A sudden thought attacked my mind and made me sit up in a jump.

The black sweater guy…. Could he be the hacker? It can't be. Am I going crazy? But it makes sense.

"My arm…," Aki complained hoarsely.

My jump had flung her arm backward. She rolled over some so she faced up.

"Sorry. Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Why did you wake up? A nightmare?"

"No." I sighed. "You'd worry if I told you it's nothing or not to worry about it, wouldn't you?"

"Obviously."

I stared down at the blanket before continuing. "Do you remember the fan that shook your hands?"

"How could I forget about our first fan?" she answered. "Why? Are you jealous?" she smirked.

"No. I didn't tell you that he came back today. He approached me after the show."

"Seriously? Why didn't you tell us? We would've welcomed him."

"I know, but I didn't want to bother you and I preferred to avoid any controversy for giving premium treatment only to him."

"I understand that, but he's our first fan. Shouldn't we give him some signatures at least?"

"That's why I asked for his contact."

Aki suddenly hugged me. "You're always thinking ahead."

"It was obvious this time. However, something weird happened."

She loosened her hold a little and frowned. "What?"

"When I added his contact to my contact list, the app showed that we had called each other one time before. I looked for his name in the call history and I didn't find it. The only name out of place was Unknown, which is the man that tried to extort money from me."

Aki stopped hugging me. "Are you implying that the three of them are the same guy?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. When I heard the hacker's voice in the video, it sounded similar to this Unknown man, but I couldn't be sure. Still, it's pretty much certain that they are the same person because he threatened to spill my secrets. Now, have you had direct contact with anyone since that fan shook your hands?"

"Direct contact? Only with people I know."

"I think that's how he got your DNA. I know there could be a million ways to get it, but this might be the most effective method. He used the sweat from off your hands."

"What would he use our DNA for?"

"He leaked many things in the video. Obviously, he didn't need a DNA test to find out about our relationship, but what about Astra, Sanae, and Risa? It might be possible to find Astra's past if you research enough, but how did he find out about Sanae and Risa? It was something no one would ever think of."

Aki stared at me, still frowning.

I remained silent for a moment to think before continuing. "I think it's safe to assume that the Unknown man, the hacker, and the fan are the same person. The app telling me we had called each other one time before helped me connect the dots."

Aki looked away from me, seeming as thoughtful as me.

"I don't know," she said. "It makes some sense, but it's crazy. Do you want to do something about it?"

"I don't know. Maybe I am going crazy."

"Well, you don't lose anything by telling the police. We should be cautious about these kinds of things."

"Yes, you're right. I'll go to the police first thing in the morning."

"Good," she smiled. She grabbed my arm and pulled it so it wrapped around her. "Let's sleep now, I'm exhausted."

"Sure."

I closed my eyes and fell asleep instantly.

The morning sun came out from behind the buildings and entered the apartment through the translucent, pink curtains. Aki and I had rested more than enough, so we got out of bed and did our morning routine.

We walked out of the building and headed to the nearby police station, the same one I went to when the hacker tried to extort money from me. We entered the two-floor building and approached the desk, where a Huma hologram stood. Although Humas were known for being used to fulfill people's desires, they were also used to fulfill jobs like these.

"Good morning, sir and ma'am. How can I help you?" the female Huma smiled.

"Hello," I replied. "We're here to give an update on a report I made around a month ago."

"Sure. May I know your name?"

"Kaito Miyahara."

Only one second later, she spoke again. "I found your report. The agent in charge of your report, Mr. Mochizuki, is here; may I ask him to receive you?"

"Yes, please."

"One moment."

Aki and I stood in silence as the Huma stared at us with a smile. Luckily, that only lasted for a few seconds.

"He will receive you immediately," she said. "Only one person at a time, please."

"Yes. I'll go," I said to Aki. "Are you going to wait here? I don't know how long it'll take."

"Yes, I'll wait here. I'm sure it won't take long. I'll message you if I get too bored."

"Alright. Where should I go?" I asked the Huma.

"Walk through that door and walk down the hallway until you reach the end. Turn right and you'll see a door with Mr. Mochizuki's name on it."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I followed her instructions and arrived at the door. Before I could even knock, a voice came from inside the room.

"Come in," a man said.

I lowered my arm and pushed the door open. It was the same room I had been to when I reported the extortion attempt for the first time. Mr. Mochizuki sat behind a desk with a panel and two other people sat at another two desks. The room had a couple of plants, a few cabinets, dozens of boxes, and a coffee machine.

"Good morning. Please take a seat," Mr. Mochizuki said to me.

"Thank you."

I sat down on the only chair in front of his desk. Still sitting down, he turned around in his chair to put a cup in the coffee machine and then press a button on its panel.

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked.

"Thanks, but I'm good."

A few seconds later, he grabbed the cup and turned around to face me again. Even though he was being nice, his mere appearance of long hair and beard made his presence imposing.

He took a sip of his coffee before talking.

"I was told you have an update on the extortion case."

"I do. To be honest, nothing specific happened."

He raised one of his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to waste much of your time, so I'll be quick. I guess you're aware that I own a company."

He looked down at the panel on his desk and moved some windows around.

"Kaito Miyahara. Student of Saitama University. Formerly founded a business that went bankrupt and recently founded the company Galactical Idols Management Agency. Your current position within this company is chief executive officer and manager of a group called Blostars."

I remained silent. I know it's their job, but it's creepy that they have an archive with all of your information.

"Yes, that's my company," I nervously laughed.

"I was well aware of your company and your group. I had to be, since the ex-president was involved in the same case of the leaks."

"That will make my explanation faster. I'm sure it's safe to assume that the man that tried to extort money from me and the hacker are the same person or that they are working together."

He nodded. "The detectives from the government and us concluded the same thing. They also shared the information you gave to them with us."

"It's good hearing you're working together to solve this. I wasn't sure if I should've called them to tell them this as well."

"Until the elections take place, their work will be slow. Don't worry, we'll share what you tell us."

"Alright. What I wanted to tell you is that I think I found the hacker."

His eyes widened a little. "Please elaborate."

"We recently gave a show at a café. After the show, a fan approached me to ask to meet the girls from Blostars again. He had already shaken their hands almost two months ago. I don't know how this stuff works, but I think it's possible he got their DNA from their sweat."

He stared at me intently, so I continued.

"However, what made me realize this was when I added his contact to my contact list and the app told me that we had called each other once before. I looked through my call history and I'm certain we didn't. The only name out of place is Unknown, the man that tried to extort money from me."

He remained silent for a while before taking another sip of his coffee. He let out a deep breath and put the cup back down on the desk.

"Those are good observations, Mr. Miyahara," he said. "However, there's nothing concrete in your claims."

"I know, but I thought they could be useful."

"They certainly could. It at least gives us some clues; we haven't found anything since the video incident."

That doesn't make me feel any better.

"Look," he continued, "as much sense as it makes, we can't go around accusing people without concrete proof. For now, the most we can do is to keep our guard up and wait for the perfect moment."

"But what if he leaks something else? Can't we try something to make him confess?"

"That would make him more cautious. As far as I know, he might already be after giving you his contact. Just be careful when talking with him and try not to look suspicious. Record every interaction you have with him."

I didn't like the solution, but it was the smartest thing we could do for now.

"Yes, sir," I replied.

"Good. Here comes the boring part. I'll ask you some questions, so please answer honestly and give us as many details as you remember. You will be recorded for future procedures."