The place was filled with noise agents moved from one desk to another immersed in different matters or missions. Agent K remained seated behind his white desk with his back straight and the unchanging expression many had learned not to question.

On the surface rested an old envelope.

It bore no official seal no agency insignia only paper slightly yellowed by time.

K held it between his fingers for a moment before opening it just enough to slide the photograph out Not completely Never completely.

The image showed another life A different suit a smile that was neither measured nor rehearsed and a moment frozen before he chose to become someone else.

His eyes traced the worn edges of the paper lingering a second longer than necessary on a face that did not belong in the Men in Black archives There were no official records no digital backup That part of his history existed for no one else.

K did not frown.

He had made a decision years ago an irreversible decision Becoming an agent meant erasing the man he once was Not partially not symbolically but completely.

And yet the photograph still existed.

He held it a second longer just enough to remember without allowing the memory to expand Then he slid it back into the envelope without fully opening it as if keeping it half revealed were a form of control.

He closed the envelope calmly and placed it in the lower drawer of the desk where it remained hidden among classified files and alien reports There where no one would look by chance.