The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on. Since Yoo-na's whisper in the hallway, Jae-wook felt like he was walking through a minefield. Every time a door opened or a chair scraped, he flinched. He was no longer just the invisible boy; he was a target under a microscope.
On Thursday morning, the class was assigned a group project in Literature. Teacher Hae-in stood at the front, a mischievous glint in his eyes that Jae-wook immediately distrusted.
"I've already assigned the partners," Hae-in announced, tapping his clipboard. "To encourage social growth, I've paired students who don't usually interact. Park Yoo-na... you're with Kim Jae-wook."
The classroom erupted in hushed gasps and giggles.
"Poor Yoo-na," Min-ji muttered loud enough for the whole room to hear. "She has to carry the dead weight."
Yoo-na didn't look upset. Instead, she stood up and walked straight to Jae-wook's desk. She pulled up a chair and sat down, resting her chin on her hand. She stared at him—not with pity, but with a terrifying intensity.
"Well, partner," she said, her voice smooth. "It looks like we'll be spending a lot of time together this week."
Jae-wook kept his head down, staring at his blank notebook. "I'll do the research. You don't have to talk to me."
"But I want to talk to you," Yoo-na replied, leaning in. "You're a fast typer, aren't you? I noticed your fingers move really quickly when you're on the school computers. Almost like... a professional gamer's mechanical precision."
Jae-wook's hand cramped around his pen. "It's just practice."
"Practice for what?" she countered. "Shadow Strike?"
Jae-wook finally looked up. Behind his thick glasses, his eyes were sharp. "Why are you doing this, Yoo-na? You have everyone's attention. Why do you care about a 'ghost' like me?"
For a moment, her confident mask slipped. She looked at his hands, then back at his eyes. "Because the 'ghost' is the only person in this school who doesn't look at me like I'm a trophy. And because... I think the ghost is hiding a king."
Before he could respond, Min-ji interrupted, leaning over Yoo-na's shoulder. "Yoo-na, don't waste your energy. Come on, let's go get juice. Jae-wook can do the intro on his own, right?"
Yoo-na hesitated, then stood up. She tapped the table twice—a specific rhythm. It was the same rhythm Gun used to tap on his desk during their voice calls when he was thinking. Jae-wook's heart nearly stopped.
"See you tomorrow at the café, Jae-wook," she said loudly. Then, lowering her voice to a lethal whisper, she added, "Or should I say... see you tomorrow, Gun?"
That night, Jae-wook didn't log into the game. He sat in his dark room, staring at his two identities laid out on his bed. On one side, his school blazer and thick glasses. On the other, his stylish black hoodie and the expensive headset.
His phone buzzed. It was a message from Starry.
Starry: You're not online tonight. Are you nervous about tomorrow?
Jae-wook sighed and picked up the phone.
Gun: Maybe. Are you?
Starry: I'm not nervous. I'm excited. I think I'm finally going to win the hardest level of the game.
Gun: Which level is that?
Starry: The one where the hero takes off his mask.
Jae-wook put the phone down and looked at his reflection in the window. Tomorrow was Friday.
The day of the second encounter. He knew he couldn't keep both worlds separate for much longer. The glitch was expanding, and by tomorrow evening, his reality would either be fixed or shattered forever.
He reached for his glasses and took them off, looking at the sharp-eyed stranger in the glass.
"Fine," he whispered to himself. "If she wants the hero, I'll give her the hero. But she might not like what's underneath."