Aria's pov
After learning the true story of KHSS, something awakened in me. Their pain, their fall, their lost glory—everything struck me deeper than I expected. And before I even realized it, I had already decided:
I will bring KHSS back to its prime.
Not for someone else… but because I wanted to.
Somewhere in all this, I even forgot the bet I had with Zorwath.
The bet—where he smugly told me that if I failed to open the café and earn money, I should "shut my mouth and sit quietly in a corner."
At that time, his words burned my pride.
I was determined to prove him wrong.
But now?
These past few days were so full—planning the café, studying hard, helping the others—that I didn't even remember the bet existed.
And that wasn't the only strange thing.
Why wasn't I thinking about Sinas anymore?
Why wasn't my mind replaying his words?
Why did my heart feel… quieter?
What changed?
Or worse—who changed?
Was it KHSS?
Was it these students who trusted me?
Or was it… Zorwath, who wasn't anything like I first thought?
I didn't know.
But I knew one thing clearly:
These days, my life was no longer about chasing Sinas.
It was about helping KHSS rise again—just like I secretly wished for myself.
And I decided one more thing.
Once things settle… once the café is almost ready, and KHSS starts breathing again…
I will return what I took away from them.
I may not have been the one to close Room Zero with my own hands, but I know I triggered it.
I thought shutting down the Room 0 would stop the drug flow in KHSS.
I genuinely believed I was doing something good.
But later, I learned the truth.
Drugs wasn't even that popular inside Room Zero.
It wasn't something everyone used—it was just something started by one stupid, reckless boy.
And Zorwath… he was already planning to take action and stop it from spreading.
He was preparing something, his own way, his own method.
But I didn't give him time.
I didn't understand the system, the culture, the history of Room Zero.
I mistook one boy's mistake as the school's entire darkness.
And I exploded.
I created the chaos.
I made Rahan sir shut it down.
I pushed an entire tradition into dust.
Now I understand how big that mistake was.
So I made a promise to myself:
No matter what I have to do—
even if it means kneeling down in front of Rahan sir—
I will reopen Room Zero.
Not the corrupted version.
Not the damaged version.
But the true Room Zero Sona told me about—
the place that nurtured talent, produced leaders, and gave KHSS its pride.
If KHSS is going to rise again,
it has to begin from its heart.
And that heart… will beat again because of me.
Thinking about a hundred things at once, I almost forgot about the meeting. I snapped out of my thoughts, sat up on my bed, and grabbed my phone to send a reminder to the group. But the moment I opened the chat, I realized—they were already there. Everyone had arrived… except me.
My heart dropped.
I rushed to get ready, pulling on clothes, grabbing my bag, checking for my phone. I barely had time to tell my nanny that I was heading out before I ran out of the house. Luckily, at the perfect moment, a taxi stopped in front of me. I got in and told the driver to take me straight to Cafe Corner, where the meeting was already happening.
I reached Café Corner. Through the glass door, I could already see them—all of them. The whole group was gathered around a long table, some sunk into the couches, some on chairs, a few standing with their arms crossed. The room felt full, almost heavy with expectation.
Everyone was there.
Zorvath, mirzand, lolan,leo, aswin, rithul,riswan, Farhan, Sona ,Sreya danvy, Ruby,Miki and Mike
And every single one of them looked overwhelmed.
As if they had been waiting only for me.
I pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside. The room went quiet.
Awkward, I looked around at everyone and whispered, "Sorry…"
From somewhere on the left, someone muttered, "Finally."
Dozens of eyes turned toward me with the same expression—
Where were you?
And then his eyes met mine.
Zorvath.
He slammed his palm on the table and stood up.
"What the hell were you doing? If you don't have the responsibility, then quit. Just quit and sit in a corner quietly."
His voice cut through the entire café.
I didn't argue. I didn't even look away.
I just swallowed hard and said quietly, "I'm sorry. It's my mistake. I… I forgot about the meeting."
The room stayed silent, heavy.
Only Zorvath was still breathing like he was holding back a storm.
Lolan stood up immediately, trying to cool down the tension.
"Ha-ha, it's okay, it's okay," he said, waving his hands lightly. "We've all been late at least once, right? Everyone makes mistakes. No one's perfect."
His voice was warm, gentle, the exact opposite of Zorvath's thunder.
He walked over to me, gave me a small reassuring smile, and lightly held my hand, guiding me to sit beside him. I let out a slow breath, grateful for at least one calm soul in the room.
But even as I sat down, my eyes drifted forward.
Zorvath.
He pushed his chair back, walked toward the window, and lit a cigarette. The flame reflected for a moment in his eyes, sharp and angry. I hated seeing him smoke here—inside the café, during a meeting—but saying anything right now would only make things worse.
So I kept my dumb mouth shut.
After a few awkward minutes, the meeting slowly pulled itself back together. I straightened up, trying to return to my normal self, and everyone else did the same.
And then the realization hit us like a slap.
We hadn't even promoted our café.
Everything else was ready.
The interior.
The menu.
The staff assignments.
Even the opening date—next week.
But the promotion—the most important step for our little goofy Cafe Corner—was still untouched.
And now all of us were in the same boat, totally mind-blown, trying to figure out the best, most affordable way to spread the word before opening day.
I shared everything in our group chat so the students who missed the meeting could catch up. Within seconds, suggestions started pouring in.
One girl texted that her boyfriend was a famous influencer on YouTube.
"He can promote it," she said. "He'll mention Café Corner during our live tomorrow night."
That was actually a solid idea.
Then a few others said they'd make trending reels—quick, catchy videos to grab attention.
A boy who loved filmmaking said he wanted to use some famous motivational songs and blend Café Corner into the edits. The moment I heard it, I felt it—
That idea was perfect.
But still… something was missing.
And finally, as always, we reached the classic, all-time solution:
Posters.
Cheap, simple, everywhere.
The most affordable promotion we could pull off with zero budget and one big crowd of students to help us.
So the next task became: design the poster.
Right in the middle of all this brainstorming, Zorvath returned to the table.
He had finished his whole cigarette.
The smell of smoke followed him like a shadow.
No one else reacted.
No nose wrinkled, no coughs, no comments.
Was it only me?
Was I the only one bothered?
He sat down quietly, but his presence was loud—so loud that I felt it before he even said a word.
Soon, everyone fell back into their work.
Poster-making time.
We decided each person would create one poster, and then we'd choose the best among them.
I made mine based on the two themes of our café—
Night Fun Café and Morning Soft Silence Classic Café.
Everyone seemed to like it.
It was very close to being selected when Sona suddenly turned to look at Zorvath.
He hadn't said a word the entire time.
He had finished his poster first and was now just sitting there, silent…
Observing everyone.
Actually—observing me.
Mirzand finally asked, "Where's your poster, Zorvath?"
Zoravath casually flipped his paper over.
Just an A4 sheet.
Plain.
No color.
Nothing.
Except one strange line on the corner that said:
Where is the vibe corner?
Everyone stared.
Lolan finally asked, confused, "What do you mean?"
I frowned too.
"I thought posters were supposed to be colorful and eye-catching."
Zorvath turned toward me, eyes locking onto mine.
"There's no rule saying posters need a rainbow of colors," he said coolly.
"A poster should make people curious.
Curiosity brings customers.
And with a blank page and one curious question… that's more than enough."
The room fell silent.
Everyone nodded, slowly agreeing with him.
Except me.
Just a blank page?
A few words?
Would that really work?
Would people actually get curious?
But I didn't say anything.
I kept it to myself.
The very next second, Zorvath ordered,
"Lolan, go take prints of this. Enough to cover the whole town."
"I'll go with him," I said quickly. "It'll be hard to carry everything alone."
Lolan smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, Aria."
I stood up to leave—
But a hand grabbed my wrist.
I turned.
Of course.
Zorvath.
He didn't even look at me. His eyes flicked to Mirzand.
Mirzand understood immediately and got up to go with Lolan instead.
What was his problem?
I stared at Zorvath, waiting for an explanation.