Kaizer's POV
It was quiet.
Not the usual kind of quiet that came and went between thoughts...but something deeper. Something unfamiliar.
When I opened my eyes, the silence was the first thing I noticed. No overlapping voices. No stray thoughts slipping into my head. Just a stillness that felt almost… unnatural.
I stayed there for a while, staring at the ceiling, letting that silence settle around me.
Then I reached for my phone.
A holiday.
Right.
That explained it.
No school. No crowds. No noise.
And yet,
I didn't feel like doing anything.
Exams were close. I knew that. I should have been studying, revising, doing something useful. Instead, I just lay there, unmoving, staring at nothing in particular.
After a few minutes, I turned my head slightly toward the window.
And paused.
She was there.
Iris.
Standing in her balcony, a book in her hand as she walked slowly from one end to the other. Her lips moved faintly, repeating something under her breath, probably memorizing it. She didn't look distracted. Didn't look tired. Just… focused.
Disciplined.
My gaze lingered longer than it should have.
A faint twitch formed at the corner of my lips.
"…Of course you are."
I pushed myself up, almost out of reflex, and walked to my desk. The biology book lay where I had left it yesterday. I opened it without much thought, flipping to a random chapter.
"…Cell division…"
The words stared back at me.
I read the line once.
Then again.
Nothing stayed.
I frowned slightly, leaning closer to the page as if that would help.
It didn't.
Even without the constant noise in my head, my mind felt… uncooperative. Slipping. Distracted. Irritated for no reason I could name.
I exhaled sharply and leaned back.
"Tch…"
For a brief second, something shifted.
A strange feeling.
Like I wasn't alone.
My eyes moved toward the window again, sharper this time..but there was nothing. Just the same quiet morning, unchanged.
"…Imagining things now."
I looked back at the book.
Still nothing.
The silence, which should have helped, now felt… empty.
Almost useless.
---
My phone buzzed.
The sound broke the stillness instantly.
I picked it up without much interest, until my eyes paused on the notification.
Iris's Study Hacks
Right.
Lux had forced me to join it weeks ago, claiming it would "save my academic life." I had ignored it completely.
Until now.
The title caught my attention.
"Struggling to read your book? Try doing this…"
My lips curved slightly.
"…Convenient."
Still, I opened it.
---
A few minutes later, I tried again.
Slower this time.
Breaking the lines. Whispering them under my breath. Letting the words settle instead of forcing them in.
"…Mitosis is the process…"
I paused.
Then continued.
And this time,
It stayed.
I blinked once, then continued reading. Line after line, concept after concept, everything began to make sense in a way it hadn't before.
Time passed.
Quietly.
The sunlight shifted across the room, the air grew warmer, and before I realized it, hours had slipped by.
Two.
Maybe three.
For once,
My mind felt… steady.
---
My phone rang.
The sudden sound cut through everything.
Unknown number.
I stared at the screen for a second before answering.
"…Hello."
"Kaizer… I am...."
"I'm hanging up. Don't disturb me."
"You can't talk to me like that!! I am your father!!"
My grip tightened around the phone, my jaw setting slightly.
"…No. You're no one. I'm hanging up."
"You can't do anything but hang up calls!! You think I don't know? You can't even perform well in minor school exams! Firstly you killed your...."
"I didn't."
The words came out sharper than I intended.
But it didn't matter.
Because the moment he said it..
the memory surfaced.
Not clearly. Not completely.
Just enough.
That night.
Their voices clashing, louder than they should have been. His tone careless, dismissive, as if none of it mattered. My mother's voice… strained, tired, holding on to something that was already breaking.
She had called her brother.
My uncle.
Hoping someone would listen.
No one did.
So she left.
Quietly.
With me.
I remember sitting beside her, watching her hands tighten around the steering wheel, her eyes fixed ahead but distant at the same time.
And then,
A flash.
A sound that didn't feel real.
The car losing control.
Everything spinning.
And then silence.
Not the kind that comforts.
The kind that takes everything.
When I woke up,
she wasn't there.
And the world was never quiet again.
"Me?" His voice dragged me back. "Oh no, kid. You might have saved your mother, but you can't even do minor things. You're a loser."
Silence pressed against my ears.
"Then go to a winner," I said quietly.
"I'm better off alone."
I cut the call.
---
For a moment, I just stood there, the phone still in my hand.
The silence returned.
But this time,
it wasn't calm.
It felt heavy.
Unsettling.
"…Tch."
I grabbed my jacket and stepped out without thinking.
---
The park was almost empty.
A faint breeze moved through the trees, leaves rustling softly, the world around me calm in a way I couldn't feel.
I walked faster than usual, my thoughts unsettled despite the silence.
And then,
I collided into someone.
A soft gasp.
A body losing balance.
My hand moved instinctively, catching their wrist before they could fall, pulling them back toward me.
For a moment,
everything stilled.
"…Are you okay.."
The words stopped.
Because it was her.
Iris.
Her eyes widened slightly as recognition settled in.
"…Yes…"
Her voice was soft, almost fragile.
She was closer than ever before.
Close enough for me to notice the way her breath hitched slightly, the faint blush spreading across her cheeks, the way her fingers tightened around the edge of her book.
And then,
silence.
Complete.
No thoughts.
No noise.
Nothing.
I was still holding her wrist.
I let go.
Slowly.
Too slowly.
Neither of us moved.
I opened my mouth.
Say something.
Anything.
"…You—"
The word slipped out.
And stopped.
My mind,
blank.
Not because of silence.
But because of everything that had just surfaced.
The call.
The memory.
The noise that wasn't there....but still was.
I couldn't form the words.
I couldn't continue.
"…What?" she asked softly.
She was looking at me.
Waiting.
I held her gaze for a second longer, something tightening in my chest.
"…Nothing."
A quiet pause followed.
Then she exhaled softly, almost like a sigh, her gaze dropping for just a second before she nodded.
"…Okay."
She turned and walked away.
I stood there, watching her go.
Something lingered.
Unsaid.
Unfinished.
For the first time,
it wasn't the noise that stopped me.
It was everything else.
And somehow...
This time I wanted to hear her voice....more than her thoughts.