His voice haunts me now. No longer just text on a screen or glitches in my reality. A voice with texture, with depth. Something real to fear. And now, somewhere in this city, there's a face to match it. A person hunting me. How do you hide from someone who can reach through walls, through screens, through firewalls you thought were impenetrable? How do you outrun someone who's already inside your life?
Kira didn't go back to sleep.
She sat at her kitchen table, staring into the abyss of her untouched coffee, the cold ceramic pressing against her palms.
But her mind wasn't in this room.
It was still trapped in the message of that person.
"You should be more careful, Kira."
The words slithered through her head like a broken record, looping endlessly, a whisper that refused to be silenced.
He had lurked, glitched her world, left his invisible fingerprints all over her life. But now, he had stepped out of the darkness.
And that terrified her more than anything.
---
Next Morning 8:00 AM – Studio
"Are you even listening, Kira?"
A voice yanked her back into reality.
She blinked, barely registering the figure standing before her—arms crossed, mouth twisted in a dramatic pout.
Aoki Renn.
Her manager. Her accomplice. A second-year high school student at Keio High School, Tokyo. Someone she'd met only four months ago under strange, serendipitous circumstances. He was young, reckless, often loud—but surprisingly reliable. She still didn’t know much about him, not really. But somehow, in this maze of lies and secrets, he had slipped into her life and stayed.
Dressed in an oversized sweater three sizes too big, sneakers that looked one step away from falling apart, and an eternal look of mild confusion, Renn was the exact opposite of what a professional manager should be.
And yet, somehow, this fool had managed to keep her secret.
For now.
Renn waved a clipboard in front of her face, his lips pressing into a line.
"Hellooo? Did you hear anything I just said?"
She sighed, rubbing her temples. "Something dumb?"
His pout deepened. "Rude. I was saying we need to change your setlist. The venue owner wants something new.
How about that song you always hum?"
Kira froze.
Her breath caught.
A memory surfaced—one she had buried so deep, it felt like another lifetime.
Soft humming. A warm voice.
A woman—beautiful, delicate, no older than thirty—sitting by a window, golden light kissing her skin.
Her lips moved in perfect rhythm, weaving a melody so fragile, so haunting, that even time seemed to hold its breath.
Kira had been just a child, curled up beside her, listening.
Back Into present.
Her fingers curled into her jacket.
"Not that one."
Renn blinked.
"Huh? But that song—"
"I said no."
For once, he didn't argue.
And Kira didn't offer an explanation.
Renn scratched his head. "Okay! Then
Soul on Fire?"
She exhaled.
"Fine."
Crisis averted.
…Or so she thought.
Because Renn suddenly leaned forward, staring at her too intently, like a detective about to crack a case.
"You're acting weird today," he declared.
Kira forced a yawn. "I'm tired."
His eyes widened. "Oh no. Are you sick?
Did you eat? Wait, DID YOU GET CURSED?!"
Kira groaned. "Renn—"
"OH. MY. GOD." He shot up, panicked. "YOU ACCIDENTALLY SAID YOUR SECRET THAT YOU ARE LUNA!!!, DIDN'T YOU?!"
She threw a cushion at him.
"STOP SHOUTING."
He dramatically caught the cushion, hugging it like it was his emotional support pet.
"So you're not cursed?"
"No."
"Not exposed?"
"No."
"Then why do you look like you saw a ghost?"
Because a hacker is watching me.
Because my entire life is a lie.
Because I don't know if I can trust anyone.
But she couldn't say that.
So she forced a lazy smile. "Maybe I did."
Renn gasped again. "Tch. Ghosts again. I told you to stop watching horror movies at night, Kira."
Kira gave up.
---
1:00 AM – Kira's Apartment
She should've known he wasn't done.
The moment she stepped inside her apartment, the lights flickered.
Her stomach dropped.
No. Not again.
She shut the door behind her, locking it out of habit, but the uneasy feeling wouldn't leave.
Her laptop sat open on the desk.
She didn't remember leaving it that way.
Slowly, cautiously, she walked over. The screen was black, the cursor blinking in the middle of nothingness.
Then—
A message appeared.
"Are you hiding from me?"
A chill ran down her spine.
Another message.
"Do you think I can't see you?"
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
She didn't know what to type.
Then, before she could react—
The laptop screen turned on.
And there he was.
A grainy, low-quality video feed.
A man sitting in the dark, his face half-hidden in shadows.
Kairos.
Kira's breath hitched.
It was the first time she had ever seen him.
And somehow, that was worse.
He wasn't some faceless entity behind a screen anymore.
He was real.
A person. A presence that could reach her.
He tilted his head slightly, as if studying her reaction. Then, his lips parted.
"You should've listened, Kira."
And just like that—
The screen went black.
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