The next school day started normal.
Too normal.
Like the world was trying too hard.
Students' conversations felt copied.
Laughs repeated the same cadence.
Even the sunlight through the windows looked… staged.
Luca nudged Marc on the way to class.
"Bro, something's definitely off."
Marc nodded.
"It feels like the world's pretending."
When they entered homeroom, Aria wasn't sitting yet.
She was standing by the window, staring at the courtyard below like she was waiting for something.
Marc approached slowly.
"You good?"
Aria didn't look at him.
"It's starting."
Marc's heart skipped.
"What is?"
Aria's eyes flicked toward his — sharp, quiet, scared.
"When the world senses too much emotional deviation, it sends corrections."
"Corrections… like what?"
She finally turned fully toward him.
"Events."
Marc swallowed.
"Bad ones?"
Aria didn't answer.
Which was an answer.
During break, Aiden approached Luca again — but this time more tense.
"What did you tell her?" Aiden demanded.
Luca blinked. "Who? Hana?"
Aiden nodded sharply.
"She's acting warm. But not toward me."
Luca took a slow breath.
"She's just… finding herself again."
Aiden's jaw clenched.
"She wasn't supposed to change."
Luca stiffened.
"What do you mean 'supposed to'?"
Aiden didn't answer for a long moment.
Then he whispered:
"I don't know. Things just feel… wrong."
He walked away without another word.
Luca watched him go, unsettled.
"Bro needs a reset," Marc muttered under his breath.
"Yeah," Luca murmured. "But we're not the ones doing that."
After lunch, Ryo cornered Luca near the vending machine.
Not aggressive.
Not angry.
Just… curious.
Dangerously curious.
"Luca," he said, adjusting his glasses, "can I ask something personal?"
Luca sighed.
"Do I get a choice?"
"No."
Luca rubbed his forehead. "Alright, hit me."
Ryo held out his notebook.
It was filled with neat lines, arrows, and time stamps.
"I've been studying interaction patterns. And I noticed something."
"What?"
"You and Marc disrupt emotional trajectories."
Luca blinked.
Ryo leaned in slightly.
"People change faster around you. They adapt too easily. Like their emotional states are… malleable."
Luca swallowed.
"Why is that?"
Luca forced a grin.
"We're just friendly guys, bro. That's all."
Ryo stared at him for several long seconds.
"…You're lying."
Luca's heart dropped.
But Ryo didn't push.
He simply said:
"I'll find the truth eventually."
Then walked away.
Luca exhaled shakily.
"Yeah," he muttered. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
At the end of the day, right as everyone packed up, something strange happened.
Aria flinched.
The lights flickered.
The hallway voices outside cut out completely.
The class grew unnaturally quiet — all at once.
Marc noticed immediately.
"Aria…?"
Her breath sharpened.
"It's here."
The classroom door slammed open.
A teacher stepped inside, stiff and mechanical — voice colder than usual.
"Aria. Marc. Come with me. Now."
Everyone in the class turned.
Luca felt something coil in his stomach.
Hana whispered, "That felt… weird."
Aiden watched with narrowed eyes.
Marc glanced at Aria.
She looked pale.
"That's not my teacher," she whispered.
"But it is," Marc said slowly. "And it's not."
Aria nodded.
"This is an injected event."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the world wants to pull us somewhere."
Marc's fists clenched.
"And we're not gonna let it hurt you."
Her eyes softened — almost vulnerable.
"…Then come."
As Marc and Aria stepped into the hallway behind the teacher, the lights flickered again.
The hallway was empty.
Too empty.
The teacher didn't walk naturally.
His steps were stiff, almost robotic.
Marc leaned toward Aria.
"Where's he taking us?"
Aria whispered:
"To the first correction."
Marc stopped walking.
"Correction for what?"
"For me."
She turned her head slightly.
"And for getting too close to you."
Marc's heart dropped.
Luca, watching from the doorway, whispered:
"Bro… this is where shit starts."