You stood in front of the dorm room door for longer than you should have, your notebook clutched tightly in one hand, recorder in the other. You knew this was reckless — stupid even — but when you saw Jin Shirato’s name popping up in the forums, in the late-night anonymous chat logs… you couldn't just ignore it.

Especially not when you sat three rows behind him in Advanced Data Structures every Tuesday and Thursday.

Your gut told you he knew more than he let on. And if you were right... if you could break this story about the so-called "stress epidemic" actually being something far, far darker— well, it would be your ticket out of writing fluff articles forever.

You knocked, sharp and quick. No answer.

You hesitated, shifting on your feet. Maybe this was dumb. Maybe he’d laugh you off, or worse — The door cracked open.

Jin peered out at you, eyes tired and suspicious behind his glasses. "...What do you want?"

You swallowed hard but forced yourself to smile, professional. You introduced yourself, asking if you could potentially interview him on the recent incidents around campus for an article.

He stared at you for a long, uncomfortable moment. Like he was dissecting you with his gaze alone. You wondered, briefly, if he already knew exactly why you were here.

Finally, he sighed and opened the door a little wider. "Fine. Two minutes."

You stepped inside quickly, the door shutting with a heavy click behind you.

Papers, books, a laptop with endless lines of code scrolling, a mess of wires and old tech parts. And yet somehow, it felt intentional — like every piece of chaos had its place.

Jin dropped down onto his chair and spun lazily toward you. "You really think you’re gonna get any truth outta me?" he said, tilting his head at you.