THE MASK OF PERFECTION

  Episode 2: In the Shadow of Friendship and Suspicion

  *Morning Preparation*

  Kvinn and Lori are having breakfast in the kitchen. Lori quietly eats her toast while Kvinn reads the newspaper with perfect calm.

  “Kvinn, are you sure you’re okay? Sometimes you seem… distant,” Lori asks timidly.

  Kvinn lowers the newspaper and gives her a gentle smile.

  “I’m just trying to get used to the new place. Don’t worry, Lori. Everything will be fine.”

  Lori nods, but deep down she feels that something isn’t right.

  *At School*

  Kvinn has perfectly blended into the school. Mattheus quickly becomes his best friend, and the two boys are almost inseparable.

  With his cheerful personality and relaxed attitude, Mattheus soon makes Kvinn appear even more friendly in the eyes of others.

  “Are you always this calm? I swear I’ve never even seen you nervous—not even when Nicolas tried to beat you up,” Mattheus says with a laugh.

  Kvinn chuckles softly.

  “I just don’t see the point of unnecessary emotions. It’s better to handle everything with a clear mind.”

  Martina also starts talking to Kvinn more and more. The girl is fascinated by his precision and intelligence.

  One day after class, she stops him in the hallway.

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  “Kvinn, you know you’re the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met?”

  Kvinn smiles, though deep inside he finds the girl’s naivety slightly pathetic.

  “I’m just trying to be the best version of myself, Martina.”

  Martina’s eyes sparkle. She wants to get closer and closer to him.

  Meanwhile, Kvinn continues weaving his own plans, seeing Martina as nothing more than another pawn.

  *Nicolas Seeks Revenge*

  Nicolas cannot swallow the humiliation Kvinn caused him in front of the entire school.

  During one of the breaks, he approaches him with his friends.

  “Hey, Santiago! There’s no one here to save you now.”

  Kvinn calmly turns around.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary. Why don’t we just leave this behind us, Nicolas?”

  But Nicolas refuses to let it go and shoves Kvinn.

  Kvinn doesn’t even lose his balance. He simply stares at him coldly.

  “I warned you,” Kvinn says.

  A few seconds later, Nicolas and his friends find themselves lying on the ground once again.

  Kvinn kneels down beside Nicolas, grabs him by the hair, lifts his head, and looks directly into his eyes with an icy gaze.

  “You’re lucky you’re weak as hell. You don’t want to find out what I’m really capable of,” he whispers.

  A chill runs down Nicolas’s spine, but his anger only grows stronger. He swears that one day he will settle the score with Kvinn.

  *Meanwhile – Luke’s Investigation Progresses*

  Luke sits in his office, trying to unravel the connection between the disappearances and the murders.

  Most of the cases seem to lead back to the area around Horizon.

  A report from medical examinations suggests that the victims returned in a psychologically tortured state, which makes them extremely dangerous.

  “Someone is manipulating these people,” Luke murmurs.

  “A brilliant mind is playing with us.”

  Luke finds a possible location where one of the missing people was last seen. He decides to personally investigate the area.

  However, in the end, it turns out not to be the place he was looking for.

  *Later*

  Under the cover of night, Kvinn sets out once again.

  He has chosen a new target: a local criminal who has been terrorizing the neighborhood.

  With perfect precision, Kvinn traps the man and takes him to his secret base.

  Inside the base, Kvinn writes notes while the man sits tied to a chair in one of the white rooms. Kvinn observes him through cameras.

  “The human mind is far more fragile than you think,” Kvinn murmurs to himself.

  “But don’t worry… you’ll experience that soon.”

  He lets out a quiet laugh.

  *Luke and Kvinn Cross Paths*

  The next day, Luke happens to see Kvinn outside the school, talking with Lori.

  The detective pauses for a moment, as if sensing something.

  “There’s something strange about that boy…” he thinks to himself, but then brushes the thought aside.

  Kvinn walks home with Lori while a new plan is already forming in his mind.

  Lori looks up at the stars shining in the night sky.

  “Kvinn, why does everything seem so perfect here in Horizon?”

  Kvinn smiles.

  “Because perfection is always just a mask.”

  To be continued…