The next morning, everything felt louder.
Not the whispers — the real voices.
People stared longer than usual. A group of juniors paused as I passed. I heard my name whispered under breath.
I didn't like that.
I was used to being invisible. It was better that way.
But today, invisibility had vanished.
---
> "Isn't that the guy from the roof yesterday?"
"Someone said he dragged Rina up there."
"He's always been weird…"
My heart sank.
This wasn't normal attention.
It was suspicion.
---
I found Rina during break.
She was sitting alone, staring at her notebook.
"Hey," I said softly.
She looked up. "They think… you were trying to hurt me."
So it was true.
I laughed, but it was hollow. "Of course they do. That's how this place works. They love drama more than truth."
She looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't say anything to anyone."
I didn't blame her. She had her own pain to deal with.
---
By lunch, it had evolved into something uglier.
"Suicide pusher."
"Freak."
"Don't go near him."
Funny, isn't it?
One day I was a ghost.
The next, I was a villain.
---
In the hallway, Rakib smirked as I passed.
> "Serves him right. Maybe now he'll learn to keep his head down."
I stopped walking.
"Something funny, Rakib?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Not at all. Just… watching karma at work."
I stepped closer. "Be careful."
He grinned. "Why? You gonna make me confess my sins? Or maybe whisper me to death?"
I leaned in and whispered, "I know about the locker incident. The money you stole. And whose ID you used."
He froze.
> "Shit. No way. Did he see it? Who told him?"
I smiled. "Want to keep pretending?"
Rakib's smirk cracked. He turned and walked away.
I didn't move.
Let them whisper. Let them fear.
But I had to be careful now.
The power was real.
But so were the consequences.
---
After school, I checked the back gate. Empty.
No blackmail targets today.
But something else happened.
Rina was waiting for me.
"I told the counselor what really happened," she said. "That you talked me down, not… pushed me."
I blinked. "Why?"
"You saved me. Even if you don't want anyone to know that."
She hesitated. "You're not what people think."
I didn't reply.
But something softened inside me.
---
As we walked toward the road, I heard it:
> "Maybe I judged him too quickly."
It was her thought.
Not guilt.
Not pity.
Something else.
Understanding.
---
Maybe I didn't need to be feared to stay in control.
Maybe… just maybe… I could still be seen.
And not hated.
---
But just as that thought settled in—
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number. One message.
> "You think you're the only one who hears things?"
---
I stopped walking.
My throat went dry.
And for the first time since I got this ability…
I was afraid.
---
[To Be Continued…]