And then I tell everything that happened so far.

  Now for the first time, I saw Ken’s smile fade slightly. He seemed to think for a moment, then said something I couldn’t fully understand.

  Before I could process it, everything began to shine brightly.

  Then—

  I suddenly woke up in my bed.

  I quickly grabbed my phone and checked the date.

  April 7.I don’t know why, but I smiled to myself.

  “Damn it…”

  This time, I knew there was nothing I could do.

  Maybe what I saw before was just a dream—just like Ken said. Maybe this was the dream.

  But one thing was certain—

  Out of nowhere, my door started knocking violently, almost breaking apart.

  I smiled to myself and whispered, “The one thing that never changes is…”

  The door burst open.

  Yui stood in the doorway.

  “You’re awake? Good.”

  I smiled faintly. “Good morning, Sis.”

  The one thing that never changes is my Yui.

  Now only four days remain until the school festival.

  In another part of the city…

  The buzz of digital gunfire and the hum of monitors filled the air. Neon lights reflected off sleek glass screens as people lost themselves in virtual worlds.

  Among the crowd, Alex and Gru sat side by side, locked into a newly installed arcade shooter. Despite only meeting recently, the two had already clicked—strangely enough, because of Gru’s uncanny way with words.

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  There was something about him. Something unexplainable.

  Whenever Gru spoke, it didn’t feel like a normal conversation.

  It felt deeper.

  Like his words echoed from inside your own soul.

  BEEP—

  A loud chime rang from the machine.

  “NEW HIGH SCORE: 1000”

  Gru leaned back with a small, knowing smile.

  Alex stared at the screen in disbelief, then groaned, dragging a hand down his face.

  “Dude, how are you so good at this? It’s a brand-new game! They just installed it today, and you crushed it like you’ve been playing for years!”

  Gru chuckled softly, still focused on the flickering screen.

  “It’s simple,” he said calmly. “If you observe something carefully and understand its base, you already have control. After that, it’s just about moving your fingers.”

  Alex blinked. “That… made no sense. But somehow it made too much sense.”

  Gru’s smile widened slightly, his eyes gleaming faintly with something… unreal.

  And so, their friendship continued to grow under the pressure of games and neon lights.

  Meanwhile, somewhere in the capital, inside a mansion…

  Sophia stepped out of the shower. Covi was lying lazily on top of her head, completely wet.

  She smiled. “Hey, Covi, dry yourself.”

  Covi lazily opened one eye. Wings appeared behind him, and he flew in front of her face. Then he shook his body, splashing water all over Sophia.

  She laughed and giggled. “Hey, Covi! Stop it!”

  After some time, Sophia sat in front of her mirror.

  It wasn’t an ordinary mirror. It was enormous.

  She brushed her hair slowly, staring at her reflection.

  “I wonder what Neel, Gru, and he are doing…” she thought.

  As she thought about me, her face slowly turned red. Flustered, she grabbed her chest as her heart began beating faster.

  Holding her dress tightly, she closed her eyes and whispered,

  “I don’t know why… but I want to see him again. I don’t want to look away from him… why?”

  Her face burned even redder. She jumped onto her bed, rolled around, and covered her face with her hands.

  “No, no, no… this isn’t right… It’s embarrassing… embarrassing… embarrassing… EMBARRASSING!”

  Covi, who had been sleeping between books on a shelf, was squeezed out and fell down.

  In a barely audible, lazy voice, he asked, “What happened? Why are you making noise? I’m trying to sleep…”

  Sophia froze.

  She slowly stood up, embarrassed, then asked in a dangerously soft voice,

  “Covi… you didn’t see anything… right?”

  Covi immediately panicked. “No! I didn’t see anything, I swear!”

  The entire mansion echoed with Covi’s scream.

  Back at the gaming café…

  Gru continued winning every game, setting high scores that seemed impossible to beat.

  “Damn it, I lost again!” Alex groaned.

  He turned to Gru. “Hey, are you hungry? Let’s grab some snacks.”

  Gru simply nodded, still focused on the screen. After setting yet another impossible high score, he stood up and turned toward Alex.

  With a serious yet oddly childish expression, he said, “Hey man, I’m tired. Can you carry me to wherever you’re going?”

  Alex blinked in shock and took a step back. “What are you thinking? I’m not your babysitter!”

  Gru made puppy eyes.

  With a sigh, Alex grabbed him by the collar and dragged him toward a nearby Gobi restaurant.

  “You’re such a pure-hearted guy,” Gru said cheerfully.

  “Shut up,” Alex replied.

  And just like that, time slipped through our hands.

  It was already April 10.

  9:24 a.m.

  _____