Victor, Lucien, and Alice are sitting on the sofa together.
The house is finally clean, and because Lucien's clothes were ruined by mud, he's wearing Alice's clothes—which Alice is not happy about.
The three of them sit quietly, eyes closed, enjoying rare peace.
Suddenly, Victor breaks the silence.
"So… what if we go to a bar tonight?" he says casually.
"College starts tomorrow. Let's enjoy today properly."
Lucien instantly opens his eyes.
"Yes, of course. Why not?"
Alice jumps up excitedly.
"YESSS! That's what I'm talking about. Let's gooo!"
He immediately starts taking off his shoes.
Victor stares at him.
"Not now, idiot. Tonight."
Alice slowly sits back down.
"Oh… right."
Then, disappointed, "So what do we do now?"
Victor smirks.
"For now, we'll go to the market and then the garden. We'll chill. We'll enjoy."
Lucien claps his hands.
"Yesss! That'll be fun."
Alice groans dramatically.
"Huh? That's the best place you could think of? I want to go to a bar, man."
Victor rolls his eyes.
"We'll go. Just have a little patience."
Alice sighs like his life depends on it.
"Fine… but if the garden doesn't have snacks, I'm blaming both of you."
The three of them laugh, the quiet house once again filled with noise—
proof that peace never lasts long when they're together.
They walk toward the market.
Lucien walks properly, calm and confident.
Victor walks seriously, like he's responsible for everyone.
And Alice?
Head down.
Face a little sad.
Walking like a dramatic movie hero.
After a few steps, Alice mutters,
"When will it be 7 p.m.? I just want to go to the bar."
Victor sighs.
"Bruh, have some patience. Stay calm."
Lucien smiles and looks at Alice.
"Why are you acting like this? You're handsome. You've got abs, biceps—everything."
Alice frowns.
"Then why do I still not have a girlfriend?"
Victor grins.
"Oh really? Then why did I see a contact in your phone saved as 'GF No.11'?"
Alice panics.
"Okay, okay! Relax. That was old data."
Lucien shakes his head.
"You're impossible."
Talking, teasing, and laughing, they finally reach the market.
Victor looks around.
"See, guys? We've arrived."
Lucien smiles.
"Finally."
Alice replies in a low, tired voice,
"Yeah… I see."
They shop, argue over useless items, tease shopkeepers, and somehow spend more time than needed.
After that, they go to the garden, walk around, sit for a while, and do absolutely nothing important.
Finally, they head back home.
At home, there's a little break.
They sit, relax, scroll on their phones, and wait.
Alice keeps checking the time every five minutes.
"Is it 6:30 yet?"
"Now?"
"What about now?"
Victor rolls his eyes.
"Relax. Time isn't running away."
Lucien laughs.
"He's been ready since 6."
Finally—
Alice jumps up.
"GUYS! It's 7 p.m.!"
He grabs his jacket.
"Let's gooo!"
Victor sighs, smiling.
"This idiot…"
Lucien stands up.
"Alright, let's go."
And after waiting all day, the moment Alice was dying for finally arrives—
At exactly 7 p.m.,
they head out together
to the bar.
They reach the bar.
Music is playing, lights are low, and the place is alive.
They grab drinks, sit together, and finally start to relax.
After a while, Victor looks at Alice seriously.
"Alice… why did you come back to Germany from France?"
Lucien nods.
"Yeah, obviously, I was thinking the same thing. You had everything there. Why come back?"
Alice sighs deeply.
"Okay, okay… I'll tell you."
He takes a slow sip of his drink.
"You know I have a playboy image," he says quietly.
"But listen carefully—what happened wasn't what people think."
Victor and Lucien go silent.
"One night, I slept… but I wasn't with anyone. When I woke up, there was a girl lying next to me. I didn't even know her."
He clenches his jaw.
"And she accused me of something terrible."
Lucien frowns.
"A false accusation?"
Alice nods.
"The media got involved. Jail was almost certain. I didn't go—because of my dad."
He looks down.
"My parents heard everything. They were angry. They thought I was guilty."
"But I'm not," he says firmly.
"I'm innocent. I didn't do anything."
Victor listens quietly.
"My dad punished me," Alice continues.
"We used to live in Germany before, so he sent me back here. Same house. Same place."
He laughs bitterly.
"And he said, 'I'll give you only 10k per month. Manage everything yourself.'"
Lucien raises his eyebrows.
"That's harsh."
"He also got me admission into the best college here," Alice adds.
"Fees are paid by him. Everything else? My problem."
Victor exhales.
"Oh… so that's what happened."
Lucien looks at Alice.
"Man, you're not perfect, but this… this wasn't your fault."
Alice gives a small smile.
"Thanks."
Just then—
A girl walks over.
She smiles at Alice.
"Hey… you look new here."
Victor instantly whispers to Lucien,
"Here we go."
Alice smirks slightly.
"New? Maybe. Dangerous? Definitely."
The girl laughs.
"Confident too. I like that."
She looks at his drink.
"What are you having?"
Alice raises his glass.
"Something strong. Helps with bad life decisions."
She grins.
"Then you'll need company."
Lucien pretends to cough.
"Wow… took him five minutes."
Victor shakes his head.
"He just told us his tragic backstory."
Alice looks at them.
"Guys, trauma doesn't cancel charm."
The girl laughs again.
"You're funny."
Alice leans back casually.
"I try. It's a survival skill."
For a moment, the heaviness fades.
Laughter replaces silence.
Victor watches Alice and thinks—
maybe he's broken,
maybe he's reckless,
but he's still standing.
And for tonight,
that's enough.
Just then, three girls enter the bar.
One of them immediately stands out.
She's wearing an oversized, baggy T-shirt, big glasses slipping slightly down her nose, and her hair tied in a messy bun—like her friends literally dragged her here by force. She looks like someone who spends the entire day studying and was brought out only to "refresh her mind."
Alice's eyes stop on her.
He keeps looking at her.
The girl who was flirting with Alice notices and frowns.
"Eww. Look at her clothes," she says.
"And seriously? She's not even drinking. Who drinks mango juice at a bar?"
Alice doesn't respond.
His eyes are still on that girl.
The flirting girl snaps her fingers.
"Hey! Why are you staring at her? Come on, let's have some fun."
Alice finally looks away.
"No… sorry."
And without another word, he stands up and walks outside.
Lucien and Victor notice immediately.
"That was sudden," Lucien says.
They follow him out.
Victor asks,
"What happened, man?"
Alice looks confused, rubbing his neck.
"I don't know… that girl. She looked familiar. Like I know her."
Victor shrugs.
"Maybe you saw her somewhere—on the street, in college, somewhere."
Lucien nods.
"Yeah. You overthink a lot."
Victor checks his keys.
"Come on. Let's go home. I'll drive. You both have had enough."
Alice sighs.
"Yeah… okay."
They get into the car.
Inside the silence, Lucien suddenly says,
"By the way… mango juice at a bar is wild."
Victor laughs.
"Respect to her, honestly."
Alice looks out of the window again, thoughtful.
"Yeah," he says softly.
"And somehow… it suits her."
Victor raises an eyebrow.
"Oh? Our playboy is impressed?"
Lucien grins.
"Dangerous signs."
Alice smirks slightly.
"Shut up."
The car drives away into the night—
jokes filling the space,
but Alice's mind stuck on one girl
who didn't belong in the bar…
yet somehow belonged in his thoughts.
Victor is driving.
Alice is completely drunk—leaning back in the seat, eyes half-closed, talking nonstop.
"And I'm telling you," Alice says seriously, pointing at the windshield,
"that girl… the mango-juice girl… she was different."
Lucien sighs.
"Oh no. Not again."
Victor keeps his eyes on the road.
"You've said that twelve times already."
Alice ignores them.
"She wasn't pretending. She didn't care about the bar. She didn't care about people staring. She was just… there."
Lucien looks at Victor.
"Is he drunk or philosophical?"
Alice suddenly turns to Lucien.
"You know what her vibe was?"
Lucien hesitates.
"…No?"
"Peace," Alice says proudly.
"Like silence that feels safe."
Victor nearly laughs.
"Bro, you met her for five minutes."
Alice shakes his head.
"Doesn't matter. Some people feel familiar without explanation."
Lucien rolls his eyes.
"Wow. Deep."
Then Alice suddenly laughs.
"And mango juice at a bar! Legendary behavior."
Victor chuckles.
"Okay, that part I agree with."
Alice continues talking—about random things, life, destiny, how bars are loud but people can still feel lonely.
Lucien mutters,
"He's drunk, but… he's not wrong."
Finally, they reach home.
Victor parks the car.
"Okay, let's get this poet inside."
They carefully help Alice out of the car.
He's still talking.
"If I see her again," Alice mumbles,
"I'll ask her why she chose mango juice."
Lucien groans.
"Priorities."
They take him to his room and gently lay him on the bed.
Alice turns to his side, eyes closed now.
Softly, almost like a whisper, he says,
"She felt real…"
Then he falls asleep.
Lucien and Victor stand there quietly.
Victor breaks the silence.
"Have you noticed something?"
Lucien nods.
"Yeah."
"He's never talked this much about any of his girlfriends," Victor says.
"Not even once."
Lucien frowns.
"And this girl isn't even his girlfriend."
They both look at Alice.
Victor sighs.
"Yet he keeps talking about her."
Lucien shrugs.
"I don't know. Maybe something clicked."
Then he smirks slightly.
"Or maybe he's just an idiot."
Victor smiles softly.
"Yeah… but a complicated one."
They switch off the light and walk out.
Outside the room, Lucien says quietly,
"Tomorrow's going to be interesting."
Victor nods.
"Very."
Behind them, Alice sleeps peacefully—
with a name he doesn't know,
a face he barely remembers,
and a feeling he doesn't understand yet.