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The First Chime
Haneul Middle School wasn't designed for happiness. It was built for excellence, for perfection, for students who sharpened their minds like blades and carved their futures with rankings. The air always felt heavy here—thick with stress, tight with expectation.
Min-ji had learned to navigate the system with careful silence. She wasn't the smartest, nor the strongest, but she understood survival better than most. You didn't stand out. You didn't make waves. And above all—you didn't get involved.
It worked. Until the bell rang at 3 a.m.
The metallic chime sliced through the dead air of the dormitory. It was only a single ring, yet it felt wrong—off-key, unnatural, like something calling out from the walls themselves.
Students stirred in their beds, blinking into the darkness, whispering into the void. But when nothing followed, the school settled back into uneasy sleep.
The next morning, Soo-ah was gone.
At first, Min-ji thought she was late. But as the hours passed, unease seeped into her bones. Her chair was empty.
Not just empty—erased.
No textbooks. No scuffed backpack hanging from the side. No notes scattered across the desk, no remnants of a girl who had sat there every day. Even her name had disappeared from the attendance sheet, as though the school itself had swallowed her whole.
Ms. Kang barely acknowledged it. When Jae-ho—always the rebellious one—asked where Soo-ah was, the teacher fixed him with a stare so sharp it could cut bone.
"Personal reasons."
No further explanation. No concern. No questions.
But Min-ji saw the way people avoided the topic. The way they kept their heads down, pretending not to notice. It wasn't just fear—it was resignation.
Because it had happened before.
Last year, Min-ji had been assigned a group project with Soo-ah. The others didn't want her in their team, so they ostracized her, mocked her, made her the weak link. And Min-ji?
She had watched. She had said nothing.
She had convinced herself it wasn't her problem.
Now, standing in front of Soo-ah's vacant desk, her stomach twisted with something she didn't have a name for.
That evening, as she walked past the lockers, her gaze landed on Soo-ah's—the one that should have been emptied by staff.
But something was inside.
A single piece of folded paper.
Min-ji reached for it, pulse hammering in her throat.
She unfolded it.
Five words, scrawled in black ink:
"The bell knows what you did."
She barely noticed her hands shaking.
Then, her phone buzzed.
A message—anonymous—blinked onto her screen.
[Bellkeeper's Game]
Min-ji hesitated before clicking.
A single post glowed against the dark interface:
"The silent one carries the heaviest weight. Who watched and did nothing?"
Her breath caught.
It wasn't just cryptic.
It was accusing her.
Before she could process it—before she could even breathe—another student disappeared.
Hyun-woo.
Gone. Just like Soo-ah.
And that night, the bell rang again.
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the guilt pressing on Min-ji—it all builds up, making the mystery feel personal and relentless.What will happen next ?......
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Sorry if the story felt blank 🥲, I'm new to writing field. I will tryimprove it further in my next short novels 🙂.
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Thankyou
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