The dinner bell rang with a long metallic groan, pulling me out of the deepest sleep I'd had in days. I jolted upright, breath heavy, eyes barely adjusting to the fading light peeking through the curtains. My phone buzzed beside my pillow—6:30 PM glowing in white numbers.
"Jan didn't wake me?" I mumbled.
That wasn't like her.
Outside, muffled footsteps echoed through the hallway—hurried, confused, whispering voices blending like a troubled swarm. Something was wrong.
I sprang from my bed, slipped into my slippers, and shoved my door open. Students were gathered near the hallway, rushing toward the courtyard like they were drawn by something terrifying.
I locked my door behind me and followed them, their murmurs growing louder with each step.
Everyone was staring at the same thing.
The camera.
The surveillance camera—the very one Raven had been inspecting earlier that day—was hanging by its wires, smashed, shattered, dead.
"How…?" I whispered under my breath.
Just hours ago, it had been perfectly intact.
I pushed closer through the crowd. Glass pieces glittered on the ground like tiny frozen tears. Students huddled, their expressions pale, frightened, confused.
Then, through the shifting bodies, I spotted him.
Raven.
Standing alone, away from the group. Watching the camera.
I walked straight to him.
"Raven," I whispered sharply.
His eyes flicked up, but his expression remained unreadable.
"Did you know something about this?" I demanded. "Was there something you didn't tell me?"
Before he could escape—as he always did—I grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the growing gathering.
"Raven, please."
My voice trembled openly now.
"I'm afraid to say this, but… I'm going to start investigating. Since no one wants to say anything—since everyone keeps hiding everything from me—I'll find out myself."
Raven's jaw tightened. His gaze drifted to the broken camera, then back to me.
"I saw you earlier," I continued. "You were checking this exact camera. Like you knew something was going to happen."
"I didn't," he muttered, but his voice was shaky.
"Then why were you scared?"
He didn't answer.
"Raven," I said again, softer this time. "Please. Tell me the truth."
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them with a long breath.
"My instinct told me something was off," he whispered. "Because earlier today—when I was leaving the cafeteria—I saw a group of boys standing behind this same spot."
"A group of boys?"
"Yes. They were whispering about something. I couldn't hear everything, but… something was strange about the way they kept glancing up at the camera."
"And then?"
"A fight broke out between them," he said, brows furrowing as though remembering details he wished he could forget. "I tried to move closer, but the moment they saw me, they ran. All of them. They kept looking up at the camera as they fled. That was when I checked the camera… and when you saw me."
I swallowed, chills rushing down my spine.
"Do you know who they were?"
"No," Raven answered. "But something about them felt… wrong."
Before either of us could say more, several police officers walked past, heading directly toward the smashed device. Yellow tape stretched across the courtyard. Officers murmured into radios, pointing fingers, snapping pictures.
The whole student body stood in tense silence.
"Raven," I murmured, barely breathing, "I don't know what's going on, but I have to find out. I'm sorry for disobeying what you said earlier, but I can't keep calm anymore. I can't pretend nothing's happening. , the notes, the windows, the whispers—everything. I want answers. Even if I get hurt, I need to know."
Raven stared at me through the darkening sky—his expression unreadable, torn, almost pained.
"Jina," he said quietly. "I still think you should stop. But if you insist…"
He stepped back.
"…then I'll be going."
"Raven—"
He didn't look back.
He walked away, dissolving into the crowd until the darkness swallowed him whole.
The courtyard slowly cleared as students dispersed. Police officers moved into the security building, shouting instructions. I stood alone under the flickering courtyard light.
Then I noticed the security office door—wide open.
My heart thumped.
This might be my only chance.
I glanced around. No one was watching. It was almost 7 PM—teachers were busy, students gone.
Silently, I slipped inside.
The room smelled like cold metal and old dust. A wall of monitors blinked lazily—half working, half dead. I crept toward the main desktop, the one connected to all cameras.
I sat down.
My fingers flew across the keys.
Old footage. Rewind. Scroll. Playback.
But then—
So many files were missing.
Moments from my locker.
Moments from the classroom.
Moments from the exact hours things had gone wrong.
Deleted.
Erased.
On purpose.
I leaned closer, eyes narrowing—
Then my breath hitched.
On the oldest un-erased footage, a tall figure entered the classroom. A tall guy wearing a face cap, head lowered. His build was familiar—but too shadowed to identify.
I zoomed in—
Footsteps.
Someone was coming.
I immediately shut down the system, slipped off the chair, and darted out of the room, heart pounding like it wanted out of my chest.
No one saw me.
I ran up the stairs and was just a few steps from my room when—
"Jina?"
I turned.
Jan stood in the corridor.
"Jan," I breathed out, trying to hide the tremor in my voice. "I haven't seen you all weekend. Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes," she said quickly. "Sorry, I was stuck with so many things. Goodnight, okay?"
She brushed past me.
I nodded, even though nothing she said made sense.
When she disappeared around the corner, I entered my room and locked the door.
Then I ran straight to Yen's cupboard.
I tore through her things again—notebooks, old envelopes, forgotten scarves. I found an album buried deep beneath an old hoodie.
Photos.
Yen smiling.
Yen with her classmates.
Yen in the cafeteria.
Yen with Minho.
Yen in the hallway.
Then I paused.
In every picture, in every angle, Yen stood…
close to my locker.
Always there. Always at that spot.
Why?
What happened at that locker?
My skin crawled.
Just then—
BANG!!!
My window exploded.
Glass shattered everywhere—tiny shards raining across my bed, desk, floor. The cold wind slammed into me, carrying the echo of something that threw that stone.
My heart nearly stopped.
I didn't move.
I didn't breathe.
After several long seconds, forcing courage into my shaking legs, I crept toward the window.
Nothing.
No one.
Only darkness.
But on the floor, among broken glass, was a stone wrapped in paper.
My hands trembled violently as I unwrapped it.
Different handwriting this time.
Bold. Angry. Final.
"I warned you.
Stay off."
My breath left my chest like a stab.
Someone knew I had gone looking.
Someone knew I was in the security room.
Someone wanted to shut me up.
I bolted out of my room, slamming the door behind me, running through the corridor barefoot.
I didn't care who saw me.
I needed safety.
I needed someone.
Anyone.
I stopped in front of the room I saw Jan enter earlier and knocked frantically.
The door opened immediately.
"Jina?" Jan asked, her eyes widening. "Are you okay?"
"Someone broke my window," I gasped. "Jan—I'm scared. I can't sleep in my room tonight."
Her face softened.
"Jina… you have to report to security."
"Not now. Please. Not tonight."
She nodded and pulled me inside gently.
"Lucky you," she murmured as she handed me a blanket. "My roommates went for night reading. They won't be back till morning."
I climbed onto one of the empty beds, clutching the blanket tightly, my heart still shaking.
"Thank you," I whispered.
She turned off the lights.
The room fell silent.
I lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling, listening to every creak, every shadow shifting in the darkness.
At some point, exhaustion won.
And I slept—