The classroom was fluttering with noise when I walked in—desks scraping, chairs shifting, students gossiping in loud, excited whispers. It almost felt normal… almost. My heart still carried traces of last night's fear.
I scanned the room and spotted Jan talking animatedly with a group of girls by the window. I hadn't seen her throughout the weekend. Maybe she wasn't avoiding me—maybe she was just busy, I thought, forcing a small smile as I approached.
"Jan, hi," I said gently.
She looked up when she heard my voice—our eyes met for a split second—then she looked away and returned to her conversation as though I had never spoken. Her friends didn't even bother glancing in my direction.
My smile slowly faded.
With a small sigh, I walked back to my locker and opened it. A thin piece of folded paper fluttered down like a feather.
I froze.
I picked it up with trembling fingers, and my breath caught in my throat when I unfolded it.
"He's watching you. Don't talk to him after dark."
The handwriting was jagged, rushed—almost panicked.
I snapped my head up and scanned the classroom. No one was looking at me. No shifting eyes. No suspicious glances.
Jan was still engrossed in her chatter, laughing at something one of the girls said.
The class was noisy, normal, alive.
Yet my chest tightened as I reread the note.
He's watching you.
Don't talk to him after dark.
Who was he?
I tried looking for Raven, but he was nowhere in sight—not even at his usual back-corner seat.
I bent down to read the note again when a hand tapped my shoulder, making me jump.
"Hey, Jina."
I turned quickly.
Minho stood there, leaning casually against the lockers, flashing his usual warm smile.
"Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?" he joked lightly, his eyes narrowing slightly with concern.
Without saying a word, I handed him the note.
He took it, scanned it… and showed almost no reaction. His face remained calm—too calm. It was the same controlled expression he always wore, like nothing ever rattled him.
"Jina," he said, handing the note back, "I don't know what's going over your head, but you really need to calm down. This means nothing, okay?"
"But—"
"No buts." He smiled again, patting the top of my locker. "Don't overthink it. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
And with that, he walked out of the class.
I stared after him, feeling the tension grow heavier in my chest.
Something was wrong. Something was deeply wrong.
I searched for Raven during all four lectures—but he didn't appear even once. Not for a second. His seat stayed empty, cold, and untouched. And the way he had looked earlier at my window… the trembling in his voice…
By the time the final bell rang, I didn't even wait for Jan. I packed my things in a rush and dashed out of the classroom.
I needed answers.
I turned down the hallway near the old library—and that's when I saw him.
A figure moving around the school's surveillance camera. Carefully. Too carefully. Like someone checking something forbidden.
I stepped closer, squinting.
It was Raven.
He glanced behind him, his eyes wide, startled—almost terrified. When he recognized me, his shoulders slumped a little, but the fear didn't completely fade.
"Raven!" I called, hurrying over.
He froze, then stepped back as if caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.
"Raven, why didn't you come to class? And… what are you doing here alone?"
"I—I came to make some calls," he stammered. Even his voice shook. "That's all."
"And missing class is part of making calls?" I asked, looking at the camera he kept staring at. But it looked perfectly normal to me. No broken glass, no blinking alarms, no strange angles.
He swallowed hard.
"Raven, are you okay? You look—"
"I'm fine!" he snapped, too quickly. Then he softened. "I'm fine, Jina. Really."
He tried to walk past me.
"Wait."
I pulled out the note.
His eyes widened slightly. He took it from me and studied it with a grave intensity.
"What's this?" he asked, though we both knew he had already guessed.
"I found it in my locker this morning. I don't know who put it there."
Raven kept staring at the note long after finishing it. His breathing grew slower, deeper. He wasn't panicking—he was thinking. Calculating.
Then he asked, "Did you show this to anyone else?"
"Yes," I replied. "I showed it to Minho, but he said it was nothing. That I shouldn't worry about it."
Raven pressed the note back into my hand.
"Jina… I don't know, but you need to be careful."
"Careful of what, Raven?" I stepped closer, my voice tightening. "I want to know everything. You acting strange. Everyone whispering, I want to know what's going on, and I will find out. My father was an investigator before he died—I learned a lot from him."
Raven's eyes snapped to mine.
"Your father."
He paused.
"When exactly did he die?"
That question hit me like a cold splash of water.
"Earlier last year," I said softly, confused.
He whispered it again.
"Earlier last year."
He looked… shaken. Deeply shaken.
"And you haven't met anyone? Or heard any name like… Eunwoo Kang?"
"Eunwoo Kang?" I repeated. "No. This is my first time hearing that name. Raven, remember—I've only been here not even two weeks."
He stepped back, staring hard at me.
"How did you get transferred here?"
"My mother arranged it. She said I should finish here. New environment, new people… something like that."
Raven looked at me like he was trying to fit puzzle pieces together—pieces that didn't want to connect.
"Jina… listen carefully." He dropped his voice so low I barely heard him.
"I want you to focus on your studies. Don't dig into anything. Don't ask questions. Don't get involved. Let nothing bother you. Don't go to certain places in search of nothing. Don't start asking questions people Just—just stay away from everything."
"Raven, you're scaring m—"
"Bye," he muttered abruptly, turning away.
"Raven!" I called out, but he didn't stop.
He walked away without looking back—almost running.
I stared after him, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
I lifted the note he'd dropped on the floor and read it again.
"He's watching you. Don't talk to him after dark."
My fingers curled around the paper as I stood beneath the hallway lights, the silence creeping in from every corner.
Minho had said the note was nothing.
Raven said I needed to be careful.
They were both lying.
And I had no idea who "he" was—or why he was watching me.
But I was going to find out.
Even if it killed me.