This mature woman's appearance didn't have many similarities to Grey's, but whether because of his experience or his innate instincts, Rain was 100 percent sure.
'It's definitely his mother.'
These thoughts took over his mind as he watched the scene unfold before him.
"Grey~!"
Waving at him and seeing that he didn't respond in any way, Evelyn ran up to him and tucked him into her massive breasts.
Grey immediately blushed slightly and broke free of her grip.
He looked around quickly and, noticing that fortunately no one was looking at him at that moment, exhaled. When he turned to his mother again, there was visible irritation in his eyes and he said quietly but firmly.
"Don't you ever do that in public again."
"But I..."
Evelyn began, but seeing the serious look in her son's eyes, she hesitated to continue.
When his mother sensibly chose to remain silent, Grey's displeasure subsided slightly.
"Who let you on the academy grounds in the first place?"
"A good friend of mine works here and when she found out you had a big day, she kindly lent me her pass."
Grey said nothing, continuing to stare at her in silence. It made Evelyn feel uncomfortable.
"You're... not angry, are you? If I did something wrong, you can just tell me about it. I really didn't think of interrupting you and just wanted to wish you luck and pass–"
"That's enough. If you've done that, you can leave."
Grey interrupted her as discontent stirred within him.
Am I angry?
Hell yeah!
Was my mother that stupid? Why couldn't she enter into my situation and acted so stupidly?
Did she not appreciate the effort and time I put into building a perfect reputation? Or just didn't realize she was ruining it with her antics?
I can't let it all be ruined. Not after I've spent so much effort to get to this point.
How could my strong and independent image be tarnished by being a mama's boy?
With each new question in his mind, his irritation became more and more apparent, but when it was ready to spill out uncontrollably, Grey calmed down abruptly.
'Okay, she's my mother, I can't be too cold to her... otherwise it will only hurt my reputation.'
A gentle smile reappeared on his face, filled with kindness, care, and gratitude that would make any passerby's heart melt. But the dry voice that followed contained none of those emotions.
"Thank you."
After that, Grey, seeing no more point in staying here, turned around and left.
'This situation is so annoying... I need to meet Alice soon.'
Evelyn looked sadly at his receding back, not knowing what to say.
There was another man who wasn't taking his gaze off his back now, but his eyes radiated a very different intent.
'How superficial.'
Perhaps Rain used to put his reputation first, too, but after awakening his consciousness, he stopped clinging to the opinions of others, becoming independent of them and the moral constraints society placed on him.
'I don't recognize Grey at all anymore. He was so cute when he was a kid and he used to follow me around all the time...'
'And although during his rebellious period he was sometimes rude, I had hoped it would pass quickly. But now I'd rather he continue to be rude and argue with me than look at me with those cold eyes.'
Evelyn chased those thoughts away from her with an effort, letting out a sad sigh.
"I guess that's what it means to grow up."
"...Am I a bad mother if I can't just be happy for him?"
Her mood plummeted when, after thinking, she came to a single conclusion.
"Maybe the problem is really me and I don't understand what today's youth wants anymore. That would explain a lot..."
Evelyn lowered her gaze to the basket she still held in her hands, having never gotten the chance to hand it to her son.
There were several carefully prepared sandwiches lying on top of each other. The heat was still radiating from them, indicating that they had been made recently.
"Looks like I'm going to have to eat it all myself."
She decided, before a disturbing thought came to her.
'But what if I get fat...? Okay, then I'll just give them to the neighbors.'
Staring at her feet and muttering something, Evelyn didn't notice when she hit something hard.
"Ouch"
She lost her balance from the suddenness of it and even dropped what she was carrying in her hand. But before she hit the floor, she felt a hand supporting her, stopping her from falling.
Before Evelyn realized it, a pleasant male voice entered her consciousness, erasing her anxiety.
"Are you all right?"
Looking up, Evelyn saw her savior, who, to her surprise, turned out to be a handsome young man.
Although he managed to catch her before she fell, because of this, there was only a couple centimeters of space between their faces.
Piercing red eyes that seemed to be able to look into her very soul were staring at her. The distance was small enough that they could feel each other's warm breath.
At this moment, her face flushed and her heartbeat increased. But it wasn't caused by his gaze, but by something else.
Now she could feel that his hand was not on her waist... but on her ass....
"W-would you please let me go?"
"Of course."
The young man in front of her immediately let her go. He didn't even seem to be paying attention to her embarrassment a second ago.
Once again on her feet, Evelyn reflexively touched her ass where his strong hand had just been and looked up at him.
'He doesn't look like someone who would do that on purpose... probably when he was catching me as I was falling, out of haste he inadvertently caught... that.'
When that excitement subsided, she immediately remembered that she had the pass card of this academy in her hands when she fell. The worst part was that it didn't belong to her and was just borrowed from her best friend, which was against the rules of the academy!
'I have to find it right away.'
Evelyn quickly looked around the floor and only when she found nothing there did she gulp, noticing that the young man standing next to her was looking curiously at the thin rectangular object in his hand.
He slowly shifted his gaze from the pass card to her.
"I suppose I may address you as Ms. Shay?"
***
Thanks for reading, everyone.