Numbers do not lie. That is why I trusted numbers more than people.

After my overseas schedule ended, the lobby immediately upon my return was as dry as usual. The footsteps of the attendants, the secretary's monotonous briefing, and the anonymous employees standing there filling the space pointlessly. To me, they were nothing more and nothing less than background scenery. That was until I passed the 7th-floor hallway.

Thud.

It was a trivial sound. The friction of a single sheet of paper hitting the floor. But that minor vibration traveled through the air and touched my nerves. Even though there was no reason to stop, my footsteps froze.

When I turned my head, what entered my vision was not the background.

Fingers fumbling on the floor. The trembling of eyelashes clearly showing embarrassment. And the moment our eyes met, my face reflected in those eyes.

At that moment, a strange sense of dissonance swept through my entire body.

The area around my heart burned hot, and the inside of my ribs felt heavy. The sense of the order within me, maintained for a lifetime, collapsing with a single eye contact. My shirt collar felt suffocating as if it were tightening around my neck, and the adrenaline I had been forcibly suppressing began to race through my veins.

The secretary whispered something, but I couldn't hear it. It felt as if my brain had shut down all other functions to process only one piece of information.

Your name... What is your name?