Chapter 108: 108 | The First Date

Jason stared at the system notification.

[Identify who has been observing the Host.]

He read it again.

Then a third time.

"That's... incredibly unhelpful."

Sarah looked up from the kitchen counter. "What?"

Jason locked his phone.

"Nothing."

She stared at him.

Jason sighed.

"Okay. Something."

Sarah folded her arms. "Better."

Jason walked over and dropped into the chair opposite her.

"Vivian saw Marcus meeting someone behind the library."

"I know."

"The person wasn't a student."

"I know."

"She recognized the driver."

Sarah nodded. "The café worker."

Jason rubbed his forehead.

"Right."

"What?"

Jason looked at her.

"I think we should go back to the café."

Sarah's expression changed.

"Why?"

"Because that's where this started."

Sarah frowned.

"Our first date?"

Jason nodded.

"Think about it. Vivian saw that guy. The system says whoever is behind this has been watching me longer than the anonymous messages."

He paused.

"And that café worker was there the first time you and I were together."

Sarah went quiet.

Jason leaned forward.

"Maybe he isn't important because he's working with Marcus."

"Then why is he important?"

"I don't know."

Jason pointed toward his head.

"That's the problem. My brain currently has seventeen theories fighting each other with knives."

Sarah laughed despite herself.

"Seventeen?"

"Maybe eighteen."

"You're ridiculous."

"I know."

Sarah picked up her phone.

"Fine."

Jason blinked.

"Fine?"

"Let's go."

---

The café looked exactly the same.

Same tables.

Same windows.

Same chalkboard menu near the entrance.

Even the small plant beside the counter was still half-dead.

Jason stopped outside.

Sarah looked at him.

"What?"

He stared through the glass.

"Nothing."

"You're thinking again."

"I remember this place."

Sarah smiled.

"So do I."

Jason pushed the door open.

The bell above it rang.

A few people looked over before returning to their conversations.

Sarah walked beside him.

They chose a table near the back.

Jason deliberately sat where he could see the counter.

The employee wasn't there.

He looked around.

"Maybe he's working later."

Sarah nodded.

"What exactly are we looking for?"

Jason leaned back.

"Anything."

"That sounds like a terrible investigation strategy."

"It's the best I've got."

Sarah smiled.

"Detective Jason."

"Please don't call me that."

"Why?"

"It makes me sound competent."

She laughed.

For several minutes, nothing happened.

A waitress passed.

Someone ordered coffee.

A couple near the window argued quietly about something.

Jason kept watching.

Then he noticed something.

The table beside the window.

His eyes narrowed.

"Sarah."

"What?"

"Do you remember where we sat on our first date?"

She looked around.

Then pointed.

"That table."

Jason stared.

It was the same table.

Almost.

The chairs had changed.

The arrangement was slightly different.

But it was unmistakably the same spot.

Jason suddenly remembered the afternoon.

Sarah sitting across from him.

The nervous conversation.

The stupid joke he'd made because he didn't know what else to say.

And the employee.

Jason's expression changed.

"Wait."

Sarah noticed.

"What?"

"He came to our table."

"Who?"

"The guy."

Sarah frowned.

"What did he do?"

Jason closed his eyes.

He tried to reconstruct the memory.

Not the important parts.

The meaningless parts.

The little things people normally forgot.

"He brought our drinks."

"So?"

"He already knew what we ordered."

Sarah stared at him.

Jason opened his eyes.

"You hadn't ordered yet."

Sarah's expression slowly changed.

"What?"

Jason leaned forward.

"I remember."

He pointed toward the counter.

"You were looking at the menu. I ordered iced coffee. You hadn't decided yet."

Sarah nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

"But when he came over, he asked if you wanted the usual."

Sarah went completely still.

Jason felt his stomach tighten.

"You'd never been here before."

"I hadn't."

"And I hadn't either."

Neither spoke.

Jason's mind started racing.

Maybe it had been a coincidence.

Maybe Sarah had visited with someone else.

Maybe the employee had mistaken her for another customer.

There were explanations.

There were always explanations.

Then Sarah whispered:

"He called me by my name."

Jason froze.

"You remember?"

"I thought it was weird."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it mattered."

Jason stared at the counter.

The memory had been sitting inside both of them for months.

Neither had realized what it meant.

A man had recognized Sarah before their first date.

A man who supposedly had no reason to know her.

Jason slowly stood.

"I'm going to ask him."

Sarah grabbed his wrist.

"Jason."

He looked at her.

"Don't make it obvious."

Jason stopped.

She was right.

If the employee was involved, confronting him could make him disappear.

If he wasn't involved, Jason would look like a paranoid idiot.

Neither outcome helped.

They remained seated.

Then the employee appeared from the back.

Jason immediately recognized him.

Same face.

Same build.

Same café uniform.

The man glanced toward them.

His eyes paused on Jason.

Only for a second.

Then he looked away.

Jason noticed.

Sarah noticed too.

Neither said anything.

The employee walked toward another table.

Jason watched him.

Then something else happened.

The employee pulled a phone from his pocket.

Looked at it.

His expression changed.

He turned toward the entrance.

Jason followed his gaze.

A black sedan was parked across the street.

Jason's heart dropped.

Same kind of car Vivian had described.

The employee stared at it for several seconds.

Then put his phone away.

He walked toward the back door.

Jason immediately stood.

Sarah grabbed his arm again.

"Don't."

Jason looked at her.

"He's leaving."

"I know."

"If we let him go—"

"We don't know anything yet."

Jason clenched his jaw.

She was right.

Again.

He hated how often that was happening.

He sat back down.

The employee disappeared through the back.

Jason waited.

Thirty seconds.

One minute.

Two.

Then the café door opened.

The employee stepped outside.

He wasn't carrying anything.

He simply walked down the sidewalk.

Jason watched him disappear around the corner.

Sarah looked at him.

"You're thinking about following him."

Jason slowly raised a finger.

"Maybe."

"No."

Jason lowered the finger.

"Okay."

She smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

Jason sighed.

"This is torture."

---

They stayed another twenty minutes.

Nothing happened.

Eventually, they left.

Jason kept looking back at the café.

The moment they reached the sidewalk, his phone vibrated.

He pulled it out.

[Phase Four Progress: 24%.]

Jason stared.

Sarah looked at him.

"Bad?"

"Not exactly."

"What happened?"

"Four percent."

Sarah blinked.

"From what?"

Jason looked back at the café.

"Remembering."

Sarah frowned.

"That's strange."

"Very."

Another notification appeared.

[Historical Observation Confirmed.]

Jason's smile disappeared.

Sarah noticed immediately.

"What does that mean?"

Jason read the next line.

[The Host was observed during the beginning of the Primary Relationship.]

His blood went cold.

"Sarah."

"What?"

He showed her the screen.

She read it.

Her face slowly hardened.

"Our first date."

Jason nodded.

"So whoever this is..."

"Was already watching us then."

Sarah looked back at the café.

Jason's thoughts raced.

That meant the anonymous messages weren't the beginning.

Marcus wasn't the beginning.

Vivian wasn't the beginning.

The entire situation had started months earlier.

Maybe even before Jason knew there was a situation.

He swallowed.

"Why us?"

Sarah didn't answer.

Neither did Jason.

---

That evening, Jason met Marcus.

Not because the system told him to.

Not because he wanted to interrogate him.

He simply needed answers.

Marcus arrived at the small park near campus and immediately noticed Jason's expression.

"Why do you look like someone stole your kidney?"

Jason stared at him.

"Do you know the café near the east road?"

Marcus frowned.

"Yeah."

"The one where Sarah and I had our first date."

"Yeah."

"Do you know one of the employees?"

Marcus hesitated.

"Which one?"

Jason noticed.

"The guy who drives a black sedan."

Marcus's expression changed.

Just slightly.

Jason caught it.

"You know him."

Marcus rubbed the back of his neck.

"Not personally."

"But you've seen him."

"Yeah."

"Where?"

Marcus looked around.

"Jason..."

"Where?"

Marcus sighed.

"At the gym."

Jason frowned.

"The gym?"

"Sometimes he comes in."

"Why would a café employee go to your gym?"

Marcus shrugged.

"People have hobbies?"

Jason stared at him.

Marcus raised both hands.

"I'm just saying."

Jason narrowed his eyes.

"Does he know you?"

"I've talked to him a few times."

"How many?"

"I don't know."

"Marcus."

"Five? Six?"

Jason's expression hardened.

"Does he ever ask about me?"

Marcus didn't answer.

That was enough.

Jason stepped closer.

"What has he asked?"

Marcus looked uncomfortable.

"He asked if you were still dating Sarah."

Jason froze.

"When?"

"A while ago."

"How long ago?"

Marcus thought.

"Maybe two months."

Jason's stomach tightened.

Two months.

Before the anonymous messages.

Before Vivian's problems.

Before everything had exploded.

"Anything else?"

Marcus hesitated.

"He asked about Vivian."

Jason went silent.

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing."

Marcus's voice became defensive.

"I swear. He asked if she was your friend. I said yes."

Jason studied him.

"Did he ask anything else?"

"No."

Marcus looked down.

"Actually..."

"What?"

"He asked if you were seeing anyone else."

Jason stared.

Marcus sighed.

"I didn't know what he was getting at, so I changed the subject."

Jason slowly stepped back.

This was getting worse.

Much worse.

"Marcus."

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Marcus looked embarrassed.

"Because I thought it was gossip."

Jason didn't respond.

Marcus continued.

"And honestly? I didn't think you'd care."

Jason almost laughed.

"Yeah."

He looked toward the darkening road.

"I'm starting to care."

---

Jason returned home alone.

He sat on his bed.

His phone rested in his hand.

The system remained silent.

For once, there were no percentages.

No quest.

No instruction.

Just silence.

Jason stared at the ceiling.

Someone had known about Sarah before they became serious.

Someone had watched him during their first date.

Someone had later asked Marcus about Vivian.

And somehow, that same information had eventually reached the anonymous messenger.

The café worker.

Marcus.

The messages.

They weren't separate.

They were connected.

But there was still one missing piece.

Jason opened his contacts.

He stared at Sarah's name.

Then Vivian's.

Then Marcus's.

He stopped.

Another name entered his mind.

Kyle.

Kyle had been the one who first warned him that people were talking.

He had also known about Daniel.

Jason frowned.

He opened their chat.

Scrolled upward.

Then stopped.

There was an old message from Kyle.

Months ago.

Before the rumors.

Before the anonymous messages.

Kyle had sent him a picture.

Jason had completely forgotten about it.

The picture was of Jason and Sarah.

At the café.

On their first date.

Jason stared at the image.

His heartbeat changed.

He zoomed in.

It wasn't a random photo.

It had been taken from outside the café.

Through the window.

From across the street.

Jason's face went blank.

He whispered:

"Who took this?"

His phone vibrated.

[Phase Four Progress: 27%.]

Then another notification appeared.

[New Lead Identified.]

Jason stared.

[The first recorded observation was not made by the café employee.]

His breathing stopped for a moment.

Then the final line appeared.

[Someone else was present when the photograph was taken.]

Jason slowly looked back at the photograph.

Across the street, reflected faintly in the café window, was the outline of a person.

Jason couldn't see the face.

But he could see one thing.

A phone.

Pointed directly at him.

And Sarah.

The photograph had never been the beginning.

It had been evidence that someone had already been there.