MOSCOW, RUSSIA

THE STUDENT

(Sheremetyevo Airport, RUSSIA).

An adult man wearing casual student-style clothing, complete with glasses and a cross necklace, was sitting in a passenger seat of an airplane.

His eyes were fixed out the window, enjoying the view of the towering skyscrapers—a sign that he had almost reached his destination. At the same time, the flight attendant began providing landing information.

Exactly at 02:00 PM,

the student walked out of the airport. He immediately hailed a taxi and chose to sit in the back seat.

During the journey, the man repeatedly tried to contact someone via his phone. He called a contact named ROMAN, but his calls always went unanswered.

......................

MOSCOW, RUSSIA

January 08, 2023.

Suddenly, the phone rang loudly.

Rina! Your phone is ringing…! It’s annoying, you know, answer it quickly!” Kevin shouted in an irritated tone.

“Give it here!...” Rina replied briefly, appearing slightly panicked. Without wasting a second, she immediately grabbed her phone and rushed toward their room.

Kevin was overcome with suspicion. He wondered why Rina ran away, acting as if she didn't want her conversation to be overheard by anyone else.

Secretly, Kevin crept up and hid behind the wall, trying to eavesdrop on his sister's conversation.

From behind the tightly closed door, Kevin vaguely caught the sound of Rina’s voice. Her tone had turned soft and blushing—a warm conversation that sounded as if she were speaking to a lover.

“‘Darling’? Wow, she never even talks like that to her own brother. And now, this…” Kevin muttered to himself.

“MOM! Rina is on the phone with a guy, Mom!” Kevin shouted while running toward his mother's room.

Rina, realizing she was being overheard, immediately chased Kevin out of the room.

The two of them bumped into Mom, who had just stepped out of her room looking neatly dressed.

“Wait… Mom, where are you going?” Kevin asked.

"Going out? Is it possible we came all this way abroad just to stay inside all the time? Come on, get ready, let's go for a walk. Besides, Mom has an appointment with a client," Mom replied, seemingly unaware of Kevin's annoyed shouting from a few moments ago.

"Seriously, Mom? Yay!" Kevin exclaimed in excitement, momentarily forgetting his suspicions.

"Wait, what were you about to say earlier?" Mom asked then. At the same time, Rina was already standing right next to Kevin with a look that appeared tense and worried.

"Earlier, Kevin wanted to say something about—" Kevin's sentence was cut off instantly as he winced in pain; Rina had just stepped on his foot hard.

Swiftly, Rina snatched the conversation, "About... Kevin's shoes, Mom! They were soaking wet yesterday from a puddle. Right, Brother?" Rina threw a sharp, cynical glance, as if giving a stern warning for Kevin not to leak her secret.

"Ah... yeah! That's right, Mom. That’s what I meant," Kevin chimed in quickly, trying to normalize his voice even though he was still feeling annoyed.

Mom nodded slowly while thinking. "Hmm... Rina, as I recall, you brought more than one pair of shoes, didn't you? Lend one to your brother for now. Later, when we’re out, we’ll look for a shop to buy a new pair." Hearing Mom's decision, a sly smile immediately spread across Kevin's face. He stared at Rina with a triumphant look, as if saying, “Take that.”

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