The cafeteria buzzed with the usual midday noise—clinking trays, bursts of laughter, scattered conversations. Kai sat with his theater group, listening to Brandon rant about rehearsal schedules while Lila quietly picked at her food.
Across the room, Kai’s pawns—Felix, Evan, Jonah, and Iris—sat together, heads low in conversation. A casual observer might’ve thought they were just another group of friends.
His phone buzzed.
A simple message from Felix:
“When you’re done, we need to talk. It’s important.”
Kai didn’t react. Just kept eating, nodding when Brandon cracked another joke. But his mind was already shifting gears.
When lunch ended, Kai slipped away from his theater friends with an easy excuse and rounded the building where his pawns waited.
Felix stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Jonah scrolled his phone. Iris looked tense, hugging her jacket tight around her.
Kai’s gaze swept over them.
“Alright. What is it?”
Felix jerked his chin toward Iris.
“She found something. Figured you should hear it from her.”
Iris hesitated, then spoke, voice low.
“There’s a girl in my class. Name’s Emilia. She’s been… absent a lot lately. Everyone’s talking.”
Kai didn’t flinch but stayed silent, watching her.
“He’s an accountant at a company called Westbridge Technologies. Nothing huge, but stable. The rumor is… he stole money. Embezzled millions.”
Jonah scoffed.
“Classic rich people mess. Probably true.”
But Iris shook her head fast.
“No. I talked to her. She was… desperate. Told me her dad would never do that. Swore on everything.”
Evan whistled low.
“And now what?”
Iris replied , voice bitter.
“She’s a ghost in class. Teachers avoid calling on her. Some students said… maybe he pissed off the wrong people.”
That made Kai pause.
“Did you get the company name again?”
Iris nodded.
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“Westbridge Technologies. I checked their site — some basic software stuff, but they work with bigger private clients. Government contracts, maybe.”
Kai’s mind was already racing.
“You did good bringing this to me,” Kai said, his voice low. “Keep your distance from Emilia for now. If anyone’s watching her, we don’t want them seeing us sniffing around.”
Iris nodded, but her eyes stayed troubled.
“Kai… she really believes her dad is innocent.”
Kai smirked faintly, hands in his pockets.
“We’ll see if he is.”
After class, Kai texted Felix to meet him behind the old gym.
Felix arrived a few minutes later, curious but calm.
Kai leaned back against the wall, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“Hypothetical question, Felix… Let’s say someone you’ve never met comes to you—asks you to hack a stranger’s laptop. What would it take for you to actually do it?”
Felix blinked, caught off guard.
“I’d never do that. I work for you.”
Kai smirked faintly.
“Hypothetically.”
Felix scratched his head, frowning.
“Even for money? No. Hacking a random person is dangerous. Unless…”
He paused, face darkening slightly.
“Unless that person knows something. Some secret I really don’t want getting out.”
Kai tilted his head.
“Interesting… So, you do have a secret?”
Felix tensed, eyes darting away.
Kai’s voice softened.
“Hey… you can tell me. I promise — it stays between us.”
Felix hesitated, but eventually sighed.
“I… I changed grades once. For one of the guys who used to bully me. Made me change his grades a few times.”
Kai nodded slowly, filing it away.
“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Felix looked relieved but still guilty.
Kai, though, was already calculating.
That Night
Lying on his bed, Kai stared at the ceiling—Felix’s words looping in his head.
He sat up, breathing steady, and moved to the closet. The familiar darkness welcomed him as he closed his eyes.
Outside his body now, Kai floated in that space of shifting lights and swirling colors.
“Let’s test this theory.”
He focused hard, locking onto the week before Emilia’s father’s arrest—before any of it unraveled.
The smoke parted.
The swirling colors thinned until Kai felt solid ground beneath his feet.
Voices echoed faintly — a classroom.
He stood there, unnoticed, as a teacher lectured at the front about basic economics. Students slouched in their seats, bored, staring at the clock.
Kai exhaled slowly. “Perfect.”
Moving carefully, he raised his hand.
“Sir… restroom?”
The teacher barely glanced up, waving him off.
“Go. Quietly.”
Kai slipped out, heart steady. The hall was empty — just the hum of the old building.
Reaching the restroom, he pushed the door open, checked each stall — empty.
Alone.
From his pocket, Kai pulled out his phone — strange how real it felt here. He stared at the screen for a moment, then dialed the number burned into his mind.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then —
“H-Hello?” The voice cracked, confused.
Kai smiled coldly.
“Hello, Felix.”
Silence.
“W-Who is this?”
“Doesn’t matter. I know what you’ve done. Changing grades… thought no one saw you, huh?”
Felix stammered,
“I-I don’t know what you’re—”
“Save it.” Kai’s tone was ice. “I’m not here to rat you out… yet. But you’re going to do something for me.”
Felix was breathing hard now, panic setting in.
“W-What…?”
Kai leaned against the cold tile wall, voice steady.
“There’s a man — accountant at Westbridge Technologies. I want into his laptop.”
“Wha— I don’t even know anyone there!”
Kai grinned.
“You do now. His daughter — Emilia Grayson. Class 2-C. That’s your way in.”
The line went dead quiet.
Kai pressed,
“You’re smart. You know what to do.”
Felix silently said okay I’ll do it?
Kai then asked, how will you proceed?
Felix responded,
“Using the school public WiFi, I’ll hook her phone. When she goes home, jump to their home network. One of those devices will be his.”
Felix’s voice came back — smaller.
“If… if I do this… that’s it, right?”
“Do it,” Kai said. “Or everyone finds out who really changed those grades.”
Another pause. Then a shaky breath.
“Fine… I’ll do it.”
Kai’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk.
The morning air was crisp as Kai stood waiting near the edge of the school’s courtyard. One by one, his pawns arrived—Felix, Evan, Jonah, and finally, Iris.
Felix glanced around nervously.
“What’s this about? You sounded serious.”
Kai’s gaze was cold, calculating. He turned to Iris.
“You want to know if Emilia’s dad is innocent… or guilty?”
Iris stiffened, glancing at the others.
“Yes. But… how?”
Kai’s eyes locked on Felix.
“Felix knows.”
Felix blinked, confused.
“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”
Kai stepped closer, voice dropping low.
“You got a call… weeks ago. Someone told you to hack into a target’s device. Does that ring a bell?”
Felix frowned.
“No—” He stopped. Eyes widening, face paling.
The memory hit him like a truck.
“Wait… yeah. I… I remember. Someone called. I thought it was a prank or blackmail… but I did it.”
Felix looked at Kai, realization dawning, panic creeping into his voice.
“That was you, wasn’t it?”
Kai didn’t answer—just stared.
Felix’s hands clenched at his sides.
Kai finally spoke, voice calm but heavy.
“Do you still have access? To the laptop.”
Felix hesitated, swallowing hard.
“Y-Yeah. I set a backdoor. I can… get in anytime.”
The group went silent, all eyes on Kai now.
Kai’s lips curled into a small, cold smile.
“Good. It’s time to find out who’s really pulling the strings behind that embezzlement charge.”
Iris stared at Kai like seeing him for the first time.
“You planned all this… weeks ago?”
Kai shrugged, hands in his pockets.
“Sometimes… the future just needs a little push.”
Felix wiped his hands on his jeans, still pale.
“How?”
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