"The past… the real answer key."
Hesa had been sitting in the student council room for quite a while, lost in thought. He couldn't stop replaying what had just happened.
From the moment he noticed a small crack in the spotlight, shouted, and ran toward the stage—up until Arkha pulled him back—Hesa remembered turning his head and seeing Niki lying unconscious, surrounded by a pool of blood, part of his body trapped beneath the fallen light.
Now, all he could do was sit there in silence, reliving it over and over again.
"Hesa,"
A tap on his shoulder snapped him slightly out of it. He turned around.
"Minju… what is it?" he asked.
"Arkha's outside. He's looking for you," Minju said.
Of course. That kid must have sensed something was wrong—that's why he came straight here.
With a heavy breath and even heavier steps, Hesa walked out to meet him.
"W-what is it?" Hesa asked.
"What is it? That falling light earlier—that was their doing, right?" Arkha said firmly.
"It wasn't, Khan," Hesa replied.
"Don't lie to me," Arkha said, staring at him in disbelief.
"I had a bad feeling today. That's why I was looking for you earlier. When I saw you on the rooftop, safe, I thought I was wrong… but I wasn't. Something bad was bound to happen to one of us," Arkha continued.
Hesa pressed the bridge of his nose, trying to stay calm. "This accident was purely human error. It has nothing to do with them."
"I don't believe that," Arkha said.
"We're still investigating this case. Just calm down and don't overthink it," Hesa replied before walking away, leaving Arkha staring at him suspiciously.
~~~~~
Hesa walked home alone since there had been a student council meeting earlier, so his friends had already left.
As he passed the restroom, he noticed a staff member cleaning up broken glass. A dark thought suddenly crossed his mind—especially since the staff had stepped away for a moment.
After taking a few steps inside, someone tapped his shoulder.
"Hesa."
He turned around to see Jaehyuk looking at him curiously.
"You're not home yet?" Jaehyuk asked.
"I-I was about to go, but when I passed by here, I saw broken glass everywhere," Hesa said.
"Oh, it got hit by a stray futsal ball. Anyway, wanna head home together?" Jaehyuk offered.
Hesa shook his head stiffly. "Not yet… I-I need to go to the hospital."
"Oh, alright," Jaehyuk said before leaving.
Hesa exhaled in relief as Jaehyuk walked away, then quickly left the school area.
He wandered aimlessly through a crowded street before his eyes landed on a quiet public restroom. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped inside.
He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then picked up a bottle of cleaning liquid from the corner. Without thinking, he opened it and was about to drink it.
Kriet—
Someone stepped out of a stall and saw him.
"Are you insane?!" the guy shouted, quickly snatching the bottle from Hesa's hand.
"Don't interfere!" Hesa snapped, stepping closer, but the guy anticipated it—and reflexively slapped him.
Plak!
Hesa froze.
Seeing the school uniform on that person, Hesa suddenly remembered Kala… someone who seemed to want to help him. And Kyungmin—the ghost who had placed his hope in him.
"W-why… why was I about to kill myself?" Hesa muttered, staring at his own hands.
Then—
A faint laughter echoed right beside his ear.
He slowly turned toward the sink mirror.
No wonder his shoulders had felt so heavy since this morning.
Heeseung's hands were there.
That thing had almost killed him—indirectly.
"Damn it!"
In the reflection, Hesa also saw the pink-haired boy who had helped him walking away without a word.
"Wait!" Hesa ran after him.
"Hey, stop!" he called out.
The boy finally turned around once they reached a park.
"Why are you following me?" the pink-haired boy asked.
"You slapped me earlier. If you hadn't… I might actually be dead right now," Hesa said.
The boy didn't respond and tried to walk away, but Hesa grabbed his arm.
"Let go."
"Why do you look scared of me?" Hesa asked.
"I remember you. You said you saw me with Kala," the boy said.
"I did. I saw you with him at the market," Hesa replied.
The boy shook Hesa's hand off.
"Kala? Who are you talking about?" he asked.
"Sakala. You're friends with him, right?" Hesa said.
"Sakala Astanika is dead. I witnessed it myself. I saw him jump off that rooftop," the boy said.
Hesa fell silent.
He shouldn't believe a stranger so easily—but the boy's expression… it was filled with genuine fear.
"N-no… he's still alive. He's my neighbor," Hesa insisted.
The boy ran a hand roughly through his hair.
"You're mistaken. Maybe your neighbor lied."
"Why would he lie?" Hesa argued.
"How would I know? Fine—describe this 'neighbor' of yours," the boy said.
"He looks sweet, kind, a bit innocent… dark reddish-brown hair," Hesa explained.
The boy nodded slowly. "Yeah… one of my friends matches that exactly. His name is Kyungmin."
"Huh?! You're not lying, right?" Hesa asked.
"Believe it or not, I don't care," the boy said as he turned to leave.
"Wish."
The boy immediately stopped and turned back.
"How do you know my name?" he asked, surprised.
"Your nametag," Hesa replied.
"Oh… right," Wish muttered, touching it.
"Wish… if I go to your school, will you help me?" Hesa asked.
"Help?" Wish frowned.
"There's something I need to find there."
~~~~~
Hesa opened the door to Niki's hospital room. All of his friends were already there.
"You finally came," Jio greeted.
"Sorry I'm late," Hesa said.
"I was worried something happened to you," Arkha added.
"Haha, I'm fine," Hesa replied with a hollow laugh, remembering what had almost happened earlier.
"What did you bring?" Niki asked.
"Of course you'd ask about food," Hesa said, placing it on the bedside table.
"Whoa, my favorite donuts!" Niki grinned and immediately grabbed one, eating it eagerly.
"Get well soon," Hesa said.
"It's just a minor injury. I'll be out of here soon," Niki replied casually.
"Still, you need to be careful. Take care of yourself," Setta said, slightly annoyed at how lightly he took it.
"Yeah, yeah, rival," Niki teased with a smug smile.
For a moment, Hesa felt a sense of peace—watching the warmth shared among his friends.
But he knew…
It was only temporary.
Because there was still something that needed to be resolved—so moments like this could truly return for good.