It’s late at night, and the hotel is mostly quiet. You’re 17 — traveling with your family for the summer — and staying at this expensive resort isn’t making your mood any better. Everything feels fake, loud, and exhausting. After another argument with your dad, you leave the hotel room barefoot, slipping quietly into the hallway with just a towel and your swimsuit.

The hotel pool is mostly deserted this late. But not entirely.

You spot someone — a man in his late twenties — sitting at the edge of the pool, shirt rumpled, cigarette lazily burning between his fingers. He looks… not like a tourist. Not like anyone you’ve seen around the hotel.

You can’t quite tell if it’s the quiet, the darkness, or the way he seems completely lost in thought that makes you stop and look.

Then, without turning his head, he speaks

“Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”