The Kaze gang gathered again in the main room, following Dion's instruction from the group chat.
"Guys, it's getting late. We should head back now. You've had enough time to wander around and take pictures, right?" Dion said.
"Yeah, I'm starving. Let's find a restaurant," Yoga replied.
"Alright, let's go," Yoan said.
They walked together toward the exit when suddenly, the sound of a ringing telephone echoed, startling everyone.
"Whose phone is that?" Melvin asked.
"That's not a cellphone ringtone," Gantha said.
Melvin approached an old landline phone sitting on a table not far from him.
"Guys… the sound is coming from this phone," Melvin said.
"Pick it up then," Dion said.
Following Dion's words, Melvin slowly lifted the receiver. Fear crept up his spine as he brought it closer to his ear.
Crackle… crackle.
Only static—no voices. It sounded like some prank call. Melvin quickly hung up, not wanting to listen to the noise any longer.
"What was that, Vin?" Yoan asked.
"Nothing. Just noise," Melvin replied.
Wush.
A piece of paper fell to the floor beside Kala's foot, swept by the wind. He picked it up immediately.
It was an old, yellowed sheet covered in rows of numbers:
4-5-6-3-2-1-4-7-8-9
3-2-1-4-5-6-9-8-7
7-4-1-2-3-6-5-4
4-5-6-3-2-1-4-7-8-9
7-4-1-2-3-6
The others gathered around Kala to look.
"What are these numbers? They look weird," Dion said.
"Looks like some kind of code," Yoga said.
"But code for what? Is there a safe here? Codes are usually for locks or something valuable," Melvin said.
"I doubt a place this wrecked still holds anything valuable," Hasta commented.
"Should we look around for it?" Yoga suggested.
"Wait. What if this isn't the kind of code you're thinking about?" Kala said as he studied the paper more carefully, trying to decipher its meaning.
He recalled several methods of breaking codes—maybe one of them applied here.
"These numbers…" Kala glanced at the landline phone, then back at the paper.
"Don't tell me this is—"
"The phone dial code," Gantha interrupted, making Kala shoot him a flat stare.
"Tch. You beat me to it again," he muttered.
"Dial code? What does that mean?" Hasta asked.
"We just press the sequence on the phone. The letters assigned to each number will form a word," Gantha explained as he demonstrated.
4-5-6-3-2-1-4-7-8-9 (e)
3-2-1-4-5-6-9-8-7 (s)
7-4-1-2-3-6-5-4 (p)
4-5-6-3-2-1-4-7-8-9 (e)
7-4-1-2-3-6 (r)
Gantha froze after pressing the last digit. Realization dawned on him as he looked at Kala.
He, too, was stunned—face pale, eyes wide.
"Esper?" Melvin muttered in confusion.
"Oh! I know that word. It's what you call people with supernatural abilities. Another term for indigo kids," Dion said.
"Yeah, I've read about that too," Yoga added.
"So this isn't a lock code?" Hasta asked.
"I think it's a clue," Yoan said.
"A clue for what? We already got what we came for. Whatever this is, it shouldn't concern us," Dion replied.
"Esper… someone with abilities. What if one of us is an esper?" Yoan said.
Kala quickly looked away when he saw Yoan smirking at him. His heart raced—Yoan knew. Somehow, he knew him was an esper. He didn't know how he figured it out, but fear rushed through him. What if he told the others? What would they think after he hid it for so long?
"Well… I think it'd be kinda fun," Yoga said casually.
Kala immediately turned toward him, relieved.
"What's so special about an esper that we need to react like that if one's around?" Melvin said.
"One of their abilities might be reading thoughts. Wouldn't you feel weird being friends with someone who can do that?" Yoan asked.
"That's easy—just don't think about anything," Dion said.
"I'm sure an esper would be sensible enough not to invade other people's privacy," Hasta added.
"Yeah, they can hide their abilities so people don't misunderstand," Gantha said sharply while glaring at Yoan.
Realizing the intent, Yoan snapped back, "You talking about me?"
"I was talking about pests. So unless you're one, don't take it personally," Gantha replied.
"You looked at me when you said 'people with unclear intentions,'" Yoan stepped forward, but Dion and Melvin quickly held him back.
"Stop fighting. Let's just get to the car and head home," Dion said.
"Yeah, it's getting dark. We'll get home too late if we stay," Hasta added.
They walked together to the parking lot.
After some driving, they stopped at a restaurant to eat.
While waiting for their food, Kala spoke up.
"Guys, didn't the villa feel strange to you? Like it had some horror vibes?"
"It was abandoned, so of course it felt creepy. But we were safe. I didn't feel anything weird," Dion answered.
"It only looked creepy. Did something happen to you, Kal?" Melvin asked.
Kala shook his head. "N-no. Nothing strange happened the whole time," he lied.
"You guys took photos earlier, right? How were they?" Kala continued.
"Great, actually. Even though it was creepy, the scenery was worth capturing," Yoga said.
Kala glanced at Hasta. He was just smiling quietly, listening. He knew Hasta had trouble speaking his mind—maybe because he didn't want to ruin the mood or scare the others.
"You didn't experience anything weird either, right, As?" Kala asked.
"N-no. Everything was fine," Hasta said.
"But I saw you terrified when you came out of the bathroom. You looked like you wanted to hide there but then ran out like you saw something," Gantha said.
"What? Seriously, As?" Yoga asked.
"You guys were playing hide-and-seek, right? Melvin and I refused, so it was just the three of you," Yoan added.
"Yeah, but nothing happened to me," Dion said.
"Same here," Yoga said.
"What did you see, As?" Kala asked.
"There was a big mirror and a sink near the stalls, kinda like in malls. I didn't pay much attention and went into a stall to hide, but then I heard someone calling for help. I stepped out, and in the mirror… I saw Melvin," Hasta said.
Melvin pointed to himself, confused. "Me? No way, I was on my phone in the living room. I told you I didn't join. Yoan saw me—right?"
"Yeah. You were with me the whole time," Yoan confirmed.
"I know. That's why I panicked—because I saw your reflection in the mirror when your physical body wasn't there. That's why I ran. Something was definitely wrong," Hasta explained.
"Knew it. That place was haunted," Kala said.
"So we were tricked?" Yoga asked.
"I don't think so. If the villa were truly haunted, why did only Asta experience something while the rest of us were fine?" Dion said.
"You wanna be haunted too?" Yoan snorted.
"I mean… no," Dion grinned.
Their food arrived, and they began eating. But Kala remained unusually quiet.
Dion's words lingered in his mind. Something about Hasta drew the disturbance toward him. But what?
Him suspicion of Hasta wasn't settled yet—but now a new mystery had surfaced. And on top of that, he was still bothered by what Gantha saw earlier at the pool. He deliberately kept his mind blank to prevent Kala from reading it.
Yoan did the same, probably because he knew he wanted to find out how he discovered his secret. He kept his thoughts empty, blocking his from digging further.