The door creaked open.
And the hallway was already waiting.
Too many people.
Too still.
Too awake for this hour.
Mrs. Lee stood first.
Arms crossed.
Face tight with worry and something sharper underneath.
Hyun-Woo beside her, quiet but watching everything.
Ji-Ah half-hidden behind him, peeking out like she was trying not to be involved but still wanted answers.
And Ara—
Ara stood a little further back.
Fluffy headband still on.
Pink mask slightly crooked now.
Looking down at the floor like she suddenly regretted all her life choices.
I stopped in the doorway.
Looked down at myself.
Same.
Fluffy headband.
Mask still on.
Pink pajama sleeves slightly wrinkled.
I looked like I had lost a fight with a children's sleepover.
"…What is this…" I muttered under my breath.
Mrs. Lee's eyes locked on me immediately.
"…Min-Jun."
I straightened a little.
"…Yes, Mom."
"…What was that screaming?"
I hesitated.
Just a second.
"…Seo-yeon," I said quietly.
Silence.
"…What happened to her?" Hyun-Woo asked.
I lowered my gaze slightly.
"…She had a bad dream."
That wasn't even a full lie.
Not really.
Just… missing context.
A lot of context.
Ji-Ah frowned.
"…A dream?"
I nodded gently.
"…She was just scared. That's all."
Mrs. Lee studied me for a moment.
Like she was trying to decide if I was telling the truth or just trying not to cause panic.
"…If your friend keeps screaming like that," she said carefully, "…she may need to leave."
I blinked.
"…She won't scream again."
My voice came out softer than I intended.
Calmer.
Polite.
My knees were still slightly bent from standing too long in the cramped drawer earlier, so I shifted awkwardly.
Hands behind my back without realizing it.
Like I was being interviewed for something I didn't apply for.
That's when she stepped forward.
Mrs. Sun-Hea.
Her heels clicked lightly against the floor.
Her gaze sharp.
"…You're always like this," she said. "Bringing trouble into this house."
I said nothing.
Just looked down.
She kept talking.
Something about responsibility.
Carelessness.
Youth these days.
I didn't react outwardly.
But inside—
I sighed.
Of course.
The hallway didn't stay quiet for long.
It only pretended to.
Mrs. Sun-Hea stepped forward again, her voice sharper now, like she had been holding it back just to make sure everyone was listening.
"…Honestly," she said, eyes fixed on me, "…I've thought about sending Min-Jun to a boarding school."
The air changed.
Instantly.
My fingers paused mid-adjustment of my mask.
Slowly, I looked up.
Hyun-Woo shifted slightly.
Ji-Ah froze.
Ara's head snapped up.
"…But unfortunately," Mrs. Sun-Hea continued coldly, "…I am not his mother."
Silence.
That landed heavier than anything else she had said.
I didn't speak.
Not because I had nothing to say.
But because anything I could say would make it worse.
My jaw tightened slightly.
Then relaxed.
Controlled.
Ara stepped forward immediately.
"…Mom," she said quietly.
Mrs. Sun-Hea didn't even look at her properly.
"…Don't interfere."
Ara's hands curled slightly at her sides.
But she stayed calm.
"…It really was just a misunderstanding. Everyone is tired. Seo-yeon is fine now."
Mrs. Lee stood behind them, watching everything unfold, her expression unreadable.
Mrs. Sun-Hea finally turned her gaze to Ara.
"…You always defend everything," she said. "Even when you shouldn't."
Ara didn't flinch.
Just held her ground.
I stared at the floor for a moment.
Then quietly said—
"…It won't happen again."
My voice was low.
Even.
Not emotional.
Just… tired.
Mrs. Sun-Hea looked at me like she was deciding whether to continue.
Then exhaled sharply.
"…It better not."
A long pause.
Finally, Mrs. Lee stepped in.
Firm, but calmer.
"…That's enough for tonight. Everyone go back to their rooms."
No one argued after that.
Not even her.
Slowly, the tension broke apart into movement.
Footsteps.
Turning away.
Doors opening.
Closing.
Ara passed me briefly.
Didn't say anything this time.
Just gave a small glance that meant "survive this."
Then she was gone.
I stayed in the hallway for a second longer.
Then walked back to my room.
Inside.
My room was quiet again.
Too quiet after everything.
The soft light from my bedside lamp was still on, like it had been waiting for me.
I shut the door behind me.
Locked it.
Then exhaled.
"…That woman is terrifying," I muttered.
I reached up and slowly pulled off the fluffy headband.
Then the mask.
Finally breathing properly again.
I glanced around the room.
Nothing moved.
Nothing felt off.
Good.
Normal.
"…Niran," I called out softly, half annoyed, half tired. "…You really didn't say anything back there."
Silence.
I frowned slightly.
"…Don't ignore me now."
I turned toward the mirror.
Expecting him to be there.
Leaning like usual.
Watching like usual.
Smirking like usual.
Nothing.
Just my reflection.
I stopped.
Blinking once.
"…Huh?"
I walked closer.
"…Niran?"
Still nothing.
I exhaled through my nose.
"…Very funny. Come out."
No response.
No presence.
No faint pressure in the air like before.
Just empty silence.
I slowly lowered my mask fully into my hand.
"…Okay," I muttered. "…This is weird."
I looked around again.
Checked the corners.
The doorway.
Even the reflection again.
Nothing.
For the first time tonight—
it didn't feel like I was being watched.
It felt like something had just… stopped existing in the room entirely.
"…Where did you go?" I whispered.
I don't blink for a while.
I just stare at the mirror.
Waiting.
Waiting for something familiar to happen again.
A flicker. A glitch. His voice.
Anything.
But nothing moves.
The reflection is just me.
Too normal.
Too clean.
Too wrong.
"…Niran?" I whisper again.
My voice sounds smaller than I remember.
I step closer.
The glass feels colder than it should.
My breath fogs it slightly—but even that disappears too fast, like the mirror is rejecting it.
"…stop joking," I mutter.
My fingers press against the surface.
Still nothing.
No pressure behind me.
No presence.
No teasing breath near my ear.
Nothing.
My chest tightens.
"…this is not funny," I say again, louder.
Still silence.
And then—
the mirror flickers.
Just once.
My heart jumps.
"—Niran?"
The world distorts.
The reflection changes.
A rooftop.
My breath stops.
"…no…"
I recognize it before I understand it.
Not from memory.
From feeling.
Like something in my chest already knows this place hurts.
And then I see him.
Niran.
Standing there.
Still.
Too still.
My hands slam harder against the glass.
"NIRAN!"
He doesn't react at first.
Like he can't hear me properly.
Like I'm not fully there.
"…Min-Jun?" he finally says.
My name comes out of him slowly.
Carefully.
Like he's remembering how to say it.
"Yes—yes, I'm here!" I shout. "Look at me!"
His eyes shift.
For a second.
He sees me.
Really sees me.
And something in my chest breaks open.
But then—
his expression changes.
Confusion.
Like he's forgetting again.
"No…" I whisper. "Don't do this—don't disappear again—"
The wind in his world gets louder.
In mine, the glass shakes slightly.
Like both worlds are unstable.
Niran looks around.
Lost.
"…I think I was talking to someone," he says quietly.
My throat tightens.
"YOU ARE TALKING TO ME!" I scream.
But nothing crosses.
Not properly.
Not enough.
And then I see it.
His body shifts.
Like the ground underneath him forgot how to hold him.
My eyes widen.
"No—no, no, no—Niran, step back—"
But he doesn't hear me clearly.
Or maybe he does.
And it's too late.
He falls.
I don't even realize I'm shaking until my hands slip slightly on the glass.
"NIRAN!"
The word tears out of me.
Raw.
Broken.
Useless.
He looks up mid-fall.
For a second—
just one—
our eyes meet again.
And I swear he understands me.
Not everything.
But something.
"…don't look at me like that," he whispers.
So soft I almost don't hear it.
And then—
he's gone.
The mirror goes still.
I stay frozen.
My hands don't move.
My breath doesn't catch properly.
"…Niran?" I whisper.
Nothing.
I press my forehead to the glass.
Cold.
Empty.
No response.
No presence.
No him.
"…come back," I say quietly.
A pause.
Then—
smaller.
"…please."
And the silence doesn't answer me.
Not even a flicker this time.
Just absence.
Like he was never there.