Caleb's POV

  For two days, I confined myself in my house. Throughout the day, I persistently checked for messages and calls from Rosa, yet I received nothing from her.

  Rosa had completely changed.

  I finished my breakfast, my first meal after two days without filling my stomach. Following that, I cleaned the used pte and spoon at kitchen sink.

  I went back to dining table and remained there, deep in thought.

  I had expected this week to be a joyful one. Since joining the Farspace Fleet, it's been quite rare to have a day off this long. But things turned out differently.

  When I grow up, I will marry you, Rosa.

  That memory unexpectedly came to mind. A small grin stretched across my face, quickly escating into a chuckle that turned into a ugh like a madman.

  Marry?

  Before I had a chance to confess my feelings, the girl I had fallen in love with was in the embrace of another man.

  If only I had been honest during that time, not pying brother-sister role...

  I should have told Rosa truthfully that we weren't siblings, but just two people being raised by an old woman who was a former EVER researcher.

  Then Rosa wouldn't be with that man.

  Yesterday, I spent all day looking for information about that jerk. I started by taking the picture of Skye that Rosa posted on 'moments'. Luckily, she forgot to change the privacy settings. Only close friends could see the photo, and I was one of them.

  As soon as I uploaded the photo to the secret website, all of the information dispyed. That's where I discovered Skye's true identity was Sylus.

  He was the leader of Onychinus, an organization that dealt in illegal goods such as weapons that only the Farspace Fleet could afford and modified protocores.

  This organization is just as crazy as EVER.

  That information, coupled with the incident from two days prior, left me bewildered.

  I really couldn't find the common thread. How could Rosa and this person have a retionship because of the bond of fate? Obviously, the one who has more attachment to Rosa is me, who lived together with her for more than a decade. Absolutely not someone who has such a terrible background.

  It's impossible for someone influential like Sylus to want Rosa just by saying 'I love you'.

  There must be certain conditions that need to be fulfilled, whatever they may be.

  Could it be that the one who fulfilled the conditions was Rosa? She willingly gave something precious to that bastard...

  Stop!

  My conscience came out to scold me.

  Thinking about it all the time will only drive you insane. Do you want the Toring Chip, that thing you despise, to control you completely, Caleb?

  How come I didn't think about it? I reacted silently. Just imagining how that thing entered my body made me shudder.

  I silenced the unsettled, deranged thoughts that had been pguing me. I went to the bathroom to take a shower and then put on some casual clothes.

  Next, I retrieved a small bag from the wardrobe. I packed my phone, my favorite novel that wasn't too thick, a pen and a small notebook for me to take notes. In this technologically advanced time, people hardly use those st two things. For me, however, notebook and pen remain the best for expressing my thoughts.

  Afterward, I left the house.

  I walked through countless buildings on this artificial isnd above Linkon City. Over time, I became increasingly uncomfortable there. Everywhere I went, I always remembered my role as Colonel of the Farspace Fleet. At that point, I decided to go to the train station to board Coelum Express, resuming my activity in Linkon.

  I hoped with all my might that I wouldn't have to encounter Rosa.

  ***

  I strolled through Linkon with no particur destination. I stayed away from Bloomshore district and Rosa's apartment complex as much as possible. My intention here was to rex, not get into trouble.

  Countless hours had passed. My stomach suddenly twinged with a slight ache. I only had a light breakfast earlier. My appetite still hasn't improved since the event two days ago.

  I also didn't want the EVER-made chip gave a signal to turn off the hunger receptors.

  I walked past a restaurant that didn't seem too crowded. I hadn't seen this pce during my time in Linkon, implying it hadn't been around very long.

  Upon entering the restaurant, a waiter greeted me. He asked me where I wanted to sit. I chose a table near the window and quickly ordered my food.

  About 10 minutes ter, a young waitress arrived with a tray containing the dishes I'd ordered.

  But before it arrived at my table, the waitress fell over. The dishes on the tray floated for a moment, and then crashing down, scattering across the floor.

  On impulse, I rose from my seat and crouched beside the waitress. I helped her clean up the food and drinks scattered on the floor.

  "I'll take care of the cleanup, Mister," she murmured through the pain. She was holding her left leg.

  I was about to reply, but another waitress came first, and in a high-pitched voice said, "Selina!"

  I focused on cleaning up the scattered dishes.

  "How could you be so careless?! Didn't you see the wet floor sign? Your actions are causing problems for the customer."

  Tsk. I didn't like the way she scolded the girl whose name I now knew, Selina.

  "Sorry Ma'am, I didn't know that the floor was wet," Selina replied.

  The waitress who had rebuked Selina snorted in annoyance and said, "Meet the supervisor ter."

  Selina didn't answer. She proceeded to cleaning up the remaining scattered dishes, since I had already cleaned up half of them. Luckily, the ptes and gss weren't made from gss or ceramic, so neither Selina nor I faced the danger of splinters.

  "Sorry for the trouble, Mister." Selina said after finishing cleaning.

  Fshing a smile, I replied, "It's alright. I'd like to order the same menu. I'll pay double."

  "Okay." Selina then left.

  My second order came 10 minutes ter. This time, it was another waitress who deliver the dishes. There was no sign of Selina, the girl who was supposed to be there.

  ***

  After I left the restaurant, I went back to wandering around the city. Along the way, I wore a pair of sungsses, just in case anyone recognized me on the road. I didn't want my presence here to deviate from my purpose.

  Before I knew it, it was afternoon. My legs starting to ache. I took a break at Linkon City Park while passing by.

  As I sat on a park bench, my gaze accidentally fell upon a girl who sat quietly, seemingly lost in thought. Her eyes were fixed on the pond. That girl, I felt familiar.

  Straight bck hair that was shoulder-length, a slender face with light makeup, light complexion with yellow undertones skin. Her outfit comprised a cream short-sleeved shirt, slim-fit white pants, and white sneakers. I approached the girl.

  "Selina?"

  She turned her head, surprised at my presence.

  "Who are you?"

  I was stunned, but a second ter realized something. I took off the sungsses I was wearing and tucked them under my colr.

  "Mister from the restaurant earlier?"

  "That's right," I said with a smile. I took a seat beside her.

  "Sorry..."

  "Huh?"

  "Sorry for what happened earlier. I didn't mean to."

  "It's okay. Let bygones be bygones."

  "But you had to pay twice."

  "Consider it as a tip from me."

  Selina replied with a chuckle. "Yeah."

  "Does your leg still hurt?"

  "Not really. It's just a bruise now." Selina's hand squeezed her knee. I guessed that was where the bruise was when she fell at the restaurant earlier.

  "Be careful next time. Other customers might not accept if you bring an order like that."

  "Yes," Selina replied softly.

  "You're in here... is the work done?"

  "Yes. Totally done," Selina said with a slight smile.

  "What does it mean?"

  "I'm not working there anymore, starting tomorrow."

  I caught my breath. "You got fired?"

  Selina nodded. "I've only been working for a week and made so many mistakes. I don't know where to work anymore. A lot of jobs are full-time than part-time. How stupid I am, wasting opportunities."

  Hearing that, I said nothing. I couldn't help but wonder why she was bming herself. On the other hand, those words struck a chord with me.

  Wasting opportunity.... Too busy rolepying, neglecting to confessing. I said to myself.

  You suck, Caleb. That girl you liked? She's taken.

  "My bad, I wandered off topic."

  That remark broke my train of thought. "Take it easy," I said, smiling a little.

  "May know why didn't you take a full-time job? As far as I know, you'll earn more if you work full-time.

  "I'm still in college. I don't want to burden my parents, so I'm looking for a part-time job to cover my daily expenses."

  "I... see." I was surprised to hear Selina's words.

  Rosa and I had never experienced that. Gran was able to support us from the time we were children until she passed away.

  "Why are you here?" Selina changed the topic.

  "I've been exploring the city. It's time to rest."

  "Oh.... Afternoon workout."

  You could say that, I thought. Even though I had only been walking for hours.

  "What's your name?"

  "Caleb." I extended my hand and put on a smile. "Nice to meet you."

  "Nice to meet you too, Caleb. I'm Selina, a third semester student at Linkon University." Selina shook my hand.

  Linkon University... the campus Rosa had dreamed of. I remembered she used to aspire to be a wyer, and the best campus in Linkon was the best pce to study w.

  But that dream was forgotten when Bloomshore District, where our house was located, was hit by a wanderer attack, which eventually became known as the Chronorift Catastrophe. Since then, Rosa's dream shifted to becoming a hunter.

  Really? In a situation like this, you still have time to think about that girl, Caleb?

  My conscience startled me again. I reprimanded myself for a moment and then replied to the girl in front of me, Selina.

  "What major?"

  "Anthropology."

  "Wow, cool." I reflexively said.

  "I heard that at Linkon University, besides the STEM majors, the humanities majors are equally good. I didn't regret it after entering until now. This sophisticated city readily offers what I learned on campus."

  Selina's words brought a smile to my face. But there was something nagging at the back of my mind as I processed her words.

  "You're... not from Linkon?" I confirmed.

  Selina shook her head. "From Summer City."

  A city in the southern nd. I had never visited that pce, but I knew it from memorizing the map in geography lesson back in school.

  "Mister Caleb, I'm leaving first. I still have assignments to do." Selina got up from the bench.

  "Ah, wait a minute, Selina"

  "What is it?"

  I took a pen and a piece of paper from the notebook I had brought and wrote my personal phone number there.

  I handed the paper to Selina and said,

  "If you have urgent matters or anything else, you can contact me using this number. I'll reply as soon as I have free time."

  "Thank you." The girl responded awkwardly.

  "Take it easy. I didn't mean anything bad." I soothed. I also wondered why my attitude was suddenly like this.

  "O-Okay, Mister. Goodbye."

  "Bye." I waved and smiled, which Selina did not return.

  I kept watching her leave until she was out of sight.

  I quickly left Linkon City Park and went to the station to return to Skyhaven.

  The day's events came back to me in fshes as I went along.

  I traveled to Linkon to heal the pain of seeing Rosa with another man. Yet, I encountered a girl whose beauty rivaled Rosa's.

  Instead of using my notebook and pen to take notes on my novel, I used them to give my phone number to someone I just met!

  Then a realization struck me.

  For the first time, I felt at ease speaking casually to a girl other than Rosa.