x
So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zmdHEbBrp
Lofty goals, right? Hahaha.
Step 1: Actually listen in class.
(Spoiler: Failed within the first 20 minutes. Blame the fan sound and my daily existential crisis.)
Step 2: Join TechnicalHub sessions regularly.
Outcome: Mixed results. Most days I showed up, not for marks or future tech jobs, but because hope is a powerful drug.
Step 3: Learn on my own.
Because I know one thing — if I really want to… then I can too.
Step 4: Use anything thrown my way just to talk to her.
Selfish? Maybe. But when did feelings ever care about logic?
Amid all this planning, labs began.
Labs are weird. It's like cooking. Too much waiting, everyone pretending they know what they’re doing, and one wrong move… poof — chaos.
And so, I set another goal:186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcBYgziiE7
Learn C. Not because I had to…186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICHKlZPIaP
But because I wanted to.
To be better.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvT2Wmt35y9
To maybe help her with something someday.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfY9D4nbSCI
To maybe find a reason to talk.
Then came the WhatsApp group.
A few of us made it to ask doubts, share PDFs, or post occasional memes.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSp5SwAhlM
And I? I became The Shadow.
I started replying to doubts. Not because I wanted attention. Not to be the smartest kid in the room. But because…186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7ykAxD95B
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBvpBJKqay
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXIX3yoLR0
But texts? Texts felt safer.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmliuhZAPb
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nro6xzDKY
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLP0aN7wqGB
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0yeYgR9f0
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTSI2tkVDO
“Who are you?”186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHIAsiVVaG
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYH0eJXm92H
Hopeful? Maybe.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTCYmBNfvC
Desperate? Nah.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVcAkbld1I
Romantic? Probably.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzujsgGx9On
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd2nFYsNgr
Some started competing with me. Posting answers faster. Explaining better.
Part of me was relieved.
Maybe now I can chill… just wait until she messages...
And then, one random night — it happened.
She texted. In the group.
(Don’t ask how I know that it was her. Talent. Pure talent.)
I didn’t even think. Just replied instantly.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4Cr2FRFMs
But in my rush, I made mistakes in the solution…
And that led to her texting me. Privately.
I didn’t expect it. Couldn’t have planned it.
And so, I calmly — very calmly — clarified her doubt.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjz7CwCKiA
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnHd6q9C1L
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28i1Qi1zL1
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagbs83SEo0
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeGDtKFps8
And I replied:186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbUX8xbuyE
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQON2oTMMs
to anime…186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsYEANyeMj
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHk2tYRQyG
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvd4rp95xpr
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRADwsaUAJ
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotJUP7zcmn
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRF2gkQMYzm
Did I explain my intentions?186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0pvWi5Jga
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y4hEqBRfq
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
