Sakala walked along the corridor of his boarding house, planning to buy breakfast first that morning. The place was still quiet, and even the sun had not yet shone brightly.
His steps stopped in front of a room. He glanced at the door and heard activity inside.
"Maybe it's better if I take another route later,"
He quickened his pace, occasionally looking back, but then his phone rang. He reflexively stopped and checked it.
"Wish?"
It was a message from his friend reminding him to gather at a small café before going to school.
"I think I forgot to open my notebook earlier,"
~~~~~~~~
Arkha stared at the food in front of him uneasily. A strange feeling suddenly appeared in his mind. He didn't know what it was, but it felt worrying.
"Khan, stop daydreaming or you'll get possessed," his older brother said.
"Annoying," Arkha replied while continuing to eat.
Not long after, a housemaid approached them.
"Excuse me, young master. Arkha's friend is outside," she said.
"Who is it?" Arkha asked.
"The one who came here before, young master," she answered.
If she still remembered, then it must be someone who visited recently.
"Just tell him to come in. He can have breakfast with us," Arkha said.
"Alright, young master." The maid left.
Joan? Why was that kid coming here again?
Sure enough, the maid returned with Joan.
"Ah, sorry. You're having breakfast together?" Joan said.
"It's fine. I've already finished mine anyway. I also have to leave for campus now," Arkha's brother replied. Not long after, he excused himself and left.
Now only Arkha and Joan remained in the dining room.
"Am I bothering you?" Joan asked.
"No. I'm just confused seeing you come here," Arkha replied.
"I just happened to pass by and suddenly thought about going together," Joan said.
"Oh," Arkha answered, even though he grumbled inwardly. He thought it would be Hesa who came, but it wasn't.
A cold sensation briefly passed the back of his neck—only for a moment, but it felt freezing.
"Knowing Yoga's dad's shop and also about Kaze… that means one of us really finished this."
Yoan said that while glancing at Gantha and Kala, making them uncomfortable. Gantha chose to speak first.
"Why are you looking at me and Kala like that?" Gantha said.
"You asked to talk alone with Kala earlier," Yoan replied.
"Why is that any of your business?" Gantha said.
"You two talked about this case alone?" Yoan asked suspiciously.
Gantha chuckled. "Do you really have to know? Got nothing better to do than meddle in other people's business?"
Yoan felt offended by Gantha's words. He stood up, about to hit him, but Dion and Melvin immediately held him back.
"Easy, bro," Melvin said.
"Calm down, Yon. Don't get emotional like this," Dion added, telling Yoan to sit back down.
"If one of us really solved it alone, maybe they just didn't have time to discuss it," Hasta said.
"I actually think we should be grateful. They acted at the right time so Gantha didn't get taken to the police station," Dion added.
"The question is *who*. I'm not accusing anyone," Yoan said.
"What's the problem? Our job is to solve cases without being noticed anyway," Gantha replied.
"But Gan—" Yoan's words were cut off as Gantha interrupted.
"Yon, sometimes curiosity can get you into trouble."
Arkha glanced to the side, let out a rough sigh, then continued eating.
He looked at his friend who was still calmly changing his bread topping.
"Both equally annoying. No wonder their names are similar."
~~~~~~~~~
Before the class bell rang, Joan chose to stay quiet in the library. The atmosphere there was very silent—perfect for him, since he didn't really like crowds.
He sat at one of the tables provided.
"I almost made the wrong move. I'd better hide this and get close to them slowly,"
Joan recalled his conversation with Hesa yesterday. His friend had pretended not to know about Joan slipping.
Joan decided it was better to approach them carefully rather than exposing everything at once and forcing them to reveal what they had been hiding.
That kind of approach would only make them lie—just like Arkha once did to him.
"Jo," Niki greeted as he entered the library.
"What are you doing here?" Joan asked.
"Cooling off. Maybe I'll calm down for once," Niki replied.
"You're something else," Joan said, opening his phone to continue the video he had been watching.
"What are you watching?" Niki asked.
"An MV," Joan answered briefly.
"Let me join," Niki said as he sat beside him.
"Trigger? The title looks interesting."
Joan restarted the video from the beginning. "Don't judge it by the title. This MV is pretty scary even though it's set during the day."
"No spoilers," Niki said flatly.
"Alright, alright," Joan replied.
They watched together.
~~~~~~~~~~
Arkha walked alone in the corridor. He wanted to talk about Joan with his senior, but he still hadn't found him.
"Where is he?"
He kept walking until he reached a corridor near the student council room.
Arkha saw Winter handing a lunchbox to Hesa. He didn't know what they were talking about, but they looked like they were laughing together with the other student council members.
"Why do I feel uneasy? This is such a normal scene," Arkha thought, confused.
A tight, uncomfortable feeling appeared in his chest.
*That's not Hesa.*
Where was the real Hesa? Was this just his imagination, or was the feeling actually right?
Arkha stood there watching the seemingly normal scene, but since he was standing in the middle of the hallway, someone called out to him.
"Oi." The voice made Arkha turn reflexively.
"Why are you bugging out in the middle of the hallway like this?" Satya said.
"Look in the mirror, you polar human," Arkha replied flatly.
"Hehehe," Satya grinned.
"You're weird," Arkha said.
"Where are you going? You're in such a hurry," Satya asked.
"To another dimension. Want to come?" Arkha replied.
"No way, man," Satya said as he walked off somewhere.
Arkha continued walking. He had planned to go to the rooftop, but stopped when he saw someone practicing alone on the field.
"Should I go over or not?"
Arkha thought for a moment. He still had trust issues with that baby-faced guy, but maybe it was better to approach him. Who knew, he might get something out of it.
"Alright then,"
With lazy steps, he approached Joan, who was busy on his own.
"Rare to see you alone," Arkha said.
Joan turned to Arkha and threw the ball in his hand, which Arkha caught swiftly.
"I'm too lazy to be in class," Joan said.
"It's break time. The others are probably already gathered in the cafeteria," Arkha replied.
"Just a bit longer. Break time's still long anyway," Joan said.
"How about we practice first," he offered.
Arkha threw the ball, and it easily went into the hoop.
"Let's go, before we head to the cafeteria together later," Arkha replied.
The two of them then played basketball together on the quiet field.