Breaking Point
The classroom was silent.
Time itself seemed to stop.
Wel lay on the floor — motionless.
Ink mixed with blood stained the desk, and a pen rolled across the ground.
No one dared to breathe.
The door burst open.
The teacher's voice echoed through the room.
> "What's going on here?!"
No one answered.
Only a few trembling voices rose from the back.
> "T–Teacher… it was Ren…"
"He's crazy! He—he stabbed Wel with a pen—"
The words died midair.
The teacher froze for a moment.
His eyes darted to the floor, then to Ren.
> "What are you saying? A pen?!"
Ren didn't move.
His face was blank, his eyes frozen like ice.
It was as if he no longer belonged to this world.
> "Come with me," said the teacher.
His voice was tense.
Ren stood up in silence.
As the door closed behind them, Ren's gaze met Mina's.
His eyes were still dark — yet something else glimmered within them. Passion? Madness? It was impossible to tell.
Ren whispered:
> "I'll protect you… I love you."
Mina flinched, her face drained of color.
> "Wh–what are you saying?! You love me? You're insane! Don't ever say that again!"
Ren froze.
For a moment, his face was completely still.
Then he lowered his head slowly.
> "I see…" he said coldly, and followed the teacher without another word.
---
The air in the teacher's office was heavy.
The door shut. Silence.
The teacher leaned on the desk, exhaling sharply.
> "Ren… tell me the truth. Why did you do it?"
Ren said nothing for a while.
Then he looked up, a strange smile curling his lips.
> "Because," he said, "he pulled Mina's hair."
He chuckled softly.
> "And at that moment… I felt perfect."
The teacher's eyes widened.
> "Ren… what are you talking about? How can that— how can that make you feel good?"
Ren's voice turned low.
> "They've been laughing at me for years, teacher. And you… you just watched.
Now you care?"
The teacher frowned.
> "You've changed. When did this happen to you?"
Ren's eyes flickered.
> "God sent me a sign.
I met Mina. She was my destiny.
She saw me.
So I'll never see anyone else again — only her."
The teacher swallowed hard, taking a step back.
> "Ren… you need help. This obsession isn't healthy."
Ren tilted his head, smiling faintly.
> "Help?" he said mockingly.
"You never helped me, teacher.
Now it's my turn… to help Mina."
The room grew colder.
The teacher opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Ren's eyes were empty — the last trace of humanity gone.
He turned to the door.
With his hand on the handle, he looked back one last time.
> "No one will ever touch her again."
The door closed.
Only silence remained.
The teacher's hands were shaking.
He finally understood —
whatever was inside that boy… it wasn't Ren anymore.
---
Red Silence
When Ren returned to class, no one looked up.
His footsteps echoed like whispers in a graveyard.
Everyone was afraid that even breathing too loudly might provoke him.
He didn't go to his seat — he walked straight to Mina.
A faint smile on his lips.
> "Let's go home together after school," he said calmly.
Mina stepped back.
> "No," she said coldly. "You're sick, Ren."
His smile faded.
He took a small step back.
> "Please… I just wanted to walk with you," he whispered.
Mina turned her head away.
> "Leave me alone. Stay away from me."
The class was silent. Everyone heard her, but no one said a word.
Ren's face sank into shadow. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
Then, slowly, he turned to the window.
In the reflection of the glass, Mina's face shimmered faintly.
Ren stared not at himself, but at that fragile image.
> "If only I knew where you lived…" he thought.
"I could keep you safe."
Outside, the sound of sirens grew louder.
Wel was being carried away.
No one spoke.
It felt as if the entire school had turned into another world.
---
The bell rang.
School was over.
Mina grabbed her bag and left quickly.
She wanted to disappear into the crowd, to breathe again.
She didn't speak to anyone until she reached the subway stairs.
On the platform, a few men stared at her.
One of them smirked and stepped closer.
> "Hey, gorgeous… all alone tonight?"
Mina flinched.
> "Please… leave me alone."
The man laughed.
> "What's wrong? Don't be shy—"
Before he could finish, a shadow moved in the crowd.
No one noticed, but Mina felt it — someone was watching her.
The man took another step forward.
Mina opened her mouth to scream —
A dull thud.
Then silence.
The crowd gasped and backed away.
The man stumbled, clutched his head, and collapsed.
The shadow moved again, quiet but steady.
A hooded figure walked past the panic.
His steps were silent, his face hidden.
Only a dark streak dripped from his hand as he passed.
Mina froze.
She knew that shape. That presence.
> "Ren…" she whispered.
"What… what have you done?"
Ren didn't turn around.
He simply said,
his voice calm even amidst the chaos:
> "No one can touch you anymore."
Then he walked away.
The noise of the crowd faded.
Mina stood still, trembling.
The wind brushed her hair, but she felt nothing but cold.
It wasn't just blood in the air — it was fear.
---
Steps in the Dark
Mina couldn't sleep that night.
The scene at the subway replayed again and again —
the men's faces, the muffled sound,
and the shadow that moved through them like death.
Ren.
She covered her face with trembling hands.
"No…" she whispered. "He wouldn't… he couldn't…"
But she knew.
That morning's look in his eyes —
that calm, that quiet, unnatural peace.
The peace of a yandere in love.
When morning came, she went outside.
The streets were still, too quiet.
Her footsteps echoed, but she heard another sound —
a second pair of steps, faint and distant.
Every time she walked, it followed.
She turned a corner, holding her breath.
Nothing.
She waited.
Then — a voice from the shadows:
> "You're late."
Mina froze.
Ren was there.
Hood pulled low, eyes hidden in shade.
But she knew that voice.
> "Ren… why are you here?" she asked,
her voice trembling between fear and curiosity.
Ren smiled.
> "I didn't want you walking home alone.
You saw what happened yesterday.
This city isn't safe."
Mina shook her head.
> "Not safe… because of you, Ren!
Do you even realize what you've done?"
He said nothing.
Just watched her with those quiet, unreadable eyes.
Then spoke softly:
> "I only protected you.
No one can hurt you now.
Not anymore."
Mina stepped back.
> "Protected me?
Ren, why are you doing this to me?"
His voice was calm, almost tender.
> "Because… you were my light.
I was darkness, Mina.
And light only survives… when it's protected."
Tears welled in Mina's eyes.
> "That's not protection…
You're suffocating me."
Her voice cracked.
> "I'm scared of you, Ren."
He stepped closer.
Only a breath separated them now.
He looked at her — those gray eyes, empty yet peaceful.
> "Maybe," he whispered,
"fear is just another form of love."
Mina held her breath.
For a moment, time stood still.
Two heartbeats echoed —
one born of fear, the other of obsession.
Then Mina turned and ran.
Ren didn't follow.
He simply watched her go, a faint smile on his lips.
> "Go," he murmured.
"No matter where you run… I'll find you."
The wind brushed past him as Mina disappeared around the corner.
Ren looked up at the sky.
Between dark clouds, a pale light shimmered — gray, like his hair.
And in that silence,
a voice whispered inside him:
> "Now I know where she belongs."
---