**Prologue — Happy Family**
Shalom Sozouhion was twenty-one, with black hair and brown eyes, standing about 1.67 meters tall having dark skin complexion.
He wasn't bulky; he was lean, with a surprising set of six-pack abs hidden beneath his casual polo shirt—the kind of body that suggested he exercised, even if he mostly attributed it to good genes and awkward teenage habits.
At home, he was warm, loud, and very much himself. Away from his parents, he became quiet, polite, and careful with his words. People called him introverted; he called it survival.
His family wasn't rich, but they were whole and content.
His father worked hard, and his mother laughed loudly at the comedy being shown on TV; together, they filled their small house with jokes, food, and a steady, comforting routine.
Shalom loved them fiercely—a caring dad and a soft, stubborn mom—and that made their ordinary life feel rare and precious.
In his free time, he binged on the latest anime releases. He wore the label of "otaku" like a badge of honor: headphones around his neck, a notebook of spoilers saved on his phone, and enough opinions about character arcs to start (and lose) many arguments. In college, he studied English—the only male in his department, among 9 females —and while he had a few friends, romance was an unfinished chapter. Being quiet around strangers didn't help. Still, at home, he has a different personality.
That evening, as he sprawled on his bed watching the latest episode, a wave of heat washed over him. It began as a nagging ache behind his eyes, then grew into a pounding headache that made him clutch his skull.
"Ugh…" he muttered, pushing himself upright. The room spun for a moment. Sweat prickled along his neck.
He rummaged through the medicine drawer and swallowed a couple of antibiotics. After a while, the fever loosened its grip, and the headache dulled to a stubborn hum. Relief arrived as a small reprieve, and he let out a long breath.
Tomorrow was Monday. Literature with Mr. Simon meant three hours of dense lectures and even denser reading lists. Shalom rolled his shoulders and forced a grin. "Another week which is going to be full of lectures," he told himself.
But as he lay back and reached for the remote, something cold and unfamiliar brushed against the edges of his thoughts—a flicker he couldn't name.
He ignored it, chalking it up to exhaustion. 'Families had their quiet troubles, and lives had their odd disturbances'. For now, there was his mother's cooking, his father's bad jokes, and the next anime episode waiting to be finished.
Tomorrow, a new week will begin. But for tonight, the house is warm, and for the first time in a long while, Shalom allows himself to feel content.....