The World They Left Behind

The silence was finally broken by a waiter who arrived with a tray of steaming food. He deftly placed the plates on the table, the aroma spreading warmth in the air around them. The waiter smiled politely. "Please enjoy your meal, sir," he said courteously.

The three of them merely nodded briefly in response, but the cloaked figure remained still. Before leaving, the waiter suddenly made a lighthearted remark. "Excuse me, sir, may I know your secret? Or are you truly such a great man to have a wife this beautiful?"

Sana, who was in the middle of scooping her food, froze. Her cheeks flushed faintly, but she pretended to stay focused on her bowl, as if she hadn't heard a thing. Arga raised an eyebrow at the waiter, his expression a mix of confusion and amusement. "What do you mean?" he asked, almost chuckling.

The waiter chuckled softly. "Well, she's your wife, isn't she?"

Sana turned her head quickly, her eyes widening as if to protest, but she eventually just shook her head slightly while holding back a smile. Arga let out a quiet snort and replied in a playful tone, "Do we really look like a married couple? Didn't you notice the man sitting next to me?" he said, gesturing toward Nico.

The waiter paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. "My apologies, sir, I thought the gentleman next to you was your servant."

Nico's face immediately soured. "Hey! What do you mean, servant?" he exclaimed, clearly annoyed. Seeing this, Arga laughed heartily, as did Sana. "Alright, alright," Arga tried to calm Nico while still laughing, patting his friend's shoulder.

The waiter's earlier remark about a married couple now felt like a refreshing breeze, dispelling the awkwardness. Arga, while glancing at the cloaked figure in front of them, shifted the topic with a semi-serious tone. "As for this one," he said, nodding toward the figure with his chin, "I don't know them either. But bring all the food, we'll eat together at this table."

The waiter paused briefly, perhaps confused by the strange situation, before finally laughing out loud. "Very well, I won't disturb you any longer," he said as he walked away, his soft laughter still audible as he disappeared into the kitchen.

As silence returned to the table, Arga glanced at Sana and Nico, a faint smile on his lips. There was something unspoken in the air, something that made the atmosphere feel lighter. Meanwhile, the cloaked figure remained silent, seemingly a mystery waiting to be unraveled.

Sana, though trying to appear indifferent, had a faintly emotional smile on her face. Arga's simple words, somehow, felt comforting. On the other hand, Arga tried to stay relaxed, though his mind was filled with swirling questions about the cloaked figure in front of him. Who were they really? What did they know? One thing was certain: this lunch would be more than just a meal.

Sana began eating quietly, though her heart remained uneasy about the cloaked figure beside her. Arga occasionally glanced at her, trying to decipher the meaning behind her silence. Meanwhile, Nico, on the other hand, busied himself enjoying his meal without saying much, as if intentionally avoiding the awkwardness hanging in the air.

However, beneath the surface calm, their minds were filled with unanswered questions. Who exactly was this cloaked figure? And what was their connection to the mysterious license plate they had found?

Outside the eatery, a gentle breeze carried the sweet aroma from tea shops lining the street. The city of Kashgar remained alive with its hustle and bustle, but at that small table, the world seemed to stand still, and a new mystery slowly began to unfold.

"Let's eat," Arga finally suggested, trying to ease the tension. He looked at each face before him—Nico, Sana, and the hooded figure—attempting to redirect their focus to the food laid out before them.

The hooded figure, who had remained silent until now, slowly raised their hands. With a gentle motion, they removed the hood covering their head and face. As the fabric fell away, it felt as if time itself paused. In front of them was a woman with an extraordinarily captivating face, her beauty like a living portrait of a princess from a fairy tale.

"Thank you," she said softly, her voice flowing like a melody.

Instantly, the bustling market outside seemed to fall into a hush. Conversations stopped mid-sentence, even the clinking of plates and the shuffle of footsteps grew faint, as if all attention was irresistibly drawn to this woman. Sana, in the middle of sipping her soup, choked. She coughed violently, her eyes wide, while Nico, an old bachelor who hadn't encountered such beauty in years, was frozen. His face flushed deep red, his mouth agape in stunned silence.

The woman sat gracefully, picked up her chopsticks, and began eating with movements so delicate they exuded elegance. Sana, despite being a fellow woman, couldn't help but stare. Her hand gripped her spoon, but her food was forgotten. Arga, usually composed and in control, couldn't continue eating either. He simply watched the woman, his mind swirling with a thousand questions. Who was she?

Beside him, Nico remained oblivious to the fact that he had stopped breathing. Arga quickly jabbed his shoulder, hard enough to snap him out of his daze. Nico gasped, returning to reality.

Yet, beneath the awe that enveloped them, Arga's heart was filled with deep curiosity. Why had this beautiful woman chosen to sit with them? Did she know one of them? But seeing Sana and Nico's equally stunned expressions, Arga knew they didn't know her either. Amid the silence, only one thing was clear—this woman carried something with her, a secret that would eventually change everything.

The tranquility was abruptly shattered when a burly man approached their table with confident strides. A wide smile stretched across his face, but the glint of malice was unmistakable in his eyes. Without hesitation, he stood beside the woman, ignoring Arga, Nico, and Sana, and began speaking with a nauseatingly flirtatious tone.