It was an evening when the streetlights were beginning to fade. In the city, where the rain was gently tapping the asphalt, everything seemed ordinary—at least from the outside. But at the end of that street, someone was walking in the shadows. His black coat blended with the night. There was no sound except the sound of water on his shoes. That person was Hitoshi. There wasn't much to say about Hitoshi—because no one knew anything about him. He was quiet. His eyes were gray, like the sky before a dark storm. He didn't like to mingle with people. He answered to no one. And yet, somehow, he caught everyone's attention. Perhaps his coolness came from the way he didn't care about anything. That evening, Hitoshi was walking alone, as always. But this time, even solitude wasn't as silent as he was used to. His phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen: "Her again?" he muttered. It was "Sena." Someone from his past. But he didn't answer. He swiped the screen with his finger and put the phone back in his pocket. "Not now," he said to himself in a low voice. The rain intensified. The city noise grew louder. Suddenly, a car braked. Hitoshi turned his head. A child had fallen in the middle of the road. The car was approaching quickly. People were shouting, but no one moved. Hitoshi didn't even think. He ran. His steps were determined. His eyes were completely focused. He pulled the child to the side of the road, seconds away. The crowd stared at him. Some people asked who he was, but he didn't answer. He simply put on the hood of his coat and continued walking. A girl's voice was heard: "Hey! Wait!" Hitoshi stopped. He looked back. The girl was about 16 or 17. She had long hair, and her eyes held a mixture of anger and curiosity. "You... I've seen you before. Aren't you from that... school?" Hitoshi narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't know you," he replied curtly. The girl insisted. "But you're Hitoshi, aren't you? There are a lot of rumors about you." Hitoshi moved a little closer. He spoke in a calm but stern tone: “I’m not interested in rumors. People talk. I just walk.” The girl was surprised. She hadn’t expected such an answer. But she sensed there was a reason for this man’s inner silence. “Are you always lonely?” he asked. Hitoshi answered after a short pause. “Being alone is better than being with the wrong people.” Before the girl could say another word, Hitoshi turned and left. He disappeared under the streetlights. At that moment, someone else was watching her in the distance. A man in a black jacket, his face half-covered. He held an old photograph of Hitoshi in his hand. “I finally found you,” he whispered.

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The night had advanced. The city had long since fallen asleep, leaving only the occasional barking of stray dogs. Hitoshi had entered his small but messy room. He sat by the window, staring at an old notebook in his hand. A name was written on the notebook's cover: "Sena." His eyes were glazed over. He couldn't remember the last time he'd looked at that notebook. But he couldn't escape it anymore. Because Sena had reappeared. And it brought with it memories he'd thought long buried from the past. He slowly opened the notebook. On the first page was a photo. A photo of when he was little. Two children. One Hitoshi, the other Sena. They were laughing. Life had been simpler back then. There were no shadows around them, no silence. But then... something had happened. The doorbell rang suddenly. Hitoshi sat up. It was three in the morning. Who could it be at this hour? Before opening the door, he checked the small knife in his pocket. Always cautious. When he opened the door, there was no one there. But there was an envelope left on the floor. It simply said, “I’m not leaving you anything left. Because there isn’t anything left.” Hitoshi slowly opened the envelope. Inside was another photo. This time, the photo had been recently taken. It was taken from a distance, as Hitoshi walked along a street. But what really caught his eye was that Sena was also in the background, in the same frame. And someone else was watching her… “She’s here again…” he murmured. Immediately afterwards, a message arrived on his phone: Do you remember me? If not yet, you will soon. -K Hitoshi squeezed his phone tightly. “K…” he said to himself. This letter was the key to a past he had thought had completely vanished years ago. In the morning, Hitoshi had gone to the backyard of his old school. It was an abandoned corner where no one came. He and Sena had sat here many times, dreaming. And now, here, he had to confront things again. But he wasn’t alone. A voice echoed behind him. “Are you still coming here?” It was Sena. The same tone, but her face was harder now. There was disappointment accumulated over the years in her eyes. “I knew you would come here,” Sena said. Hitoshi looked at him without looking away. “Why did you come back now?” he asked. Sena took a step closer. “Because you can’t run away anymore. Because that person… K… is back.” Silence. Wind-blown leaves swirled around them both. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes. “I couldn’t protect you back then. But I won’t let you now,” he said in a cold tone. Sena nodded. “We have to do this together. You’re not alone anymore.” Hitoshi paused for a moment. Then he dropped his gaze to the floor. “Being alone… was a habit. But maybe… it’s time.” Sena smiled. “Then… let’s start together.” At that moment, the silence inside Hitoshi cracked for the first time. Because the past was no longer something to be escaped. It was standing right in front of him. And this time, instead of running, he had to fight.

Hitoshi had woken up at 6 a.m. Usually he wouldn’t tolerate anyone at this hour. But today, Sena had promised: “We’ll meet up and make a plan.” Making plans wasn’t something Hitoshi liked. Especially with other people. But for some reason, with Sena, everything felt a little more… complicated, yet bearable. He looked in the mirror as he left the house. As always, he put on his black coat, tousled his hair slightly, and straightened his expression: “I have to look cool.” But then he noticed something green on his teeth in the mirror. “Seriously… was that mint gum?” he muttered, cleaning it hurriedly. Sena was waiting for him when he arrived at the cafe. She had a notebook in her hand, and she was wearing glasses. She’d drawn emoji-filled drawings in what she claimed was her plan notebook. The moment Hitoshi sat down, Sena pushed the notebook in front of her. “Okay! This is our strategic roadmap to find ‘K,’” she said proudly. Hitoshi looked at the notebook. Step one: “Identify K.” Step two: "Throw coffee in your face." Step three: "Take a dramatic walk to serious music." "Is that the plan?" Hitoshi asked, eyebrows raised. Sena shook her head. "No, the real plan is in the background. This is just the 'motivation part.'" "Is there a motivation part where coffee gets thrown in your face?" Sena tried to sound serious. "Sometimes you have to express your anger creatively." Just then the waiter arrived. "What would you like?" Sena ordered immediately: "A coffee with milk and a... er... blueberry pastry?" Hitoshi coolly said, in his classic pose. "Plain Turkish coffee. A little sugar." The waiter took notes. "Black? A little sugar?" Hitoshi squinted and repeated: "Plain... but a little sugar." Sena started to laugh. "Your conflicted mood is even reflected in your coffee order." Hitoshi frowned. "I didn't order a mood, I ordered coffee." When the coffees arrived, Sena turned serious again. He pulled an old USB drive from his pocket. “I found this. It has leaked files from ‘K’s old school system. Encrypted with code. But… I thought you might be able to guess the password.” Hitoshi took it and looked at it. He entered the password screen: “notnow123.” The USB booted. Sena was shocked. “You’re kidding!” “Remember that people use the stupidest passwords to encrypt the most important things,” Hitoshi said. “Being cool is one thing, being smart is another.” “K”’s name appeared on the screen. His code name: Kuro. His real name was still a secret. But the most important detail: Kuro was a former classmate of Hitoshi’s. And in the class photo, he was the guy with glasses, hiding in the back row. Sena enlarged the photo. “Seriously? This kid? In high school, he used to play with gum all the time and wouldn’t talk in class!” Hitoshi pretended to put on his glasses. “I told you cool is silence. Turns out we’ve raised our counterparts.” Sena suddenly burst out laughing. “Then let’s change the name of this plan to: Two Cool People’s Crazy Revenge!” At that very moment, Sena accidentally knocked over his teacup. Everything got wet. Hitoshi slyly stepped aside. Sena felt embarrassed. “Oops… The first loss of the plan: the teacup.” Hitoshi nodded solemnly. “Now this is a war.” They made no plans that day. They just laughed a lot, talked about the past, and finally left the waiter an extra tip as an apology. But one thing was certain: This wasn’t just about “K” anymore. This was about two friends reuniting after many years, coming to terms with the past. And this reckoning was going to be a little mysterious, a little emotional… but definitely funny.