x
So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjc0zws4hT
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:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNf1G9nqWb
Learn C. Not because I had to…54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSlxKCPy3l
But because I wanted to.
To be better.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ve9d3xHgR
To maybe help her with something someday.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgjVSnDYLv
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5GqErRGF4
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…54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9G7Scu3AF
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8escdnhyGB
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡva22PxYTrn
But texts? Texts felt safer.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwosSIdqJl
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nUF8ONMc9
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjpDCnyvF8
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfQKiJ6d1t
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7DP1582F9
“Who are you?”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Fzq2Ubhi1
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruNQupJxL1
Hopeful? Maybe.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeCBB6t4Nj
Desperate? Nah.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlWAPSTAQN
Romantic? Probably.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiLVAhTeOO
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIjsoiicPK
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbQ1LGp7jo
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxXtq1LTkM
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkELrORU0kA
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpemuzxB0j7
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEqQEc3Msh
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yknRpraZa
And I replied:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJKD7yGD3B
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoqRwK3Ne1
to anime…54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54lwpbt2Im
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0rdPHpjyn
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmYnEy1gGA
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcYXyN5hK8
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJoWy4rtvM
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBm82qr549Q
Did I explain my intentions?54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbXBzT7168
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixMrpsXeZy
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
