CHAPTER 4, FEAR IN THE CLASSROOM
Morning arrived quietly.
A soft pale light slipped through the thin curtains of Jay's room, spreading slowly across the floor and climbing the wall beside his bed. Dust particles floated lazily in the air, glowing faintly in the sunlight.
Jay opened his eyes.
For a few seconds he didn't move.
His mind felt heavy… not exactly tired, but unsettled. As if something important had happened recently, something his thoughts were trying to reach but couldn't quite grasp.
He stared at the ceiling.
The same ceiling he had looked at hundreds of times before.
The small crack in the corner was still there, stretching slightly like a thin line drawn across the white paint.
The fan above him turned slowly, its quiet hum filling the room.
Everything looked ordinary.
Yet Jay didn't feel normal.
He blinked slowly and sat up.
The first thing he noticed was the faint soreness in his body. It wasn't strong enough to stop him from moving, but it was there—like the lingering ache after heavy physical effort.
Jay rubbed the back of his neck and looked around his room.
His desk was covered with notebooks and textbooks from the previous day.
His school uniform hung neatly on the chair.
The window was slightly open, letting cool morning air drift inside.
For a moment Jay just sat there, silent, trying to organize his thoughts.
Then his gaze moved to the mirror across the room.
And the bandage on the side of his head immediately caught his attention.
He stood up and walked closer.
The white cloth wrapped around his head looked clean, but it was clearly covering a wound.
Jay touched it gently.
A sharp sting answered him.
"…So it wasn't just my imagination."
He frowned slightly.
Something had definitely happened yesterday.
But no matter how much he tried to remember, the memory refused to return.
The last thing he clearly remembered was entering the classroom after lunch.
The girl standing beside her messy desk.
The laughter of the boys.
After that…
Everything disappeared into darkness.
Jay sighed softly and turned away from the mirror.
"Maybe I fell or something…"
But even as he said it, the explanation didn't feel convincing.
Still, there was no point thinking about it forever.
He had school.
If something had really happened yesterday, people there would probably talk about it.
Jay changed into his uniform, grabbed his bag, and left the house.
—
The morning air outside was cool.
The streets were already busy with students heading toward school.
Jay walked quietly along the familiar path.
Usually he kept his head down, lost in his own thoughts.
But today something felt slightly different.
He noticed people looking at him.
Not everyone.
But enough for him to feel it.
A pair of students whispered as he passed them.
Two girls near the gate stopped talking for a moment when he walked by.
Jay frowned faintly.
"Did I forget something…?"
He continued walking and entered the school grounds.
The courtyard was full of students gathering before classes began.
Conversations buzzed through the air.
Laughter.
Footsteps.
The usual morning chaos.
But the moment Jay stepped through the gate…
Something changed.
It wasn't sudden silence.
But the atmosphere shifted.
A few nearby students noticed him and quietly nudged their friends.
Heads turned.
Eyes followed him.
Jay slowed down slightly.
"…Why are they staring?"
He tried to ignore it and kept walking toward the main building.
As he passed a group of boys near the staircase, he heard a low whisper.
"That's him."
Another voice replied nervously.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah… it's him."
Jay stopped.
His footsteps halted on the stone floor.
He turned his head slightly.
But the boys immediately looked away.
One of them pretended to check his phone.
Another suddenly became very interested in tying his shoelaces.
Jay's eyebrows drew together.
"From yesterday…?" one of them muttered under his breath.
Jay couldn't hear everything clearly.
But one word reached him.
Yesterday.
His chest tightened a little.
Something definitely happened.
But why couldn't he remember it?
Jay continued walking, his thoughts growing heavier with each step.
—
When he reached his classroom, the door was half open.
Voices drifted from inside.
Normal conversations.
Jay pushed the door gently and stepped inside.
The reaction was immediate.
Every conversation stopped.
Chairs creaked as several students turned around at the same time.
Dozens of eyes landed on him.
The entire class fell silent.
Jay froze near the doorway.
The sudden quiet felt unnatural.
"What…?"
No one answered.
Students simply stared.
Some with curiosity.
Some with unease.
And a few with clear fear.
Jay slowly walked toward his seat.
As he moved through the aisle, he noticed something strange.
Students slightly moved their chairs away.
Some pulled their legs closer to avoid touching him.
It was subtle.
But impossible to ignore.
Jay sat down.
The desk felt the same as always.
But the atmosphere around him was completely different.
He looked at the boy sitting in front of him.
"Hey."
The boy stiffened.
Jay leaned forward slightly.
"What happened yesterday?"
The boy didn't respond immediately.
His shoulders looked tense.
After a moment he spoke quietly.
"You… really don't remember?"
Jay's eyes narrowed.
"Remember what?"
The boy slowly turned around.
His face looked pale.
As if he wasn't sure whether he should be talking about this.
"Yesterday… after someone hit you with that bottle…"
Jay felt his heartbeat quicken.
"…What bottle?"
The boy swallowed.
"You collapsed."
"Everyone thought you were out."
Jay listened silently.
Then the boy continued in a lower voice.
"But then you stood up."
Jay's fingers tightened on the desk.
"And?"
The boy hesitated.
Then he whispered.
"Your eyes turned red."
Jay blinked.
"…Red?"
"You looked… different."
"How?"
"You weren't panicking," the boy said.
"You didn't even look angry."
"You just… attacked them."
Jay stared at him.
"That's not possible."
"It is," the boy replied quickly.
"You knocked them down one by one."
"Like it was nothing."
"The whole class saw it."
Jay's mind struggled to process the words.
Him?
Fighting?
And winning?
That didn't match the person he knew himself to be.
Jay looked around the classroom again.
Several students were secretly watching him.
But the moment he met their eyes, they quickly looked away.
Not out of embarrassment.
Out of caution.
As if they didn't want to attract his attention.
Jay's chest felt tight.
Red eyes.
A fight he couldn't remember.
The silent shadow he had seen in that strange dark space.
Pieces of something unknown were slowly gathering together.
Then suddenly—
The classroom door slammed open.
The sound echoed through the room.
Everyone looked up.
Three boys walked inside.
Their movements were stiff.
Their faces bruised.
One had a bandage across his nose.
Another had a swollen lip.
Jay recognized them immediately.
The same boys from yesterday.
The bullies.
For a moment the room felt frozen.
The boys' eyes moved across the classroom.
Then they saw Jay.
And they stopped walking.
A flicker of fear crossed their faces.
Real fear.
But it quickly turned into anger.
The tallest one stepped forward.
"So you decided to show up again."
Jay slowly stood from his seat.
He didn't even realize he was doing it.
Something inside him moved on its own.
The bully pointed a finger at him.
"You think what happened yesterday is finished?"
Jay remained silent.
His expression calm.
But deep inside his mind…
In that endless dark void…
The silent shadow still stood there.
Watching.
Waiting.
And for the briefest moment—
A faint crimson light flickered in Jay's eyes.
Before disappearing again.