One afternoon, while we were at the library together, an old friend appeared. He was someone who knew me before it all began—before the system changed me.

He stared at me in shock and whispered:

“Wait… is it really you? But… how did you end up like this?”

My heart froze in panic. The look in his eyes—and in my boyfriend’s eyes beside me—turned sharp. I knew if I didn’t explain, things could go terribly wrong.

That night, in the quiet of our dorm room, I revealed everything. Every word lifted a weight from me, but fear still lingered: would he still accept me?

After a long silence, he squeezed my hand and smiled:

“Silly… why didn’t you say it earlier? To me, you’re still you. No matter what, I’ll always stay by your side.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, but this time, they were tears of happiness.