"Look at this! You got so many good shots!" Lax said excitedly, showing Boom the gallery on her phone. "Boom, look at Zayn here! He looks like he's winking!"
Boom was sitting on the edge of his dorm bed, head down as he stared at a small piece of paper he found in the pocket of his jacket. A tiny folded note that must have been slipped in without him noticing.
"Boom? Are you even listening?"
He looked at Lax. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Your photos look great."
But his attention quickly returned to the note. Carefully, he unfolded it.
> Remember the swing.
Remember the garden.
A.K.A.
Boom's eyes widened. His chest thumped hard in his ribcage. A cold shiver crawled up his neck as he read the words again and again.
"Boom, are you okay? You look so pale all of a sudden," Lax asked, moving closer to him. "What's that?"
Boom quickly folded the paper. "Nothing. Grocery list."
Lax frowned. "A grocery list with no groceries?"
"Lax… can I ask you something?" Boom's tone suddenly turned serious. "Do you know where I came from before I ended up living with you?"
Lax fell silent. She looked at Boom, hesitating whether to answer. "Boom, we've talked about this before. You don't remember, right? Mama said they found you at a hospital. No ID. No family. Nothing."
"But things are coming back to me. Dreams. Flashbacks."
"Like what?"
"A swing. A garden. And a little boy. They keep repeating. And earlier, while we were at the event… there was a man watching me. In a hoodie. I don't know who he was, but there was something strange about him. It felt like—like I knew him."
"Boom…"
"And that guy in JASPER… Auo. I feel like I've seen him before too. But I can't remember where."
Lax scratched her head. "Boom, maybe it's just because they're famous. Maybe you're remembering him from ads or videos."
"No. It's not like that. It feels… deeper than just familiar."
Lax fell quiet again. She looked like she wanted to say something but chose not to.
---
On the other side of the city, a quiet music studio was the only lit room on the entire floor. Auo sat at the edge of a piano bench, staring at a necklace with a pendant engraved with "A.K.A." Beside him, a stack of composition sheets lay scattered — rough drafts of songs he couldn't seem to finish.
"Kael…" he whispered. "Is it really you?"
"Are you going to try to find him again?" Sky asked as he came into the studio carrying their milk tea. He sat on a bean bag and studied Auo's serious face.
"Sky…"
"Why don't you just tell him? If he really is Kael, you should have gone to him a long time ago."
"What if he's not? What if it's just me hoping for nothing?"
"Auo, you're not the type to imagine things. If you feel he's really Kael, then maybe he really is."
"But he doesn't remember anything."
"Then make him remember. Slowly. Like a song that slowly comes back to you."
Auo closed his eyes, gripping the necklace tight in his hand. He didn't know whether to feel happy or terrified. The chance that the person he'd been searching for all this time — that boy — could really be Boom… it felt so close, yet so impossible.
A flash of memory passed through his mind — a day in an old but happy orphanage garden, a little boy holding a plush bear, and their laughter echoing under the swing.
And if it were true — how would he face the fact that he himself was the reason that boy disappeared?
---
The next day, on his way into the preschool, Boom felt an unusual chill in the air. It was as if someone's eyes were on him. He looked around but saw no one. Maybe he was just tired.
"Good morning, Teacher Boom!" his students greeted excitedly at the gate.
He smiled at them, even though he felt a heavy weight in his chest. While he taught ABCs and helped hold crayons, his mind kept echoing the same questions:
Why A.K.A.?
Why is someone sending me this message?
While he was helping Aiden, one of his young students, draw, the boy suddenly spoke.
"Teacher Boom, I saw a bear in my dream. You were there too. You were crying."
Boom froze. "Really, Aiden? Where were we in your dream?"
"In a garden. There was a swing. And there was a man with gray eyes. He looked sad."
Boom's eyes widened. "Gray eyes?"
Aiden nodded. "Yeah. You were crying too, but you looked happy. Like you knew him."
It's just a kid's imagination, Boom tried to tell himself. But he felt that cold shiver crawl all over his body again.
And in every corner of the classroom, he felt as if someone was watching him. That something — or someone — was coming. Or returning.
At the end of the day, while Boom was walking home, he felt someone pass behind him. When he turned around — there was no one there.
But near the gate, stuck to a post, was a Polaroid photo.
A swing. A child. A plush bear.
And on the back of the photo, only three letters were written:
A.K.A.
Boom's heart raced. That same familiar sadness and fear washed over him again. But underneath those feelings, there was a strange warmth too —
A feeling of connection.
Like a song you once sang — even if you don't remember the lyrics, it still hits you deep inside.