"Where are you going at this hour?" Chiaya asked.
"I don't know. I thought maybe I could find an inn. Humans have inns, right?" Karan replied.
"Well, yes," she said. "There are places where you can stay if you pay."
"Can you tell me where the closest one is?"
Chiaya searched on her phone and found the nearest inn. It wasn't hard to find—just a ten-minute walk away.
She offered to walk Karan there, but he said,
"You've done enough for me. I can go by myself."
"Alright then," she replied. "Can you come back here tomorrow at 3 P.M.? I've been thinking about what we'll tell my friends. I came up with a few lies—but we need to practice."
"How will I know when it's 3 P.M.?"
"Oh... wait a second."
Chiaya wasn't really someone who used watches. She had gotten used to checking the time on screens over the years. Still, she had a few old watches in her closet that she wore as accessories. She grabbed one and brought it to Karan.
At the door, she quickly explained how to read the watch. Given how fast Karan could understand things, she was sure he'd have no problem with it.
"If you can't find the way, just come back, okay?"
She wrote down her address on a piece of paper and gave it to him.
Karan nodded. "Warm nights," he said and stepped out of the house.
After Karan left, Chiaya started to think.
Will he be able to find the way? Did I forget to tell him something?
But then again, it's such an easy place to find. I even showed him the sign and what the building looks like.
No one on the street would try to hurt him... right?
I need to stop worrying.Even if he remembers nothing, he's still a grown man. He can take care of himself.
Chiaya made herself a cup of tea and sat down with a book. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't focus. Every sentence reminded her of Karan somehow.
A character in the book got hit by a car. What if something happens to him because I never explained crosswalks? she thought.
Even the most random lines triggered her imagination. When she read "He turned on the lights," she suddenly panicked.
Electricity! I never told him about electricity! What if he sticks something in a socket and gets shocked?
That's when she realized she was being ridiculous. She took a deep breath, quieted her thoughts, and went back to reading.
She read for a long while, but a nagging feeling stayed with her—like something important had slipped through the cracks.
Then it hit her!
"Oh no—Karan doesn't have any ID!" she shouted, jumping to her feet.
She grabbed her keys and ran out the door, cursing herself the whole way.
Stupid Chiaya! Stupid!
Of course they wouldn't let someone stay at a hotel without identification.
How could I miss that?
Chiaya ran through the streets like a madwoman.
Karan had left quite a while ago, and even though she'd told him to come back if he couldn't find the place, he hadn't. She hadn't seen him on the way either.
Maybe he somehow managed to get in, she thought.
She burst into the hotel lobby, completely out of breath, and rushed up to the front desk.
"I'm so sorry, but—did a man come here a few hours ago? His name is Karan. He's tall, has slightly long hair, gray eyes.. He's wearing a long black coat and has gold-colored bracers on his arms. Um... he's my childhood friend, and I really need to reach him."
There was no way the receptionist could have forgotten someone like that. When she first saw the man, like any normal person, her first thoughts were how strangely he was dressed—and how incredibly handsome he was.
"Yes," the woman said. "Someone matching that description did come in. But we couldn't check him in—he didn't have any ID."
That was as much as she could say. It wasn't about revealing anything personal about a guest. And the woman in front of her looked so desperately worried.
Chiaya searched the streets.
She asked the people she passed, but none of them had seen Karan.
Where could he have gone? she wondered.
Karan only knew a few places—her apartment, the cafe they'd sat at earlier, and that shady gold buyer.
But wait. There was one more place.
She took off running, and when she finally saw him, she let out a long, relieved breath.
Karan was sitting on the same bench where they had first met, quietly reading Elara's journal.
Chiaya walked up slowly and sat beside him. He looked at her—her cheeks were flushed from running.
"Why didn't you come back?" she asked.
"I didn't want to wake you," Karan replied.
"Ugh, Karan! I want to punch you so badly right now—but I'm too tired. Give me a few minutes, and then I'll punch you."
The trees in the park were softly lit by the street lamps.
Chiaya had never really looked at the park at this hour. She usually came during the day, and she loved it even then—but now, in the quiet of the night, it looked more beautiful than she'd ever imagined.
After a while, she said, "Come on. You can read your book at home. I'm getting a little cold."
They stood up together. Karan took off his long black coat and handed it to Chiaya.
Even though Chiaya tried to hand his coat back, insisting, "I'm fine, really. I'm not that cold," Karan gently placed it over her shoulders.
"At least it doesn't smell like vomit anymore," Chiaya said with a smile. Joking was easier than saying thank you when she was embarrassed.
When they arrived in front of her place, of course Chiaya wasn't surprised to hear the voice.
"Chichi dear! I saw you running just a moment ago. I hope everything's alright—nothing bad happened, I hope?"