~Sometimes the most frightening voice isn't a whisper from outside… but the echo that grows inside your own head.~
Today was supposed to be an ordinary day. A day I could live through without tragedy, without guilt, without the weight of yesterday's events.
But the moment I stood at the classroom door and saw Suri's seat empty… the world no longer felt whole. Something was loose. Cracked. As if reality were slowly shifting toward something I didn't understand.
I chose to go to the school's upper terrace — the same place I escaped to yesterday. The difference is, this time I wasn't running from the world.
I came because I was waiting for someone.
Misaki.
And that alone was enough to make me question my own sanity.
1. An Unhealthy Attraction
I don't know exactly when this began — when Misaki's faint smile turned from a simple expression into a puzzle I needed to solve. Or when her gaze began to feel like both an invitation and a threat.
But one thing is certain: I stood on the terrace today for one reason:
I wanted answers.
Not about Suri anymore.Not about cheap rumors spreading around.
But about Misaki.And about that smile.
There was something behind it — something I could feel but couldn't interpret unless I heard it directly from her lips.
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2. Her Presence Is Always Poorly Timed… Always Too Close
Not long after, I heard light footsteps.Too soft.Too sudden.
And suddenly, Misaki was already standing behind me.
As if she hadn't walked there.As if she appeared from the air.As if I were just a small object in her world, and she could appear whenever she wished.
"What is it?" she asked.
I swallowed. Her voice sounded ordinary — but in my head, it resonated like a heavy iron door slowly opening.
"Nothing… I just wanted to be alone," I replied. My voice came out softer than I intended.
She tilted her head. "You were waiting for me, weren't you?"
I forced a smile. "How can you say that?"
"Because you're not in class, and you have no reason to be here… unless you're waiting for me."
She said it calmly.Without hesitation.Without giving me room to lie.
As if she knew what I was thinking before I thought it.
"Don't act like you know everything," I said quickly, a bit sharper than intended, as if the words could build a thin wall of distance.
"Maybe I really just wanted to be alone," I added — sounding more like a plea than an excuse.
I glanced at the sky, searching for justification there.
"Besides, the sky feels nice today," I said, trying to sound casual — as comfortable as possible. But the comfort was fake. The calm sky only witnessed how tired I was of holding myself together.
It wasn't an honest denial.Just another way to hide behind words.
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3. A Smile That Opens a Dark Door
"So, what do you want to ask?"
As if she didn't care about my excuses, she went straight to the point.
The question sounded simple. But behind it was something subtle… like a rope slowly tightening around my neck.
I hesitated.If I asked and was wrong, I'd look foolish.
But if I didn't ask, I'd keep being haunted.
So I asked anyway.
"What did your smile mean… back in class?"
She blinked slowly. "Which smile?"
Her voice was flat, but there was a spark in her eyes — like someone waiting for the correct answer so the game could begin.
I took a breath."The one you gave when I looked at you."
Misaki smiled again.Small.Ordinary.
But it still didn't feel normal.
"What's wrong with smiling? I always smile."
Nothing wrong with it —except when it appears right after someone hears their enemy ended up in the hospital.
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4. A Push Toward the Edge
I fell silent, struggling to hold back the tangled words colliding inside my head. There was too much I wanted to say, yet none of it formed properly. Even before she realized it, I knew my question itself was messy — as if I expected answers without truly asking.
"Why so quiet?" Misaki pressed. Her voice wasn't loud, but it tightened the pressure in my chest.
"Forget it… stop going in circles about what happened," I said, forcing calm into my tone. "I'm sure there's something you actually want to say, right?"
"Oh. Okay."
She spread her arms slowly — a simple gesture that somehow felt like surrender… or preparation.
"Are you satisfied?"
The question came without warning.
"Satisfied about what?"
"Satisfied because today is a pleasant day."
"Pleasant because?"
"Because your wish came true."
"What do you mean?"
Her questions fell like drops of water in an interrogation room.Slow. Repetitive. Exhausting.Precise.
"You couldn't have forgotten," she said lightly. "Yesterday, before going home, I asked what you wanted."
She tilted her head slightly. "And if my memory isn't wrong… you said you wanted everything to go back to normal."
She let it hang in the air.
"After all, that was your only problem, right?"
Her tone sounded logical — too logical.
"Thinking about it… wouldn't it be better for you… if that troublesome devil disappeared?"
She said it with an innocent smile — which made the words far more disturbing.
"So? Which part of that means my wish came true?" I asked.
Instead of answering, she kept pressing, repeating, not giving me space to breathe — or think — or escape.
Until finally—
"I know you're happy.I know you're relieved about what happened to Suri.And I know you wanted it."
"Isn't today pleasant?"
She glanced at me sharply.
"If Suri were here today," she added calmly, "you'd be repeating what you felt yesterday."
The sentence landed slowly — but heavily.
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5. A Voice That Is No Longer Mine
I couldn't deny her words.
Not purely out of fear — but because part of it was true. If Suri had come today, what awaited me would likely be worse than being ignored.
Misaki continued describing how cruelty could repeat again and again. Each word struck precisely.
She was right.
My days would be filled with dread.That dread would steal my ability to breathe lightly.Until despair took over my thinking.
"So… are you satisfied?"
Again, the same question.
She smiled. Calm. Patient. As if my answers were lines from a script she had memorized.
And I…
I was exhausted.
I admitted it.
I said I was satisfied. That I was glad Suri wasn't here today. Glad I could breathe without her shadow. I admitted my hatred — honestly, completely. I even admitted the dark wish that she would never return.
Misaki looked at me.Deeply. Calmly.
"That's better."
She stepped closer and whispered:
"Now… you can hear your own voice, right?"
And for reasons I couldn't understand…
The voice in my head — the one I thought was mine —
began to sound like Misaki's.
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6. The Heart That Speaks
Without realizing it, the emotions I had buried exploded. I shouted every curse and bitterness about Suri in front of Misaki. The words came without filter, without mercy — I barely recognized my own voice.
I didn't know what I was doing.
Whether it was her constant pressure breaking my defenses… or whether it had always been waiting for a crack to burst through.
I yelled.I cursed reality.I raged at the unfair world.
My scream turned into a desperate plea for everything to be reversed.
And in that moment, I realized something terrifying about myself:
A dark satisfaction had grown — the desire to feel happiness over Suri's suffering.
My energy drained until I trembled.
My body felt weak.
But I felt…
relieved.
Deeply relieved.
As if Misaki didn't just listen —but pulled everything out of me.
As if she opened a door inside me…and let the darkness spill into the world.