"Sakala,"
The lavender-haired boy instinctively turned his head around when he heard his name being called. But there was no one nearby.
He stepped forward toward the window. Sure enough, someone was watching him from there.
His doppelgänger smiled at Kala while waving, and of course, Kala only stared back with a blank expression.
"Voodoo,"
Kala flinched, rubbing his chest. He turned to his friend who somehow had appeared beside him without him noticing.
"Quit startling me," he muttered.
"What are you doing, zoning out like that?" Gantha asked.
"Sunoo. He showed himself again," Kala replied.
"Aren't you scared he'll snatch you away again?" Gantha said.
"I'm used to it," Kala answered, placing his glass back on the table.
"Oh right, I still have your watch," Gantha said as he placed the watch near Kala.
"Just keep it," Kala replied.
"You trying to sacrifice me or something?" Gantha shot back.
"No one's after that watch anymore. Besides, if I sacrificed you to them, they'd probably spit you right back out," Kala said.
"Asshole," Gantha muttered.
Kala grabbed his watch that Gantha returned. He glanced at his friend, who was rummaging through the fridge for food.
"Gan, what if one of the guys above us has already turned into an impostor?" Kala said.
"What do you mean?" Gantha asked.
"Sunoo said I never think from the other side. All this time I thought we'd be facing disaster—especially Asta and Melvin. But if I look from the other angle… maybe they're the ones who could bring the disaster."
Gantha bit into the apple in his hand casually. "You sure that's not manipulation?"
Kala froze instantly.
~~~~~~~
The next day.
Kala was in class, fiddling with his phone out of boredom while waiting for the bell. There was supposed to be a quiz soon, but he stayed relaxed since he had studied a lot the night before.
"Kala,"
He turned toward his desk mate.
"Where were you? Got excused again?" Kala asked.
"Yeah, Kal. Futsal club's really busy lately," the boy said while closing his bag.
"Today's the quiz, and it's supposed to be done in pairs. We also have to switch papers," Kala said.
"I know. But I already asked the bald teacher for permission to skip his quiz," the boy replied.
"So your problem's solved, but mine isn't?" Kala asked flatly.
"You've got your gang, right? There's one of them in this class too," his friend said.
Kala instinctively turned toward the back corner seat. The red-haired boy was asleep there.
"Kal, he's… your gang member too? That delinquent?"
"What about it? Go on, ask him to switch seats and sit with me."
his head immediately. "No thanks. Y-you do it," he said, trembling slightly before quickly leaving the classroom.
"Tsk. He ran away. Well, with that face, Gantha really does look like a street mugger."
With heavy steps, Kala walked to the back and sat next to his friend.
Soon the bell rang and the teacher came in, gave brief instructions about the quiz, then handed out the test papers.
Kala filled in his answers quickly, and so did Gantha. Until the moment they were supposed to swap papers, Gantha realized something.
"Wait, I usually trade papers with the teacher. You sure you can answer the questions I made?" Gantha said.
"Shut up. Try answering mine," Kala replied.
And it didn't take them long to finish each other's questions.
"Not bad," Kala said, satisfied as he looked at Gantha's answers.
"You bastard," Gantha grumbled, then glanced at one of the students sitting several rows ahead.
"You noticed it too, Gan?" Kala asked.
"Yeah. Saw those two at the school gate earlier," Gantha answered.
He meant Asta and Melvin—their two friends who for some reason were sitting together at the same desk today.
"Asta, Melvin… I hope they're nothing like what I'm thinking."
Kala didn't know what was going on today. The two of them suddenly looked close. There was definitely something behind it, but he hoped it was something good.
~~~~~~
Kala adjusted the watch on his wrist. The time showed 14:00. Kaze was gathered at a café.
"We're still missing two," Dion said, glancing at the others.
"Do we need everyone here, As?" Yoga asked the friend sitting across from him.
"Melvin, and Gantha aren't here… I think it's fine. I—I just want to tell you guys something about Melvin," Hasta said.
"What about him?" Dion asked.
"Yesterday I took my mom for her regular check-up at the doctor, and I ran into Melvin and his parents. They know I'm his friend, so they asked me to be more aware of his condition," Hasta said.
"Aware? So basically they want you to watch over him," Yoan said.
Kala stiffened hearing that. "A-anxiety…"
Everyone turned to him.
"You knew, Kal? That Melvin has that?" Yoga asked.
Kala shook his head. "I accidentally saw him taking medicine, and the bottle looked different from the ones you usually see at the pharmacy…"
After saying that, he quickly sent a message to Gantha, who said he'd already arrived at the mall but was still downstairs.
"Damn, hope I'm not too late," Kala muttered anxiously, waiting for Gantha's reply.
"Kala, what's wrong? You look panicked," Hasta said.
"N-no, I—I just need to go buy something next door." Kala stood up and walked away immediately.
Meanwhile…
Gantha had just finished buying a jacket when he got a message from Kala.
"Voodoo is telling me to go to the restroom. He wants to talk there? So random…"
Even though it was strange, Gantha still followed what Kala said. He entered the restroom on that floor.
When he arrived, all the stalls were open, meaning no one was inside. He walked slowly toward the last stall, which was also open—when suddenly someone stepped out, opening a medicine bottle while preparing to take it.
Without saying a word, Gantha dropped his shopping bag and quickly grabbed the bottle.
"Gan, that's my medicine. Y-you don't understand," Melvin said breathlessly, looking up at him with sad eyes. But Gantha only stared back coldly.
"You trying to off yourself?" Gantha said bluntly.
"N-no, I was just going to take my medicine," Melvin replied.
"Every medicine has a dosage. You were about to gulp this straight from the bottle—you have no idea how many pills would've gone into your mouth. That's called an overdose, and you could've died," Gantha said.
Melvin collapsed to the floor, crying. He dragged himself to the corner of the room and hugged his knees, his sobs echoing.
"I suspected you were sick… but I didn't know it was this bad. To the point you'd do something this stupid," Gantha said.
"Anxiety… I've had it since I was a kid. B-but lately, I feel like I can hear other people's voices inside my head. I'm really scared… this has never happened before," Melvin said through tears.
"Schizophrenia," Gantha muttered.
He then turned to the person who had just arrived, panting.
"You're late, Kala," Gantha said flatly.
"Shut up."
Kala looked toward Melvin, who was still trembling in fear in the corner. His eyes softened.
"At least… nothing worse happened."