I woke up the next morning
After a night that was longer than it should have been…
Longer than my tired body and restless mind could handle
I got out of bed slowly
Looking around as if I were waking up gradually
It felt like the apartment was no longer the same after seeing door number 5 in my vision
I went to the kitchen
Prepared a simple breakfast
Toast… an egg… a cup of tea
A normal routine I tried to hold on to, just to keep from breaking inside
I turned on the TV
And my heart stopped for half a second when the news appeared
"Liquidity collapse…
Crowds at some bank branches…
The government assures citizens and promises solutions soon…"
The same words as yesterday
But this time, they sounded more tense
More… dangerous
My phone rang suddenly
It was Miuko
I answered immediately
"Ginso…"
Her voice was fast, urgent, as if she were running or thinking hard
"I found… I found the reason
The organization doesn't only want to shake people's trust in banks
Their real goal… is bigger"
My hands froze on the table
"Bigger? How?"
I heard her deep sigh
Then she said clearly:
"They want to raise prices across the country
Everything… food, housing, fuel… everything will rise
And when prices rise… a huge gap forms between rich and poor
A new social class…
An entire population will suffer"
I sat silently on the chair
I could hear her
But my mind refused to believe such a scale of chaos
"Ginso… this is not just an economic attack
It is a remaking of the country itself"
Then she ended the call quickly
As if she had discovered something else while talking
I took a deep breath
And continued getting ready for university
Today was the first day after the holiday
I needed something to return my life to normal—
Even if it was a fake normal
I left the house
The station was crowded as if nothing had happened in the country
I reached the university after half an hour
The square was full of students, laughter, noise…
But I was looking for only one thing:
Riko
I looked right and left
He was not there
I entered the lecture hall
Searching between the seats
No sign of him
I asked a classmate:
"Have you seen Riko today?"
He shrugged carelessly
"No… I haven't seen him since the bank incident"
I asked another:
"Did he contact you?"
He shook his head
"No… his accounts don't call. Maybe he's busy at home"
My heart was beating, but… slowly
With a little worry
Not the terror I felt last night
I told myself:
I will not repeat what happened… I will not let suspicion destroy me again
Maybe he is fine… maybe he just needs time alone
I continued my university day
But I moved like someone living half a life
Present in body… absent in mind
On the way back
I took out my phone to check the news
Before I could scroll, an automatic ad appeared
"A new company to store customer money
10% annual return
No taxes
Fully guaranteed"
I stared at the ad
Something about it… was not normal
10%?
In a country facing a collapse of trust in banks?
Impossible
I was about to analyze it
But—
The phone rang again
Miuko
I answered
This time, her voice was not only tense
It was… scared
"Ginso…
I… I understand now what the organization wants
Everything… everything happening… I have seen it before"
I stopped in the middle of the street
"What did you see?"
She did not answer immediately
As if she was lost in an old memory
A memory she did not want to open… but it opened
I heard her whisper, as if someone else spoke through her mind:
"The vice president… I don't think the research project funding… is enough to complete the whole experiment"
Then another voice, firm and cold, interrupted:
"So we must… create external funding"
I froze in place
It felt like time had swallowed the air around me
Miuko breathed…
Then she said, trembling:
"Ginso… the organization does not collect money
They create money
They create the crisis…
Then offer the solution that puts the entire country in their hands"
I stood there
In the middle of the street
The city moved around me
And I…
Felt the ground shifting under my feet
Slowly
But steadily…
Towards something no one could stop