Rin woke with a jolt, a cold string of saliva trailing from the corner of his mouth. He didn't remember falling asleep.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
He pushed open the dining room door. Chairs were neatly arranged. Plates untouched. No dust. No sound. No presence. It felt... paused. Like something had been there, and simply decided to stop existing.
Rin stepped outside.
The streets were crowded.
Evening light bled across the sky, dim and heavy, yet the people moved as if nothing was wrong. They walked in perfect rhythm—step, step, turn, pause—like a broken pattern repeating itself.
And they were all smiling.
Not talking. Not laughing.
Just... smiling.
Rin slowed.
Something twisted in his chest.
A woman passed him. Her lips stretched too wide, trembling slightly, as if the muscles were being forced to hold that expression. Her eyes didn't match—wide, unblinking, glassy. She didn't look at him... but she knew he was there.
Another man brushed past.
Same smile.
Same eyes.
No change. No variation. No life.
Rin's breath grew shallow.
This wasn't normal.
Humans didn't do this. Humans felt things—anger, sorrow, fear. Their faces changed, cracked, broke under emotion.
But here...
Nothing broke.
The smiles stayed.
The wider Rin looked, the worse it became. Every face—identical in expression. Every movement—slightly delayed, like puppets struggling to keep up with invisible strings.
And then he noticed it.
No one blinked.
Not once.
A slow chill crawled up his spine.
This wasn't a dream.
Dreams had chaos. Dreams made no sense.
This... was controlled.
Perfect.
Wrong.
A place seen through the eyes of something that didn't understand humans—something that tried to recreate them... and failed.
And yet—
Rin felt calm.
No fear. No panic.
Just a quiet, unsettling comfort settling deep inside him.
For the first time in his life...
He fit in.
Rin scrolled for a while, searching for any sign of the others.
Nothing.
Then—movement.
Kito.
Walking down the street.
Kito noticed him.
And then—
He sprinted.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
He stopped right in front of Rin, slightly out of breath, eyes darting around.
"You finally woke up."
His voice was low, strained.
"I woke up a few hours before you. No one was in the house... and you were sleeping like someone knocked you out."
Rin rubbed his temples. "I just slept... I don't know what happened."
They didn't say anything after that.
They just... walked.
Together, they searched every corner of the human habitat. Every street. Every alley. Every empty building.
Nothing.
No trace.
No sound.
Only those people.
Watching.
Smiling.
By the time they returned, night had already swallowed the sky.
The house stood still.
Waiting.
They stepped inside.
"Where have you two been?"
The voice came from the dining room.
Rin and Kito froze.
Slowly... they looked up.
Five figures sat at the table.
Their friends.
All of them.
Smiling.
Wide.
Unmoving.
Their eyes—too open, too still—locked onto Rin and Kito.
Not a single blink.
Sweat rolled down Kito's neck.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Only the smiles remained.
They sat down.
They didn't remember deciding to.
The chairs creaked softly as they pulled themselves in.
Kito leaned closer to Rin, whispering under his breath, "Something's wrong..."
Rin didn't reply.
He was staring.
Shina tilted her head slightly.
"Hey... what are you two murmuring about?"
Her voice sounded normal.
Too normal.
Yuri walked in from the kitchen, carrying food.
Her steps were smooth.
Perfect.
She placed the plates in front of them.
For a brief moment—
her hand trembled.
Or maybe...
it glitched.
Rin and Kito exchanged a look.
Slowly, they took a bite.
The moment it touched their tongues—
they spat it out.
It tasted like nothing.
No salt. No warmth. No life.
Just... empty.
Silence filled the table again.
The smiles never faded.
Later that night.
Kito entered Rin's room, holding a pillow.
Rin raised an eyebrow. "Man... I'm not like that."
"Shut up," Kito snapped, dropping the pillow.
Neither of them laughed.
They lay on the bed.
Wide awake.
Listening.
Waiting.
The house made no sound.
Not even breathing.
Then—
creeeaaak...
The door slowly opened.
Just a little.
Darkness filled the gap.
And inside it—
a face.
Barely visible.
But enough.
A stretched smile.
Eyes wide.
Unblinking.
Shina.
Standing there.
Watching them.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Just... watching.
Kito reacted instantly.
He lunged forward and slammed his foot into her face—
BANG!
The door shut hard.
Kito stumbled back, breathing heavily, his whole body shaking.
Rin shot up. "What were you thinking?! You just kicked Shina in the face!"
Kito slowly turned toward him.
His expression was pale.
Terrified.
"That..."
He swallowed.
"...is definitely not our friend."
AUTHOR:
Thank for reading the chapter please leave your comments below.