"Finally… I got accepted!"
John's voice echoed through the quiet room, overflowing with joy. His hands were still shaking slightly as he stared at the message on his phone.
Of course he was happy. Who wouldn't be?
For an entire year, he had sacrificed sleep, his health, and almost every bit of free time just to study for the entrance exam. Endless nights of reviewing, stacks of notes, and cups of coffee had finally paid off.
He made it.
John let out a breath and leaned back on his chair, a smile spreading across his face. Then his eyes drifted toward the small framed photograph sitting on his desk.
His parents.
He slowly picked it up.
The excitement inside him swelled again, almost too big to contain.
"Mom… Dad… I'm going to State University," he said softly, a small laugh escaping him.
"Can you believe it? A dumbass like me actually made it in."
For a moment, he waited… as if expecting an answer. But the room remained silent.
The smile on his face slowly faded.
A strange mix of emotions crept into his chest—joy tangled with something heavier. Loneliness.
His grip on the frame tightened slightly as his eyes began to sting.
"I wish you guys were here," he whispered.
His voice trembled.
"So we could celebrate this together… just once."
John lowered his head, his vision starting to blur.
Just before the silence settled in the room, John's phone vibrated on the desk.
Buzz.
He glanced at the phone and saw a message notification.
It was from Yua, his childhood friend.
John quickly opened the chat.
Yua: So? How was the exam?
John quietly and typed back.
John: I passed.
A few seconds later, three dots appeared on the screen.
Yua: See? I told you! I knew you'd pass.
Another message followed.
Yua: Now we can finally go to the same university.
John leaned back in his chair, smiling faintly.
John: Yeah… I'll finally see you again after ten years.
There was a brief pause before Yui replied.
Yua: Ten years..
Then another message appeared.
Yua: Anyway, I've gotta go now. I still have some things to do.
A final message popped up.
Yua: See you soon!
John stared at the screen for a moment after the chat ended.
The room was still quiet. But somehow… it didn't feel as empty as before.
The weeks passed quickly. Preparations, paperwork, and farewells slowly filled his days.
Before he knew it, two months had already gone by.
John stood quietly, looking at the scenery of his hometown before leaving. The fresh wind brushed against his face, and the sound of birds echoed softly in the distance.
Everything he had experienced his entire life was in this place. And now… he had to leave it behind.
Before going, there was someone he needed to say goodbye to—someone very important to him.
So John walked to the cemetery.
Soon, he stopped in front of a grave.
"Grandma… I need to go now," he said softly.
"Time flies so fast, doesn't it? Don't worry about the house. Uncle Evan is taking care of it. I can't just leave it alone. I know how much you loved that house."
He gently touched the gravestone.
After a moment, he lit a candle and placed it beside it. He knew he would be gone for a long time.Then he placed a flower in front of the grave.
He stayed there for a few moments, silently saying his final farewell to his grandmother.
After a while, John turned away and began walking toward his grandmother's house to gather his things.
From a distance, he noticed two figures standing near the front of the house—a man and a woman.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
He knew exactly who they were.
"Uncle Leon… and Aunt Liz?" John murmured to himself.
"What are they doing here?"
Leon rarely visited this house.
Seeing him there made John feel that something unusual was going on.
John hurried his pace and approached them.
"Uncle!" he called out. "What are you doing here?"
Leon looked at him and gave a small smile.
"Oh, you're here. I heard you're leaving town today."
John nodded in response.
"Yeah. The train leaves this afternoon."
For a moment, the three of them talked casually in front of the house. The conversation was simple—about the trip, the university, and how long John might be gone.
While they were talking, John noticed something in his uncle's hands.
A box.
It looked unusual.
The box was made of dark wood, its surface carved with strange patterns. On the lid, there was a detailed symbol of a dragon.
John tilted his head slightly.
"What's that, Uncle…?"
Leon blinked for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
"this?" he said, scratching the back of his head.
"I almost forgot why I came here in the first place. Hahaha."
He stepped forward and handed the box to John.
The wood felt old and strangely heavy in his hands.
"This," Leon said with a grin "go ahead and open it. You might like it."
John slowly opened the box.
Inside was a gold earring.
He carefully picked it up and examined the design. It looked unusual. The earring was round, and along its edges were small carvings of dragons.
It almost looked like something from the East.
Surprisingly, it wasn't heavy. As he touched it, the surface felt smooth. At the center of the earring was a crystal, like an expensive gemstone.
"Looks like you're interested in it."
Leon chuckle softly.
"That was Mama's favorite earring. She used to wear it all the time back then."
John nodded appreciatively and slowly closed the box.
Just as he was about to put it away, Leon handed him something else.
It was an old photograph.
"Take this too," Leon said.
John accepted it and carefully examined the picture.
In the photograph, a beautiful woman was sitting beneath a tree. Her long hair flowed gently over her shoulders. Her eyes were slightly monolid very similar to John's eye.
The photo was faded, colored only in gray and white, a clear sign that it had been taken a long time ago.
"That was mama when she was younger," Leon said.
He chuckled quietly.
"It's the only picture of her that I have. She didn't like taking photos when she started getting older."
"Maybe it's like that when you get older…" John murmured.
He continued looking at the photograph. The woman in the picture reminded him of how his grandmother must have looked in her younger days. The resemblance was clear.
"She looks like Mom," John said softly. "Their faces are similar… they're both beautiful."
Leon chuckled.
"Of course," he laughed. "Hahahaha"
But then his laughter slowly faded.
His expression grew serious as he looked at John.
"And don't worry," Leon said. "I'm still investigating the case."
John lifted his eyes slightly.
"You should focus on your studies while I continue looking into your parents' disappearance."
Leon gently tapped John on the shoulder.
He knew how lonely John's life had been for many years. The only thing he and Liz could do was support him and raise him as best as they could.
Because Leon knew something else.
John suffered in his entire life.
Losing your parents to something natural was painful, but at least there was closure.
But losing them like a bubble that suddenly vanished—without explanation, without a trace—that was a different kind of pain.
"Rest assured," Leon continued. "If there's any news, I'll tell you immediately."
He gave John a firm nod.
"So go on. Seek new experiences. Leave this damn place for now."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"And start experiencing life in the city."
John smiled. He knew he could trust his uncle.
Liz was happy as she looked at the child she had taken care of for many years. Over time, she had become a mother figure to John, and she was proud of the person he had grown into.
Time passed quickly, and John now needed to leave. His uncle Leon and Aunt Liz accompanied him to the station. As the station announced the departure of the train bound for the city, they said their farewells to each other.
John was now on the train, looking at them through the window. He would miss them so much.
As the train slowly began to move, he kept watching them while waving his final farewell.
The train slowly disappeared into the distance.
Leon watched it for a moment before turning around, preparing to leave the station.
Liz followed beside him, but after a few steps she spoke.
"Is it really okay… for him not to know the truth?"
Leon stopped.
For a moment, he hesitated. His eyes lowered slightly before he finally answered.
"He shouldn't know," Leon said quietly. "For his safety."
He paused briefly.
"That was my sister's final wish."
Leon then continued walking, leaving the station in silence.
Liz remained where she was for a moment, turning her head to look back in the direction the train had gone.
A trace of worry crossed her face.
"I guess…" she murmured softly. "But things can change so quickly."
Her voice faded with the wind.
"He might discover it sooner than we think."
-------
After a few hours of nonstop travel, the train finally reached its destination.
It had passed through forests, coastlines, and mountains along the way. Now, John had arrived at the City of Mandonia.
Just as he expected, the city was overwhelming.
Tall buildings stretched high into the sky. Traffic filled the streets, and the air carried a faint smell of pollution. Crowds of people moved in every direction, each one chasing their own opportunity in the busy city.
After stepping out of the train station, John waited outside near the entrance.
He was waiting for someone.
A few minutes passed.
Then suddenly, a girl's voice echoed from nearby, loudly shouting his name.
"Jooohn!! Anderson!!!!"
John immediately recognized the voice.
Of course he did.
It was Yua.
No one else would have the confidence to shout someone's name like that in public. Only Yua would do something like this without hesitation.
John chuckled softly as he turned toward the voice.
She hadn't changed at all.
John raised his hand and waved.
Yua noticed the movement and turned toward him.
At first, she didn't recognize him.
But then something caught her attention—something she had only seen in his family.
Gray eyes.
The Anderson family was known for having those rare eyes.
Still, she wasn't completely convinced. After all, the Andersons weren't the only people in the world with gray eyes, even if they were uncommon.
Then her gaze shifted lower.
She saw the bag hanging from his shoulder.
Yua's eyes widened slightly.
"That bag…"
She remembered it clearly.
That same old bag John had been using since they were ten years old.
A big smile slowly formed on her face.
"Is that you?!!"
She rushed toward him without hesitation.
Before John could even react, she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face straight into his stomach.
John blinked in surprise as he looked down at her.
(She's small…)
After a few seconds, she finally stopped pressing her face against him and slowly pulled back.
Then she looked up.
Her eyes widened as she scanned his face.
"You're not John! Who are you?!"
John stared at her, confused, his head tilting slightly.
"What do you mean…? I'm John."
Liz stepped back and looked him up and down several times.
Her eyes widened even more.
"The heck—why are you so tall?!"
John had clearly hit puberty hard.
Meanwhile… Yua hadn't grown nearly as much.
John remembered that back then, when they were kids, Yua had actually been taller than him.
But now…
"I'm not that tall," John said casually. "I'm only around 200 cm."
Yua froze.
"Only 200 cm?!" she shouted.
She stared at him in disbelief.
"Do you realize how tall that is these days? People on campus would probably try to recruit you even if you don't play volleyball or any sport!"
Yua stopped talking for a moment, then calmed down a little.
"Anyway," she said, crossing her arms, "why didn't you reply to my messages? It would've been much easier to find you."
John silently held up his phone.
Yua leaned closer and looked at the screen.
"…Oh."
Now she understood.
No wonder he couldn't even video call.
The phone he was using looked like something from another decade—an outdated model that barely kept up with modern apps.
Yua sighed.
"Damn… you've become an old geezer."
John frowned slightly.
"Hey."
"Anyway," Yua continued, waving her hand dismissively, "we should head to the campus dorm."
She turned and started walking.
"You must be tired after that trip."