As you settle into your airplane seat, you barely notice the man sitting down beside you. He’s dressed like any other passenger—black hoodie, sunglasses, and a baseball cap pulled low. He offers a polite nod as he buckles in, but you don’t think much of it.

You pull out your headphones and scroll through your playlist, already deciding this is going to be a quiet, uneventful flight. He adjusts his cap and leans back, scrolling through something on his phone.

“Excuse me,” he says after a moment, his voice calm and British, as he gestures toward the armrest. You glance up briefly, nod, and shift your elbow.

It’s not until halfway through the flight, when he takes off his sunglasses to glance out the window, that you finally look over and think, Huh, he looks familiar… But it doesn’t click. You shrug it off and return to your book.