It was raining again.
Seoul's skies had been grey for days, as if mourning something it couldn't quite name. The clouds clung low, hiding the city's sharp skyline in a veil of mist, and the bus ride to her new school felt like the longest in Haena's life.
Her fingers tightened around the strap of her worn leather bag, the silence in the bus louder than the storm outside. Rows of students clad in the prestigious *Hwayang High* uniform—black blazers trimmed in silver—sat with perfect posture, eyes glued to their phones or lost in earbuds. She was the only one new. The outsider.
She tried to breathe through the anxiety building in her chest. *Just one year,*
she told herself.
*One year, keep your head down, get the grades, and go to university. That's it.*
The moment she stepped through the gate of Hwayang High, she felt it.
Something cold. Still. Heavy.
Not the rain. Something else.
Something *watching.*
---
**The Classroom**
"Ah, you must be Kang Haena."
The homeroom teacher, Miss Do Yerin, greeted her with a smile too tight, eyes flicking toward the students before her. She seemed… distracted. As though thinking too hard.
Haena nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"You'll be in Class 3-B. We're glad to have you here."
The classroom was oddly silent when she entered. Thirty heads turned to look at her, but not with curiosity. It was wariness. A hesitation. A few whispered. A few turned away entirely.
*What was that about?*
"Your seat is at the back," Miss Do gestured, her voice faltering. "Next to… Joon Seo."
The room visibly stiffened.
Someone dropped a pen.
A girl muttered, "Seriously? They put her there?"
A boy chuckled nervously, "Poor girl."
Haena blinked, confused, but obeyed. Her eyes found the only empty seat—last row, by the window—and the boy sitting next to it.
He didn't look up.
He was tall, pale, dressed properly, hair jet-black and slightly damp from the rain. His posture was too perfect, hands folded neatly on the desk. But he didn't move, didn't even react to her presence.
She sat.
And instantly, it felt like the air had thinned.
**The Rumors Begin**
"Don't talk to him," a girl whispered to Haena during lunch. Her name was Yujin—bright, curious, with clipped bangs and a nervous smile.
"Why not?"
Yujin looked around before leaning closer.
"They say he… died three years ago."
Haena stared at her. "That's impossible."
"I know how it sounds. But no one remembers seeing him enroll. No one saw his records. He doesn't talk. He never eats. No one sits near him—until now. The last girl who did… transferred out a week later. Never came back."
"What happened?"
"She wouldn't say. She just cried. A lot."
Haena glanced toward the corner of the room. Joon Seo sat in the exact same posture, unmoving. The sun filtering through the windows painted strange shadows across his face.
Her gaze met his—just for a second.
And suddenly, the sound around her *muted.*
No students. No chatter. No noise.
Just his eyes. Cold. Calm. Like he was staring straight through her.
Then it was gone. The world returned. A fork clattered to the floor somewhere.
**After School**
The rain hadn't stopped.
Haena was packing her bag when she saw him stand for the first time. Joon Seo picked up a black umbrella and silently walked toward the door.
Before he could leave, she found herself blurting, "Wait."
He stopped.
Her voice faltered. "Sorry. I—nothing. Just… do you need an umbrella?"
He didn't turn.
He simply said, in a voice low and emotionless,
"You shouldn't talk to me."
And then he walked out.
**At Home**
Her mother, Mrs. Kang, was already busy with paperwork when Haena got home. A single mom, soft-spoken, always tired but kind.
"How was your first day?" she asked, not looking up.
"Weird," Haena said, toeing off her shoes. "There's this boy… everyone avoids him."
"Don't get involved," her mom warned. "Focus on your studies."
"But—"
"No buts, Haena."
There was a flicker in her mother's eyes. A warning.
Like *she knew something.*
Haena didn't push.
**That Night**
She dreamed of a classroom drowned in water.
Desks floating. Blood smeared across a chalkboard.
And a boy standing in the center, completely dry.
He looked at her.
And for the first time…
He smiled.
**End of Chapter 1**