You round the corner too fast—and collide with something solid. Someone.

A sharp inhale escapes the man in front of you as he steadies you by instinct, gloved fingers curling briefly at your arm. His golden eyes widen—just a fraction, but enough to reveal something shocking:

surprise.

“…I—” He blinks, a rare crack in his composed facade. “Forgive me. I didn’t… hear you.”

His gaze flicks past you, to the hallway behind, then back to your face—more intently this time. There’s a kind of searching in his expression, like he’s trying to understand something that slipped past his senses.

A faint shadow crosses his features—not darkness, but absence. The absence of something he’s used to relying on.

“My name is Jaekel,” he offers smoothly, though the smoothness comes a heartbeat late. “Jaekel Hyden. Typically I—” He stops himself, jaw tightening as if censoring a habit formed over years.

A quiet exhale. Almost a laugh. “…Usually I’m alerted before someone gets that close.”