Chapter 2: The First Bleeding
830 Words
The campus buzzed with excitement as students hurried between lecture halls, laughing, introducing themselves, and taking pictures to commemorate the first day of the new semester.
To everyone else, it was just another ordinary morning.
To Han Seo-yeon, it was the beginning of the future she had fought so hard to build.
She tightened the strap of her backpack and looked up at the towering university building before smiling to herself.
"Mom... Dad... I made it."
The smile didn't last.
Her phone screen lit up.
She opened her messages.
No new texts.
No missed calls.
Not even a single reply from Min-jae.
She sighed quietly and slipped the phone back into her pocket.
"Still ignoring me..."
"Talking to yourself already?"
Seo-yeon turned to see Kang Ji-hoon jogging toward her, his messy black hair bouncing with every step. He held two iced coffees, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"I knew you'd skip breakfast."
"I didn't skip it."
"You forgot."
"...That's different."
He laughed and handed her one of the drinks.
"I know you too well."
She smiled for the first time that morning.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For always showing up."
His expression softened.
"I'll always show up."
Before she could respond, the lecture hall doors opened and students flooded inside.
Their professor began introducing the semester when a loud thud interrupted him.
Everyone turned.
A male student had fallen from his chair.
Blood poured from his nose onto the floor.
"Sir!" someone shouted.
The professor rushed over.
"Are you alright?"
The student clutched his head, breathing heavily.
"They won't stop talking..."
"What?"
"The voices..."
His eyes darted around the room.
"They're everywhere..."
Several students exchanged nervous glances.
The professor helped him to his feet.
"It's probably exhaustion. Someone take him to the infirmary."
As two classmates led him away, Seo-yeon couldn't shake the uneasy feeling twisting in her stomach.
---
Ten miles away...
Haedong Boarding High School.
The sound of basketballs echoed across the gymnasium.
Min-jae caught a pass and drove toward the basket.
Just as he jumped—
"Min-jae!"
He turned.
His teammate, Woo-jin, stood frozen near the center of the court.
His face had gone completely pale.
"You okay?" Min-jae asked.
Woo-jin didn't answer.
He stared toward the empty bleachers.
"...Who's sitting there?"
Everyone looked.
There was no one.
"What are you talking about?" another student laughed.
Woo-jin slowly pointed.
"That woman..."
His voice trembled.
"She's crying..."
Silence filled the gym.
There was no woman.
Only empty seats.
A thin stream of blood suddenly trickled from Woo-jin's nose.
Then another.
Within seconds, blood soaked the front of his shirt.
Students gasped.
The coach hurried over.
"Woo-jin! Look at me!"
Woo-jin blinked.
Then he started laughing.
Not a normal laugh.
A loud...
Broken...
Almost painful laugh.
Without warning, the laughter turned into sobbing.
He dropped to his knees.
"They won't leave me alone..."
His hands covered his ears.
"Make the voices stop!"
The coach ordered everyone to step back while calling the school nurse.
Min-jae felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Something wasn't right.
---
At lunchtime, the university cafeteria was unusually quiet.
Students sat with their phones in hand.
Every screen showed the same thing.
Breaking News.
Mysterious illnesses were being reported throughout Seoul.
Victims complained of severe headaches, hallucinations, emotional instability, and unexplained nosebleeds.
Health officials urged the public not to panic while investigations continued.
Ji-hoon frowned.
"That's... weird."
Seo-yeon nodded.
"I hope Min-jae's school is okay."
"Have you heard from him?"
She looked down.
"No."
Ji-hoon gently squeezed her hand.
"You will."
She forced a smile.
"I hope so."
---
By evening...
Rain clouds gathered above the city.
Sirens screamed through the streets.
Ambulances rushed past one after another.
Inside Haedong Boarding High School, every student had been ordered back to their classrooms.
Teachers insisted it was only a precaution.
No one believed them.
Min-jae sat beside the window, staring at his silent phone.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
He suddenly wanted to call Seo-yeon.
His thumb hovered over her contact.
Before he could press it—
A scream echoed from somewhere down the hallway.
Another followed.
Then another.
The classroom fell silent.
The teacher slowly walked toward the door.
"Stay here."
She stepped outside.
The hallway became eerily quiet.
Thirty seconds passed.
One minute.
Two.
Then—
BANG!
Something slammed against the classroom door.
Students jumped.
Another bang.
This time harder.
The lights flickered.
Someone outside began scratching at the door.
Slowly...
A familiar voice spoke.
"Students..."
It was their teacher.
"...Please open the door."
A frightened student rushed toward the small glass window.
His face drained of color.
"What is it?" Min-jae asked.
The boy couldn't speak.
Min-jae walked over and looked through the glass.
Standing in the hallway was their teacher.
Blood covered her uniform.
A thick stream ran from her nose.
And where warm brown eyes should have been...
There was only endless black.
She smiled.
Then slammed herself against the door.
The entire classroom erupted into terrified screams.
- Writer
