Later That Night
Mia sat on the edge of her bed, legs drawn up, chin resting on her knees. Her phone lay beside her screen still on, Yona's name glowing faintly in the chat. He hadn't replied after she said goodbye. Not a single word. Just the same silence that had followed her the whole way home.
She turned off the screen. Let the quiet settle around her.
It wasn't that he was cold. Not exactly. But he wasn't the same either.
Not like before.
She hugged her knees tighter, burying her face against them for a moment. We're together again, she thought. Aren't we?
But it didn't feel like it. Not really.
She remembered how he used to smile when he saw her. The way his fingers would brush hers without thinking. The warmth in his voice when he said her name.
None of that had returned...Not yet.
She slid down onto her side, curling beneath the blanket without changing clothes. Her hand moved to her pocket again..fingers brushing the shape of the bundle. The key.
She closed her eyes.
I thought if I stayed close… maybe he'd come back to me.
But Yona wasn't gone in the way Lena was. His absence was quieter. Slower. Like watching someone walk into the fog until they were barely a silhouette.
He's still here. But I can't reach him.
Yona lay awake, eyes open in the dark. His room was quiet, shadows unmoving. The photograph sat face-down on his desk now. He hadn't looked at it since before school.
Mia had kissed him. She'd held his hand. Asked to walk home. Asked if he missed her.
And he did.
But something in him felt… locked. Like part of him was frozen somewhere below, in the place where Lena vanished.
Every time Mia reached out, it felt like she was reaching for someone who wasn't quite there anymore.
And every time, he wanted to take her hand. But his chest pulled back. Closed off. Not angry. Not cruel. Just… tired. Uncertain.
He knew she was trying. He knew how much courage it must have taken her to say what she did. To lean in. To hope.
But when she looked at him like that..like she was searching for something still warm between them, all he felt was the space that had opened inside him.
He turned to his side, staring at the wall.
I'm not ready.
He didn't know what he was waiting for.
But part of him still heard Lena's name in the dark. Still saw the moment she disappeared. And deep in his chest, something whispered that she wasn't truly gone.
The Next Morning
Mia stood outside his house, backpack slung over one shoulder, her breath fogging slightly in the morning air. She hesitated before ringing the bell.
When Yona answered, he looked… quiet. The same as always now. Eyes a little tired. Voice low.
"…Morning," he said.
She smiled softly. "Morning."
They walked side by side again, like the day before. But Mia noticed the space between their steps. How Yona didn't walk with her, just near her.
She tried once, lightly brushing her shoulder to his.He didn't pull away. But he didn't lean in either.
Just silent....Just walking.
She smiled anyway. Not because she felt happy. But because she still wanted to be.
In Class
He sat two rows over again. Her glances were quieter now. Less frequent. But her eyes still searched for him when the teacher wasn't looking.
And once..just once..he looked back.
Their eyes met.
And Mia smiled, just a little.
Yona didn't return it.
But he didn't look away.
That Night
Mia sat by her window, watching the street below. Her phone buzzed once.
Her heart jumped..hope leaping before reason.
But it wasn't Yona.
It was Ayumi.
"We need to talk. Tonight. Come alone."
Mia stared at the message.
And in her pocket, the black key seemed to pulse slightly.
Heavy again...Waiting.
She looked toward the direction of Yona's house, hidden by trees and rooftops. Then down at her phone. The silence between them wasn't just about grief anymore.
It was about truth.
And Mia had one in her pocket that she hadn't shared...Not yet.
She closed her eyes, whispered once more:
"I'm trying, Yona."
Then she stood, grabbed her coat, and left.
Night. Outside.
The streets were mostly empty by the time Mia reached the park where Ayumi had told her to come. The swings creaked faintly in the wind. Streetlights buzzed. In the dim glow, Ayumi stood near the old stone steps, arms crossed, her face unreadable as always.
Mia approached slowly.
"You came," Ayumi said, not looking at her.
"You said to."
A pause.
Then Ayumi turned, pulling something from her coat. A notebook. She held it up.
"I know about the key."
Mia froze.
Ayumi's voice stayed calm, but there was something sharper in it now. "I saw it. In the tunnel. When it dropped. You didn't say anything."
Mia's breath caught. Her hand drifted toward her pocket, where the wrapped bundle still sat. Heavy.
"I didn't mean to lie," she whispered.
"But you did."
Silence.
Ayumi flipped the notebook open, revealing pages of scribbled diagrams, tunnel maps, and notes. She pointed to one drawing in particular an arch, a symbol, and a line of words:
"One returns. One vanishes. One remembers."
"I think it's about us," Ayumi said. "Or maybe… what's happening to us."
Mia looked down at the page. Her voice was quiet. "Then what does that make me?"
Ayumi's eyes met hers.
"You're the one who knows."
Mia's hand closed tighter around the key in her pocket.
Ayumi stepped closer. "I think Lena's alive."
Mia looked up sharply.
"You said she's gone."
"She is," Ayumi said. "But not like they think."
Mia's eyes flicked to the shadows beyond the park. The trees. The dark.
"She didn't fall," Ayumi continued, voice steady. "She was taken. And the key you're holding..it opens something. Or maybe it started something."
"I didn't want this," Mia said suddenly. "I didn't ask for it."
Ayumi didn't flinch.
"None of us did."
The wind picked up, brushing hair across Mia's face. She looked away.
"What do we do?"
Ayumi didn't answer at first. She stared down at the pages of her notebook, lips slightly parted.
Then, softly:
"We go back."
Mia's eyes widened. "Into the tunnel?"
Ayumi nodded.
"I think that's the only way to find her. To find out what this is."
Mia took a shaky breath. Her heart beat fast now, loud against her ribs.
"I'm scared," she admitted.
Ayumi didn't smile. Didn't soften. But her voice lost some of its edge.
"Me too."
They stood there for a long time in the dark, the silence between them different now..no longer heavy with secrets, but filled with decision.
Finally, Ayumi spoke again.
"Tomorrow night."
Mia nodded.
Then turned, walking away under the glow of the streetlights, her fingers still wrapped around the key.
Elsewhere
Beneath the earth, the glow pulsed faintly against stone. Lena sat with her back to the wall, knees drawn to her chest.
The figure had vanished again, melting into the dark like breath into cold air. But his words lingered.
You weren't lost. You were taken.
She didn't know what time meant anymore down here. Only the strange rhythm of the light. The heartbeat of the stone.
But deep inside, a feeling had started to grow.
A pressure...A pull...Like something was waiting for her… just beyond the walls.
And for the first time since she opened her eyes in that silence..Lena whispered:
"Please…"
Not knowing if anyone would hear.
But far above, in a room lit only by his desk lamp, Yona sat at his desk again, the old photo beside him.
His phone buzzed.
A message from Mia:
"Meet me tomorrow. After dark."
He didn't reply...Not yet.
Nut something inside him shifted.
Slowly, he turned the photograph back over.
And for the first time in days… he touched Lena's face in the picture.Just for a moment.
And whispered:
"I'm coming."
The Next Night
The city felt quieter than usual.
Not just night-quiet… but hushed,like something knew what was coming and had chosen silence instead of warning.
Mia stood outside her house, jacket zipped tight, bag slung over one shoulder. The key was wrapped again, tucked deep in her pocket, but she could still feel its weight. More than physical. Like it pulled.
She checked her phone.
No new messages.
But Yona had seen it. That was enough.
Footsteps approached. Ayumi.
No words were exchanged..just a glance, and then a nod. The two fell into step together, heading toward the edge of town. Toward the trees. Toward the place they said they'd never return.
At the hill's base, near the mouth of the long-blocked path, Yona was already waiting.
He didn't look at them when they arrived. Just stared at the tree line, hands in his pockets, the wind brushing his hair across his forehead.
Mia's heart skipped at the sight of him. She hadn't seen him all day. Hadn't known if he'd really come.
"…You're here," she said.
Yona nodded once.
Then added quietly, "I said I would be."
The wind picked up again. Cold now.
Ayumi moved past them, kneeling at the edge of the overgrown stone entrance. The boards they'd nailed over the tunnel weeks ago had been pried loose..not by them. Something else.
The opening yawned dark.Yona stepped forward. But just before he reached the tunnel entrance..
A voice behind him, low and calm:
"Yona."
He turned.
Noir stood beneath the trees, half-shadowed by moonlight. Quiet. Still. Watching him. Yona didn't speak. Noir stepped forward slowly, his gloved hands tucked in his coat pockets. His eyes were sharp, but not angry. Just… aware. Knowing.
"Don't trust her."
Yona looked at him..expression unreadable. Silent.Noir's voice lowered.
"I know you don't trust me. I've never asked you to."
A pause. Then, softer..more careful:
"But whatever happens… don't fall for her."
Yona stared for a long moment. His face didn't change. No reply. Then...without a word..he turned and walked past him, into the dark.
Noir stood still.Watched him disappear down the path toward the tunnel. Didn't follow. Didn't stop him. Just whispered after him, to no one at all.
"…You already have."
Inside
The tunnel hadn't collapsed. Not really. The debris they remembered… it was gone now. As if someone or something had cleared it. The walls were smooth again. Damp. Breathing. Their footsteps echoed. No one spoke. Far ahead, the tunnel forked...left into darkness, right toward the place it had all gone wrong.
Yona stepped forward. Looked down into it.
It hadn't changed. And yet… everything about it
had. No one spoke.
Then Mia reached into her pocket. Slowly. Carefully. She unwrapped the cloth.
The key, black and cold, caught none of the moonlight. It didn't glow. Didn't hum. But when she held it up..Yona and Ayumi both felt it.Like the air had shifted.
Mia looked at it, then at Yona.
"…Do you trust me?"
Yona met her eyes. His face was still unreadable. Not cold, but not warm, either. He had been like that ever since. Since the rooftop. Since the walk home. Since her.
But now… he answered..Quiet. Honest.
"I don't know."
It hurt. Mia didn't flinch. But her fingers trembled.
"I want you to," she said.
Yona didn't reply.
But he didn't turn away either.
Ayumi rose to her feet again.
"We don't have time."
Mia nodded. Then, without another word, she stepped into the dark.Down the stone path. Into the tunnel. Yona followed.
Inside
The tunnel hadn't collapsed. Not really. The debris they remembered… it was gone now. As if someone or something had cleared it. The walls were smooth again. Damp. Breathing.
Their footsteps echoed.No one spoke. Far ahead, the tunnel forked left into darkness, right toward the place it had all gone wrong. The place Lena vanished. They hesitated.
Ayumi pointed right. "There."
They turned.
And that's when they saw it. The stone wall where Lena had disappeared..it had changed.
A faint line now traced the edge, like a door waiting to open. Carvings shimmered faintly under the beam of Ayumi's flashlight. Symbols. Shapes. And in the center, a hole...Key-shaped.
Mia stepped forward slowly. The key still rested in her palm. Her hand shook. Yona reached out. For the first time he touched her wrist. Not tightly. Not pulling. Just steadying. She looked at him. And for a brief moment..his eyes softened.
He didn't say it. But it was there:
"You're not alone."
She turned back. Raised the key. Slid it in. It clicked. A deep, low sound echoed through the earth. Like something turning beneath them.
The stone shuddered. Then opened. And beyond it Only darkness.
Ayumi stepped back. "This isn't a tunnel anymore."
Mia nodded slowly.
"It's a door."
Yona looked past them both.Then, with a breath..he stepped through first. And the door swallowed him whole.
Elsewhere
Lena stood. The wall ahead of her glowed blue. A soft, pulsing rhythm. She turned as the hum grew louder. Not from the stone. From beyond it.
From the other side.
Her hand moved slowly to her chest. She whispered, almost too quiet to hear..
"…Yona?"
And far away...The door opened.
To be continue ...