The small brass key felt strangely heavy in Ethan's hand.
It was only an old key, rusted around the edges, yet it carried a weight that couldn't be explained. The tiny engraved letter "D" reflected the light from the library windows. Ethan couldn't take his eyes off it.
Elena looked at him with concern.
"Do you think... this key really belongs to Daniel?"
"I don't know," Ethan admitted quietly. "But someone wanted me to find it."
Before they could say anything else, Noah came running toward them, slightly out of breath.
"There you guys are! I've been looking everywhere."
He stopped when he noticed the serious expressions on their faces.
"What happened now?"
Instead of answering, Ethan opened his palm.
Noah stared at the key.
"That's it? You scared me for a key?"
"It's not just a key," Olivia interrupted. "The librarian gave it to Ethan."
"And?"
"He said it opens Room 117."
Noah frowned.
"Our school doesn't even have a Room 117."
"Exactly."
Silence settled over the group.
For the first time, even Noah had no joke to make.
The final bell echoed across Sakura Blossom High, and students slowly began leaving the campus.
Golden sunlight painted the corridors in warm shades of orange while the cherry blossom trees outside swayed gently in the cool breeze.
Ethan couldn't stop thinking about the librarian's words.
"It hasn't existed for twenty years."
How could a room simply disappear?
He had so many questions, but every answer only seemed to create another mystery.
As the four friends walked toward the school gate, Elena suddenly stopped.
"I have an idea."
Everyone turned toward her.
"My grandfather studied here."
Ethan looked surprised.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"He graduated around twenty-five years ago."
Olivia's eyes widened.
"Then maybe he knows something about Daniel."
"Or Room 117," Noah added.
For the first time that day, hope appeared in Ethan's eyes.
"When can we ask him?"
"I'll visit him tonight."
"And?"
"I'll tell you everything tomorrow."
That evening...
Rain clouds slowly covered the sky.
The peaceful streets outside Ethan's apartment were unusually quiet.
He sat at his study table, but instead of opening his textbooks, he placed the brass key beside Daniel's journal.
Both objects seemed connected somehow.
He carefully turned another page of the journal.
Most of the ink had faded with time, but one sentence remained perfectly clear.
"If they find the room before you do... don't trust anyone wearing the silver badge."
Ethan blinked.
Silver badge?
Teachers at Sakura Blossom High wore silver name badges.
Did Daniel mean one of them?
Or someone else?
A sudden knock on the apartment door interrupted his thoughts.
"Ethan," his mother called from outside.
"Dinner is ready."
"I'm coming."
He quickly closed the journal and slipped it back into his drawer.
Somehow...
He wasn't ready for anyone else to know about it.
Meanwhile...
Across town...
Elena sat beside her grandfather in a cozy living room filled with old books and framed photographs.
Her grandfather smiled warmly.
"So... how's Sakura Blossom High?"
"It's nice," Elena replied.
"Actually..."
"I wanted to ask you something."
He adjusted his glasses.
"What is it?"
"Do you remember someone named Daniel Carter?"
The smile on his face disappeared instantly.
For several seconds...
He said nothing.
Then he slowly stood up and walked toward an old wooden cupboard.
From the very top shelf, he removed a dusty photo album.
His hands trembled slightly.
"I prayed..."
he whispered,
"...that no student would ever ask me that name again."
Elena felt her heartbeat quicken.
"You knew him?"
He opened the album.
Inside was a faded class photograph.
Dozens of smiling students stood together in front of Sakura Blossom High.
He pointed toward a boy standing in the second row.
"There."
Elena froze.
It was Daniel.
He looked exactly like Ethan.
Not just similar.
Exactly the same.
Then her grandfather pointed toward another student standing beside Daniel.
"This..."
he said slowly,
"...was Daniel's best friend."
The boy's face had been scratched out completely.
Someone had deliberately destroyed it.
"Who did that?" Elena whispered.
"I don't know."
He closed the album carefully.
"But I do know one thing."
"What?"
"Daniel didn't disappear."
Elena stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
Her grandfather looked toward the rain outside the window.
"He was trying to expose something."
"Something hidden inside Sakura Blossom High."
"And the day before the Autumn Festival..."
"He told me..."
"If anything happens to me..."
"...Room 117 must never be opened."
A loud clap of thunder shook the house.
Elena felt chills run down her spine.
She immediately reached for her phone.
Without wasting another second, she called Ethan.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
Finally...
"Ethan?"
Her voice trembled.
"Don't use that key."
"What?"
"My grandfather knew Daniel."
"And he said..."
Before she could finish her sentence...
The call suddenly disconnected.
On Ethan's phone screen, only two words appeared.
NO SIGNAL
At that exact moment...
Someone was standing outside Ethan's bedroom window.
Watching him.