So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bHMukhKvY
Lofty goals, right? Hahaha.
Step 1: Actually listen in class.
(Spoiler: Failed within the first 20 minutes. Blame the fan sound and my daily existential crisis.)
Step 2: Join TechnicalHub sessions regularly.
Outcome: Mixed results. Most days I showed up, not for marks or future tech jobs, but because hope is a powerful drug.
Step 3: Learn on my own.
Because I know one thing — if I really want to… then I can too.
Step 4: Use anything thrown my way just to talk to her.
Selfish? Maybe. But when did feelings ever care about logic?
Amid all this planning, labs began.
Labs are weird. It's like cooking. Too much waiting, everyone pretending they know what they’re doing, and one wrong move… poof — chaos.
And so, I set another goal:519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡET0SynX3cE
Learn C. Not because I had to…519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpNt0Q4gPc
But because I wanted to.
To be better.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oka8GFe2P
To maybe help her with something someday.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvNwiFAS5O
To maybe find a reason to talk.
Then came the WhatsApp group.
A few of us made it to ask doubts, share PDFs, or post occasional memes.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ986nE1TEur
And I? I became The Shadow.
I started replying to doubts. Not because I wanted attention. Not to be the smartest kid in the room. But because…519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBkYypfX9D
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VbWJ2l7sH
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ADgmstXeY
But texts? Texts felt safer.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMXATgWPF9
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqZONbUuRS
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNp4KLHqH63
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcr3gBwM0K
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrlNHyMWml
“Who are you?”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa75yzrtXrY
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTIe5rJtvi
Hopeful? Maybe.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVPmRMPl3t
Desperate? Nah.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GKholh5gl
Romantic? Probably.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ326GTIAnp4
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU74WJXCWxW
Some started competing with me. Posting answers faster. Explaining better.
Part of me was relieved.
Maybe now I can chill… just wait until she messages...
And then, one random night — it happened.
She texted. In the group.
(Don’t ask how I know that it was her. Talent. Pure talent.)
I didn’t even think. Just replied instantly.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynIjzBzHWT
But in my rush, I made mistakes in the solution…
And that led to her texting me. Privately.
I didn’t expect it. Couldn’t have planned it.
And so, I calmly — very calmly — clarified her doubt.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBkKNJtVob
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3ECJilKNZ
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOQfFJr9yg
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94vdNkW1aV
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRB2jTgZ6jo
And I replied:519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1D7HsqoqBZ
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt36ObJMJe1
to anime…519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPh13pXR1Dd
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGZopidjba
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDH2ywIS9n
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUcSPSCkng
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TKBkXuvmH
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuTKYYPp9N
Did I explain my intentions?519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UFZUfBL10
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:519Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvhkWsDKdL
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
and then Add to home screen.