"Aum!"
Xu Chen's voice cut through the air again, sharper this time, no longer controlled.
People turned.
Not him.
Not the one he was looking for.
He moved back inside the restaurant, his steps uneven now—not physically, but in rhythm. Too fast, then suddenly stopping. Eyes scanning every corner again as if repetition might somehow change the result.
It didn't.
The table.
The chair.
The untouched glass of water.
Aum's phone still resting exactly where it had been left.
"This doesn't make sense…"
Xu Chen muttered it under his breath, more to himself than anyone else.
He grabbed the phone again, unlocking it instinctively—even though he didn't know what he was looking for. Messages. Calls. Anything.
Nothing.
Everything was… normal.
Too normal.
He turned sharply toward the staff counter.
"The person who was sitting with me—did you see where he went?"
The server blinked, slightly caught off guard. "Sir?"
"The one who just left. Tall. White shirt."
The server hesitated. "I… I'm not sure, sir. He passed toward the corridor, I think."
"I checked the corridor," Xu Chen said immediately. "He's not there."
The server looked uncertain now. "Maybe he stepped outside?"
"I checked outside."
A pause.
"…We didn't notice him leaving, sir."
That answer landed wrong.
Very wrong.
Xu Chen stared at him for a second longer than necessary, then turned away abruptly.
He walked out again.
Faster this time.
The sunlight hit him, bright and almost disorienting. The calm lake, the distant chatter of tourists, the soft wind—everything continued exactly as it should.
Except—
Aum wasn't there.
Xu Chen's eyes moved quickly across the path.
Left.
Right.
Further ahead.
Nothing.
"Aum!"
This time louder.
More urgent.
A couple walking by slowed down, glancing at him briefly before continuing.
Someone sitting by the railing looked up, curious.
Still—
not him.
Xu Chen exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair.
"Think," he muttered. "Just think."
Logically—
Aum wouldn't just disappear.
He wouldn't leave without saying something.
He wouldn't—
Xu Chen stopped.
Wouldn't he?
The thought came uninvited.
Sharp.
Unsettling.
He turned back toward the restaurant, his steps quicker now, almost impatient.
The table again.
The phone again.
Xu Chen picked it up, staring at it like it might suddenly give him an answer.
"You forgot this," he said under his breath, his voice tightening. "You wouldn't forget this."
Unless—
No.
He pushed that thought away immediately.
Instead, he dialed his own number from Aum's phone.
The familiar ringtone filled the space around him.
Pointless.
Useless.
He ended the call abruptly, jaw tightening.
Then he grabbed his own phone.
Dialed again.
Aum.
The same sound.
The same phone.
Right in front of him.
Xu Chen closed his eyes for a second.
Just a second.
When he opened them—
the unease had deepened.
"This isn't right."
He turned again, moving faster now, heading toward the side path that ran along the lake.
Maybe—
maybe Aum had walked out.
Maybe he was nearby.
Maybe he just—
Xu Chen's steps slowed as he reached the edge.
The water stretched endlessly.
Calm.
Unmoving.
His gaze scanned the area.
Benches.
Trees.
People taking pictures.
A couple laughing softly near the railing.
Not him.
Xu Chen swallowed.
Harder this time.
"Aum…"
The name came out quieter now.
Less controlled.
He moved further down the path, his eyes refusing to stay still, searching every face, every figure.
White shirt.
Dark trousers.
Calm expression.
Nothing matched.
"Where would you go?" Xu Chen muttered, frustration beginning to mix with something else.
Something heavier.
He stopped walking.
Just for a moment.
And that was when it hit him.
Not like a sudden realization.
Not like clarity.
But like something breaking—
quietly.
"He's actually not here."
The thought didn't feel logical.
It didn't feel processed.
It just… existed.
Xu Chen's chest tightened slightly.
He turned abruptly and walked back again, faster this time, almost as if moving quicker might undo what was happening.
Inside the restaurant again.
Same table.
Same phone.
Same absence.
Xu Chen grabbed the back of the chair, his grip tightening unconsciously.
"This doesn't make sense…"
He repeated it again.
But this time—
it sounded weaker.
Because something else had begun to form beneath it.
"What if…"
He stopped.
Didn't finish the thought.
Didn't want to.
Instead, he straightened abruptly and walked back to the counter.
"Do you have cameras here?" he asked.
The staff member blinked. "Yes, sir, but—"
"I need to see them."
"Sir, we would need permission—"
"Then get it."
His tone wasn't loud.
But it carried weight.
Urgency.
The staff member hesitated, then nodded quickly. "Please wait."
Xu Chen didn't sit.
Didn't move.
His gaze kept shifting—
door.
corridor.
table.
Every second stretched.
Every second felt wrong.
Minutes passed.
Finally, someone called him.
"This way, sir."
Xu Chen followed quickly.
The small room was dim, filled with screens showing different angles of the restaurant.
The staff member began rewinding footage.
"Tell me the approximate time."
"Ten minutes ago. Maybe more."
The footage rolled.
There—
the table.
Xu Chen.
Aum.
Xu Chen watched carefully.
Every movement.
Aum stood.
Said something.
Walked toward the corridor.
Normal.
Then—
He didn't come back.
"Go further," Xu Chen said.
The footage switched to another camera.
The corridor.
Aum walked in.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Then—
Nothing.
Xu Chen frowned. "Where's the exit?"
"There's a back door at the end," the staff member said, pointing.
The footage shifted again.
Back door.
Empty.
Seconds passed.
Then—
Aum appeared.
Xu Chen leaned forward slightly.
Aum stepped out.
Paused for a brief second—
as if thinking.
Then walked away.
Alone.
Xu Chen stared at the screen.
"He left."
The words formed slowly.
Not lost.
Not taken.
Left.
Xu Chen's expression didn't change immediately.
But something inside—
shifted.
"He left…"
This time, it sounded different.
He stepped back.
"Thank you," he said, his voice controlled again—but quieter.
He walked out of the room.
Out of the restaurant.
Back into the sunlight.
The same place.
The same view.
But everything felt—
different now.
Xu Chen stood still for a moment.
Then exhaled slowly.
"So this is what you chose…"
The words were calm.
Too calm.
But his hand—
tightened around the phone.
"Without saying anything?"
A pause.
His gaze moved toward the path again.
"You didn't even…"
He stopped.
Because finishing that sentence—
would make it real.
Xu Chen looked down at Aum's phone in his hand.
"You forgot this," he said quietly.
Or maybe—
"You didn't need it."
The thought hit harder than expected.
Xu Chen let out a short breath.
"So that's it?"
No answer.
Of course not.
The lake stretched in front of him.
Unmoving.
Unchanged.
But inside—
something had shifted completely.
Not panic anymore.
Not confusion.
Something else.
Something sharper.
Something that stayed.
Xu Chen lifted his gaze again, scanning the distance one more time.
"…Fine."
The word came out low.
Almost steady.
But not quite.
"Let's see how far you go."
And for the first time—
this wasn't just a search.
It was something else entirely.
Something that had begun—
the moment Aum chose to walk away.