The posters appeared overnight.

  That was how people knew something was really happening.

  Not through announcements. Not through emails filled with careful wording and empty reassurance. Real events did not arrive politely anymore. They arrived taped to walls, crooked at the corners, curling slightly where the glue had dried too fast.

  WATER FESTIVAL WEEKMusic. Games. Booths. Open grounds."All majors welcome."

  XH noticed the first poster near the stairwell outside the main lecture hall. Someone had taped it too high, forcing students to tilt their heads back to read it. The paper was thin. Bright. Almost cheerful in a way that felt deliberate.

  He stopped walking.

  For a long moment, he just stared at it.

  It felt wrong how harmless it looked.

  JP nearly collided into him from behind. "Whoa. You planning to worship it or what?"

  XH stepped aside. "Did you see this already?"

  JP squinted up at the poster, then laughed. "Yeah. The school's trying to seduce us again."

  TZ leaned in from the side, hands in his jacket pockets. "You think it'll work?"

  JP shrugged. "I think people want it to."

  NS stood a step back, gaze unreadable. "People always want distractions before things break."

  JP rolled his eyes. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

  NS did not answer.

  They continued down the hall, but the posters followed them. On pillars. On doors. Near vending machines. Even outside the lab wing, where nothing festive ever seemed appropriate.

  By lunchtime, the campus felt different.

  Not healed.

  Loosened.

  Laughter came easier. Conversations stretched longer. Students lingered in clusters instead of rushing off with their heads down. Even the forum had quieted, its usual stream of speculation drowned under excited threads about games, booths, and which majors were rumored to be handling food.

  XH sat at the cafeteria table with the boys, tray untouched.

  JP was already deep into planning. "Okay, listen. If there's water games, we're not losing. I refuse to be humiliated publicly again."

  TZ smirked. "You lost one relay race. Relax."

  JP pointed his fork like a weapon. "Once is enough."

  NS glanced around the cafeteria. "They want people outside. Together. Visible."

  XH nodded slowly. "It's morale control."

  JP snorted. "You say that like morale is fake."

  XH shook his head. "No. Just… fragile."

  As if summoned by the conversation, Kitty approached with NC and Anna. She had one of the posters folded in her hand, edges already creased from overuse.

  "They're serious about this," Kitty said, sitting across from XH. "There's a schedule on the back."

  XH leaned forward. "What kind of schedule?"

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Kitty unfolded the paper carefully. "Booths in the morning. Team games in the afternoon. Music at night. They're even blocking off part of the field."

  JP's eyes lit up. "Music? Like actual music?"

  Anna laughed. "Don't get your hopes up."

  Kitty glanced at XH. "You going?"

  XH hesitated. "I don't know."

  Kitty tilted her head slightly. "That wasn't a no."

  XH smiled faintly. "I guess not."

  June arrived a few minutes later, slipping into the seat beside Kitty. She looked composed, but there was something different in the way she held herself. Less guarded. As if the idea of a festival had cracked something open.

  "I heard they're assigning majors to different zones," June said. "Health track is near the water stations."

  JP grinned. "Of course we are."

  June rolled her eyes, then glanced at XH. "You're not skipping."

  XH blinked. "That wasn't a question."

  June's lips curved slightly. "No. It wasn't."

  Kitty watched the exchange quietly, fingers tracing the edge of the poster.

  NC leaned back in her chair. "Everyone's acting like this fixes things."

  June shrugged. "It doesn't. But pretending is easier than panicking."

  Kitty nodded. "And pretending together is better than pretending alone."

  That landed softly.

  The afternoon passed with an unusual ease. Classes felt shorter. Lectures ended earlier than expected. Even Dr. Kim dismissed them with a simple nod and no warnings, as if he understood that forcing focus today would be pointless.

  Outside, groups gathered near the open grounds where the festival would be held. Tape marked off sections of grass. Staff moved equipment around. Someone tested a speaker, the sudden burst of sound drawing laughter instead of annoyance.

  XH stood at the edge of the field, hands in his pockets, watching students argue over booth assignments.

  He felt a strange tightness in his chest.

  Not pain.

  More like anticipation tangled with something heavier.

  Kitty appeared beside him. "You look like you're waiting for something bad to happen."

  XH glanced at her. "Does it show?"

  Kitty smiled slightly. "A little."

  He exhaled. "I just don't trust calm anymore."

  Kitty nodded. "That makes sense."

  They stood in silence for a moment.

  Then Kitty spoke again, more quietly. "Festivals don't last long."

  XH looked at her.

  Kitty met his gaze. "That's not pessimism. That's just… how they work."

  XH nodded slowly. "Temporary joy."

  Kitty smiled faintly. "Temporary honesty too."

  The words settled between them.

  Across the field, June stood with a small group of girls, gesturing animatedly as they discussed something. She laughed suddenly, the sound bright and unguarded. For a brief moment, she looked lighter than she had in weeks.

  XH watched her without realizing it.

  Kitty noticed.

  She did not comment.

  Later, as the sun dipped lower, the group gathered again near the benches. JP had somehow acquired a stack of plastic cups and was dramatically pretending to organize a relay.

  TZ laughed. "You're taking this way too seriously."

  JP scoffed. "This is war."

  NS leaned against a tree, arms crossed. "You all look happier than you should."

  JP grinned. "That's because we're ignoring reality."

  NS shook his head, but there was no bite in it.

  June sat on the bench beside XH, legs crossed, hands resting loosely in her lap. She did not speak at first.

  "You remember the last time we had a big campus event?" she asked eventually.

  XH nodded. "Before things got heavy."

  June's gaze stayed on the field. "I want to enjoy this one. Even if it's fake."

  XH turned to her. "Fake doesn't mean useless."

  June smiled slightly. "You sound like Mr. Kim."

  XH chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

  June glanced at him. "You should."

  There was a pause.

  Then June added, quieter, "Just don't disappear during it."

  XH frowned. "Disappear?"

  June met his eyes. "You have a habit of stepping back when things get loud."

  He swallowed. "I didn't realize."

  June shrugged. "Now you do."

  Kitty joined them on the bench a moment later, breaking the tension effortlessly. "I heard there's going to be a water balloon game."

  JP perked up instantly. "I'm undefeated."

  TZ laughed. "In your imagination."

  Kitty smiled at XH. "You should play."

  XH hesitated. "I'm not great at public chaos."

  Kitty tilted her head. "That's exactly why you should."

  June watched him closely. "I agree."

  XH looked between them.

  Two expectations. Different energies. Same direction.

  "I'll think about it," he said.

  Kitty rolled her eyes lightly. "You always do."

  As evening settled in, the campus lights flickered on, illuminating the posters once more. The paper glowed faintly under the lamps, bright and hopeful.

  Students drifted away in pairs and groups, conversations trailing off into laughter and plans.

  XH walked alone for a while after, the cool air brushing against his face. Somewhere in the distance, someone tested the water equipment, the sound echoing faintly.

  He stopped near the edge of the field and looked up at the sky.

  Clear. No forecast of rain.

  For a moment, he allowed himself to believe in the illusion.

  That maybe the festival would be just that. Noise. Color. Water. People forgetting their fear for a few days.

  But deep down, he knew better.

  Festivals did not erase tension.

  They revealed it.

  They pressed people together until something slipped.

  Until someone said too much.

  Until someone reached when they should not have.

  The Water Festival was coming.

  And with it, a moment where pretending would no longer be enough.