That evening, Loid returned home.
His grandmother was sitting in the living room.
She looked at him.
"You are late again."
"Sorry."
She smiled.
"You were with Charlotte?"
Loid stopped.
"How do you know?"
"You are smiling."
Loid touched his face.
Again.
He really was smiling.
"Do I really smile that much?"
"Only recently."
Loid sat down.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
His grandmother looked at him carefully.
"You like her."
Loid became silent.
He looked toward the window.
Outside, the rain had started again.
"I don't know."
His grandmother smiled.
"You don't need to know yet."
Loid looked at her.
"What if..."
He stopped.
"What if I ruin it?"
She thought for a moment.
"Then don't try to force it."
Loid looked confused.
"Some things become special because you let them happen naturally."
He remained silent.
Maybe she was right.
For a long time, Loid had always thought that happiness was something that had to be earned.
Something distant.
Something other people had.
Not him.
But lately...
Things were different.
He had friends.
People who waited for him.
People who noticed when he wasn't around.
And Charlotte.
Especially Charlotte.
He didn't know what she was to him yet.
He didn't know what he wanted her to become.
But for the first time...
He wasn't afraid of finding out.
Later that night, Loid stood beside his bedroom window.
The rain was still falling.
He looked at the streets below.
Everything was quiet.
His phone vibrated.
A message.
From Charlotte.
Good night, Loid.
He stared at the screen for a few seconds.
Then smiled.
He typed his reply.
Good night, Charlotte.
He put his phone down.
Then picked it up again.
He looked at her message one more time.
It was such a small thing.
Only three words.
But somehow...
It made the entire day feel better.
Loid sat on his bed.
He remembered the party.
The lanterns.
The rain.
Jay making stupid jokes.
Charlotte sitting beside him.
Their conversation.
Her smile.
And those words.
"I'm glad you came."
He closed his eyes.
For years, Loid had believed that being alone was easier.
No expectations.
No disappointment.
No one to lose.
But maybe being alone wasn't the same as being safe.
Maybe he had only been afraid.
Afraid of letting people close.
Afraid that if they knew the real him...
They would leave.
Yet Charlotte had listened.
She didn't judge him.
She remembered the little things.
And she never asked him to become someone else.
She simply stayed.
Loid smiled.
"Maybe..."
He looked at the rain outside.
"Maybe this isn't so bad."
For the first time in a long time...
Loid went to sleep without thinking about tomorrow.
He wasn't worried about what people would say.
He wasn't thinking about his past.
He wasn't wondering what could go wrong.
He simply felt happy.
And that was enough.
The next morning came quietly.
The school was the same.
The classrooms were the same.
The noisy hallways were the same.
Nothing had really changed.
Except Loid.
He entered the school gates.
Jay immediately appeared beside him.
"Morning."
"Morning."
"You look suspiciously happy."
"I'm just normal."
"That's exactly what a suspicious person would say."
Loid laughed.
Jay stared at him.
"There it is."
"What?"
"That laugh."
Loid shook his head.
"You're obsessed with it."
"Because I remember the old you."
Jay smiled.
"You've changed, man."
Loid looked ahead.
Maybe he had.
Maybe that wasn't something he needed to be ashamed of anymore.
They entered the building.
A few students greeted him.
Loid greeted them back.
It felt normal now.
Not strange.
Not forced.
Just normal.
Then he saw her.
Charlotte was standing near the classroom.
She noticed him.
Their eyes met.
She smiled.
Loid smiled back.
Neither of them said anything.
They didn't need to.
Some things didn't need words.
Charlotte walked toward him.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
"You slept well?"
"For once."
She laughed.
"I'm glad."
They walked into the classroom together.
Behind them, the hallway slowly became empty.
The first bell rang.
A new day had begun.
And neither of them knew what the future would bring.
They didn't know about the problems waiting for them.
They didn't know about the people who would try to come between them.
They didn't know how much their lives would change.
But right now...
None of that mattered.
Because for the first time...
Loid wasn't walking through life alone.
And Charlotte wasn't just someone he happened to know anymore.
She had become someone he looked forward to seeing.
Someone whose smile could change his entire day.
Someone whose presence made ordinary moments feel special.
Maybe that was what happiness felt like.
Not something dramatic.
Not something perfect.
Just...
Someone waiting for you at the end of the hallway.
Someone asking if you slept well.
Someone saying good morning.
Simple things.
The kind of things Loid once thought meant nothing.
Now meant everything.
Across the hallway, Shaw stood near his locker.
He watched Loid and Charlotte walk into the classroom together.
His expression was different from before.
There was no anger.
No jealousy.
Only thought.
He looked down at his phone.
A message was waiting.
Unknown:
Don't interfere yet.
Shaw stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
He is finally beginning to open up.
Shaw frowned.
Who are you?
The reply came.
Someone who has been watching him for a long time.
Shaw looked toward the classroom.
Loid was laughing at something Jay had said.
Charlotte was smiling beside him.
For a moment, Shaw said nothing.
Then he locked his phone.
Whatever was happening...
It had nothing to do with him.
Not yet.
He walked away.
But the message remained in his mind.
Someone had been watching Loid.
For how long?
And why?
Shaw didn't know.
But he would eventually find out.
The school bell rang again.
Loid looked toward Charlotte.
She smiled.
He smiled back.
And for now...
That was enough.
The first twenty chapters of his life had been about surviving what he had become.
The next ones would be about discovering who he wanted to become.
He just didn't know it yet.
The past had finally stopped chasing him.
At least for a little while.
And maybe...
That was all the peace he needed.
End of Arc 1.