So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwUVl24DwI
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:152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLewpmHn2wL
Learn C. Not because I had to…152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRSns2D4uy
But because I wanted to.
To be better.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNwusn6YgF
To maybe help her with something someday.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFvyYLnj1s
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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GY94vmB9N
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…152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTouCbqlNM
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRggkBuBJx
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12E9bBML8O
But texts? Texts felt safer.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhF48GjSTe
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpO7ICMdES
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YwXSxEyNq
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzek0VPK4v5
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHK4STGCcZT
“Who are you?”152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsqVJYeZ7A
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDupiMrCmh
Hopeful? Maybe.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1UPJw5pRY
Desperate? Nah.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3GbP8Jtw8
Romantic? Probably.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5tAc5KVvf
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6xIsddAes
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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKsyeFMzo2
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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRCOKrjRZt
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0wsv772Od
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyhYuZQNjz
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5yCSzW4xe
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBt2s9hyuad
And I replied:152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SOpjqzNjf
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg26c6fMbie
to anime…152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWygWqdJ1U
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6LInnwQXM
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5EJouZOUc
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡej68pyDrHD
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡef7vEjibjA
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzeg6xFtDOG
Did I explain my intentions?152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAurNCArMnL
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJgBMuFSXi
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
and then Add to home screen.