Around 10 o’clock…
Koyo arrived at the exhibition.
His steps moved straight toward the second floor, where Anamika’s painting “The Painting of Love” was displayed.
His pace was fast, his gaze lowered. He was wearing a hoodie, its collar slightly extended—designed in a way that it could be styled like a mask. For now, he had kept it down.
He was climbing the stairs when he suddenly collided with someone, causing the person’s phone to fall from their hand.
Koyo immediately picked up the phone and looked up—only to find Aditya standing in front of him.
Aditya quickly apologized, “I’m so sorry! I was looking at my phone, so I stopped in the middle…”
To this, Koyo replied with a fake smile, “Oh… it was my fault! You were walking ahead of me. I should’ve been more careful!”
Aditya smiled, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said as he walked away, “No problem! Enjoy the exhibition!”
As Aditya crossed him and started going upstairs, Koyo called out, “By the way… I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before!”
Koyo knew Aditya very well—after all, for the past six months he had watched Anamika paint his portraits again and again. But now that life itself had made him collide with Aditya, he wanted to talk to him, and that’s why he used this excuse.
Aditya stepped aside on the staircase and said, “Maybe you’ve seen me in a business magazine… or on a business news channel!”
“So… are you a businessman?” Koyo asked with fake excitement.
Aditya hesitated slightly, then replied with a soft smile, “Yes… I’m a businessman.”
After hearing this, Koyo began talking animatedly, putting on an impressed act. In the flow of conversation, he finally said,
“Have you seen all the paintings in this exhibition? It’s organized by a young businessman-entrepreneur to promote local artists. Through this, he’s also publicizing his online platform for artists! It was a brilliant idea.”
Hearing this, Aditya replied with a proud yet calm smile, “Yes… he truly is a brilliant kid. By the way, I haven’t seen all the paintings yet. I was just going to see the second-floor paintings.”
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“Then why don’t we go together?” Koyo said.
“I came yesterday too, but there was twice the crowd—especially on the second floor, because that’s where the central attraction of the exhibition is! I couldn’t properly see the second floor, nor ‘The Painting of Love’.”
“Alright,” Aditya agreed and walked with him toward the second floor—while Koyo smiled to himself.
“What’s your name, by the way?” Aditya asked.
But Koyo ignored the question. Instead, pointing toward a Pattachitra placed in the corner of the floor, he said,
“Isn’t that beautiful? You know… this is a very old art form from Odisha. In this, ‘patt’ means cloth canvas, and drawings are made using natural pigments. The method of making these pigments is very special—and that’s my favorite part of this art.”
Hearing this, Aditya was quite impressed and said while walking ahead, “You know a lot about paintings!”
Koyo replied with a strange smile, “Actually… I have a special bird trapped in a cage, who loves creating different kinds of art.”
“A bird that makes art?! That’s a good joke!”
Aditya laughed.
“Yes, absolutely… just a joke,” Koyo replied.
Talking like this, they kept walking through the second-floor corridor, observing various artworks—when suddenly their steps stopped.
In front of them was an exceptionally beautiful painting—the pride of the exhibition— “The Painting of Love.”
Aditya’s fist clenched, and his expression changed.
His eyes were fixed on the mask held in the painted woman’s hand. More than half of her face was covered; only her eyes were clearly visible.
He recognized that mask.
It was the mask of the Smiley Mask Murderer.
Koyo calmly observed Aditya’s reaction and smiled to himself. Then, pretending to be unaware, he said,
“This painting is the soul of the exhibition! But I was surprised that it wasn’t given any special protection, so I did some research. Most of the artists here are newcomers, so it was difficult to find information about the paintings or artists—but on the exhibition’s official page, all painting details and artist names were listed. This one came from an anonymous account. Nothing is known about the artist, but I did find out a bit about the woman depicted. A few years ago, a notorious serial killer known as the Smiley Mask Murderer became quite famous… people say this work is inspired by her!”
Looking at Aditya, Koyo asked, “Quite a beautiful piece, isn’t it?”
“I have something urgent to do… I need to leave!”
Aditya said and started walking away.
As he turned, Koyo saw hatred and anger in his eyes—yet Koyo’s expression remained calm.
Rolling up his sleeves, Koyo spoke to himself in his mind, “Just the thought of my master fills your eyes with such hatred… and yet you talk about loving her daughter, Anamika. How long do you plan to live in this illusion? When will you realize that your hatred runs deeper than your love?”
With that thought, he turned back toward the painting and began wandering around the floor emotionlessly.
From the security room, Ira watched him on the screen and said, “It’s the same guy from yesterday! Yes… activate the plan quickly!”
Standing beside her, Rivan said calmly, “Calm down. According to the plan, he has come—but we should observe him for another half an hour.”
Thinking to himself, he added, “He’s the only person from yesterday’s suspect list who has come again today. But suspecting him, just because of this reason, as the man who has Anamika would be wrong. Before moving forward, we need to note his actions carefully.”
“What if he leaves?” Ira asked, making a face.
Rivan replied, “If he leaves, then he’s not the one we’re looking for. But if he stays, we can proceed and find out whether he truly is the path to our destination.”
Then he smiled at Ira and said, “Have a little patience, baby doll.”
“Fine!”
Ira pouted like a child.
Meanwhile
He wrapped his hand in his handkerchief and punched the car window hard. The glass shattered and scattered everywhere.
His breathing was heavy—then Anamika’s smiling face appeared before his eyes. His anger faded, and he calmed down.
His gaze fell on his hand, where a shard of glass had pierced his skin.
Aditya looked around and leaned against the car.
He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and simply watched it burn.
Looking at the smoke, he said to himself, “Before I find you… I’ll erase this hatred from my heart.”
And with that, he stood there in silence—
just like Anamika was standing in front of her empty canvas, holding colors in her hand.
She had returned to her cage.
