After sending a message, Hesa slipped his phone back into his pocket and continued walking down the boarding house hallway.
Before reaching Jaehyuk's unit, he glanced at the vacant room next door.
Kayn had once told him that the passcode to that unit was Kala's birthday.
Hesa checked the date on his phone.
"January 25."
Creak...
The door to the neighboring unit opened, revealing Jaehyuk standing there.
"Why are you standing there? Kala already moved out," Jaehyuk said.
"Yeah, I know. By the way, is this unit still empty?" Hesa asked.
"Yeah. You wanna rent it?" Jaehyuk replied.
"No way, idiot," Hesa scoffed.
"You should move in here instead. That way you'll be even closer to me," Jaehyuk teased.
"That's exactly why I don't want to," Hesa shot back.
"Tch," Jaehyuk clicked his tongue.
The two of them then headed into Jaehyuk's unit to have breakfast together.
~~~~~
Ting!
Hesa smiled when he received Kayn's reply. He immediately started packing up his things.
"Man, it's nice to see you've got your energy back," Jaehyuk commented.
"...What do you mean?" Hesa asked flatly.
"I don't know. Ever since you got back from the hospital last week, it feels like you've gone back to your old self. Did you get a factory reset or something?" Jaehyuk joked.
Hesa immediately smacked Jaehyuk on the head with a book.
"You think I'm a robot?" he muttered.
A moment later, Hesa glanced at the books on his desk.
"By the way, while I was in the hospital... you finished my share of the work, didn't you? I noticed the stack of assignments on my desk got thinner," Hesa said.
"Of course I did. Now hurry up and bow before His Majesty Yoon Jaehyuk," Jaehyuk declared as he held out his hand.
Hesa brushed it away without hesitation.
"As if. But... thanks for doing my assignments too."
Hesa smiled before placing both hands on Jaehyuk's shoulders, his expression suddenly serious.
"Since you've already done my homework once..."
"...then please do it again."
Grabbing his bag, Hesa bolted out of the student council room.
"HEY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"
Hesa could only grin as Jaehyuk's angry shout echoed from inside the room.
~~~~~
Hesa pulled his car over in front of a cemetery.
"Gbtb."
He sat there for a moment, waiting for Kayn to reply to his message.
But for some reason, he couldn't wait. His instincts kept telling him to go inside on his own.
Ting!
Kayn:
I'm already inside. Just come in, I'll find you.
After reading the message, Hesa immediately entered the cemetery, looking around for Kayn.
With his dark red hair, Kayn should have been easy to spot.
But no matter how far Hesa looked, there was no one in sight.
Only himself.
He turned around, intending to head back to his car.
Yet his instincts still urged him to stay.
Taking slow steps, Hesa followed his curiosity.
He let his instincts guide him toward one particular grave.
When he arrived, he saw a name that felt strangely familiar.
Agantha Gheovano.
Hesa remembered him.
He had been Kala's friend and also a member of Kaze. According to Arkha, Gheo had appeared several times in the visions they had seen from the past.
But Hesa also remembered what Wish had said while bullying Heeseung's group.
"Gheo... I clearly remember Wish mentioning that name in the past. This can't just be a coincidence, can it? What if the people connected to the past weren't only Kayn's group or Thirteen... but Kaze too?"
Hesa became so lost in his thoughts that he failed to hear the approaching footsteps.
Still, he could clearly sense someone standing behind him.
"Kayn."
Hesa turned around to face him.
The lavender-haired young man had just finished fastening a compass watch onto his left wrist.
He then looked back at Hesa with a gentle smile.