting smaller because some of the juniors already leave the building after the program. Yara, Han and Pan decide to eat when everything is calm so they can enjoy the food in peace.

"Lunch everyone?" Aye Yi appears out of the blue while the three meerkats line up for food. Pan nods while Yara decides to hide behind the man.

"Yara... Stop poking me..." Pan warns her softly, while she still locking eyes with Aye Yi. Han peeks out, looking at the weird interaction between them.

Unknowingly, the person behind them knocks Han by accident. He stumbles upfront, causing Pan to collide with Aye Yi by accident. The man quickly holds her, making them entangle in a hug.

"Han!" Yara and Pan yelp stimulusly, glaring at the silly boy who grins in pain. The person who cause the commotion quickly apologizes before he fleets the scene. Pan still in Aye Yi's embrace, looking at her friends in daze.

Aye Yi can't help but smiles a bit. He pushes Pan's body only an inch away from him and stares at her. "Are you okay? Did you hurt anywhere?" he asks her with worry on his face.

Pan slowly shakes her head, looking at Aye Yi in a weird thought. She escapes herself from him only to realize her plate is all over the place.

"Ah... Tsk..." Pan is about to reach the floor when Aye Yi already all way down to grab the plate for her.

"It's a mess!" Pan shrieks silently.

"It's fine. They can clean up for you..." the man answers.

"The real bad news is, the tray is empty," says Han. They look at the line of empty trays next to them. Everything sold out in no time.

"It's fine, we can share..." Yara quickly shows Pan her plate.

"Yes. You can have mine as well..."

"I don't mind sharing. I think my plate is enough for the two of us," Aye Yi's offer makes everyone fall in deep silence. Pan blinks as she turns her head at Yara and Han.

"Senior... I think..."

"It's okay. Let Pan share the meal with me. You guys carry on. Besides, I'm her mentor. I should give the best care to my peer mentee," says Aye Yi sincerely.

Yara whispers some words to Han. Finally, the man stops gatekeeping his friend and walks straight towards an empty table. Yara pursues him from behind, while Pan is forcibly follows Aye Yi to his spot. They sit next to each other, when the man pushes the plate at her with a wide smile across his face.

Pan takes the plate silently. She shoves the spoon into her mouth with Aye Yi locks his gaze at her. His attentiveness makes Pan feels uneasy, but she doesn't mind to chase him away as to pay a gratitude towards the man's kindness.

From afar, Zee watches everything with fury in his heart. He grabs his bag and walks towards Aye Yi and Pan, leaving his friends behind.

"Zee?" Ta stands up to halt him, but Bear grabs his boyfriend's hand to stop him.

"Just let him handle it," says Bear. Ta silently sits back on the chair, feeling hopeless.

"Pan..." Zee grabs Pan's hand as soon as his feet touch the spot. Pan pauses a bit, her head looking up at him.

"Excuse me, but she's eating right now..."

"I don't care..." Zee replies coldly. "You. Come with me," he drags Pan away, causing a little commotion at the scene.

Aye Yi stands up and smacks away Zee's hand. He tilts his head, looking at his former bestfriend with red eyes.

"Hey, stop being rude! She's eating, can't you see that?!"

"Don't act like I don't know your true intention, Aye..." Zee growls.

"What intention? I just share my food with her! Is that wrong?!"

"Stop acting coy, Aye!"

Both of the men begin pushing each other's shoulder, causing everyone to panic. Ta and Bear quickly fleet from the spot to stop Zee, while Han tries his best to stop Aye Yi by standing in the middle of the two. Yara, who is in shock and scare, grabs Pan and drags her away from the scene.

"Don't act innocent, Aye! I know your intention!"

"Judging by your reaction, I guess it's a success then!"

"What games did you play huh?! Why are you dragging Pan in this?!"

"What games?! What kinda bullshit is it, Zee?! Tell me!?"

Pan watches those two, back and forth. She frowns as she tries to compose herself from this childish drama.

"Stop! Both of you! Shut up!"

The commotion stops. All eyes are on Pan right now. She glares Aye Yi and Zee with anger in her eyes. As she sighs heavily, she walks towards Aye Yi.

"Thanks for the food, senior..." Pan lightly murmurs before she strudes towards Zee, grabs his hand and drags the man away, leaving their friends stand there in daze.

***

As they arrive at the grass spot behind the BBA Building, Pan releases her grip and pushes Zee a bit away from her.

"Care to explain what just happened, Senior Zee?" Pan glares at the man, crossing her hands on her chest. She waits for his reply in anger.

"He... Aye Yi is using you to get to me...!"

"Why, did you two dating or what?"

Zee pokes his tongue against his inner cheek whilst hearing the false accusation made by Pan.

"It's not funny, Pan..."

"Yes! Now you realize, it's not funny, senior! Why is seeking for violence over some unnecessary things like this?! Get a grip, will ya?" Pan is in her last straw. She is still in daze about what happened between the two of them, so she doesn't want to judge. But, for Zee to use violence to solve the issue, that's a problem for Pan.

The air stiffs around them. The silence is killing as well. They both stare deep into each other, thoughts scatter around. Both trying to read each other's mind, but it seems hard to do it when emotion gets overwhelm.

"Stop gatekeeping. We're over years ago," says Pan, calmly.

"I'm not gatekeeping, believe me. Hurting you is the last thing that I wanna do..."

"You already did that. I think by now I'm hurt, Zee."

Eyes waver. Zee can't look up straight at Pan.

"If I wanna gatekeeping, I've done that with Cray, too. But, Aye Yi is a different case, Pan. It's more than just gatekeeping. You don't know him like I do. I hope, you can bare this in mind," says Zee. His voice is getting calm, perhaps the steam already dissolved from his head.

Pan keeps his composure, looking at the sincere in Zee. She slowly admits that maybe, she's getting out of line for scolding the man out of nowhere. Though she finds nothing suspicious about Aye Yi, she believes in Zee's action as well.

That man will never gets annoying over some lame, flirtatious move.

"Yes. I will watch my steps, senior..."

Hearing that, Zee huffs as he fixes his messy hair from the fight before. He glances at Pan for the last time before he leaves the spot at ease but still wary about the girl.

As for Pan, she sighs heavily before she leaves the spot as well, but someone suddenly pops out from behind the wall and manages to scare her a bit.

"Hi there!" Cray smiles as he blocks Pan's way. She curses silently before letting out a small laugh.

"How long have you been hiding there?" Pan blindly asks Cray, just in case if he is hiding all along during her confrontation with Zee.

"I just came back from my class. I saw you walk away," Cray replies. "And.. I think we should talk over food."

Pan gulps as she looks at hopeful Cray who stands in front of her.

"Fine. Let's go to the cafe. I'm hungry, actually..." Pan gives up because of her empty tummy that growls violently. Cray smiles as he shows a way to his car outside the building.

From afar, Zee watches their move behind the wall with a broken heart.