"Aria… did you watch that drama last night?" Kotori asked, practically sparkling with excitement as she leaned over the cafeteria table. "The male lead is so handsome! If I were the heroine, I'd say yes right away. I don't get why she's playing hard to get."
"Oh? You actually watch that too, Kotori?" Viola raised an eyebrow as she sipped her juice. "Honestly, I think the heroine deserves way better. That male lead is a total scumbag."
Kotori blinked, clearly surprised. "You think so? So… you're rooting for the heroine and the second male lead then?"
"What? Of course not," Viola scoffed. "I'm rooting for the second female lead and the heroine. Those two guys are just a pair of trash who deserve to be written out completely."
Kotori stared at her, stunned. "Wait, what? You're shipping the heroine and the second female lead?!"
"Yep," Viola said without hesitation. "It's the only relationship that makes emotional sense. Chemistry? Check. Loyalty? Check. Mutual respect? Check. Everything else is just shallow drama bait."
While the two continued debating their imaginary ships across the table, I sighed and finally spoke up. "I didn't get a chance to watch it."
Kotori looked at me in mild horror. "You didn't?! But it was the big twist episode!"
Those two—Arthur and Iris—ended up dragging me around the basecamp for way longer after they showed me the arcade machine. By the time we were done, it was already late at night.
When I finally got back to the dorm, I expected to see both Irana and Viola there, maybe even scolding me for being out so late. Instead, I only saw Viola sitting alone in the lounge, half-asleep with a book in her hand. That immediately raised a red flag.
"Where's Irana?" I asked her.
Viola looked up, almost startled. "She's at the hospital," she said, stuttering a bit. "She fell down the stairs earlier today."
My heart practically dropped into my stomach.
I didn't waste another second.
The moment Viola's words sank in, a chill ran down my spine. My hand moved on its own, yanking out my phone as my fingers trembled against the screen. I called Irana immediately, expecting to hear her voice—tired maybe, irritated even.
Instead, it was the old man who picked up.
His voice was maddeningly casual, even lighthearted, as if we were just chatting about the weather like nothing had happened. Like my twin sister wasn't in a hospital bed with a broken leg. My stomach turned. My grip on the phone tightened.
I didn't even try to hide the fury in my voice. The words came pouring out, sharp and fast, my tone somewhere between disbelief and raw anger. He brushed it off as if he didn't understand why I was upset. But I did. That call he made earlier—the one I had answered briefly before he hung up without saying anything meaningful—that must have been it. He already knew. And instead of telling me, he danced around the truth like it was some kind of joke.
I stormed out without another word, every step powered by adrenaline. The campus disappeared behind me as I moved on instinct, my legs carrying me faster than my thoughts could keep up. By the time I reached the hospital, the city was cloaked in night. Streetlights flickered. The air was sharp, biting at my skin with every breath—but I didn't care. I made my way down the corridor, past dimmed rooms and tired nurses, until I found her.
Irana.
The room was silent when I stepped in. She lay there, her small frame swallowed by hospital sheets. One leg was elevated and wrapped tightly in a thick white cast. The pale overhead light washed over her like moonlight, making her look almost too still, too fragile. Her face was peaceful, her breathing soft and even. Fast asleep. Unaware of everything.
And that's why today, it was just the three of us in the cafeteria.
Kotori and Viola sat across from me, mid-discussion about the drama they'd watched last night. I wasn't really listening—until I caught a spoiler creeping into the conversation.
"Can you guys not talk about it? I don't want to hear spoilers," I said, not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice.
"Oh, right… Sorry, Aria," Kotori said quickly, flashing me an apologetic smile.
Viola, ever the gossip, leaned in a little. "Oh, by the way… seems like the new episode is going to be delayed."
"Huh? How come?" I asked, glancing up in surprise.
"There was a huge fire in the entertainment district yesterday," Viola replied.
My eyebrows lifted. "Wait, something that big happened, and I didn't hear anything about it?"
"The news only started spreading this morning," Viola said with a shrug, like it wasn't that unusual.
"That's a bummer…" I muttered.
Then, something clicked in my mind.
"Wait… wasn't Syena in that drama? Is she okay?"
As soon as I said her name, both Kotori and Viola exchanged a glance. It was quick but noticeable. Something unspoken passed between them.
"About that…" Kotori started, her voice suddenly softer.
"Three days before the fire hit, Syena went missing," Viola continued.
I frowned. My chest tightened with unease.
"Not only that," she added, "apparently, people all over the city have been disappearing. One by one. Every single day. The police are starting to suspect it's a serial kidnapping. Or in the worst case…"
She didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't need to. The word echoed in my mind anyway.
Murder.
A chill ran down my spine. The kind that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Something about it felt too closee to be true.
And yet… what could I do?
I am just a student. I couldn't solve mysteries.
But then, it hit me.
Arthur. Iris. The basecamp.
The technology I'd seen there—the systems, the equipment—it was far beyond anything ordinary. If anyone had the tools to track something like this down…
I shot up from my seat.
"That's right," I muttered, barely realizing I'd spoken aloud.
Arthur and Iris. The basecamp. With what they had, maybe… just maybe… we could solve this.
"What's wrong, Aria?" Viola asked, her tone light but tinged with curiosity.
"Ah, nothing…" I replied quickly, brushing it off as I eased myself back into my seat. My heart was still racing a little from that sudden realization, but I forced my expression to stay neutral.
Viola tilted her head slightly, watching me, then seemed to shift gears.
"That reminds me," she said, tapping her finger against the table. "Yesterday, you were hanging out with my little sister, right? I didn't even know you two knew each other."
"Oh, about that…" I started, pausing for a moment. "I didn't even know she was your sister until recently. I met her a few years ago, completely by chance."
"Really?" Viola raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," I nodded. "Back then, I just thought she was a sharp, no-nonsense kind of girl. I never made the connection, especially since… well, you once told me your sister despised you."
Viola gave a half-hearted chuckle, but her eyes dimmed a little.
"That's why I was so surprised," I continued. "I mean, from what I've seen, Iris seems like she cares about you a lot. She talks about you with this quiet kind of respect. Like she's looking out for you from afar, even if you don't realise it."
Viola looked away for a moment, a small frown forming on her lips.
"It seems like there's some kind of misunderstanding between you two," I added gently.
Viola was quiet for a beat. Then she looked back at me with a strange expression, her gaze unreadable.
"I know there's a misunderstanding," she said softly. "But not between me and my sister."
Her words lingered in the air, vague and heavy, leaving me unsure of what she really meant.