The university felt different after Ethan left.
For the first time in days, nobody was shouting.
Nobody was accusing anyone.
Nobody was recording conversations in the middle of the classroom.
The chaos had disappeared.
At least, on the surface.
Ethan had been suspended pending further investigation.
His name had become something people whispered instead of something they said confidently.
Some still believed he had been framed.
Others believed he had finally been exposed.
I didn’t care which version they preferred.
People believed whatever explanation made the world easier to understand.
And right now, Ethan was the easiest explanation.
The strange photographs.
The anonymous messages.
The recordings.
The rumors.
Everything had somehow become connected to him.
And because the university had already accepted that narrative, nobody was asking the more important question.
Who had taken the photographs?
I was.
I sat in the back of the classroom, staring at my phone.
The unknown message was still there.
You missed someone, Arthur.
I had examined it dozens of times.
No number.
No profile.
No identifiable information.
Nothing.
Whoever had sent it knew exactly how to remain invisible.
That bothered me.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I wasn’t used to being observed without noticing.
Area 19 had taught me to notice everything.
A change in breathing.
A hesitation.
A misplaced object.
A person standing too close.
A reflection in glass.
A shadow that didn’t belong.
I had learned to survive by noticing what others ignored.
And yet…
someone had been watching me.
For how long?
I didn’t know.
That was the part I hated.
Not the threat.
The uncertainty.
I put the phone away.
“Arthur.”
I looked up.
Alice was standing beside my desk.
“Yes?”
“You’re staring at that phone like you want to destroy it.”
“I was thinking.”
“About Ethan?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“You’re lying.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“How can you tell?”
“Because you always look at people when you’re telling the truth.”
I stared at her.
She smiled again.
“See?”
I looked away.
That was annoying.
Not because she was wrong.
Because she had noticed.
Most people watched what I did.
Alice was beginning to notice how I did it.
That was different.
“Are you free after class?” she asked.
“For what?”
“I want to go somewhere.”
“Where?”
“You’ll see.”
I studied her expression.
There was no fear.
No suspicion.
No hidden question.
Just curiosity.
“Fine.”
She smiled.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t disappear.”
“I won’t.”
She walked away.
I watched her for a moment.
Why does she make simple things complicated?
Then I realized something.
I didn’t actually dislike it.
That was the problem.
After class, Alice was waiting outside.
She hadn’t changed anything about herself.
Same clothes.
Same smile.
Same expression.
And yet…
there was something different about the way she looked at me.
Less cautious.
More comfortable.
“Come on.”
She started walking.
I followed.
“Where are we going?”
“I told you.”
“You said I’d see.”
“Exactly.”
We left campus.
She took me to a small café several streets away.
It wasn’t crowded.
A few students sat near the windows.
She chose a table in the corner.
I sat across from her.
She looked at the menu.
“What do you want?”
“Coffee.”
“You always drink coffee.”
“It’s efficient.”
She laughed.
“That’s such an Arthur answer.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
She smiled.
“You make everything sound like it’s part of a plan.”
I didn’t respond.
She looked at me.
“Is it?”
“Sometimes.”
“Are you planning this conversation?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She closed the menu.
“I wanted to spend time with you.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
Her cheeks turned slightly red.
“Because I like being around you.”
I remained silent.
She looked down.
“I know that probably sounds strange.”
“No.”
“You don’t think so?”
I paused.
“I like being around you too.”
She looked up.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Her smile became smaller.
But more genuine.
“Then maybe we should do this more often.”
“Maybe.”
She leaned forward.
“You always say maybe.”
“It’s a useful word.”
“You’re impossible.”
I smiled.
“People have said that before.”
She laughed.
For a few minutes, we simply talked.
No manipulation.
No rumors.
No Ethan.
No secrets.
She told me about classes she hated.
A professor she couldn’t stand.
A movie she’d watched the previous night.
Small things.
Meaningless things.
And yet…
I listened.
Actually listened.
I didn’t calculate what each sentence could be used for.
I didn’t search for weaknesses.
I didn’t wonder what she wanted from me.
I simply listened.
The realization made me uncomfortable.
This is inefficient.
And yet I didn’t leave.
When we left the café, it had started raining.
Alice looked up.
“Seriously?”
I glanced at the sky.
“Apparently.”
She laughed.
“You didn’t bring an umbrella?”
“No.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
She opened hers.
It was small.
Barely enough for two people.
She moved closer.
“Come here.”
I stepped beneath the umbrella.
Our shoulders touched.
She looked at me.
“You’re cold.”
“I’m fine.”
“You always say that.”
“Because I’m usually fine.”
She smiled.
“Maybe I don’t believe you.”
We walked slowly.
For some reason, neither of us tried to create more distance.
The rain struck the umbrella above us.
Cars passed over the wet streets.
People hurried around us.
And for several minutes…
the world felt strangely quiet.
Alice’s hand brushed against mine.
She hesitated.
Then gently held it.
I looked down.
Our hands were together.
She didn’t say anything.
Neither did I.
I could have pulled away.
I didn’t.
Why?
I didn’t have an answer.
That bothered me more than it should have.
“Arthur?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you trust me?”
I looked at her.
The question was simple.
The answer wasn’t.
Trust had always been a transaction to me.
Information for protection.
Fear for obedience.
Need for loyalty.
But Alice wasn’t asking for any of that.
She simply wanted an answer.
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then I trust you too.”
I looked ahead.
Something about that sentence stayed with me.
Not because it was useful.
Because it wasn’t.
We reached the university dormitory.
Alice stopped beneath the entrance.
“I had fun today.”
“So did I.”
She smiled.
“That sounded almost human.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Almost?”
She laughed.
“Goodnight, Arthur.”
“Goodnight.”
She walked away.
Then turned around.
“Arthur?”
“Yes?”
She hesitated.
“Can I see you tomorrow?”
I smiled.
“Of course.”
She smiled back.
Then disappeared inside.
I remained there for a moment.
Watching the rain.
This is dangerous.
Not Alice.
The feeling.
Because I understood how to manipulate people.
I understood fear.
I understood greed.
I understood loneliness.
But affection?
That was different.
Affection made people irrational.
And for the first time…
I wasn’t sure whether I was studying it from the outside.
The next morning, Alice was waiting for me outside the classroom.
She handed me a coffee.
“You forgot yours.”
I looked at the cup.
“You remembered.”
“Of course.”
I took it.
She smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
A few students noticed.
Whispers began almost immediately.
Apparently, our relationship was becoming a topic.
Alice didn’t seem to care.
I did.
Not because I disliked the attention.
Because attention created patterns.
Patterns could be observed.
And someone was already observing me.
At lunch, I received another message.
Unknown sender.
This time, there was a photograph.
Alice.
She was standing outside the café from yesterday.
The photograph had been taken from across the street.
I froze.
Another message arrived.
She’s important to you.
I stared at the screen.
Then another photograph appeared.
This one was older.
Much older.
It showed me as a child.
Area 19.
The photograph was blurry.
But there was no mistaking it.
My body became completely still.
I zoomed in.
A younger version of myself stood beside another child.
E-18.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Another message appeared.
Do you remember her?
For several seconds…
I didn’t breathe.
Then another message.
She remembers you.
My eyes narrowed.
That was impossible.
E-18 had been separated from me years ago.
I had never learned what happened to her.
Nobody had.
At least…
that’s what I believed.
I looked around the cafeteria.
Students were eating.
Talking.
Laughing.
Everything looked normal.
But now every face seemed slightly different.
Every person became a possibility.
Someone could be watching.
Someone could be waiting.
Someone could already know.
Then my phone vibrated again.
Don’t trust the people who think they know you.
I stared at the sentence.
Another message appeared.
Especially the ones who love you.
My eyes moved toward the cafeteria entrance.
Alice had just walked inside.
She saw me.
She smiled.
And for the first time since meeting her…
I didn’t immediately know what to think.
Alice walked toward me.
“Arthur?”
I locked my phone.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
I looked at her.
She smiled.
The same smile from yesterday.
The same girl who had held my hand in the rain.
The same person who had asked whether I trusted her.
I forced myself to smile.
“I’m fine.”
She studied me.
“No, you’re not.”
I remained silent.
She sat beside me.
“Something happened.”
“Nothing.”
“Arthur.”
She touched my hand.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
I looked at her.
“Then why ask?”
“Because I want you to know you can.”
For some reason…
that sentence hurt more than the message had.
Not because it was false.
Because I wanted it to be true.
I looked down at our hands.
Then back at her.
“Thank you.”
She smiled.
“Anytime.”
I squeezed her hand once.
Then released it.
My expression returned to normal.
But inside, everything had changed.
Someone from my past had returned.
Someone knew about Area 19.
Someone knew about E-18.
Someone had photographed Alice.
And someone wanted me to question the person closest to me.
I looked at Alice.
If this is a game…
then someone has finally chosen a piece I care about.
And that changed the rules.
Because there was one thing I had learned at Area 19.
Never let someone else decide what you have to protect.
I looked at the photograph again.
The younger version of me stood beside E-18.
Two children.
Two experiments.
Two survivors.
And beneath the photograph, hidden in the corner, was a symbol I hadn’t seen in years.
The Area 19 insignia.
My expression hardened.
So you really did find me.
I put the phone away.
Then looked at Alice.
She smiled.
And I smiled back.
But this time…
the smile wasn’t for her.
It was for whoever was watching us.
If you want to play with my past…
then come closer.
Because now you have something to lose too.
Arthur’s past is no longer something that belongs to the past.
As the traces of Area 19 slowly begin to resurface, the life Arthur has built in the present starts to crack.
But who is really behind these messages?
And more importantly… is E-18 still alive?
Some cracks never truly heal.
They only sink deeper.
You can find visualized versions of some chapters in the author’s comments section.
scene photo :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MApa3k1RCKKOqdB3D1NgIHdGheXuaeUP/view?usp=drivesdk