[Storeroom]
After a while, Geone glanced at Hira.
Her eyes looked heavy.
"Didn't sleep well last night?" he asked.
Hira nodded.
"Yeah."
Geone stayed quiet for a moment, then asked,
"Why did you come to this room before?"
"I came with Edwan," Hira replied.
"He said the room was horror, so we wanted to explore."
"Edwan—the second boy?" Geone asked.
"Hm."
She added, "People say it's really haunted."
Geone grew curious.
"Why horror?"
"Leave it," Hira said.
"You won't believe it."
"I will," Geone replied.
"Tell me."
Hira exhaled slowly.
"Fine. Believe it or not—that's on you."
She stared at the far wall, not at him.
"This was years ago," she began.
"When the school was new. Back then, there weren't all these storerooms."
"Only this one," Geone said softly.
Hira nodded.
"The first one."
"So the school was still being built?" he asked.
She tapped his forehead lightly.
"If you keep interrupting, the story won't work. Listen."
Geone went quiet.
Hira continued, voice steady but low.
"In the first batch, there were many boys. Very few girls. One of them—Lita. Class twelve."
She paused.
"One day, she never went home."
Geone's jaw tightened.
"She didn't go to friends' houses. No calls. No messages. She just… vanished."
Hira swallowed.
"Her parents went to the police. They searched everywhere."
Another pause.
"Then another girl disappeared.
Then another."
Geone felt cold creep up his spine.
"Five girls," Hira whispered.
"Gone."
He didn't speak.
"One morning," she continued,
"the principal was found dead in his office."
Geone finally asked,
"Why did he kill himself?"
"Hush," Hira snapped, sharper than before.
Geone immediately lowered his head.
"Sorry."
"The suicide note mentioned this storeroom," she said.
"Only this room."
Geone's eyes flicked toward the door.
"When the police searched it," Hira said slowly,
"they found four bodies. Hidden."
The silence pressed down on them.
"They believed the principal abused them. Then killed them."
Geone whispered,
"And the fifth girl?"
Hira's lips curled slightly.
"People say she never died here."
Geone's throat went dry.
"Then what happened?"
"They say," Hira said quietly,
"the girls came back."
He stared at her.
"They say the principal didn't kill himself," she continued.
"They say he was killed."
A faint sound passed through the room.
Geone stiffened.
"You heard that?"
"Hear what?" Hira asked.
He didn't answer.
"Even now," she went on,
"some people hear girls crying at night… if they walk past this room."
Geone hugged himself slightly.
"So… they're still here?"
Hira tilted her head.
"Maybe..."
The air felt heavier.
Colder.
Then—
right next to his ear—
"BOOO!"
Geone screamed and jumped back.
Hira burst out laughing, rolling on the floor.
"Geone, you're such a scared little baby."
Geone glared at her.
"Hira. You made all that up, didn't you?"
Still laughing uncontrollably .
"You actually believed it! Ha-ha-ha! Like that could really happen."
"I knew it," Geone muttered, annoyed.
"You're great at making fake ghost stories."
Hira finally calmed down.
"Okay, okay-sorry. Did you really get scared?"
"Shut up.I'm going home."
Hira stood up.
"Wow. So scared that you're running away?"
"Noo.It's already ten."
He went to the classroom to grab his bag. Hira followed.
"What about the sports room?"
"Tomorrow's the weekend,We'll clean it another day."
"Oh... okay."
They handed the keys to the watchman and started walking home.
Geone glanced at Hira.
"By the way... you tell stories really well."
Hira looked surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah, You should've been a writer."
Hira laughed softly.
"That's not for me."
"Why?" Geone asked, stopping.
Hira noticed.
"What happened? Aren't you going home?"
Geone started walking again.
"A writer-what's the problem?"
Hira replied quietly,
"My mom wants me to be a doctor. My dad wants me to be an architect. Anything outside that... probably not possible."
Geone smirked.
"Oh. I didn't know my enemy had enemies too."
Hira stopped walking. Geone stopped too.
She didn't say anything. Her face went blank. She didn't look at him.
Geone was about to speak, but before he could, Hira pulled out her headphones, put them on, and walked fast.
Geone stood there, confused. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?
He called her name several times, but she didn't turn back. She walked away with firm steps.
Geone slowly started walking home too, thinking the whole way.
At the gate in front of his house, Geone saw Charlie standing there, looking straight at him.
Feeling a flash of irritation, Geone started to turn away, jaw tight.
"Geo..." Charlie called softly.
Geone didn't respond.
"Geo..." Charlie tried again.
Before Geone could walk off, he turned back, eyes sharp with anger.
"Not now, Charlie. My head's too hot," his voice low but tense.
Charlie said nothing. He stepped closer.
Geone froze.
"Charlie?"
Charlie's expression was unreadable. He came closer, standing right in front of Geone.
Geone instinctively edged toward the wall.
"What in the morning-" he began, but Charlie cut him off.
Without a word, Charlie grabbed Geone's shoulder and pushed him slightly. Geone's back hit the wall."I won't ..." Geone started.
"Sorry," Charlie interrupted , calm ,more than controlled. Something in that voice.
Geone looked at him, unable to respond. Words got stuck in his throat.
"I'm sorry. I didn't tell you."
Charlie's voice came low, almost swallowed by the silence. His head dipped, lashes shadowing his eyes. The rawness in his tone was steady—unshakable—but something beneath it was strangely fragile.
Geone blinked. For a second, his mind emptied.
"It won't happen again."
Charlie raised his head and met Geone's gaze. an unseen look in his eyes.
Geone opened his mouth to answer, but—
Suddenly, Charlie pulled him into a tight embrace. Warmth flowed through Geone's body. Charlie held him firmly, grounding him somehow.
"It's okay," Geone's words escaped before he knew.
Charlie stepped back and smiled slightly.
"Let's ride bikes."
Geone let out a tired chuckle,confused.
"But I'm exhausted."
Charlie grinned.
"Don't want some ice cream?"
Geone laughed, shaking his head.
"Charlie... you always do this."
All that anger melted away-maybe because Charlie was already grinning at him like a mischievous little devil.
Continues...