It was at this very moment that I truly began my investigation.
Not as a curious daughter anymore.
Not as a confused student.
But as someone who knew—without doubt—that my father was murdered.
Murdered by blood-sucking demons, creatures hiding behind human skin, smiling, teaching, protecting, pretending. Creatures who fed on lives and erased truths with terrifying precision.
My father paid with his life for knowing something he was never meant to see.
And now they were trying—desperately—to erase every trace of that knowledge.
Every evidence.
Every witness.
Every loose end.
Including me.
If I wanted answers, I had to move carefully. I needed to know the police officers working with the school—the corrupted ones. And more importantly, I needed to know which officers were still clean, the ones I could secretly involve when the time came.
But before any of that…
I needed to know the students.
The ones involved.
The ones pretending.
The ones watching.
And that was the hardest part.
Students blend easily. They laugh. They cry. They sit beside you in class and borrow your pen. They look harmless.
But only one person could help me see through them.
Only one.
Raven.
And that scared me more than the demons themselves.
I didn't know if I trusted him.
I didn't know if I distrusted him either.
Raven was always hiding—appearing, disappearing, watching from above like a shadow glued to tree branches and rooftops. I didn't want to tell him anything about Eunwoo. That secret was too heavy, too dangerous.
But how else was I supposed to pull him into this without exposing everything?
That question kept spinning in my head as we rode back from the shop.
I didn't say a word to Yoon. Not because I hated her—but because she lied. And lies, no matter how protective, left cracks.
As soon as we stepped out of the car, I walked straight to my room without looking back.
At this point, I didn't know who to trust.
Not even my shadow—because even shadows deceive. They follow you in light, but disappear when darkness truly comes.
"Jina!"
Jan's voice snapped me out of my thoughts as she opened my door and burst inside, jumping straight onto my bed like nothing in the world was wrong.
"Jina, my birthday is coming soon," she said excitedly. "And I want it to be a bit huge."
Her smile was so genuine
I froze.
Should I tell her?
Or should I protect her?
"Jina? Are you here?" she waved a hand in front of my face.
"Sorry, Jan," I said softly. "My mind was somewhere else."
"And where did it go to?" she teased. "I came earlier and you weren't around."
"I went out to get something," I replied carefully.
Jan stepped closer, her playful tone fading. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Jan. I'm fine," I forced a smile. "You were saying something earlier."
"My birthday!" she repeated, jumping on the bed again. "I want it huge."
"That'll be your sweet sixteen," I said, hugging her tightly.
She hugged me back. "Thank you, Jina. And listen—if anything is troubling you, you can tell me. I'm always here."
Her words hit me harder than she knew.
"Okay, Jan," I said quietly. "Can you wait for me? I want to meet Raven for a moment."
Her body stiffened.
"Is there something I should know?"
"I'll tell you everything when I'm back," I said. "Just… hold on for me."
She nodded slowly, suspicion flickering across her eyes.
"Okay. I'll be waiting."
I left the room and walked down the hallway, my footsteps echoing softly.
As I passed a room that had been locked for a long time, I noticed the door was wide open.
I glanced inside.
Jan's roommate was there—sitting on the bed, laughing, gossiping like nothing had ever changed.
I hesitated, about to greet her, then decided to keep walking.
So they're back, I thought.
As I turned the corner, I bumped into someone.
"Ouch—Jina, where is your mind?" a familiar voice said, smiling.
It was Jan's second roommate.
"Sorry," I said, hugging her. "You came back today?"
She looked at me strangely.
"Today?" she repeated. "Jina, I've been around. We just changed rooms. Jan said she wanted to stay alone, so we moved."
My heart skipped.
Jan said what?
I stood there as the girl walked away, confusion washing over me.
Jan never told me that.
Maybe she just wanted to be closer to me, I reasoned. She would have told me… right?
I shook the thought away and went in search of Raven.
Everywhere I looked—nothing.
His usual places were empty. Even the tree was silent.
I finally gave up and returned to my room.
"Jan," I called as I entered. "You didn't tell me your roommates are back—and that the rooms were changed."
She flinched.
"I—I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I just wanted to be close to my best friend."
I hugged her again,
"You should have told me," I said gently.
"Sit down," she laughed, dragging me onto the bed. "You said you wanted to tell me something."
"Yes," I inhaled. "I went out with Yoon."
Jan nodded, watching me closely.
"We went to a shop," I continued, "and the woman there is—"
BANG!
A loud knock slammed against the door.
My words died in my throat.
"Jina!" Yoon's voice called from outside.
I stood up immediately. "Yes, Yoon?"
"Please, can you help me with something in my room?"
I hesitated, then moved to open the door.
"I'll be back, Jan," I said. "Hold on for me."
Jan didn't respond. She just sat there, watching me leave.
And as I stepped into the hallway, a chilling thought crept into my mind—
The shadows were no longer waiting.
They were moving.