A harvest of secrets

Tangled Threads

The quiet of the empty campus didn't feel like a reprieve; it felt like a trap waiting to spring. My footsteps echoed too loudly as I reached Jan’s wing. Her door was slightly ajar, a sliver of light spilling into the hallway.

"Jina!"

Jan’s voice broke the silence as she rushed toward me. She pulled me into a hug so tight I could feel the frantic thrum of her heart.

"Jan... you scared me," I whispered, holding her back.

"I’ve been looking everywhere for you," she said, her words coming out in a rush. "I even went to the cafeteria thinking you’d be there, but it was empty."

I froze. A cold prickle of confusion raced down my spine. I had been at the cafeteria. I had been there the entire time. And Jan had not been there.

I pushed the thought away as quickly as it came. Maybe we just missed each other in the shadows. What mattered was the warmth of her arms and the fact that she was safe. I hugged her tighter, trying to anchor myself to her presence.

Jan slowly pulled back, her eyes shifting to Yoon, who was standing a few paces behind me. Jan’s gaze lingered on her—not with curiosity, but with a sharp, piercing intensity that felt like a challenge.

"Jina," Jan said softly, still staring at Yoon. "Who is this?"

"This is Yoon," I explained quickly. "She’s a transfer student. I’ve been with her all through the morning. We were just coming from the—"

I stopped myself. Jan had just said she was at the cafeteria searching for me. If I mentioned where I had truly been, it would only lead to a tangle of questions I wasn't ready to answer. I swallowed the rest of the sentence.

"Anyway," Jan said, her eyes finally snapping back to me. "Come. I need to tell you something real quick."

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into her room, shutting out the world. I glanced back once. Yoon was standing perfectly still, watching us with an unreadable expression before she turned and headed toward her own quarters.

Inside, Jan’s room was a tomb of order. Her roommates’ beds were untouched, the sheets folded with a surgical precision that suggested they hadn't been slept in for days.

"Your roommates aren't back yet?" I asked, looking at the empty space.

Jan gave me a faint, tired smile. "No. You’ll be my roommate for a while, Jina. I’ll be staying in your room for a bit. It’s safer that way."

I nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude. Having her nearby made the shadows feel a little less predatory.

"Any news?" Jan asked, sitting on her bed and searching my face.

"Nothing yet," I replied. I hesitated, then decided to trust her. "But Jan... my dad's camera. I saw something on it. Something different. An image... or a video. I couldn't understand it, and it terrified me so much that I freaked out. It’s broken now."

Jan’s expression shifted to one of pure concern. She stood up and pulled me into another hug. "Oh, Jina. You must have been so scared. I’m so sorry you went through that alone."

The hug was grounding, but as I leaned against her, the questions in my head refused to quiet down.

"Jan, where have you been?" I asked quietly. "After what happened in my room, I was looking everywhere. That was when I met Yoon."

At the mention of Yoon, Jan stiffened in my arms. "Jina... don’t you find it strange? Hanging around someone you don’t even know? She doesn't even look like a student. She looks... older."

"She’s been good to me, Jan," I defended. "She’s funny, in a weird way. She hasn't done anything suspicious."

Jan didn't respond for a long moment.

"I was in the cafeteria with friends," she said finally. "I searched every corner for you."

I nodded slowly, though the math didn't add up. Maybe she was with someone else. Maybe she had a secret she wasn't ready to share. I didn't push.

Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. A message from Raven.

Meet me at the tree.

"Raven wants to see me," I said, showing Jan the screen.

"Should I come with you?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"No. He's... particular. I’ll tell you everything when I get back."

As I stepped out of the room, I saw Yoon lingering by the stairs. She was moving slowly, as if she had been waiting for the door to open.

"Yoon," I called out. "What are you doing?"

"Just heading back," she said calmly. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"I’ll follow you," she offered immediately.

I stopped and turned to face her, my voice firm. "No, Yoon. I accepted you as a friend, not a shadow. I’m going out alone. Stay here."

She stared at me, her eyes dark and hollow, before giving a soft, compliant nod. I didn't wait to see if she moved.

I found Raven at our usual spot—the ancient, gnarled tree behind the hostel. He was leaning against the trunk, his presence as dark and solid as the wood itself.

"You decided to be seen today," I said bluntly. "You’ve been acting like a ghost. What changed?"

"You stopped listening," Raven replied, his voice a low vibration. "I decided to give you the distance you seemed to want."

I looked up at the towering branches. "Why here, Raven? Why do you love this tree so much?"

"My spirit matches it," he said, looking up into the canopy. "It’s secure. I rest here. It’s the only place that doesn't feel like a lie."

He fixed his gaze on me, his grey eyes piercing. "You’re keeping a lot of company lately, Jina. Jan... and this new one, Yoon."

"Jan is like a sister. And Yoon is just... new. She’s lonely."

Raven stepped closer, the air between us suddenly thick with a magnetic, dangerous tension. "You leave your window open at night, Jina. It was wide open yesterday."

My heart skipped. "That’s impossible. I closed it myself."

"Did you?" he asked quietly. "Be careful. This school is a mystery, and the people in it are worse."

I wanted to tell him about the camera, about the image that had shattered my nerves, but something held me back. I wasn't ready to let him see that part of my fear yet.

"Thanks for the concern," I said, stepping back. "I should go."

Raven didn't argue. He turned and climbed the tree with a fluid, supernatural grace that explained how he always knew the state of my window. Just before I walked away, he looked down and gave me a faint, rare smile.

"Keep that smile," I said, a small spark of warmth hitting my chest. "You look less like a monster when you do."

He frowned immediately, but I just laughed softly and walked away.

Back at the hostel, Yoon was still by the stairs, as if she hadn't moved an inch.

"Jina," she called out as I passed. "This weekend, help me rearrange my room?"

"I'll be busy," I lied, not stopping. "I’m going home for the weekend leave. Maybe when I get back, or find someone else to help."

She just nodded, watching me until I turned the corner.

Jan’s room was locked now. I entered my own, the silence of the room greeting me like an old friend. I washed the dust of the day off my face and sat by the window, staring out at the tree where Raven was likely still perched.

I picked up my novel, trying to lose myself in someone else’s story, but the words blurred. The mystery of Haneul Ridge was no longer something I was investigating—it was something I was living. And as the sun began to dip below the horizon, I knew the weekend leave was the only thing standing between me and a truth I might not survive.