The silence stretched, thick and suffocating. Taehyun's eyes, sharp and cold, drilled into Beomgyu, dissecting his every tremor, every flicker of fear. Beomgyu felt his resolve crumbling, his carefully constructed facade cracking under the relentless pressure.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the smile vanished. Taehyun's face returned to its usual mask of amusement, a flicker of something like pity in his gaze. He shrugged, the gesture nonchalant yet somehow predatory.
"Just kidding," he said, his voice back to its usual teasing lilt. "Don't want to jump to conclusions, do we?"
And that night he couldn't sleep.
***
The morning light felt harsh against Beomgyu's eyelids, mirroring the storm brewing within him. Sleep had been a distant visitor the previous night, haunted by the chilling images hidden in his drawer. He trudged out of his dorm room, a ghost of his usual self. He hadn't slept well, haunted by flashes of the nightmarish pictures and the uncertainty of what tomorrow would bring. He was lost in his own dark thoughts when a familiar voice cut through the fog.
"Don't leave for school without breakfast, sleepyhead!" Yeonjun appeared beside him, his smile as bright as the morning sun. Beomgyu managed a weak smile in return, the words he desperately needed to say caught in his throat.
"Yeonjun, we need to talk," he rasped, his voice raw with exhaustion and anxiety.
Yeonjun's smile faltered, his eyes searching Beomgyu's face. "Sure, what's wrong?" he asked, his concern evident.
Beomgyu opened his mouth, ready to spill the truth about the photos and the burden they carried. But before he could utter a word, a whirlwind in the form of Soobin burst through the hallway.
"Dudes, we're gonna be late for that chemistry quiz!" he exclaimed, then spotted Beomgyu. "Hey, Beomgyu! Wanna join us? It's gonna be brutal."
Yeonjun shot him a death glare. "No way, he needs breakfast first. He doesn't want to face Professor Bang on an empty stomach."
Soobin's eyebrows shot up. "That's a good point. But we really don't wanna be late. Maybe grab something on the way?"
Yeonjun considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, but Beomgyu picks. He knows all the good breakfast spots near the library."
Beomgyu, surprised but grateful for the distraction, found himself swept along by Soobin and Yeonjun. The anxiety over the photos remained, a festering wound beneath the surface.
***
The chemistry quiz was a blur. Beomgyu, still grappling with the weight of his secret, managed to navigate the equations and formulas on autopilot.
merging from the classroom, a gaggle of friends - Yeonjun, Soobin, Yuna, Wooyoung, and Heesung - spilled out onto the sun-drenched campus, their collective relief morphing into playful banter.
Beomgyu, still grappling with the weight of his secret, walked slightly apart, a shadow amidst the boisterous group. He smiled occasionally, laughed once or twice, but the echo of the photos remained, a chilling undercurrent to his outward normalcy. Beomgyu, lost in his internal turmoil, barely registered the discussion about upcoming concerts and the latest campus drama.
Suddenly, a figure materialized before them, breathless and frantic. It was Jihoon, a junior known for his nervous energy and perpetual state of fluster. He swallowed audibly, his eyes wide with panic.
"Do you guys know... our senior? Xiyeon?" he stammered.
Yeonjun, eyebrows furrowed, nodded cautiously. "Yeah, what about her?"
Before Jihoon could answer, his voice choked by emotion, Yuna gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. Whispers erupted like popcorn kernels, eyes frantically searching each other's faces.
"She took her life," Jihoon choked out, the words echoing like a thunderclap.
Yeonjun's smile, usually quick and easy, faltered. He blinked, the playful glint in his eyes dimming to a dull shock. "Xiyeon?" he echoed, his voice barely above a whisper, as if questioning the very fabric of reality.
Beomgyu, already lost in his own turmoil, felt the news settle on him like a physical blow. His breath hitched, a choked gasp trapped in his throat. His eyes, wide and haunted, darted from face to face, searching for an explanation that wouldn't come.
Heesung, the usually quiet observer, finally found his voice. It was a small, broken thing, barely audible above the buzzing in his ears. "But... how?" he stammered, his hands trembling as he reached for Wooyoung, seeking a grounding touch.
but two people couldn't stop wondering if these deaths were really just a coincidence.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
hello bestiessss, sorryy for updating very late, Alsooooo alsoooo i'm working on 2 different stories rn and they'll be published soon tooo. and also i'd like you guys to follow my instagram (for my writing works edits and stuff) rightttt. i love y'allll.
also sorry for like short and weird chapters for this work, the actual story hasn't started yet hehe.
