Harry stood still in the empty street outside the school, watching the black car disappear into the distance.
The glow of its rear lights faded slowly into the night until only darkness remained, swallowing the road back whole.
Cold air brushed against his face.
But he didn't move.
His mind was still stuck inside the dream.
Sophia.
Elara Nightwyn.
Two names.
One person.
And somehow, neither explanation felt complete.
Harry tightened his grip on his books, slowly piecing things together as he walked home through the quiet streets of Utashinai.
Sophia was never known by anyone at school.
Elara never spoke a single word in his presence.
And yet…
They couldn't possibly be two unrelated people.
There was a connection somewhere.
Something hidden just beneath the surface of his missing memories.
Something he was not allowed to see yet.
He clicked his tongue softly.
"…What the hell is going on?"
That strange pressure in the air.
Like something was waiting for him.
And there she was.
Sophia.
Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, white hair falling over her shoulders as she stared at him like she had been standing there for a while.
Harry stopped a few steps away.
"…Are you gonna say something or not?" Sophia asked casually.
Harry blinked.
"…What?"
"I was waiting for you to tell me something," she said, tilting her head slightly.
Harry frowned.
"…Tell you what?"
Sophia sighed softly.
"So you still haven't figured it out."
Then she turned away slightly.
"…Never mind."
And started walking off.
Harry's eyes narrowed.
"W-WAIT."
She paused without turning around.
"What?"
Harry hesitated for a second, then spoke.
"…Do you know Elara Nightwyn?"
For the first time, Sophia went completely still.
The silence stretched.
Longer than before.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Then she slowly turned her head toward him.
"…So that's it," she murmured.
Harry stiffened.
"What are you talking about?"
Sophia studied him for a moment.
Then gave a faint, almost tired exhale.
"…You really don't know anything yet."
She looked away toward the street where a black car had begun approaching, headlights cutting through the night like blades of light.
Harry followed her gaze.
A tall, silent driver sat inside.
Waiting.
Sophia straightened slightly as the car stopped beside her.
Before getting in, she glanced back at him.
Her expression wasn't playful this time.
"…Tomorrow," she said softly. "Stay after school. Everyone will be gone."
Harry's grip tightened.
"What does that even mean?"
Sophia didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she stepped into the car.
Then spoke one last time through the open door.
"I thought you already knew me better than this."
Harry's eyes narrowed.
"I don't know you at all."
A faint pause.
Then, almost like it hurt her to hear that…
Sophia smiled weakly.
"Apparently not."
The door closed.
The car started moving.
And as it disappeared into the darkness, her voice lingered in Harry's mind like an unfinished sentence.
"I have no knowledge of you either…"
Harry stood alone in the empty street for a long time.
His thoughts weren't calm anymore.
They were tangled.
Conflicting.
Impossible to settle.
If Sophia was telling the truth…
Then why did everything feel like it was already connected?
And more importantly…
What was waiting tomorrow after school?
The next morning arrived slowly, like the world itself was reluctant to begin again.
Autumn winds slipped through the streets of Utashinai, carrying dry orange leaves that spun lazily across empty sidewalks and train platforms. The air felt colder than before, sharper somehow, like it was hinting that something important was about to happen.
Harry didn't feel rested.
He hadn't stopped thinking.
Not about the exam.
But about Sophia.
Or Elara.
Or whatever name was real.
The way she spoke.
The way she looked at him like she already knew things he didn't.
And the way everyone else saw her like she was just… normal.
That contradiction sat heavy in his mind the entire morning.
By the time he reached the train station, his thoughts were already tangled.
And that's when he saw them.
Lucien Mercer.
And Lina Haddad.
Her ponytail haircut and glasses, even the way she dressed.
Harry immediately slowed his steps.
His first instinct was simple.
Avoid them.
Stay invisible.
Don't get involved.
But it was already too late.
Lucien noticed him first.
"Oh, hey Harry."
Harry froze slightly.
"…Shit," he muttered under his breath.
Both of them started walking toward him.
Lucien smiled casually.
"I didn't expect to see you this early. I usually get here before you, but today I guess we matched timing."
Lina stood slightly behind Lucien.
Quiet.
Different from usual as it was calmer then the girl he know her.
Just… stillness.
But her eyes didn't meet Harry's.
Not even once.
Harry gave an awkward wave.
"Uh… yeah. Early day. Same as you."
Lucien tilted his head.
"…Do you two know each other?"
Lina answered immediately.
"No."
Harry blinked.
"…We do."
Lina added flatly without looking at him.
"And if we did, it was a mistake."
Lucien blinked.
Then laughed awkwardly.
"Okay, that sounds like you definitely know each other."
Harry exhaled.
"…Fine, we met before."
So he told him about hes case with lina, At least the version he understood.
Then he looked at her and told both of them about why he acted that way towards her.
The awkward first impressions.
Lucien listened carefully, arms crossed.
Then, surprisingly, he sighed.
"I'm gonna be honest," Lucien said. "I'm kind of on Lina's side here."
Harry's eyes widened.
"It was right after I woke up from a coma."
Lina paused.
"…Coma?"
Lucien blinked.
That changed the mood immediately.
Harry continued, voice sharper now.
"She shouldn't just expect people to act normal when they don't even know who they are."
Lucien sighed.
"Still… basic manners matter."
Harry's frustration grew.
"Basic manners?" he repeated. "So I should just pretend everything is fine when I don't even understand my own life?"
Lucien replied calmly.
"If everyone agreed on being nice, life would be simpler."
Lina suddenly raised her voice.
"Guys, wait."
Neither of them listened.
Harry continued.
"And who decides what 'nice' even is? You?People who don't even know me?"
Lucien shot back.
"If you act like that, don't expect people to stick around."
Harry scoffed.
Lucien opened his mouth again.
But Lina suddenly shouted.
"GUYS, SHUT UP."
Everyone at the station looked at them.
All attention drawn at the screaming of lina.
Both of them stopped instantly.
Silence dropped over the platform.
Even the wind felt quieter.
Lina looked between them, frustrated.
"Harry… what do you mean coma?"
Harry's expression softened slightly.
"…I lost my memories," he said quietly. "I don't remember my past. I don't remember most people. I just… woke up like this."
The anger in the air faded.
Lucien took a step back.
"…Oh."
Lina's expression changed immediately.
Her earlier sharpness disappeared.
"I… I didn't know that," she said softly. "I'm sorry."
Harry looked away.
"It's fine."
Lucien scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"…Yeah. That's… rough."
For a moment, none of them knew what to say.
Then Lina took a small breath.
"Let's just… reset," she said gently. "Start over properly this time."
She extended her hand slightly.
"I'm Lina Haddad."
Harry hesitated.
Then slowly shook her hand.
"…Harry Grey."
A faint smile formed on Lina's face.
"Nice to meet you."
Harry gave a small nod.
"…Yeah."
The train arrived shortly after.
Cold air rushed through the platform as the doors opened.
They stepped inside together.
Harry, Lucien, and Lina.
Inside the moving train, silence settled again, but it was different this time.
Less hostile.
More uncertain.
Lucien leaned slightly toward Harry.
"…If this is your first time meeting her properly," he muttered, "how come you said you met her before?"
Harry looked out the window.
"…I don't know."
Lucien looked away.
"…Sorry."
Harry shook his head.
"It's fine."
But even as he said it, something inside him felt wrong.
Because Lina's reaction didn't match her words.
And the memory he thought he lost…
didn't feel completely gone.
Harry stayed quiet for the rest of the train ride.
Stuck on Lucien's words.
Slowly, Harry lowered his eyes,Had he always acted like this?
Was this the reason people left him?
The reason he ended up alone?
Lucien had sided with Lina almost instantly. No hesitation. No attempt to understand him first. Even after spending days together as classmates and friends, Lucien still naturally leaned toward the side he thought was "right."
So what about the others?
Did they do the same thing before Harry lost his memories?
Did everyone eventually get tired of him?
Harry hated how deeply the thought crawled into his chest.
Because part of him understood why Lucien reacted that way.
But another part rejected it completely.
How could he be wrong for acting honestly?
Why did people expect him to wear some perfect mask made to reflect their ideals?
Why did everyone act like kindness had to look a certain way?
"They can't blame me for not becoming what they wanted."
The thought echoed bitterly inside his head.
He wasn't trying to hurt anyone.
Did that really make him wrong?
Or were people simply angry whenever reality failed to match the version they imagined?
Harry exhaled quietly.
The loneliness inside him didn't disappear.
If anything, it only became heavier.
Because for the first time since losing his memories, Harry started wondering something.
Maybe he really had been difficult to love.
At school, everything moved normally.
Classes.
Noise.
Routine.
But nothing felt normal for Harry.
When he stepped into the classroom, the atmosphere shifted slightly.
His friends were already there.
And at the center of it all…
Elara Nightwyn.
Pixie haircut.
Quiet gaze.
Same presence.
She looked at him.
And smiled.
Harry froze.
Because for a split second…
it felt exactly like Sophia was looking back at him.
He sat there with his pen in his hand, pretending to follow along, but his mind kept slipping away. Every few seconds he'd glance up without meaning to.
The lesson had already begun, but Harry's attention drifted in and out like it couldn't decide where to settle.
Harry kept his eyes on his notebook.
At least, he tried to.
Every few seconds, his gaze flickered upward on its own.
And every time he did, he found the same thing.
Elara.
She was looking at him.
Not in a weird way. Not staring. Just… noticing him, like she already knew he was going to look back.
And then she smiled.
That small smile made something in his chest tighten for no clear reason.
Harry quickly looked away and stared hard at his notebook like it had answers written somewhere in the blank lines.
His thoughts were a mess.
After school yesterday.
The car.
"Tomorrow when everyone is gone."
What did that even mean?
He tried to push it away, but it just kept coming back heavier each time.
Harry immediately looked back down at his desk, his grip tightening slightly around his pen.
His thoughts started spiraling again.
What was waiting after school?
What did she mean by "tomorrow when everyone is gone"?
Was this going to end like the others?
Was something going to happen again?
His imagination didn't help.
It only made everything worse.
By the time lunch arrived, Harry already felt mentally exhausted.
The group gathered together like usual.
Noise filled the room instantly, overlapping voices bouncing off walls, mixing into something chaotic but strangely comforting.
Nora leaned back in her seat.
"The wind today is pretty strong, don't you think?"
Lucien nodded lightly.
"Yeah. I kinda like it though."
Damien stretched his arms.
"It's refreshing."
Seraphina frowned slightly.
"I don't know about you guys, but it makes my skirt a nightmare to deal with."
Owen blinked.
"Why are we talking about this?"
Lucien shrugged.
"I have no idea."
The table briefly went quiet.
Then Nora turned toward Harry.
"How did the geography exam go for you today?"
Harry blinked.
"…It was okay. I just forgot that Chinese explorer name. Zheng Li or something."
Nora corrected him gently.
"Zheng He?"
"Yeah, that one."
Lucien tilted his head.
"Why does his name matter again?"
Owen suddenly sat up.
"Wait, what?"
Nora tapped her chin.
"Question four?"
Lucien frowned.
"I thought it was Christopher Columbus."
Damien shook his head.
"No, I think it was Togo Heihachiro."
Elara suddenly spoke, calm and precise.
"Why would it be him? He is from the 1800s. Zheng He is from the 1300s. And why would Christopher Columbus even be relevant? The question was about an explorer who traveled through Asia."
Seraphina blinked.
"We didn't study that guy though."
Elara lifted her gaze slightly.
Then pointed toward the desk.
Someone had written notes there days ago in permanent marker. The teacher had never managed to erase them fully.
Nora smiled slightly.
"I figured you probably looked him up later, Elara."
Elara shook her head.
"I don't go to the library. It takes too long to find what I'm looking for."
Owen froze slightly.
"That's weird. I swear I saw you there late at night once."
Elara's eyes shifted toward him.
"What were you doing there late at night?"
Owen quickly raised his hands.
"Lyrielle asked me for help. We stayed late studying."
Lucien nodded.
"Yeah, I saw Lyrielle leaving late a few weeks ago too."
Owen added quickly.
"We were together."
Harry spoke suddenly without thinking.
"What were you doing there with Elara?"
The table paused for a second.
Owen blinked.
"We weren't with Elara. We were with Lyrielle."
Damien leaned forward slightly.
"I know Owen helps her a lot, but why was Lucien there?"
Lucien shrugged.
"Owen needed help."
Nora narrowed her eyes slightly.
"That's strange. Lyrielle usually asks me first before Owen."
Seraphina smirked.
"In what world?"
Then she turned toward Owen with a teasing grin.
"So tell me, Owen. Are you and Lyrielle dating?"
Owen immediately looked away.
"No. We are not dating."
Seraphina leaned closer, clearly enjoying herself.
"Oh really? Because you two keep staying up late together."
Owen groaned while the group laughed and teased him for the rest of lunch.
Eventually, the bell rang.
The noise faded as everyone returned to class.
Harry sat back down, trying to refocus on the lesson in front of him.
But his thoughts were still tangled.
Elara.
Sophia.
Lyrielle.
Lina.
All these names circling in his mind like pieces of a puzzle that refused to connect properly.
Then, without warning, his memory flashed back to Seraphina's panic that day.
The way she had screamed.
The way he ran out of the room.
Harry instinctively looked down, feeling heat rise in his face.
"…Embarrassing," he muttered under his breath.
He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, wishing he could erase the memory entirely.
When he opened them again, he noticed something.
Elara was looking at him.
Confused.
Observing.
Like she had noticed something off.
Harry quickly straightened up and focused hard on the teacher, pretending nothing had happened.
But inside, his thoughts were louder than ever.
And for the first time that day…
he wasn't sure whether he was being watched.
Or guided.