x
So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhN0u89ZyfQ
Lofty goals, right? Hahaha.
Step 1: Actually listen in class.
(Spoiler: Failed within the first 20 minutes. Blame the fan sound and my daily existential crisis.)
Step 2: Join TechnicalHub sessions regularly.
Outcome: Mixed results. Most days I showed up, not for marks or future tech jobs, but because hope is a powerful drug.
Step 3: Learn on my own.
Because I know one thing — if I really want to… then I can too.
Step 4: Use anything thrown my way just to talk to her.
Selfish? Maybe. But when did feelings ever care about logic?
Amid all this planning, labs began.
Labs are weird. It's like cooking. Too much waiting, everyone pretending they know what they’re doing, and one wrong move… poof — chaos.
And so, I set another goal:177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMu2gRhuucE
Learn C. Not because I had to…177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JcgGHBxHj
But because I wanted to.
To be better.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2PVwTRAiB
To maybe help her with something someday.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspn9WJQ1YL
To maybe find a reason to talk.
Then came the WhatsApp group.
A few of us made it to ask doubts, share PDFs, or post occasional memes.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ARaMvMTO8
And I? I became The Shadow.
I started replying to doubts. Not because I wanted attention. Not to be the smartest kid in the room. But because…177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuWrJIgOQg
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OVo48yPNy
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvNW8SDVSh
But texts? Texts felt safer.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeK7ykiKaf
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡci5BDhH6vT
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YLwl9yDId
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BKepKuWel
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenKnTVKwZU
“Who are you?”177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoci07hOwI
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cteTD1PhX
Hopeful? Maybe.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQ9O5sFjQn
Desperate? Nah.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92ECEFyw0g
Romantic? Probably.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspShV9IDdb
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfc5UxrlIZ
Some started competing with me. Posting answers faster. Explaining better.
Part of me was relieved.
Maybe now I can chill… just wait until she messages...
And then, one random night — it happened.
She texted. In the group.
(Don’t ask how I know that it was her. Talent. Pure talent.)
I didn’t even think. Just replied instantly.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0u9QfpKFj
But in my rush, I made mistakes in the solution…
And that led to her texting me. Privately.
I didn’t expect it. Couldn’t have planned it.
And so, I calmly — very calmly — clarified her doubt.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkalVK2Qtrc
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0a9jcUr93
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIREZGYx3e
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdErVU8SGuW
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvxNyAl1Yu
And I replied:177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccIBkI6U0A
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFC6eALvfci
to anime…177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUf13SlNc4W
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHEg4QmgD4
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiNnGaODI5
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbAqd30wYu
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekTbhUAKnP
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWvKBsvwEy
Did I explain my intentions?177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSUqZXSyXu
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sQ0DWOd1O
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
