Hesa checked his watch—it was 6:45 a.m. He had come to school earlier than usual because he had left a book behind. It was a library book, and he couldn't remember where he had put it. Fortunately, he actually found it in his classroom.
Hesa stepped out of his classroom, which was still completely quiet since lessons normally started at 8 a.m. Today, he had also asked Arkha to come early because he wanted his opinion about a sticky note he had found earlier.
"Did I come too early? I was really worried that book was gone."
He walked down the empty school corridor. There was no one else around—just him. Maybe that was what made the atmosphere feel so eerie. The cold morning air only made him more uncomfortable.
He decided to head back to his classroom, turning around and passing the room usually used for dance club practice. Through the window, Hesa saw two students inside. Thinking he could strike up a conversation since no one else was around, he tried to open the door—but it was locked.
"Do they not want to be disturbed?" Hesa thought. He knocked lightly on the window, but the two boys inside didn't react.
"Whatever, I'll just watch."
Out of boredom, Hesa watched them practice. After a while, he noticed something strange. They had stopped moving and seemed to be chatting, as if taking a break.
"Why are their uniforms different from mine? What school are they from? Why are they practicing here? Don't they have a dance room at their own school?"
In the middle of his thoughts, the room's lights suddenly went out. Hesa could still see them thanks to the sunlight coming through the windows, but the two inside seemed unable to see anything—until one of them turned on his phone's flashlight.
"Is it really that dark inside? There's sunlight, though."
The boy holding the phone dropped it and crouched down, reaching for it on the floor—only for his hand to be stepped on by the other boy.
The second boy looked terrified, saying something Hesa couldn't hear. Was the room soundproof?
Then, out of nowhere, a black figure appeared behind him and struck his head with a baseball bat. When the boy was still conscious, the figure slammed his head hard against the floor.
The boy who had dropped the phone stood frozen, staring blankly. The figure approached him and swung the bat again.
Hesa hadn't been able to move this whole time. He was completely shocked by what he had seen.
"What did I just witness? I need to report this to a teacher."
He rushed away, but someone suddenly called out to him from behind.
"Hesa? You're already here?"
Hesa turned around and saw Arkha.
"Hey… are you panicking?" Arkha asked, noticing Hesa's pale face and tense expression.
"T-the dance club room," Hesa said, pointing at the room.
"What about it?" Arkha asked, confused, but he decided to open the door anyway.
Click.
The door opened easily. Darkness greeted Arkha as he stepped inside and reached for the light switch.
"There's nothing here," Arkha said, turning back toward Hesa, who stood stiffly at the doorway.
"What's wrong? What was strange?" Arkha asked.
"The room was locked when I tried to enter. There were two people practicing inside, and then they were attacked," Hesa said, his voice trembling.
"Are you sure?" Arkha asked.
Hesa nodded. "But their uniforms weren't from this school."
Arkha studied Hesa for a moment, wondering if his friend had seen something different again—just like what happened when they went to the villa.
"There's nothing here now. Let's leave before the dance club members show up," Arkha said.
They both stepped out. Arkha closed the door, but just as they were about to leave, a female student passing by suddenly stopped and stared at them in fear.
"Melvin…"
Hesa and Arkha exchanged glances, then turned around. The girl's gaze was fixed behind them.
"Who did you just say? It's only the three of us here," Arkha said.
The girl immediately lowered her head and turned to leave, but Hesa grabbed her hand.
"Wait. I saw you before—you were staring at me when I was heading home from my friend's place," Hesa said.
"I-I'm sorry, senior. I was just passing by," she said, pulling her hand away and running off.
"I've got a bad feeling about that girl," Arkha said.
"I heard other students gossiping that she's unlucky," Hesa replied.
"Unlucky? What do you mean?" Arkha asked.
"I don't really know the details either," Hesa said.
Arkha sighed. "Let's just forget it. It's not our business."
Hesa nodded, though deep down he still wanted to find out more about that junior.
"Yesterday you said you wanted to talk to me about something," Arkha said.
Hesa glanced down the corridor, which was now filled with students walking by and chatting.
"Not here, Khan. Let's go to the rooftop," Hesa said.
"About the terror stuff?" Arkha asked.
Hesa nodded, and they headed off together.
They went up to the rooftop. It was quiet—usually it only got crowded during lunch break when students came up to eat or relax.
"So, what did you want to say?" Arkha asked after they sat on one of the benches.
Without hesitation, Hesa pulled a sticky note from the pocket of his school blazer and handed it to Arkha.
"Where did you get this?" Arkha asked, skimming it.
"Someone slipped it under my boarding house door," Hesa replied.
"There's CCTV there, right?" Arkha asked.
Hesa nodded. "I checked. On the footage, there's only a black figure wearing a mask. Judging by the posture, it looks like a guy."
"Did the figure have anything distinctive? Something easy to recognize?" Arkha asked.
"No. But Jaehyuk saw the person slipping the sticky note under my door. He said the person had red hair, so he suspected it might be the new tenant."
"Do you know that new tenant?" Arkha asked.
"No. But I got suspicious too since I received the note right after that person moved in. I watched him for a while but didn't find anything strange. And based on the note's message, whoever sent it should've been with us at the villa," Hesa said.
"Could it be one of Thirteen?" Arkha asked.
"I doubt it. If it were one of us, why not just talk directly instead of using a note like this?" Hesa replied.
"They might be threatened. Or maybe what they saw wasn't human, so they're scared of being haunted if they speak up," Arkha suggested.
"That's possible. But I'm more suspicious of the lavender ghost," Hesa said.
"As the culprit or the victim?" Arkha asked.
"The one who sent the sticky note," Hesa replied.
"But earlier you said Jaehyuk saw the person. That means it was a human, not a ghost," Arkha argued.
"Think about it again. At the villa, it was only the seven of us—and the lavender ghost was the only other presence there," Hesa said.
"But it's a ghost. Can it be trusted?" Arkha asked.
Hesa let out a heavy sigh. "Whether the lavender ghost is involved as the victim or the culprit, we still have to find one more person."
"This clue points to Thirteen. That means either the culprit or the victim is among the seven of us," Arkha said.
The ringing of Arkha's phone interrupted their discussion.
"Huh, my head's already spinning from this. How about we continue later?" Arkha said.
"Alright, later then. I just got a message too—there's a meeting in the student council room. Since it's a free period and the teachers are in a meeting," Hesa replied.
"Yeah, Niki asked me to practice with him. I'll head out first," Arkha said, standing up.
"Alright," Hesa replied shortly.
~~~~~~~
After confirming that Hesa and Arkha were no longer in the corridor, **Jihan** immediately went to the dance club room.
She examined every corner of the room, walking slowly around it until her steps stopped at one spot. She knelt down, touching the floor as tears fell.
So this was why that boy had been behind Hesa—to give him a vision as a warning, and maybe even a clue.
Jihan wiped her tears and stood up, turning toward the mirror. Realizing something made her chest ache even more.
At last, she gathered the courage to make a big decision.
Still wiping her tears, Jihan smiled at her reflection.
"Forgive me, Kala."