Chapter 10 : The Spiral Above
1383 Words
It was another quiet morning at school.
Rheon passed through the school gate, expecting the usual bored wave from the security guard.But there was no one there. Just wind, sweeping dried leaves across the pavement.
He moved through the hallway, backpack slung tightly over one shoulder, his steps slow, careful. Then…
“Yaaah! Weirdo!”
The tall boy and his usual group rushed past.Then one peeled off, jogging backward beside him. A blur of sneakers behind him.
Rheon’s eyes flicked sideways. The boy looked at him like he’d seen a ghost.
“You sick or something?” he asked, tone weirdly casual. “Didn’t see you yesterday. What, that little push mess you up?”
No answer. Rheon kept walking, gaze locked ahead.
The boy stepped in front of him this time, hand out, pressing lightly against Rheon’s shoulder to stop him. “Yaaah… I’m talking to you!”
Rheon stopped, but didn’t speak. He just stared. Silent. Cold. The tall boy’s grin faded, lips twitching.
“Listen here,” he muttered, voice low now. “If you told anyone what happened. You’re screwed. Got it? Deadly screwed.”
Before Rheon could move, a sharp voice cut through the hallway…
“What now?!” A girl.
Eunji.
She strode up from behind, her voice echoing with annoyance. Eunji’s voice rang out again, sharp and clear.
“Oh? Now you’re trying to be a caring big boy?” She folded her arms, stepping between Rheon and the tall student. “Don’t play that game with me.”
The tall boy gave a crooked grin, suddenly nervous. “Why do you always think I’m the bad guy here?”
Eunji scoffed. “I don’t need to think anything. You show it yourself.”
That wiped the smile right off his face.
“Just go,” she snapped, pointing down the hallway. “Before I actually call a teacher this time.”
There was a long pause. Then, with an awkward smirk, he muttered, “What a thoughtful girl…”
He turned away and walked off, hands in his pockets, his boys following behind like shadows.
The hallway felt quieter now. Rheon blinked, not daring to look directly at Eunji. His lips parted, like he wanted to say something…thank her, maybe. But nothing came out.
Eunji didn’t press him. She gave him a short glance, full of complicated emotion, then rolled her eyes and walked off the other way.
He stood still for a few more seconds. Then silently turned and made his way to class. She didn’t walk away after all.
Instead, Eunji matched his pace quietly, a few steps behind, then beside him.
“I don’t get what that big i***t’s trying to do,” she muttered. “Is he harassing you? Asking for money? Did he steal something? Your book?”
Rheon shook his head gently. No words. Just the smallest movement.
He kept walking, keeping his eyes low, careful not to look around .Not at her, not at anyone. Drawing attention would only make things worse.
Eunji frowned. “Oh What, can’t talk?” she asked. “Or… do you hate me?”
He stopped at the door of the classroom, hand on the frame. For a second, his eyes met hers.
Hate?
In his heart, that word didn’t even belong in the same sentence with her. Is there anyone who could hate someone like her? Obviously… not me.
But he still said nothing.
He walked into the classroom without a single word.
Eunji watched him go, her brows pinching slightly, lips pressing into a thin line. She didn’t understand him.Maybe not yet .
Eunji watched from the hallway as Rheon stepped into the classroom.
He didn’t glance back. Didn’t return her gaze. Just walked in.Shoulders low, steps quiet and took his seat by the window like always.
She lingered for a moment, unsure whether to follow or walk away. In the end, she turned around, muttering something under her breath.
Rheon took his place at the usual desk near the window. The chair creaked softly beneath him as he sat down.
Without a word, he unzipped his bag and pulled out the book. The one he always kept with him.The pages were slightly worn, bent at the corners from how often he thumbed through them.
He laid it open on the desk. But today, he didn’t read. He didn’t open it to read. He just stared at the cover, letting the silence fill the space around him.
His fingers traced the edge of the page, but his eyes weren’t really seeing.
Then,
Something shifted. A stillness. He looked up, slowly.
To the right…empty seats. To the left…empty desks. It was quiet.Too quiet. He blinked and scanned the room again.
A minute ago, there were students.Chattering , laughing, tossing jokes across the aisle. Now… nothing.
No footsteps in the hall.No chairs scraping.
His brows furrowed. “Where is everyone…?”
He stood and stepped toward the window. Outside, the school field lay motionless. No wind. No movement. Even the flag stood stiff like a painting. Then his eyes dropped to his wrist.
His watch.
08:47:56.
Frozen.
The second hand didn’t twitch. A cold chill crept down his neck.
“What… is this?” he whispered. His pulse quickened. He stumbled out of the classroom. Into the hallway. Empty. No students. No teachers. No noise.
“Hello?” he called out.
Nothing.
He started running. Down the corridor. Past the lockers. Down the stairwell. “Anyone here?!”
Still nothing. No voices. No slamming doors.The world felt empty.
He reached the field. Stood dead center. Turned in a slow circle. And looked to the sky. The clouds weren’t moving. Neither was the sun.
And then…
he screamed. “What have you done to me?!” His voice tore through the frozen air.
No answer. Only silence.
The air wasn’t just still, it was wrong.
Like sound had drained from the world,
leaving behind only his heartbeat.
That’s when he saw it.
High above the rooftops…A thin coil of smoke. It wasn’t black. Not exactly. It shimmered around the edges, twisting slowly, as if it moved to a rhythm only it could hear.
He tilted his head. What… is that?
It didn’t rise. It hovered. Hung in the sky like it belonged there. Or like it had always been there, waiting for someone to notice.
A strange chill wrapped around his chest. Tight. He didn’t know why it bothered him. Didn’t know what it meant. But something deep inside. Something old, buried…shifted.
He took a step back, not realizing he had stopped breathing. Rheon stood at the edge of the field, eyes fixed on the sky.
The smoke… No, ashes. They weren’t just floating. They were circling. Around the school. Above the rooftop. Spinning like a slow, ghostly storm. Too silent. Too intentional.
It didn’t look natural. It looked… cursed.
His legs moved without thinking. He stepped closer to the school building, drawn by a strange pull. Drawn by the need to know what it was.
As he crossed the grass, the circling stopped. Just like that.
The ashes froze in place above the roof, like a predator pausing mid-hunt.
“What…?” he whispered, stopping in his tracks.
Confused. Frightened. He blinked.
And then a sound broke the silence. Like wind tearing through the air. Sharp. Sudden. The ashes dropped. Not drifted. Not floated.
They rushed down.Like a swarm. Like spinning into a column of black and silver light, slamming toward him.
His eyes widened. His arms raised on instinct…too slow.
WHUMP!
It hit him like a wave. The world spun. The air vanished. His breath caught in his throat. The only thing he heard… was the sound of his own heartbeat.
Then…A flash. Blinding. White. Silence cracked through everything.
His eyes snapped open.
For a breathless moment, they gleamed.Not their usual shade, but a faint, unnatural light blue. Like a shimmer of frost catching moonlight. Then, just as quickly, the color faded. His head rested on the desk. His fingers still lightly gripped the side of his book, as if anchoring him to reality.
He blinked. Once. Twice.
The classroom came into focus.Student chatting, shuffling in their seats.
Normal.
His heart pounded against his ribs, a quiet panic blooming beneath his skin.
- Writer
