Chapter 140: Apologies Are Just Empty Words
Mika was utterly baffled. He stared at Maria like she had grown horns out of her head, still sitting there in her boxing headgear, calmly telling him to punch her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His fork of lasagna hung suspended in the air before he finally set it down and rubbed his face.
"You’re seriously asking me to beat you up?" He said, voice flat with disbelief. "What kind of lunatic suggestion is that?"
"...Why the hell would you even want me to do that?"
Her reply came with no hesitation, her tone clipped and straight, like she had prepared it in advance.
"I don’t want to be like the rest of them."
"The rest of who?"
"The students. The ones who whisper, who spread rumors, who call you a cheat without knowing anything. And today, I was no better. I doubted you. And I was proven wrong. That’s on me." She straightened her shoulders, posture perfectly rigid. "But unlike them, I don’t run from my responsibility."
"...If I made the mistake, then I accept the punishment. That’s why I’m here."
Mika blinked at her, stunned. "You...you think punishment means me punching you in the ribs for a minute straight? You do realize there’s a simpler solution here, right? Like, I don’t know, apologizing?"
Maria’s lips twitched in the faintest trace of a scoff.
"Apologies are just words. Empty. People use them when they’re desperate, when they’re cornered. They’re meaningless. They don’t erase the act itself. They don’t balance the scales."
"And a beating does?"
"Pain..." She said evenly. "...is different. Pain is real. People avoid it, despise it, fear it. To take it willingly is proof of accountability. If I accept that pain, then I’ve taken true responsibility for my mistake."
"Words won’t change what I did. But this...will."
She tilted her chin upward slightly, eyes locked on his.
"So go on. Start punching. I have studying to get back to."
For a long moment, Mika just stared at her. Then, suddenly, he laughed. Loud, genuine, from the gut.
He laughed so hard he had to clutch his stomach, the sound echoing in the empty classroom.
Maria’s brow furrowed slightly. "What’s so funny?"
"You..." Mika said between chuckles, finally catching his breath. "You’re mental. Absolutely bat-shit crazy. But god, you’re interesting. I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re...something else."
Her frown deepened, though there was a faint flicker of intrigue in her eyes. "So? Are you going to hit me or not?"
But to this he simply grinned at her, leaning forward on his desk. "As much as I’d love to vent my frustrations by wailing on you, my hands are sore today. So, no, sorry. Beating you up isn’t happening."
"Then what?" She asked, crossing her arms, skeptical.
"Well..." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You said you wanted to take responsibility. Fine. But instead of letting me bruise you up, how about you do something else for me? Something less violent."
Her eyes narrowed. "Define ’something else.’"
Mika smirked. "Relax. Nothing perverted. Nothing romantic either. Just..." He paused for effect. "There’s a new restaurant that opened in the city. I wanted to check it out, but going alone sounded boring. Come with me."
Maria blinked. Of all the things she had expected him to say, that wasn’t on the list.
"You want me...to go to a restaurant with you?"
"Yep."
"That’s your punishment?"
"Exactly. You owe me your time. And besides..." He shrugged. "It’ll be fun."
She studied him for a long moment, her eyes searching his face for any trace of trickery. Finally, she exhaled through her nose, resigned.
"...As long as it doesn’t take too long. And as long as it stays exactly as you said, no ulterior motives."
"Deal." He flashed a grin.
And so, later that evening, the two of them sat across from each other in a small restaurant tucked into one of the city’s side streets. Plates of steaming food lay between them, the rich scent of spices and fresh bread filling the air.
At first, the conversation was sparse. Mika asked questions, some genuine, some outrageous just to see how she would react. Maria answered selectively, sometimes curt, sometimes scathing, sometimes outright insulting.
But to Mika, it was refreshing. Her sharp tongue, her unfiltered words, even her insults were honest. Unlike the fake politeness he got from others.
And to Maria’s own surprise, she found herself talking more than she expected.
Mika’s shamelessness was disarming. He wasn’t indirect or timid like the other boys who hovered around her. At one point, he leaned back with a mischievous grin and asked bluntly,
"So, Maria, what’s your cup size? I mean, they’re massive, you can’t expect me not to wonder."
She froze for a second. Then, to his shock, a faint smile tugged at her lips.
"You’re disgusting."
"True." He admitted cheerfully, sipping his drink.
That was how it went for hours. They talked about everything and nothing, favorite food, hated chores, hobbies, the way Solaria’s rules frustrated them both.
Mika even helped her work through a particularly tricky set of homework problems right there at the table, explaining concepts she hadn’t fully grasped.
It forced her to admit, however grudgingly, that he was far more capable than the rumors made him out to be.
By the time they stepped back out into the cool night air, the city lights glittering above them, something had shifted.
They exchanged numbers at the curb.
And just like that, almost absurdly, a new friendship was born, out of doubt, defiance, and a punishment that turned into something neither of them expected.
Now, that strange little friendship had lasted all the way to the present day.
Their shameless antics, their vicious quips, their bizarre games, by now they were so over the top that even though their classmates hated being in the same room as the so-called devil and demon, they were also secretly grateful.
After all, sitting in on their exchanges was better than anything on TV. The drama, the banter, the insults, it was endlessly entertaining.
Maria, however, caught him staring again. Her brow twitched.
"Mika..." She said, her voice flat but edged with dry amusement. "I know you swore up and down you don’t have a fetish for my eyes. But right now? You’re looking at me like you want to crawl inside them."
"Don’t tell me you’re hiding something. If you are, just admit it, I don’t mind. I could even send you a few close-up pictures of my eyes if that’s really what turns you on."
Mika chuckled, shaking his head.
"No, no, nothing like that. I’m weird, sure, but eyeballs aren’t my thing. Won’t be dreaming about licking them anytime soon. But..." He leaned closer, voice softening. "Even if it isn’t a fetish, I won’t lie, your eyes are beautiful, Maria."
"Honestly—they’re terrifying. But that’s exactly why I like them. Looking at them...it reminds me of how you always glare down at me like I’m some kind of insect...It’s intoxicating."
Her breath caught just slightly, so faint most would miss it. She coughed into her fist, covering it before then dryly asking,
"You still haven’t answered why you were staring at me like you wanted to say something."
And to this Mika’s smile turned sincere as he said,
"Oh, that...I just wanted to say that I’m grateful."
That made her pause.
"Grateful? For what?" She tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
"For you." He said simply. "For being willing to talk to me. To...be my friend here."
Maria blinked, not expecting him to say something like that as he went on to say honestly,
"Even though we joke, even though most of what we say is sarcasm and mockery—even though sometimes I don’t know what’s truth and what’s a lie...I’m still thankful."
"Without you, Maria, this classroom would be unbearably lonely. Sure, I could live with loneliness. But I don’t prefer it. I’d rather have someone. You. Talking to you every day, it makes this place bearable."
"So...thank you, Maria. Just talking to you makes this place worth coming back to"
He smiled faintly.
"So, yeah....I guess that’s all I wanted to say."
For once, Maria didn’t have a ready insult. She just looked at him. Then she narrowed her eyes, suspicion creeping back in.
"Where the hell did that come from? Don’t tell me you’ve been diagnosed with some terminal illness and these are your last words. Are you about to keel over and make me the tragic witness to your death?"
Mika laughed. "Nope. I’m perfectly fine. I just...wanted to say it, that’s all. No hidden meaning. Just the truth."
He braced himself for a scathing remark. A "pathetic." A "get lost." Something cold.
But instead, Maria suddenly leaned forward.
"Lean back." She ordered.
"Huh?"
"Just do it. Same as before. Head to the ceiling."
Still confused, Mika sighed and leaned back in his chair, tilting his face upward. He opened his mouth to ask what the hell she was planning—
—and then his words vanished.
Because Maria’s breasts dropped heavily onto his face. Not hovering, not threatening, smothering.
Drop!
His vision went white with fabric and soft flesh, the weight pressing down so completely that all he could do was inhale the faint, delicate scent of her soap.
The entire class gasped. A ripple of shock swept the room.
Maria ignored them and she pressed harder, rolling her chest against his face, shaking them just enough to make his head tilt from side to side. Her eyes glinted with cold amusement as she looked down at him, utterly unbothered by the scandal.
Mika, for his part, didn’t dare ruin it with a question. He simply let himself be buried, savoring the softness, the warmth, the intoxicating closeness. It felt like wearing the most forbidden eye mask in the world.
Finally, after long, smothering moments, Maria straightened up. She adjusted her shirt, sat back in her chair next to his as if nothing had happened.
Mika stayed tilted back, savoring the lingering sensation, until at last he straightened too. His face was red, not from embarrassment, but from the pressure and, perhaps, satisfaction.
"Maria..." He said softly, with a grin tugging at his lips. "What the hell was that? Not that I’m complaining, I’ll treasure that memory forever, but...why?"
He leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"Don’t tell me it’s because you actually felt moved after I said I was grateful. And since you couldn’t bring yourself to say it back, you thought you’d give me a little gift instead?"
"...Smother me with what you knew I’d love?"
Maria’s lips twitched. For a moment, he thought he’d caught her. But then she smirked, her voice dripping cold amusement.
"As if. I just wanted to see how utterly perverted you’d look with your face buried in my chest. And I was right. You looked like you’d achieved nirvana."
Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Mika grinned wider. " "You just can’t be honest, can you?"
Irritated by how cocky he was getting, she gave him a sidelong glance, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she said,
"Keep dragging this topic out, and you can forget about ever being smothered again."
Hearing this crazy threat that he couldn’t bare, he snapped to a immediate salute.
"Yes, ma’am...Never again."
That actually tugged the faintest ghost of a smile onto her lips.
And so they sat there, side by side, both of them quietly satisfied in their own twisted ways. Two outcasts, two demons in the eyes of their classmates, but to each other, something far rarer.
Something that made life at Solaria Beyond just a little less unbearable.