By the time Ita stepped back into the classroom, his hands had finally stopped shaking.
Almost.
The hallway noise faded behind him as the door closed with a soft click. The classroom felt warm compared to the storage room . sunlight spilling across desks, the low murmur of students talking before the lesson resumed.
Normal.
Too normal.
Kiel was half-turned in his seat, whispering something to the guy behind him, but the second he spotted Ita, he straightened up.
"There he is " Kiel grinned. "You get lost in there? Start solving equations for fun?"
Ita forced his legs to move normally. Not too fast. Not too stiff.
He set the math book on the teacher's desk without saying anything and returned to his seat.
Ms. Han gave him an approving nod. "thank you, Ita "
He nodded back silently.
When he sat down, Kiel leaned closer. "You took forever. Were you reading ahead without me? The betrayel..."
Ita stared at his notebook for a second longer than necessary.
"I tripped." he muttered quietly.
Kiel blinked. " You tripped? On what? A book?"
"Floor.." Ita replied.
Kiel squinted at him. " The floor..attacked you?"
Ita didn't answer.
Kiel studied his face for a second, the joking expression fading slightly.
"You sure youre okay?" he asked under his breath.
Ita nodded once.
Too quickly.
The teacher began explaining the next problem, writing numbers across the board. The scratching of chalk filled the room.
Ita tried to focus.
He really did.
But the storage room replayed in his mind.
The crying.
The touch.
That face turning toward him.
Those black eyes.
He swallowed and gripped his pencil tighter.
It wasn't real.
But it felt real.
He glanced at the window.
For a split second,
He thought he saw a reflection that wasn't his.
A girl standing behind him.
Head slightly tilted.
Smiling.
He blinked.
It was gone.
"Ita."
He flinched.
Kiel's elbow nudged him gently. "You zoned out."
Ita looked at the board.
Ms. Han had written a long equation and circled part of it.
"Can anyone solve this??" she asked.
The class went quiet.
Then,
"Ita?" she said expectantly.
All eyes turned toward him.
His heart pounded.
He stood slowly, legs steady despite everything swirling in his head. He walked to the board, picked up the chalk, and began solving the problem.
His hand moved automatically.
Numbers made sense.
Numbers didn't whisper.
They didn't smile at him.
They followed rules.
He finished the solution and stepped back.
Ms. Han smiled. "Exactly. Class, pay attention to how he rearranged the variables okay?"
A few students groaned quietly.
Kiel clapped once under his breath when Ita sat back down. "Show off duh"
Ita almost smiled.
Almost.
"next time let me struggle " Kiel whispered dramatically. "you make the rest of us look bad."
"You weren't going to answer. " Ita murmured.
"True" Kiel admitted. "But thats not the point"
Ita felt something shift in his chest.
Light.
Small.
But real.
Kiel leaned back in his chair. "You know, if you ever decide to become evil, you could probably be an evil math person. Makin everyone crying while struggling in math"
Ita blinked at him.
"That doesnt even make sense."
"It doesnt have to" Kiel shrugged. "It just sounds cool"
Ita let out the faintest breath that might've been a laugh.
Kiel noticed immediately.
"whoaaaaaa," he whispered dramatically. "Was that a laugh?did i do something to win such a best gift like this?"
"shut up." Ita muttered, but there was no bite to it.
For a moment,
Just a moment,
The world felt steady again.
The classroom noise faded into a soft background hum. The sunlight felt warmer. The shadows in the corners of the room didn't seem as thick.
Kiel tapped his pen against Ita's notebook. "Youre staying at my place again tonight if you want"
Ita's fingers paused.
"just saying." Kiel added casually. "My mom didnt seem to mind and you didnt look like you hated it."
Hated it.
Ita thought about the warm kitchen. The soft morning light. The way no one raised their voice.
"i didnt hate it." he said quietly.
"good." Kiel replied. " Because i'd hate going back to being bored alone."
Ita didn't look at him, but he felt something warm bloom behind his ribs.
Gratitude.
And something else.
Fear.
Because the ghosts were still there.
He felt them even now.
In the reflection of the classroom window.
In the slight chill that brushed against his neck.
Waiting.
Watching.
But when Kiel leaned over again and whispered, "If you solve one more problem,i treat you lunch"
Ita found himself focusing on that instead.
On the normalcy.
On the jokes.
On the sound of Kiel's voice.
And for the rest of the class period,
He almost forgot that something in the dark had smiled at him.