Seven Days Later…
The Gentle Heart Institute was alive with movement and sound.
The once-quiet grounds were now brimming with students and visitors. Every corner echoed with chatter, footsteps, and laughter. Everyone seemed lost in their own work, their own world.
For Wee and Kai, the days had slipped past in much the same way.....sometimes lost in thought, sometimes searching for understanding. Yet, Kai had never once forgotten her purpose. Her mind remained sharp, her preparations complete.
As for Wee, today felt like a dream....
as if fate itself had finally opened the gates to the palace of her dreams.
---
They were summoned to the Head Court.
Wee and Lamai arrived first.
There, they were told that their applications had been accepted. They were now permitted to study here.....specifically, in the Film Industry Core.
A guide was assigned to lead them to the hall where their classes would begin. The two received their admission cards, each bearing their names, and followed the guide out with hopeful steps.
Just as the doors closed behind them, another pair entered.
Kai and Teanguan walked in, speaking quietly to one another.
It was only a passing murmur...Teanguan's voice carried in the air for a brief second. But that brief second was enough.
The sound brushed against Lamai's ears like a forgotten melody. She froze.
Her head turned instinctively, her eyes scanning behind her.
But there was no one.
Kai and Teanguan had already disappeared into the Court.
Wee noticed Lamai lingering, staring into the empty space as if the shadows themselves had whispered to her.
"We should go," Wee called gently, her voice pulling Lamai back to the present.
Lamai forced herself to nod and stepped forward again, following beside Wee.
Yet her heart was restless.
That voice.....
she knew that voice.
And though her mind wrestled with disbelief, her heart whispered the impossible truth: the owner of that voice… what could he possibly be doing here?