Lan Seo (MC)

Adrian Vale (ML)

Soo-jin Seo (Ian's Mother)

Minho Kang ( Lan's Best friend)

भुखमरी से AZADI हाँ भेदभाव से AZADI हाँ पक्षवाद से AZADI हम लेके रहेंगे AZADI तुम कुछ भी कर लो AZADI AZADI AZADI AZADI AZADI ओह तेरा पिंजरा में जाल नी खाना परिंदेया ने उड़ जाना तेरा पिंजरा तेरा मुक जाना सारा लाना बाना परिंदेया ने उड़ जाना तेरा पिंजरा तेरा पिंजरा में जाल नी खाना परिंदेया ने उड़ जाना तेरा पिंजरा तेरा मुक जाना सारा लाना बाना परिंदेया ने उड़ जाना तेरा पिंजरा FREEDOM FREEDOM हाँ बैठ बेटे चुपचाप क्या घंटे का इंसाफ देश कैसे होगा साफ इनकी नियत में है दाग सिर्फ पकड़ते रहेंगे बात अलग शक्ल वही जात Vote मिलने पर ये खास फिर गायब पूरे साल हाँ मेरा भाई है तो Note की सरकार है ना Note से बनाते अपने बेटों को ये Star है ना कितने बेकार क्यों ये आपस में झंकार है ना बाकी पूरा देश डूबे इनकी नैया पार है ना अच्छी विद्या चाहिए अच्छा खासा माल देना नल में पानी चाहिए खड़े रह ले Line में ना ज़मीन अपनी पर Note दिखा कर Sign लेना Drugs लाए ये फिर धकेल देंगे खाई में ना अकेला इंसान फिर गाड़ी तेरी चार क्यों? घर में है चार फिर Rooms तेरे 8 क्यों? पैसों से नहीं बनते कुदरत से हम खास क्यों? तेरी पीढ़ी का सोच वो कैसे लेंगे साँस क्यों? (Kya su) एक तरफा तराज़ू (Kya su) आ तेरी हँसी मेरे आँसू (Kya su) आ घुट-घुट के क्यों साँस लूँ (Kya su) उसे देगा क्या है साथ तू? ओह तेरा पिंजरा में जाल नी खाना परिंदेया ने उड़ जाना तेरा पिंजरा तेरा मुक जाना सारा लाना बाना परिंदेया ने उड़ जाना तेरा... आ नहीं बनना मुझे Slumdog Millionaire ये Slumdog है Mission पे System के कीड़े जो रेंगते अपने कफन पे बचपन से चुरा रखा है इन्होंने अपने गर्दन पे मस्तक में ये लिख दे गलत सीख दे गलत चिंकते हलक पर किसी को परवाह नहीं ये शैतान है इंसान नहीं धरम के नाम पे काम नहीं धरम बनाया इंसान ही पैसों के लिए ये था सभी दिमाग लगा कर जान के भी ध्यान से लगा तू कान का भी इस्तेमाल कर तू ज़बान का भी आँधे का क्यों है शान के भी आँधे का क्यों है जान के भी सच्चाई में तू समा कभी अच्छाई से तू कमा कभी इस गंद को करना साफ अभी इस गंद को करना साफ अभी इस गंद को करना साफ अभी अन्याय सु (Kya su) एक तरफा तराज़ू (Kya su) आ तेरी हँसी मेरे आँसू (Kya su) आ घुट-घुट के क्यों साँस लूँ (Kya su) उसे देगा क्या है साथ तू? हा! हाँ! ओ बोलो AZADI बोलो AZADI ओ बोलो AZADI (ओ बोलो AZADI) ओ बोलो AZADI GIVE ME FREEDOM

September 3, Monday

The first thing Ian Seo noticed about Haneul National University wasn't the towering buildings or the endless stream of students.

It was how easy it was to disappear.

Thousands of people walked across campus every morning, their conversations blending into meaningless noise. Some laughed with friends, some rushed to class with headphones on, while others stared blankly at their phones.

No one looked at him.

No one noticed him.

Exactly how Ian liked it.

He adjusted the strap of his faded black backpack and quietly made his way toward the Economics Building.

A new city.

A new university.

A new beginning.

No one here knew his past.

No one knew why he hated crowded places.

No one knew why he instinctively chose seats closest to the exit.

No one knew why he instinctively chose seats closest to the exit.

And Ian intended to keep it that way.

His phone vibrated.

Mom 💛

Ian sighed softly.

His mother somehow always knew when to text.

He typed while walking.

Three dots appeared.

Disappeared

Appeared again.

Ian smiled faintly.

She worried too much.

He hit send.

Then quietly slipped the phone back into his pocket.

It was a lie.

His wallet held barely enough money for coffee.

Food could wait.

It usually did.

The lecture hall buzzed with excited conversations.

Freshmen introduced themselves.

Groups formed within minutes.

Ian ignored all of it.

Without hesitation, he walked to the last row beside the window.

Same habit.

Always the back.

Always near an exit.

Always somewhere he could leave unnoticed.

Professor Han entered exactly at nine.

The room gradually fell silent.

He smiled.

Several students laughed

Ian simply opened his notebook.

The lecture continued

Attendance

Course rule.

Assignment.

His pen moved automatically across the paper.

Half an hour later..

His phone vibrated.

Ian frowned

He never received messages during class.

Carefully, he glanced beneath the desk.

His fingers froze.

Another message arrived almost immediately.

Ian stared at the screen.

His heartbeat slowed.

Then quickened

How...?

He quickly typed.

No reply.

Seconds passed.

Nothing.

He checked the number.

Private.

No profile picture.

No name.

He locked his phone.

Probably someone who got the wrong number.

It had to be.

Class ended an hour later.

Students flooded toward the exits.

Ian waited until the room had Nearly emptied.

Less crowded.

Less stressful.

As he stepped into the hallway—

Bump.

Someone crashed into his shoulder.

Books scattered across the floor.

Ian crouched to help pick them up.

The stranger was about his age.

The stranger was about his age.

Messy brown hair.

Bright eyes.

An embarrassingly cheerful smile.

Ian hesitated.

lan blinked.

Had someone actually noticed that?

Ian didn't know how to respond.

Before he could think of something...

Minho laughed awkwardly

He disappeared into the crowd.

Ian watched him leave.

Friendly people were...

Strange

His phone vibrated again.

Same unknown number.

Ian stopped walking.

His pulse skipped.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

He looked around.

Students walked in every direction.

No one looked at him.

No one seemed interested.

He checked behind him.

Nothing.

Ahead.

Nothing.

Second floor.

Nothing.

Whoever sent that message...

Had been close enough to see his conversation.

By lunchtime...

His stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten.

Again.

The campus café smelled of fresh bread and roasted coffee beans.

Ian counted the money in his wallet.

Enough...

For one Americano.

Nothing else.

He joined the line.

When his turn came—

Ian blinked.

Ian frowned.

There hadn't been anyone in front of him.

The cashier smiled apologetically.

She paused.

Trying to remember.

Ian stood there in silence.

He accepted the coffee and stepped outside.

Warm paper cup.

Bitter aroma.

Free.

His phone buzzed.

Again.

Ian stopped walking.

He immediately typed.

The reply came within seconds.

Nothing more.

No explanation.

Ian blocked the number.

That evening...

His shift at the convenience store ended after ten.

Rain poured across the city.

Ian sighed.

No umbrella.

Perfect.

He pulled his hood over his head and hurried down the empty sidewalk.

Then...

A shadow appeared beside him.

An umbrella opened overhead.

Sheltering them both.

Ian looked up.

The stranger was tall.

Elegant.

Black coat.

Perfectly styled dark hair.

Sharp gray eyes.

His expression carried a calmness that felt strangely comforting.

And strangely dangerous.

Ian blinked.

The stranger smiled politely.

Ian searched his memory.

The face looked vaguely familiar.

Perhaps orientation.

Perhaps yesterday.

He couldn't remember.

Adrian looked down at the one in his hand.

He held it out.

Ian immediately shook his head.

Adrian's smile didn't change.

Their fingers brushed as Ian accepted the handle.

For just a second.

Adrian's smile deepened.

Barely.

Almost impossible to notice.

Without another word...

He stepped back into the rain.

Walking away without any umbrella of his own.

Ian watched him disappear into the darkness.

What kind of person gave away his umbrella...

Then walked home in a storm?

Later that night...

Ian finally returned to his

Apartment.

One room.

One bed.

One desk.

One tiny kitchen.

Home.

He placed the umbrella carefully beside the door.

His phone vibrated.

Another unknown number.

Different from the previous one.

Ian stared.

Another message appeared.

He typed immediately.

No response.

Minutes passed.

Nothing.

Frustrated, Ian tossed his phone onto the bed.

He walked toward the window and pulled the curtain aside.

Across the narrow alley...

Another apartment building stood in silence.

Most windows were dark.

Only one remained lit.

Someone stood there.

Perfectly still.

Watching.

The moment Ian looked up—

The curtain slowly closed.

Ian frowned.

People stood near windows all the time.

He shut his own curtains.

Locked the window.

Turned off the lights.

And climbed into bed.

Within minutes...

Sleep claimed him.

He never noticed the final message lighting up his phone.

_______________

Elsewhere...

A laptop screen glowed inside a dark apartment.

Dozens of security camera feeds covered the display.

One of them showed the entrance to Ian's apartment building.

The timestamp read:

11:42 PM

A tall man sat silently before the screen.

His face remained hidden in darkness.

He closed the laptop only after watching Ian's bedroom light turn off.

Beside him lay a leather journal.

He uncapped a fountain pen and began writing:

September 3__ He accepted the umbrella. He still hesitates when someone shows him kindness. That's alright. There is no reason to rush. One day... He will stop looking over his shoulder. And he will start looking for me.

The page closed.

The room fell silent.

Only the steady ticking of a clock remained.

TBC

September 4, Tuesday

The alarm rang at exactly 6:30 A.M.

Ian opened his eyes almost instantly.

For several seconds, he stared at the ceiling without moving.

The room was silent.

Too silent.

His gaze drifted toward the apartment door.

The black umbrella Adrian had given him the previous night rested neatly against the wall.

So...

Yesterday hadn't been a dream.

Ian sat up and reached for his phone.

No new notifications.

He frowned.

The strange messages from yesterday still bothered him.

Without thinking, he opened the conversation.

His expression froze.

The entire chat...

Was gone.

Not deleted.

Not archived.

Simply...

Gone.

The only messages left were from his mother.

Ian searched his blocked contacts.

Nothing.

Spam folder.

Nothing.

Deleted messages.

Nothing.

He clearly remembered reading them.

You lied.

You skipped breakfast again.

Coffee tastes better when you're not hungry.

Yet there wasn't a single trace left.

A strange uneasiness settled in his chest.

His phone vibrated.

Ian immediately unlocked it.

It was his mother.

Mom 💛

Ian couldn't help smiling.

He put the phone away.

This time... He intended to keep it.

The campus looked brighter after last night's rain.

Morning sunlight reflected off the wet pavement while students hurried toward their classes.

Ian walked more slowly than usual.

His eyes unconsciously scanned every face around him.

Was someone watching?

Every stranger suddenly seemed suspicious.

Every passing glance made him wonder.

But no one stopped.

No one approached him.

Maybe...

He really was imagining things.

Inside the Economics Building...

Students crowded the hallway. Someone suddenly waved enthusiastically.

Ian looked up.

Minho jogged toward him carrying a paper bag.

Ian hesitated.

Minho sighed dramatically.

He pulled a wrapped sandwich from the bag and shoved it into Ian's hands.

Ian stared at him.

Yesterday...

Someone bought his coffee.

Today...

Someone gave him breakfast.

Coincidence.

Just coincidence.

Minho grinned.

Ian shook his head.

Both of them laughed quietly.

From the second-floor balcony above...

Someone watched.

Gray eyes followed Ian until he disappeared into the classroom.

Only then...

The observer turned away.

Statistics class began exactly at nine.

Professor Han wrote several formulas across the board.

Most students struggled to stay awake.

Ian copied every equation carefully.

Mathematics always helped him focus.

His phone vibrated.

His grip on the pen tightened.

Slowly...

He looked beneath the desk.

Unknown Number

His heartbeat accelerated.

How?

He had blocked yesterday's number.

He opened the message.

Ian frowned.

Another message arrived.

He stared at the words.

Ridiculous.

He wasn't going to obey anonymous instructions.

He locked the phone.

Five minutes passed.

Ten.

Professor Han continued explaining the lecture.

Suddenly—

CRACK!

A deafening sound echoed through the classroom.

Students screamed.

A large tree branch, weakened by last night's storm, crashed straight through the window beside Ian's seat.

Glass exploded across the floor.

Notebooks flew into the air.

Professor Han shouted.

Ian instinctively shielded his face.

Tiny shards landed across his desk.

If he had leaned even slightly toward the window...

The branch would have struck him.

The classroom fell silent.

Ian slowly nodded.

His hands trembled.

Not because of the accident.

Because of the message.

Don't sit near the window today.

Someone...

Had known.

Classes were dismissed early while maintenance staff cleaned the room.

Students excitedly discussed the accident.

Ian quietly walked toward the library.

His thoughts refused to settle.

Coincidence?

Or something else?

His phone vibrated again.

Unknown Number.

Another message followed.

Ian stopped walking.

This time...

He replied.

The answer appeared almost immediately.

Several seconds passed. Finally—

The chat ended.

Again.

The university library was unusually quiet.

Ian chose a seat near the back.

Far from everyone else.

Halfway through reviewing his notes...

A paper cup appeared beside his laptop.

He looked up.

Adrian.

Perfectly dressed.

Calm as ever.

lam blinked

Adrian nodded toward the umbrella leaning beside Ian's chair.

Ian realized he had carried it all morning.

He hadn't even noticed.

A faint smile appeared on Adrian's face.

He placed the coffee on the table.

Ian glanced at the cup.

Americano.

No sugar.

Exactly how he liked it.

Adrian looked genuinely surprised.

Ian searched his memory.

Had Adrian really been at the café?

He couldn't remember seeing him. Maybe...

He simply hadn't noticed.

Adrian shook his head.

Their eyes met briefly.

Adrian smiled.

Warm.

Polite.

Perfect.

Yet...

For reasons Ian couldn't explain...

Something about that smile made hIm uneasy.

That evening...

Across the street from the university...

Inside a quiet café...

A young man wearing a black hoodie sat nervously across from Adrian.

It was Noah Park.

He slid a small flash drive across the table.

Adrian nodded once.

Noah hesitated.

Adrian looked up.

Adrian slowly stirred his untouched coffee.

His voice remained calm.

Noah frowned.

Adrian looked through the café window.

Outside...

Ian walked past without ever noticing him.

A small smile curved Adrian's lips.

Outside...

Ian disappeared into the evening crowd.

He never once looked back.

But Adrian did.

He watched until Ian was completely out of sight.

TBC