Hesa woke up that morning and glanced at the clock. It was five o'clock.
"No wonder it's still kind of dark outside."
He sat in silence for a moment.
"Should I take a shower or go back to sleep? If I sleep, I'll probably wake up late. But if I shower now, it's still too early since class doesn't start until seven-thirty."
After thinking for a while, Hesa decided to scroll through his phone instead. He also turned on the TV even though he wasn't really watching it. At least the sound made the room feel less quiet.
His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten yet, so he headed to the kitchen.
"Tch, I don't have anything sweet."
He checked the cupboard again, which was filled with instant food.
"There's no way I'm having Samyang noodles for breakfast."
Hesa left the boarding house to buy breakfast. Outside, the streets were still quiet since it was far too early. Every now and then, he wrapped his arms around himself.
"It's still cold even though I'm wearing a jacket."
In front of one of the boarding houses, he noticed a figure in a gray hoodie. The person looked unsteady, as if they were about to collapse.
Hesa watched for a moment until the figure finally fell face-first onto the ground.
Without thinking, he rushed over.
"Kyung!"
He shook the young man's body and lightly patted his cheeks.
Fortunately, the red-haired boy slowly opened his eyes.
"W-What's wrong, Kyung?" Hesa asked anxiously.
"250103..." Kyungmin whispered.
At that moment, Hesa realized what he meant.
Right. I should get him inside first. It's freezing out here.
Without asking any questions, he entered the passcode.
Beep!
Hesa helped Kyungmin into his room.
"Thanks," Kyungmin said while leaning against the sofa.
"What happened to you?!" Hesa demanded.
"It's nothing. I just fell."
"Nobody gets beaten up this badly from just falling," Hesa replied sarcastically.
"I-I got into an accident with a friend."
"Then where's your friend?"
"He... went back home."
"And neither of you thought about going to a hospital first?"
"S-Sorry. I was planning to go to a nearby clinic instead."
"I'll take you."
"N-No need, I can go by myself."
"Really? You literally collapsed in front of your door."
"I was really dizzy earlier, but I'm fine now."
Hesa studied the boy's face for a moment. It was obvious he was hiding something.
An accident? It looks more like he got jumped or mugged.
After a long sigh, Hesa finally relented.
"Fine. Do whatever you want."
"Y-Yeah,"
"Alright, I'm heading back."
He walked toward the door, but suddenly a thought crossed his mind. He turned back to the red-haired boy.
"Kyung, you were the one who helped Niki yesterday, right?"
"I-It was Asta's doing. He also mentioned sending you some weird texts."
"Can you call him out?"
"What for?"
"I just want to ask about the person who hurt Niki."
"Riki. He's Niki from the past. And the one who sabotaged Jio brakes was actually Jio's own twin."
"Asta told you that?"
Kyungmin nodded and showed him a sticky note from his jacket pocket.
"Isn't Asta your alter ego? Why don't you just talk through your thoughts?"
"He doesn't like talking to me. He prefers writing short notes like this. Well... you know how boring an introvert like me is to talk to."
Hesa fell silent.
For some reason, he felt sorry for him.
"Sorry, Kyung. I keep bothering you with questions when you should be heading to the clinic."
With that, Hesa finally left his friend's room.
~~~~~~
"Taking forever, huh? And here I was getting impatient."
The young man stretched his body before heading toward the warehouse.
Creeeak.
The warehouse door slowly opened, revealing someone tied to a chair inside.
Riki walked closer.
The captive slowly lifted his head.
"So you're finally awake," Riki sneered.
"You're not blind, are you? Do my eyes look closed to you?" the red-haired boy replied.
"Kyungmin?"
Riki frowned.
The person in front of him seemed different from the description Jay had given.
"I'm Asta. Your brother didn't forget to tell you my name in this timeline, did he?"
Without hesitation, Riki punched him across the face.
Yet instead of crying out, the boy laughed.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he grinned.
"Guess who's scared right now—me or you?"
Bang!
The memory flashed through Riki's mind, causing him to slam his fist against the table.
Sunghoon immediately looked over.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.
"I think I kidnapped the wrong person yesterday."
"How is that even possible?"
Riki stayed silent.
He had no answer.
~~~~~~
The classroom was unusually lively that day, filled with students chatting away.
Among them sat one student who seemed to be having a conversation of his own—inside his head.
Arkha couldn't stop thinking about what Hesa had been doing at Sunshower Academy yesterday.
Was there some secret reason Hesa chose to go alone instead of bringing him along?
And what about that shaman kid?
And the mysterious person who saved Niki?
Both seemed suspicious.
Did Hesa know Kala had come to the hospital yesterday? Or was he pretending not to know?
Whatever the case, Arkha decided he needed to find Hesa.
"Where are you going?" Jio asked.
"Not coming to the cafeteria with us?" Satya added.
"I'm heading to the library first," Arkha replied before leaving.
As he walked through the halls, he kept replaying Hesa's recent behavior in his mind.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that Hesa knew something and was trying to deal with it alone.
"Do they never get tired of messing with me and everyone else?"
Arkha kept scanning the area, hoping to spot Hesa.
"No matter how much you hurt me, it won't change my mind about helping Hesa,"
A loud thud suddenly echoed nearby.
His curiosity immediately piqued, especially when he clearly heard Hesa's name being mentioned.
Arkha followed the sound and peeked around the corner.
His eyes widened.
Kyungmin was lying on the ground, his head pinned beneath Riki's foot.
"Niki."
Arkha stepped forward and glared at him.
"Sorry, wrong person."
Riki removed his foot from Kyungmin's head and approached Arkha.
"You've got guts causing trouble in a public place," Kyungmin said as he got up and grabbed Riki's arm.
Riki glanced at him and smirked.
"Hey, this school's back garden is practically deserted."
"If I scream, students will come running. You can't pretend to be Niki. He's obviously still in the hospital," Arkha shot back.
"Tch. Fine, I give up—for now. Doesn't really matter anyway. I already finished what I came here to do."
He cast Kyungmin a dismissive look before leaving before anyone could see him.
Arkha immediately approached Kyungmin.
The boy looked like a complete mess.
"I'm fine,"
Arkha flinched before remembering that Kyungmin was an indigo child.
"I'll take you to the infirmary."
"I don't go to school here. People will start asking questions."
"Oh... right."
Arkha scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Anyway, I'm heading to a clinic."
Before he could leave, Arkha stopped him.
"Wait. I want to ask something about Hesa."
"What is it?"
"I heard you're still helping him. Does that mean my gang is still being targeted?"
Kyungmin simply smiled at Arkha's confused expression.