September 24, 2029
🎼 Hanami Playlist #2
🎧 "Saturn'' - Sleeping At Last
"Some doors are not meant to keep people out"
"They are meant to keep something hidden"
The old room beside the library had been abandoned for years
Nobody knew exactly why
Some students said it had been closed after a construction problem
Others claimed the administration simply forgot about it.
There were even rumors that someone had goten sick inside the room years ago.
Nobody knew which story was true
But everyone agreed on one thing
The room was creepy
The windows were dusty
The paint had peeled from the walls
Old vines had crawled around the outside of the building
And the door had a habit of making a long, unpleasant creaking sound whenever someone opened it.
Which was why most students avoided it
Until one Monday morning, the Student Supreme Council was asked to clean it.
"Why us"
One of the SSC officeres started at the old building
"Because we're apparently free labor"
Nathaniel laughed
"We volunteered"
"I did not"
"You signed the attendance sheet"
"I was emotionally pressured"
"That's not how volunteering works"
The group laughed as they carried cleaning supplies toward the abandoned room.
Their advicer had given them a simple instruction
Clear everything inside
Clean the room
Remove anything taht was no longer usable
The administration was plannig to demolish or renovate the old room.
Nobody had been told which one.
Nobody had been told why
And nobody had been told what would replace it.
As far as the SSCÂ knew, they were simply clearing an abandoned space before construction began
Nathaniel pushed the door open
It groaned
Everyone went silent
"Okay," someone whisperedÂ
"What?''
"Nothing"
"Why did you say it like that?"
" I don't know"
Nathaniel stepped inside
Dust covered almost everything
Old broken chairs were stacked against one wall
A damaged shelf leaned dangerously near the window
There were boxes filled with outdated school materials
A cracked bulletin board hung crookedly
The room smelled like old paper and dust
Someone coughed
"Bro'
"Hm''
"Kung may multo dito, ikaw kumausap"
"Why me?"
"SSC President ka"
"That's not part of my job description"
Another student laughed
"Imagine, students council president by day, ghost negotiator by afternoon"
Nathaniel shook his head
"Just clean"
For the next several hours, they worked.
They removed the broken chairs
Carried out old cabinets
Sorted through boxes
Swept the flor
Wiped the windows
Removed damaged materialsÂ
There was nothing extra ordinary inside
Nothing that explained the rumors
Nothing that suggested the room would eventually become important
It was simply an old room would waiting for someone to decide what to do with it
At one point, Nathaniel found an old wooden music stand beneath a pile of broken furniture
He lifted it
"Still usable"
"Throw it away"
"Why?"
"It's crepy"
"It's a music strand"
Nathaniel laughed
"Everything looks haunted to you"
"Because this place is haunted"
"Then ask the ghost to finish cleaning"
By late afternoon, the room was empty
Bare walls
Bare Floor
Nothing left except dust and a few things the administration had instructed them to keep
Nathaniel looked diferent
It already felt different.
Not better
Just empty
"Done?"
"Done"
"Finally"
One of the officers took a picture of the empty room
"For documentation"
"Send it to the adviser"
"Already did"
Nathaniel looked at the empty room
"Let's go"
They left
The old room was locked again
And as far as the SSC was concerned, their part was finished
THREE DAYS LATER
Nathaniel had almost forgotten about the room
There were exams
Meetings
Student concerns
Forms
Announcements
The usual chaos
The old abandoned room became another insignificant task on a long list of responsibilities.
Until the administration asked him to deliver a small package
"Where?"
''Beside the library''
Nathaniel frowned
"The old room?"
"Yes"
"Isn't that being renovated"?
"Apparently"
"Just bring it there"
He didn't ask further
The hallway was quit that afternoon.
Construction work had apperently finishedÂ
The old room's door looked different
The walls around it had been freshly painted
The windows were no longer dusty
The hallway smelled faintly of new paint
Nathaniel stopped
He started at the door
This was the same room
He was sure of it
He looked at the package in his hands
Maybe they had already started renovating
He knocked
No answer
He knocked again
Still nothing
The door wasn't completely closed
Nathaniel pushed it open
And froze
The room was unrecognizable
It was no longer an abandoned classroom
It was enourmousÂ
Clean
Quiet
Carefully arrangedÂ
There was a large bed near one wall
AÂ piano stood bside the windows
Musicals intruments occupied en entire section
There were shelves of books
Art suppliesÂ
Canvases
A reading corner
A study desk
Several large monitors
A couchÂ
A private bathroom
Temperature monitors
And four air - conditioning units
All runningÂ
Nathaniel stared
"WHAT THE...…."
He stopped himself
Someone was sitting at the paino
A girl
She was wearing an oversized hoodie and loose pants
Nothing fancy
Nothing that suggested she cared about appearances
Her fingers moved across the keys
Slow
Controlled
Her expressionwas completely blank
Nathaniel stood in the doorway
She didnt look at him
He wasn't sure whether she had noticed him
Then she stopped playing
Her eyes moved toward him
Cold
Still
UnreadableÂ
No embarrassment
No curiosity
Nothing
Nathaniel suddenly felt as though he had walked into a place where he wasn't supposed to exist
"I'm sorry"
The girl stared at him
"Why are you here"
Her voice was calm
Not rude
Not welcoming
Just flat
"I was told to deliver this"
He lifted the package slightly
She pointed toward an empty table
"Put it there"
Nathaniel walked inside
He placed the package on the tableÂ
He looked around again
He couldn't help it
"This is"
He paused
"A classroom?
"Yes"
He looked at the be
Then the piano
Then the monitors
Then the four airconditioners
"Right"
Silence
The girl returned to the piano
Nathaniel remained standing for another second
He didn't know what ro say
So he asked the first thing that came to mind
"You're the transferee?"
She looked at him
"Apparently"
Nathaniel blinked.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I transferred here."
"Oh."
Another silence.
He didn't know whether she was uninterested or simply incapable of caring about the conversation.
Then he remembered something.
"What's your name?"
"Sakura."
He waited.
She didn't offer anything else.
"Sakura...?"
She looked at him.
"I already answered."
Nathaniel nodded slowly.
"Right."
He turned toward the door.
Before leaving, he looked back.
She had already started playing again.
As if he had never been there.
Nathaniel closed the door.
He stood in the hallway.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
He looked at the renovated room.
Then at the package receipt.
Then back at the door.
Three days ago, this place had been filled with dust, broken chairs, and discarded furniture.
Now it looked like a private living space hidden inside the school.
And there was a girl inside it.
A girl nobody seemed to know existed.
Nathaniel took a breath.
Then walked away.
He didn't tell anyone.
Not his friends.
Not the SSC.
Not his classmates.
Not even his closest friend.
When someone eventually asked him about the renovated room, he simply shrugged.
"Finished na daw."
"May gagamit?"
"Probably."
"Who?"
Nathaniel looked down at his phone.
"Don't know."
It was the first lie.
And he had no intention of correcting it.
By the end of the week, rumors about the room had already spread.
"May bago raw na room beside the library."
"Renovated daw."
"May transferee daw."
"Girl daw."
"Why haven't we seen her?"
"Secret."
"Maybe she's sick."
"Maybe she's rich."
"Maybe she's a vampire."
Nathaniel heard the conversations.
He never participated.
Whenever someone mentioned the mysterious transferee, he kept his expression neutral.
Because he knew something they didn't.
There really was a girl.
Her name was Sakura.
She lived inside that strange classroom.
She played the piano.
And she didn't seem interested in anyone knowing she existed.
So Nathaniel decided they wouldn't.
At least not because of him.
Inside the room, Sakura continued her lessons.
A monitor displayed an online lecture.
A teacher spoke through the speakers.
Sakura listened.
No classmates.
No classroom noise.
No whispers.
No laughter.
No friends.
Just the controlled temperature of the room and the steady sound of the teacher's voice.
Her eyes remained on the screen.
Then, for no obvious reason, she looked toward the door.
She remembered the boy.
Nathaniel.
She didn't know his surname.
She didn't care to know it.
He had entered.
Delivered something.
Asked questions.
Left.
Nothing about the encounter seemed important.
She returned her attention to the lesson.
Later that evening, one of the environmental monitors recorded something unusual.
For exactly three minutes and twelve seconds, the room's temperature increased by a fraction of a degree.
Then it returned to normal.
No malfunction was detected.
No equipment had changed.
No door had been opened.
The system recorded the event.
Then stored it among thousands of other readings.
H-01 — stable.
Sakura never saw the notification.
Nathaniel never knew it existed.
And somewhere far away, inside a file that had not been opened in years, another designation remained untouched.
H-02.
---
 🧵 Thread of the Chapter
"A secret does not always begin with a lie.
Sometimes, it begins with one person choosing to remain silent."
---
 🌙 Author's Note
Dear Hinami,
Some mysteries don't announce themselves.
They simply sit behind a closed door—
waiting for someone to notice.
And sometimes, the person who notices first is the one who knows enough to keep quiet.
—Haraj🤍