Aurex woke up at 6:00 a.m. sharp, just like always.
The bell didn't even have to ring. His body knew the time.
He stood, smiled at the mirror, and walked into the bathroom. The water from the shower was always lukewarm,never cold, never hot. Like the city, it stayed perfectly in the middle. No room for extremes. He washed in silence, keeping his smile on, even with soap in his eyes.
At 7:00 a.m., he sat down with his family.
His father sipped black coffee, eyes fixed on the same worn magazine he'd been reading. His mother drank orange juice, her expression bright and blank. His sister, Lira, twenty-two and already a teacher, smiled calmly as she ate toast without butter. His little brother, Jeno, swung his feet under the table, his grin too big for his face.
"Good morning!" they said in unison.
"Morning," Aurex replied with the same cheery tone. Smile, just enough teeth.
He chewed toast that tasted like cardboard. Not because it was bad, but because there was no flavor left in anything anymore.
At 7:15, Lira stood, fixed her perfect collar, and said, "I'm off."
She always said it the same way. Every day. Rain or shine.
She worked at Eastblock Primary, the school right beside Aurex's. Sometimes, he saw her walking with students. Always smiling. Always still.
At 7:30, Aurex and Jeno left together.
Their mother washed dishes. The sound of water splashing and plates clinking followed them out the door. Their father would leave for work at 9:00. Always 9:00. Their mother stayed behind. Always at home.
The rhythm never changed.
But something inside Aurex was changing.
---
School felt like a prison that smiled back at you.
Aurex sat in the same seat he had yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that.
Renn's seat was gone.
Not just empty. Gone. The desk had been removed like it had never existed. The name "Renn" no longer appeared on the attendance list. The teacher didn't even pause.
"One: You must smile.
Two: No killing."
The ten rules were recited, and the lesson began. Aurex didn't hear a word. He kept his smile on, but his mind was stuck on that moment. The way Renn had looked,struggling to smile, swallowed by light.
Before that, Aurex had believed what everyone said: those who were erased must've broken something important. They deserved it.
But Renn had been kind. Quiet. Careful.
Not rebellious. Not dangerous.
Just… human.
Now, for the first time, Aurex realized something:
The city wasn't just cold. It was hollow. And it lied.
No one mentioned Renn. No one asked where he'd gone. Even the seat behind his had been pulled forward, filling the gap. It was as if his life had been erased along with his body.
And Aurex smiled through it all. Because he had to.
But under that smile, something in him burned.
---
At break, Aurex spotted the boy again,the one who had trembled the day Renn vanished. Same uniform. Same pale face.
He sat by himself on a bench near the garden wall. His hands were clasped tight in his lap, his back perfectly straight. His smile didn't look real. His eyes were bloodshot.
Aurex couldn't stop staring.
Two boys walked past the bench, laughing too loud.
"Hey, why are your eyes red?" one of them asked, voice bright, empty.
The boy turned, still smiling.
And then he laughed.
Not a giggle. Not polite.
A full, broken cackle that made some students turn.
"I always keep my eyes open!" he shouted. "That's why they get red!"
The boys laughed, but they walked faster after that.
The boy stayed seated.
Aurex didn't say a word. He kept his smile in place, but inside, he felt that strange burning again,like something sharp pressing against the walls of his chest.
He wanted to speak.
But what if the boy wasn't like him?
What if he was worse?
---
After class, he had fifteen minutes before Jeno finished. It wasn't much time, but it was enough to breathe somewhere new.
He left the schoolyard, taking the side path that curved past the west wall.
His steps were slow, careful. His hands hung stiff by his sides. He smiled, always, but his eyes flicked left and right, taking in everything.
The buildings here were older. Dusty. Strange.
A shutter banged softly in the breeze. No music. No laughter. No flower pots on windowsills.
He felt like he had stepped into another world.
Then a voice stopped him.
"Hey," someone said. "You're from the next class, right?"
Aurex turned.
The boy looked maybe eighteen. A little taller. Same uniform, but his hair was messier. His smile felt looser, more natural.
Aurex didn't answer. Speaking in the street was forbidden.
But the boy just chuckled. "Relax. It's still school time. Still school area. Technically, we're not breaking anything."
Aurex kept smiling, but his heart pounded.
Is that true? Or is it bait?
The boy leaned closer, hands in his pockets. "You're heading toward a non-inhabited zone. Just thought you should know. Not safe. Empty places… well, they get noticed."
Aurex nodded faintly.
He turned around and walked away.
The boy didn't follow. He just waved and said, "See you, silly guy."
---
Jeno was waiting by the gate.
"Hi!" he said brightly. "Did you get out late?"
"No. Just took a wrong turn," Aurex replied, voice smooth, expression clean.
Together, they walked home. It was 4:00 p.m. when they opened the door.
Their mother greeted them, still in her apron. The table was already set. Lira and their father were sitting down, eating the same meal they always ate.
At 4:30, they all sat in the living room. It was Rule Time.
They didn't call it that, but that's what it was.
His mother said, "Isn't Rule Eight wonderful? It keeps us safe."
His father said, "I like Rule seven. The streets stay clean."
His sister added, "Rule One is the most important. We must all smile. Always."
Aurex nodded. "It's a good system."
His voice didn't crack. His smile didn't drop.
But in the corner of his vision, his mother's eye twitched.
Just once.
Then it was gone.
---
At 5:30, he took a shower.
At 6:00, everyone went to their rooms. Doors shut. Lights off. It was their house rule no coming out past 6pm.
At 10:00 p.m., a loud bell rang across the city. A single tone that echoed through every home.
It meant sleep.
It meant silence.
It meant you survived another day.
Aurex lay in bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.
He thought about the boy with red eyes.
About the stranger who had stopped him.
About Renn.