THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

THE PROFILE "A"

Elara woke with her heart already racing, thudding hard against her chest. She lay still for a few

seconds, staring at the ceiling. Thoughts tumbled through her mind—confused, chaotic,

unrecognized—as if her chest were holding secrets too heavy to speak.

The morning light filtered softly through her curtains, pale and innocent, like nothing had

happened. It overwhelmed the faint blue glow from the bulb that had stayed on all night.

At that moment, she felt it.

Her phone.

It lay warm against her pillow, like it had just had the best night’s rest.

She looked at it, and memory crashed over her like a wave she hadn’t seen coming:

The match.

The vibration.

The notification.

All from “A.”

Her breath caught. She froze, unable to reach for it. She continued staring at the device on the

bed as though it had done something wrong, or dared to exist in the same space as her.

The screen was dark now, peaceful, hiding whatever it had shown her the night before.

Finally, she gathered herself. Sitting up, she stared at the window, debating whether to pretend

she didn’t remember. Pretend it wasn’t there.

But her heart had other plans. It beat louder, insistent, refusing denial.

She reached for the phone. The screen lit up instantly.

One notification.

From “A.”

Unread.

Her stomach twisted. Ridiculous, how something so small could carry so much tension.

She swallowed, her thumb hovering for a moment before she dared to tap.

The message opened:

"So… do you always hesitate before making interesting decisions, or was I just special?"

Elara blinked.

It wasn’t shallow. Not a lazy “Hey beautiful” or a demand for pictures. It wasn’t generic. It was

observant.

A slow breath escaped her lips. He noticed.

Her lips pressed together to hold back a smile. She lay back, staring at the ceiling, the phone

resting on her chest.Alright. That was clever.

Her mind tried to regain control.

“It’s just a normal line. Nothing serious. Calm down. Maybe he sends it to everyone,” she

whispered.

But something about it didn’t feel copied and pasted.

Her fingers moved almost of their own accord. She typed a reply. Deleted it. Typed again.

Deleted again.

Her fingers felt clumsy, foreign, as if they weren’t hers yet.

Finally:

"Only when the decision looks risky."

She stared at the words. Too defensive? Too dry? She almost deleted it again.

Then she stopped herself. You can’t overthink every single word.

Before she could second-guess herself, her thumb hit send.

Her heart jumped the instant it delivered.

And then… she did something she hadn’t done in a long time.

She waited.

Elara waited patiently for his reply to pop up on her phone as she lay staring blankly at the

screen. She locked her phone and placed it face down beside her, then stared at the ceiling,

pretending she didn’t care.

She picked it up again and unlocked it, her eyes going straight to the top left corner where the

time read 7:05 a.m. Elara had to be at work by 8:00 a.m.

Her thumb slowly moved toward the chat icon but hesitated. It hovered there for a second

before tapping it softly, almost without her realizing. The chat opened, and just then, the three

typing bubbles appeared on her screen. Her eyes focused deeply, waiting for a message to

follow.

The bubbles disappeared.

Reappeared.

Then disappeared again.

Elara blinked and slowly dropped her phone. A warm, tired, disappointed breath escaped her

lips.

She raised the phone again and checked the time. Only a few minutes had passed. To her, it felt

like forever.

“This is just a waste of time,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

Just as she was about to drop her phone again and look for something else to do, it buzzed in

her hand.

This time, she didn’t feel excited. Not nervous. It was almost like she was beginning to get used

to the tension.

She unlocked her phone immediately. Her thumbs moved to the chat icon, and she tapped it.

The conversation opened like it had been waiting there all along.

“Risk isn’t the problem. It’s whether it is worth it.”

Elara raised one eyebrow.

I don’t think I’m flattered, she thought.Her eyes dropped to the message bar, where the cursor blinked patiently. She tapped into it,

hoping words would come. Her mind, however, was blank. She stared at the keyboard, and her

faint reflection stared back at her from the screen.

Slowly, she lowered the phone again.

She turned her gaze toward the window. The morning sun beamed into her room, warm and

golden. She admired the beauty of it—the distant honking of cars, the early singing of birds, the

quiet hustle and bustle of the city of LA waking up.

Life is amazing indeed, she thought.

She remained there for a moment longer, unaware that time was slipping away.

When she picked up her phone again, the chat page was still open. Just as she was about to

exit, the typing bubble appeared again.

Disappeared.

Reappeared.

And then, a message came through:

“So what made this one worth taking?”

Elara paused and stared at the words. A small smirk touched her lips.

She tapped the message bar and tried to come up with something. She typed:

“I don’t always.”

She stared at the sentence. It sounded strange. Her thumb hovered over delete—but instead,

she sent it anyway.

She felt slightly more comfortable now.

Elara was about to drop her phone and finally get ready for work when she glanced at the time.

7:19 a.m.

Her eyes widened.

She immediately tossed the phone onto the bed and began to stand.

A sharp vibration buzzed from the mattress. The screen lit up.

She leaned back to check the notification.

It was from A.

This time, he hadn’t taken long to reply.

She picked up her phone and opened the chat.

“Ignoring instincts usually costs more.”

She held the phone tightly and bit her lower lip, glancing at the time again.

7:21 a.m.

She didn’t have much time left. She had to shower and leave the house by 7:40 a.m. to reach

work by 8:00 a.m. She worked from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Deep down, Elara wanted to spend the entire day talking to him—getting to know him slowly,

carefully.

But instead, she tapped into the message space and typed:

“I have to get ready for work.”

She hit send.

Almost immediately, A replied, as though he had been waiting.

“Of course. Have a good day.”

Elara smiled.