Kael quickly hid behind the wall, his heart pounding. Was she watching me? he thought in a panic. But it was impossible—Kiana was too naive for something like that.
He peeked out from behind the curtain again. Kiana was still standing there, but now her expression had brightened once more, as if that empty gaze had just been a trick of the light. Casually, the girl began watering the plants on her windowsill, humming cheerfully.
It must have been my imagination, Kael sighed with relief. I'm getting so stressed I'm starting to see things.
He stepped away from the window and entered his bedroom. The room was exactly like his in the original world—the messy bed, the desk cluttered with laptop cables, and a stack of quantum physics books. But in this world, everything felt like an almost-perfect replica.
"Why... why is my version here so... foolish?" he muttered in frustration, collapsing onto the bed. "I was never that foolish. Never that trusting. Never that... naive."
He closed his eyes, trying to recall Kiana's image. The girl smiled too widely, laughed too loudly, and trusted strangers too easily. So different from him, who was always cautious, calculating, and found it hard to trust anyone.
"Is it because she grew up in a better world? Or... because she was never betrayed like I was?"
Suddenly, the system's voice sounded in his head:
[ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: THE CHARACTER "KIANA" IS NOT FOOLISH. SHE SIMPLY GREW UP IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT ALLOWED HER TO BELIEVE THE WORLD IS INHERENTLY GOOD.]
Kael was startled. "So... the system can read my thoughts?"
[ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS PART OF THE MISSION GUIDANCE.]
"Then why don't you just tell me the fastest way to complete this mission?"
[THE PROCESS IS IMPORTANT. YOU MUST LEARN TO UNDERSTAND YOURSELF.]
Kael frowned. "Understand myself? What does that have to do with anything?"
But the system gave no further reply.
He walked back to the window. Kiana was now happily playing with an orange cat in the yard, laughing as the cat chased its own tail. Something tugged at Kael's heart—a longing for something he never had: a lighthearted, carefree youth.
"Maybe... it's not that she's foolish," Kael whispered to himself. "Maybe I'm the one who's become too bitter."
But then, something strange happened. Kiana suddenly glanced towards his window again—and this time, she smiled. Not her usual wide, guileless smile, but a small, knowing one, as if she knew Kael had been watching her.
Kael immediately ducked away. It was just a coincidence, he assured himself.
But outside, Kiana continued to smile as she petted the orange cat.
"You're so funny, Kael," she whispered softly to the cat. "Pretending not to see me. Like a little kid."
Then she stood up and walked back into her house, the small smile still lingering on her face.
Meanwhile, in his room, Kael remained frozen, wondering if what had just happened was another figment of his imagination—or if something deeper was going on with his seemingly "naive" counterpart in this world.
Perhaps Kiana wasn't as simple as he thought. Or perhaps—more frighteningly—perhaps he was the one starting to lose his grip on reality in this parallel world.