A love confessing, what is it really?
From a scientific standpoint, it's when the dopamine levels spike up when you see the object of your affection.
When the amygdala, which helps process emotions, reacts to her presence like you're encountering something vital for survival — but it's not fear, it's fascination.
With repeated exposure to her, it triggers a long-term potentiation in the neurons associated with her, meaning this person has become part of your core memories.
A permanent neural pathway that leads to warmth, safety… and longing.
When in front of this person, the mirror neurons act up, respond to her smile, sadness, anger, and frustration.
You want to be there for her, even at the expense of your time doing something that should be important but takes a backseat just for her.
So, in biological terms, the mind has adapted to crave her presence.
In chemical terms, she's the most addictive substance you've ever known.
And in quantum terms, even if you were both entangled particles across time and space, you'd still find a way to orbit around her.
So this isn't just emotion. It's not just attraction. It's a full-scale, peer-reviewed conclusion, you're in love. And you want her to know just how much you feel for her.
And thus this emotion termed love pushes you to a confession that'll either be the best decision you've ever made or the worst.
But some might view a confession in another light. To some, a love confession might be an escapism from the mundane life.
To others, a need to be with someone you're obsessed with.
To the experienced, a curse that needs to be exorcised in order to properly function in your daily life without constantly being distracted by the fantasies of her.
For Luna, a love confession, to simply put it, was a death sentence. Literally.
Ever since she met Esme, she has been head over heels for her. But at the time, she didn't know there was a rumor circulating around about how every person who has ever confessed to her has died.
Luna just needed to know one thing, and that was that she was in love. So, without even knowing who Esme was, she confessed and was regrettably rejected. Later that day, she fell down the stairs, broke her neck, and died.
Since then, Luna has become obsessed, having confessed over thirty times and been rejected and died more than thirty times.
Even so, Luna was not discouraged. In fact, she became even more motivated to turn that "no" into a "yes."
"Thinking about Esme again?"
"Huh?"
Luna lifted her head from her seat and saw Mrs. Adair looking down on her with an exasperated expression.
"Hehe, of course, Jane. How could I dare not think about my goddess for more than a second?"
Mrs. Adair rolled her eyes and fixed her glasses.
"You should be focusing on your studies and not bothering poor Esme even in your dreams. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing really, I just can't help it. You'll understand when you find any person willing to stand you for more than a minute."
Mrs. Adair sighed. There was no use taking offense to Luna's words. She was already a lost cause. She didn't think before opening her mouth. It's one of her many flaws.
She turned around, leaving Luna to her daydreams, muttering under her breath, "I can't be bothered to deal with her, not this early in the morning."
"Class, turn to page 119. We will be revising the nature of Monster Cores."
As the lesson began on Monster Biology, Luna was already in her daydream state, her eyes focused on a single girl hanging on every word Mrs. Adair said without missing a beat.
She was always attentive to what the teachers had to say.
The stream of light from the sun came through the window, brightening the room with its warm embrace and making Esme look more godlike with her long golden hair.
Esme must've felt eyes on her, as she quickly turned towards Luna, whose heart immediately skipped a beat when those bright blue eyes stared at her.
Disgust briefly flashed in Esme's eyes before she turned back to Mrs. Adair.
Luna felt her heart constrict.
She placed her hand on her chest and felt each pound. A smile stretched on her lips as her mind brought back the image of Esme's eyes showing all kinds of emotions when dealing with her.
The lesson ended without Luna having heard a single thing.
Mrs. Adair picked up her things and was about to leave for the next class when she recalled something and called Luna to follow.
Luna was annoyed at being interrupted from her creepy fantasies but had no choice but to grumpily follow behind Mrs. Adair.
They left the classroom and walked the halls in silence.
"What is it, Jane?"
"I want to understand."
Luna tilted her head in confusion, with her hands clasped behind her back, walking beside Mrs. Adair.
"Understand what?"
"Why you're obsessed with Esme. You know how she's isolated because everyone who interacts with her dies, right?"
"I know, and I don't care."
Mrs. Adair stopped in her tracks and turned to Luna.
"I'm not joking, Luna. That girl is bad news. You'll get yourself killed if you don't stop."
Luna chuckled. "I don't care if I die. I'm not going to stop loving her."
Mrs. Adair let out a frustrated exhale. "You know what? Get yourself killed for all I care. That's not why I called you here."
"Then what is it?"
"Esme is getting transferred to a Guild Academy."
Luna's face changed, making Mrs. Adair take a step back instinctively. She had never seen such an expression on Luna's face before.
"Why?"
Mrs. Adair gulped down a lump of saliva and settled her heart with a deep breath. "They suspect her of being a System User."
Luna's eyes narrowed.
She didn't say anything for a while, making Mrs. Adair increasingly uncomfortable.
"Tell them I'm also a System User."
"What?! Luna, you don't understan—"
"Jane!"
Mrs. Adair's heart thudded in her chest. Luna not smiling was already anxiety-inducing, but seeing her this serious about anything was something really scary.
"Just do what I say. You must remember, I never deleted the photos."
Mrs. Adair swallowed her next words and just nodded.
Luna then smiled. "That's what I really like about you, Jane. You're such an understanding person. See ya later, hopefully with good news. For both our sakes."
After that not-so-subtle threat, Luna walked away back to her class.
Mrs. Adair was left behind, but the fear was gone from her expression, her heart now calm.
She took out her phone and speed-dialed a number.
It rang for a moment before someone picked up.
"She took the bait."
"...Good. You'll be greatly rewarded for this, No. 237."
"Thank you, sir."
"Come out with it. I know you're curious, you can ask."
Mrs. Adair wanted to refute the 'generosity' of being able to ask more about her mission, but her curiosity won over quickly.
"Why her, and why go about it in such a roundabout way?"
"She's an important catalyst for Floor 5, Room 23. And as far as why I'm investing my time in her and going about it in a roundabout way, it's because she's unstable, making her unpredictable.
If we were to force her to come with us, once she becomes strong enough, she'll be sure to retaliate. What I'm doing is trying to manage her unpredictability until I know her full capabilities, especially her Talent's Weakness."
"Oh… she's that dangerous, sir?"
The other line was quiet for a beat too long.
"She might be."
He replied and immediately ended the call.
Mrs. Adair stood there dumbfounded for a moment before shaking her head and heading toward her next class.