Kairos.
Your average college Otaku.
Well… average, if you ignore the part where I'm slightly more handsome than most anime-obsessed guys who spend half their nights arguing about waifu supremacy online and beating their protein.
Dark hair that refuses to listen to a comb, brown eyes permanently stuck halfway between tired and daydreaming (thanks to late-night gacha spins). Hoodie game strong, mostly black because black hides existential dread better.
People on campus mostly call me "that umbrella boy" now. Before that? "The Genshin guy." Before that? "That guy that talks to himself sometimes."
Not wrong, by the way I do talk to myself. Out loud. In public.
It's called processing, sigh unfortunately this humans can't understand.
My day usually runs on autopilot: wake, hoodie, code, anime, buy overpriced rice and egg from the canteen (because cooking is a high level skill I haven't unlocked yet), then more code, more anime, and a healthy sprinkle of self-roasting at 2 a.m.
Simple. Predictable. Safe.
Until minutes ago.
First, I bumped my umbrella into a girl's own when I tried to do the classic anime move to impress her . Then... the plot twist that was definitely not needed came:
One message. Unknown number.
"You dropped this, weird umbrella boy."
And here I am, still walking through puddles toward the tutorial, phone in hand, checking it every five seconds like an NPC in a filler episode.
What did I even drop? Wallet? Still there. Glasses? Pocket. Sanity? Lost that since covid 2020..
Half curious, half desperate, I finally typed back:
"Uhh thanks, but what exactly did I drop?"
…Nothing.
Thought about calling the number. Really thought about it. Then pictured her picking up and realising it's the same weird guy who yelled "fate's collision route" under the rain.
Yeah… no thanks.
Step by step, puddle by puddle, phone still silent.
And then I remembered something as reality gently punched me in the face:
I have a test tomorrow.
A course I know absolutely nothing about.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and thought to myself:
In a world this big… how can someone be this unfortunate?
When I finally stepped into the tutorial class, the usual ritual happened: heads turned, a few stares, a few whispered laughs with faces basically saying, "oh, that weird Genshin guy."
Already used to it, I kept my head down, walked to the back, and saw my guys: Robin, Sam, and Drake.
Three tired faces who've watched me glitch so often they've stopped asking why.
I raised a hand.
"nigga!" Robin grinned, dabbing me.
"werey see time I dey come tutorial," Sam chuckled, dabbing back.
"Kairos the NPC " Drake smirked, finishing the dab chain.
For five seconds, everything felt normal.
"You lot won't believe what happened just now," I sighed, dropping my bag.
They all leaned in.
"I tried that anime umbrella move on one babe under the rain… you know, fate collision vibes."
"Bro…" Robin already shaking his head.
"Next thing, she opens her own umbrella and knocks mine away," I continued, deadpan. "My soul left my body, shame deduct charges from my opay."
Drake slapped the desk. "You actually tried to act anime in real life? Brooo, your life dun spoil."
"Last time you did that nonsense, person been dey call you 'weird Genshin guy" Sam wheezed.
"I should have kept this Shii to myself ," I sighed. "Before you recommend deliverance."
Robin wiped his face, still laughing. "At least you get mind to talk to babe. I've been ghosting my crush since semester started."
"Ghosting?" I raised a brow. "Fam, your crush definitely doesn't even know you exist."
"She probably thinks you're background character," Sam added, nearly choking.
"werey u dey mad" Robin shot back, but he was smiling too.
"And get this," I continued, "after the umbrella flop, she texted me from unknown number: 'you dropped this'. But I didn't drop anything and I also don't know how she got my number bruvv, everything just felt unreal."
"That's crazy fam, you replied?" Drake asked.
"Yeah. Still no reply till now."
Robin nodded, fake-deep voice. "That's the kind of plot twist nobody needed."
Then my phone buzzed.
My chest skipped.
Unknown number.
The boys leaned closer.
"Oya open it, bro!" Sam whispered.
I unlocked the screen…
...and saw only: "Message failed to send."
Silence.
"Guy I dey tell u since your life dun spoil" Robin patted my shoulder.
"Na script," I sighed. "My life just be anime with low budget."
Sam stretched. "Anyway, who's actually ready for tomorrow's test? No cap."
"When I opened the pdf, my brain crashed," Drake confessed.
"I started reading, next thing I knew I was on codm" Robin shrugged.
"Guyyy I spin ak117 grim ending and I still no get am...wasted a thousand plus CP" I complained.
"See werey..lol money wey u go use chop" Robin laughed.
"Sighh..But Imagine the compulsory question comes from the only topic none of us opened," I muttered.
"Don't worry," Sam said. "We'll all fail together. Group project energy."
"Low key, dropping out is sounding sweet," Drake sighed. "Mark dropped out, see him now."
"Facts," Robin nodded. "We'll start a startup. Kairos go write the code."
"Bro, lead dev who can't pass MAT103," I deadpanned.
"That one no matter guyy!" Drake laughed. "We'll call the app 'CrashPal' — helps you find people who failed the same test so you feel less useless."
"Investors would actually fund that," Sam nodded, fake serious.
"And next semester, they invite us for NACOOS TECHFEST2.0," Robin announced dramatically. "Title: 'How failing MAT103 made us millionaires.'"
"I'll start my speech: 'Good evening, my name is Kairos… and yes, I still haven't passed MAT103,'" I added, chest out.
The laugh that broke out felt like therapy.
My stomach hurt, eyes watered, even the tutor glanced back.
And right in the middle of that laugh, something by the side door caught my eye.
I turned..
And my smile froze.
Someone I didn't expect, staring… directly at me.