The train doors slid open with a metallic hiss.
Cold air drifted into the carriage.
Outside, the figures on the platform slowly approached the train. Their footsteps echoed in the empty station, calm and unhurried.
Inside, tension tightened like a rope.
One of the men guarding the passengers smirked. "Looks like our ride's here."
A few passengers gasped quietly.
The familiar traveler leaned closer to the boy. "Okay… I officially don't like this situation."
But the boy kept watching.
Calculating.
Observing.
The leader of the group inside the train suddenly noticed his calm expression.
Unlike everyone else, the boy didn't look scared.
Not even a little.
The man frowned and walked over.
"You seem pretty relaxed for someone in the middle of this," he said suspiciously.
The carriage went silent again.
The familiar traveler glanced nervously between them.
The man crouched slightly to look him in the eyes.
"You think this is funny?"
For a moment, the boy didn't answer.
Then he looked at the man… and sighed.
"You are a dumb lil guy."
The words hung in the air like a dropped glass.
The familiar traveler nearly choked.
"…You did NOT just say that."
The man's face twisted with anger. "What did you say?!"
The boy pointed calmly toward the window.
"You stopped the train at a remote station."
Then he pointed toward the approaching figures outside.
"You're waiting for them."
Next, he glanced at the nervous men standing around the carriage.
"And yet you're wasting time arguing with a random passenger."
The man froze.
For the first time, uncertainty flickered across his face.
The boy leaned back in his seat.
"If your plan was actually good…"
"…you wouldn't be this nervous."
The man clenched his fists.
Passengers held their breath.
The familiar traveler slowly covered her face with her hand.
"Unbelievable…"
Meanwhile, the boy simply looked out the window again.
Completely unfazed.
Because sometimes the most dangerous thing in the room…
Wasn't the people with weapons.
It was the one person who wasn't afraid of them at all.