Ten Years Later (Revised for College Setting)
Ten years passed, and the academy became a university campus sprawling with noise, life, and memories that refused to fade.
Ren walked through it like a ghost.
Older now taller, calmer, sharper he carried his secret with the same quiet weight as always. His power had grown with him, pulsing beneath his skin like a second heartbeat. Sometimes it felt easier to control. Sometimes—especially when emotions surged—it behaved as unpredictably as ever.
But at least Ren wasn't alone anymore.
Bom strolled beside him, as loud and brilliant as he had been a decade ago—now a communications major whose voice could fill a stadium. He talked with his whole body, his hands always flying, his laughter echoing across the courtyard.
"So then I told the professor, 'No, sir, that's not my essay that's the essay my *future self* will probably write if I procrastinate hard enough,'" Bom said proudly.
Ren shook his head despite himself.
Anurak walked on Ren's other side, laptop under one arm, eyes calm and observant as ever. He noticed everything especially Ren's silences.
"Your future self wouldn't write it either," Anurak murmured.
Bom gasped dramatically. "Traitor!"
Ren almost smiled. Almost.
His friends didn't know he could disappear at will. They didn't know he had once saved a boy on a rainy night with a power he wasn't supposed to have. They didn't know that every shift in the air felt like a warning only he could hear.
But they stayed by his side anyway.
And that meant more than Ren could say.
---
Harit's Corner of Campus
Across the courtyard, under a blooming cherry tree, Harit was arguing with Noah some things never changed.
"You don't understand," Harit said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not avoiding Jun. I'm just… busy."
"Busy ignoring the red flags," Noah shot back. "Like, *neon glowing, waving-in-your-face red flags.*"
Harit groaned. "Jun isn't...." "Manipulative? Controlling? Charming in a way that makes you suspicious but also confused? You're right, he's not. He's worse."
Harit threw a crumpled napkin at him. Noah dodged easily.
Despite the teasing, Noah was right about one thing: Harit was conflicted.
He wanted to believe people were good.
He wanted to believe Jun's charm wasn't a mask.
He wanted to believe he wasn't misreading everything again.
But lately… something felt wrong.
And the strange sense of being watched the same sensation he felt the night he was saved as a boy had returned.
Harit rubbed his chest. *Why does this feeling come back now?*
"Hey," Noah said more softly. "You okay?"
Harit nodded. "Just thinking."
"About the 'storm guardian' again?" Noah teased gently.
Harit looked away. "…Maybe."
---
Shadows Under the Archway
Jun leaned against a stone archway, looking more polished than ever expensive clothes, perfect smile, practiced warmth.
Lucas stood beside him, one foot propped against the wall, silent but dangerous. Lucas was the kind of friend people feared: calm, unreadable, unflinchingly loyal to Jun alone.
Jun's eyes tracked Harit across the courtyard.
Lucas followed his gaze. "You're losing him."
Jun's smile never wavered. "I'm not losing anything."
Lucas tilted his head. "Then why does he look at you like he's trying to solve a puzzle he doesn't want to finish?"
Jun's fingers tightened on his phone.
"It's not Harit that's the problem," Jun muttered.
Lucas looked across the courtyard toward Ren.
"Ah," he said lightly. "The quiet one."
Jun's eyes darkened. "He's always… there. Watching. Or pretending he's not. Harit notices him."
Lucas smirked. "Jealous?"
Jun's jaw clenched. "No. I just don't like obstacles."
---
Ren's Instinct
Ren stopped walking. Just one moment one breath but it was enough.
The world shimmered for a split second.
The air thickened.
His power tugged sharply at his ribs, like a warning from somewhere he couldn't see.
Bom froze mid-sentence.
Anurak quietly closed his laptop.
"Ren?" Anurak murmured.
Ren looked around the courtyard slowly.
He saw Harit under the cherry tree, laughing tiredly at Noah's words.
He saw Jun watching Harit like he owned him.
He saw Lucas watching Jun like he owned *that*.
And Ren felt it...
A shift.
A ripple.
The start of something gathering in the spaces between all of them.
"Just a feeling," Ren whispered.
But the unease didn't fade.
It grew.
---