Some days later, a group of soldiers visited the college.
Everyone was surprised when they approached Ethan and said:
"Sir, we need your help."
This caught everyone off guard.
Lyla, standing nearby, was clearly impressed.
She smiled at Ethan — and even started talking to him.
Ethan's heart raced. He hadn't felt this alive in months.
But before he could get too lost in the moment, one of his friends muttered,
"Stop daydreaming with your eyes open, man."
Another teased,
"Ethan's dreaming in broad daylight now, huh?"
Then John joined in,
"Forget it, guys. We've got fresher's party prep to handle. Come on."
Ethan laughed and went along with them.
---
After the fresher's party, the college planned a picnic.
But because of exams and holidays, many students declined.
Only 200 students signed up, along with 12 teachers — total 212 members.
Ethan and his friends joined the list.
Five buses were arranged for the trip.
When Ethan learned Lyla was going, he immediately agreed.
---
The day of the picnic arrived.
The location was far — about four hours away, and the road passed through a jungle.
Everyone was excited. Laughter, music, games — the air was full of joy.
As Ethan and his friends were having fun, Lyla joined them.
But she only spoke to his friends — not a glance at Ethan.
It hurt.
He quietly slipped away and sat alone in a peaceful corner.
Some time later, his friends found him.
"Why are you sitting here all alone? Come, let's have fun!"
Ethan refused.
Then John said,
"Come, I need to tell you a secret."
Using that as an excuse, John pulled him back to the group —
and got Ethan involved in the fun again.
---
Evening approached. It was around 7 PM.
It would take four hours to return — through the same jungle road.
The teachers asked everyone to board the buses.
As they were getting in, John nudged Ethan and said,
"This is your moment, man. Go talk to Lyla!"
Ethan hesitated.
"She didn't even look at me earlier — only talked to you guys."
John smiled,
"Remember I said I had a secret? You wanna know what it is?"
Ethan looked at him curiously.
"What?"
John said,
"After you walked away earlier, Lyla was asking about you."
Ethan's eyes widened.
"What do you mean?"
John chuckled,
"She wanted to talk to you… but you were gone.
Now don't waste this second chance."
Ethan still looked unsure.
"But her friends are still around..."
John said confidently,
"Leave that to me."
He called Lyla's friends away to take a group photo.
Ethan, heart pounding, sat beside Lyla on the bus.
But now… he was speechless.
He pulled out his phone and searched,
"How to impress a girl."
He plugged in his earphones — or so he thought.
The video played, and Ethan began copying what the video instructed —
smiling in a certain way, adjusting his hair, awkward gestures…
The bus noise was too loud to hear anything — except for Lyla,
who was right next to him and could hear everything from his phone speaker.
She started smiling, amused by the whole thing.
Ethan had no idea his earphones weren't connected.
After a while, Lyla leaned closer and said softly,
"Ethan… you forgot to connect your earphones."
He froze, mortified. His cheeks turned red.
Lyla just smiled more and said,
"You know… you're different from the rest. I like that in a guy."
Ethan felt like the whole world had lit up.
They started talking — really talking — for the first time.
Everything felt perfect.
---
But destiny had another plan.
On their way back, as the buses passed through the jungle…
suddenly, one bus came to a halt.
Strange masked men boarded.
They sprayed a gas that knocked everyone unconscious.
When Ethan woke up the next morning —
he found himself in a massive bunker, locked in.
With everyone.