~Who am I… I no longer know. But for the first time, I understand this: I am no longer just witnessing evil. I helped bring it into existence.~
1. The Day My Hands Were No Longer Clean
"Speak it, and you will remember it…
Remember it, and you will be able to use it.
That way, your life story becomes your own strength.
Because that—and only that—will never betray you."
I once read those lines in a novel, when the main character was advised by his teacher to value every life experience more deeply. Humans learn from what they go through, and experience does not lie—unless the mind itself has been rewritten, which is another matter.
Whether sweet or bitter, joyful or painful, the life we live is nothing more than a mixture of all of it. From that mixture, our thinking is shaped, our choices are decided, and our perspective is formed when facing every problem that arrives.
And this time, on a morning when I woke with a strange lightness—
a lightness that felt unnatural—
something inside my chest had already died.
That day I knew, vaguely yet certainly:
I was no longer standing outside the circle. I was already inside it.
I thought everything was over.
I was wrong.
If you think this is still about Suri, you are mistaken. This time it is no longer about her at all. Those who believe this is merely a continuation of Suri's case are completely wrong. The truth is—it is about what happened to Tomo.
Suri herself has not appeared in this story for a long time. She spent three days and two nights in the hospital and has now reportedly returned home. But from incomplete whispers, I heard she is still undergoing recovery, still shaken, still haunted by something she refuses to explain. The school gave no detailed statement.
Some speculate she does not want to return to this school. For some, that is good news. They never liked her attitude. But I… I only feel that something is not right.
And today something happened—something insane. Too tangled for me to fully imagine.
I could feel the tension spreading like pressure in the air. My breathing grew tight, my steps heavy. All of it connected to someone close to Suri…
I don't know how any of this happened.
But I know fear had already wrapped itself around the victim's mind—even though I didn't truly understand the trigger.
The video spread before the first bell rang.
Phones passed from hand to hand like sparks.
Laughter mixed with whispers.
Students gathered in corners of the classroom.
They mentioned only one name:
Tomo.
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2. A Public Lie I Created Myself
No one knew the first file came from a phone that had been in my pocket the night before.
No one knew I was the one who pressed send.
And the most terrifying part—
I didn't do it in panic.
I did it calmly.
As if someone stood right behind my thoughts and whispered:
"Now."
I didn't ask whose voice it was.
I obeyed.
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3. Tomo and Baseless Shame
Behind Tomo's tough image and athletic reputation, there were already rumors about a complicated personal life. I had only just realized how widespread the talk had been. The whispers moved quickly among students, growing louder each time they were repeated.
The rumors had once been suppressed with help from Suri and Annie. Over time, they faded.
But suddenly, everything ignited again.
This time, a private video involving Tomo and her current partner circulated widely. The school was shaken. Curiosity, gossip, and cruel fascination spread faster than concern.
What was once hidden became exposed to cold screens and colder reactions.
Tomo arrived during the second period.
Her steps were unsteady.
Her face empty.
As if she already knew—before seeing anything.
Some students laughed openly.
Some pretended sympathy.
Someone deliberately showed a phone screen near her.
And in that moment—
Tomo collapsed.
Not physically—
but as a person under the weight of humiliation.
She covered her mouth and ran from the classroom.
I followed her with my eyes—
and I felt no guilt.
Only one strange sensation:
a satisfaction that had finally found its shape.
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4. The Bulletin Board and a Cry That Came Too Late
By noon, another image appeared on the school bulletin board—another captured moment that removed all denial. Tomo saw it herself. Her hands trembled as she tore it down and demanded answers.
No one responded.
I stood not far away.
Silent.
Amid the noise, I heard laughter—
not outside,
but inside my own head.
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5. An Investigation That Never Touched Me
She searched for accountability—questioned the journalism club, asked about cameras, requested official help. Every path ended in denial or missing evidence. No clear trail. No recorded proof. Only dead ends.
The uncertainty hung in the air like a closing wall.
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6. A Disappearance Called "Transferring Schools"
After days of pressure and unresolved conflict, Tomo stopped coming.
Day one.
Day two.
Day three.
Then the announcement came—brief and formal:
She had withdrawn and transferred schools.
No farewell.
No closure.
As if she had never existed.
But I knew the truth:
she didn't simply transfer.
She was erased from the world she once stood in—
and I was the first hand that pushed the process forward.
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7. Awareness That Arrived Too Late
That night I collapsed over the sink, my body weak, breath uneven, water running loud enough to drown thought.
Yet it wasn't guilt that tormented me most.
It was a more honest realization:
I did not regret seeing her fall.
Which meant—
I had become someone I could no longer call my former self.
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8. Closing — I Chose, Not Just Followed
All this time I believed I was being dragged, influenced, directed.
But tonight I understand:
I was not only controlled.
I also chose.
Tomo vanished from this life not because of accident,
not because of fate—
but because
I pressed that button with my own hand.
And behind every ruin I left behind—
Misaki smiled—
as if I had finally passed her first test.