Chapter 2:THE SEAT THAT REMEMBERS EVERYTHING
619 Words
Emma didn’t think about the seat again for the rest of the morning.
At least, she tried not to.
But it wasn’t easy when the boy beside her acted like she had disrupted something she couldn’t see.
Daniel Kim didn’t speak again after that. He didn’t even look at her properly. Just sat there, calm and distant, like the conversation had never happened.
Still, Emma noticed small things she shouldn’t have noticed.
The way he didn’t lean back fully in his chair—like he was avoiding something behind him.
The way his fingers tapped the edge of his desk once, then stopped, like he had trained himself not to do it.
The way he kept glancing at the empty space behind the classroom door.
Like he was waiting for something.
Or someone.
First period ended with the usual noise—chairs scraping, students rushing out, the relief of freedom filling the room.
Emma stood slowly, reaching for her bag.
That was when she heard it.
“You’re still sitting there.”
Daniel’s voice was low, controlled, like he didn’t want anyone else to hear it.
Emma paused. “It’s just a seat.”
He finally looked at her properly this time.
And for a second, she almost regretted it.
“There are things people in this class don’t talk about,” he said.
Emma frowned slightly. “Like what?”
Daniel didn’t answer immediately. His eyes shifted away, toward the window again.
“Like that seat,” he said finally.
Emma followed his gaze.
Nothing about it looked special. Just wood. scratches. normal classroom wear.
But the way he looked at it made it feel different.
During lunch break, Emma sat alone on the rooftop like she usually did.
The school below was loud—students running, laughing, shouting like nothing in their lives carried weight.
She opened her lunchbox slowly.
But her mind wasn’t on food.
It was on him.
Daniel Kim.
The quiet boy who spoke like every sentence mattered too much to waste.
Back in Class 2-3, Daniel stayed behind after most students left.
He didn’t move from his seat.
Not even when the room emptied.
Only when the hallway outside grew quiet did he finally stand.
He walked to the empty desk behind Emma’s seat.
And stopped.
For a long moment, he just stood there.
Then, very quietly, he said something only the empty room could hear.
“They always sit there first.”
His hand tightened slightly on the edge of the desk.
Like the memory of it still had weight.
The next day started like the previous one.
But Emma noticed something different the moment she entered the classroom.
People were avoiding that seat.
Not openly.
Not obviously.
Just… subtly.
Like no one wanted to be the next person sitting there.
She walked in anyway.
And sat down again.
Daniel arrived a few minutes later.
When he saw her already sitting there, his steps slowed.
Just slightly.
Then he stopped beside her desk.
“You’re doing it again,” he said.
Emma looked up. “It’s just a seat.”
A pause.
This time, his expression wasn’t calm.
It was controlled—but not calm.
“That’s what everyone said too,” he replied.
Emma frowned. “Everyone?”
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the seat.
Not her.
Not the classroom.
Just the seat.
And when he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than before.
“Until they stopped coming to school.”
The air around them changed.
Not loud. Not dramatic.
Just heavier.
Emma didn’t speak for a moment.
Because for the first time since she met him, she wasn’t sure if he was exaggerating.
Or warning her.
- Writer
