Chapter 4: Hidden Under the Bench
The hallway leading to the computer lab always smelled faintly of overheated processors and instant coffee from the faculty room down the corridor. Ryugenn walked with his usual measured steps, backpack slung over one shoulder, already mentally running through today's lab assignment: implementing a simple hash table with collision resolution. Nothing too exciting, but he liked the quiet logic of it.
He was almost at the stairwell landing when he saw her.
Naomi sat on the third step from the bottom again—like yesterday, like the stairwell had quietly claimed her as its regular visitor. Her knees were drawn up, arms loosely wrapped around them. Silver hair fell forward, hiding most of her face, but the way her shoulders curved inward told him everything the expression didn't.
She looked… smaller today. Not just physically. Smaller in the way people do when something inside them has quietly cracked.
Ryugenn slowed without thinking. His sneakers made the tiniest squeak against the polished floor.
Should I keep walking?
The thought came automatically. He wasn't the type to insert himself into other people's problems. Most days he preferred being the background character—head down, code open, world at a safe distance.
But yesterday she'd said his name like it mattered.
And today the sky outside the tall window was the exact shade of blue that made everything feel possible… except for the girl sitting alone on cold concrete.
He stopped.
"Hey."
Naomi's head lifted slowly. Gray-blue eyes met his—tired, guarded, but not hostile.
"You again," she murmured. Almost the same words as yesterday, but softer this time. Less edge.
Ryugenn rubbed the strap of his backpack. "Yeah. Me again." He hesitated, then asked the question that had been sitting on his tongue since he saw her. "What happened? You're not going to lab?"
She looked away, toward the window where sunlight painted golden rectangles on the opposite wall. "It's nothing. I just… don't feel like going today."
He shifted his weight. The hallway was empty now; most students had already filed into classrooms. Only the distant murmur of a lecture leaked through closed doors.
"If you miss lab like this," he said carefully, "you'll fall behind. Professor doesn't repeat demonstrations."
Naomi gave a small, tired huff. "I know."
A beat passed.
"Then… how will you do the lab class?" she asked, glancing at him sideways. There was something almost challenging in her tone, like she was testing whether he'd actually care enough to answer.
Ryugenn opened his mouth, closed it. Then said the first honest thing that came to mind.
"If you miss it, you won't understand the next one. And the one after that. It stacks."
She studied him for a long moment. Then, quietly: "My lab ID is lost. And my project file too. The one with all the weekly submissions and the signature sheet." Her voice dropped lower. "How am I supposed to go without any of that?"
Ryugenn blinked.
Lost ID. Missing file. That wasn't just forgetfulness. That was the kind of thing that could get someone barred from the lab for the rest of the semester if the professor was in a strict mood.
He exhaled through his nose. "No problem," he said. "I'll help you find them."
Naomi's eyes widened—just a fraction. "What?"
"I'll help look. We can start now."
She stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "But… your lab class. You'll miss it."
"I'll catch up." He shrugged one shoulder. "I can cover everything in an hour later if I have to. Professor posts the code skeleton online anyway."
Naomi's lips parted, then pressed together again. Something flickered across her face—surprise, maybe gratitude, maybe disbelief—but she hid it quickly behind that familiar neutral mask.
"You don't have to do this," she said. "Don't miss class because of me."
Ryugenn met her gaze steadily. "I don't like leaving someone in trouble when I can do something about it." He paused, then added more quietly, "And if you're stuck later… I can explain whatever you miss. No big deal."
For a second she just looked at him.
Then she stood—slowly, like she was still deciding whether this was real.
"…Fine," she said at last. "But only because I don't want to explain to Professor Charles why my attendance is suddenly zero."
A tiny, reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Ryugenn felt something warm and unfamiliar bloom in his chest. He ignored it.
"Where did you last see them?" he asked.
"Near the main lab entrance yesterday afternoon. I set my bag down for literally thirty seconds to tie my shoelace. When I looked back… gone."
They started walking together down the quieter side corridor—the one lined with empty tutorial rooms and storage closets most students never used.
Ryugenn kept his pace slow so she wouldn't feel rushed. Naomi walked beside him, arms crossed, eyes scanning the floor like the ID card might suddenly materialize out of thin air.
They checked the obvious places first: the lost-and-found box outside the lab (empty except for a cracked phone case and three mismatched earbuds), under the benches near the water cooler (nothing but dust and an old energy drink can), even the gap behind the vending machine (a graveyard of wrappers and one very dead cockroach).
Nothing.
After fifteen minutes Naomi stopped, leaning her back against the wall. "This is pointless. Someone probably took them to mess with me."
Ryugenn frowned. "Why would anyone do that?"
She gave a small, bitter laugh. "You'd be surprised how many people find entertainment in watching someone else struggle."
He didn't like the sound of that.
They kept looking anyway.
Eventually they reached the far end of the corridor—a stretch of rooms that hadn't been used since last semester's renovations. The doors were locked, lights off, windows papered over from the inside.
Ryugenn tried one handle anyway. Locked.
Then the next.
Also locked.
Then the third.
It opened.
The door swung inward with a soft creak.
Inside was a small, dim classroom—desks pushed haphazardly against the walls, a dusty whiteboard still showing faint traces of last year's equations. Afternoon light filtered weakly through the paper-covered windows, turning everything sepia.
Naomi stepped in after him, hesitant.
Ryugenn scanned the room. "Wait here a second."
He walked between the rows. Under the second bench from the back, half-hidden by a forgotten chair leg, he saw it.
A slim black ID card holder. And beside it—a thin blue project file with "Naomi – Data Structures Lab" written in neat silver marker on the cover.
He crouched, picked them up.
"Found them."
Naomi hurried over. Her fingers brushed his as she took the items—cool skin, quick withdrawal.
She stared down at the file like it might vanish again. Flipped it open. Everything was there: weekly sheets, code printouts, even Professor Charles's grumpy signature in red ink.
"How…?" she whispered.
Ryugenn straightened. "They were right here. Under the bench."
Naomi looked around the empty room. "I've never been in this classroom. Not once. This side of the building is always locked."
Ryugenn's brows drew together. "Then someone moved them."
"Moved them?" She met his eyes. "You mean… took them on purpose and hid them here?"
"Looks like it."
A long silence.
Naomi clutched the file tighter against her chest. When she spoke again, her voice was very small.
"…Thank you."
Ryugenn shrugged, suddenly awkward. "No big deal."
"It is to me."
She looked at him then—really looked. Gray-blue eyes softer than he'd ever seen them.
For a heartbeat neither of them moved.
Then Naomi gave a tiny nod, like she'd decided something. "I should go. Before someone sees us in here and thinks we're breaking in."
"Yeah."
She turned toward the door.
Ryugenn followed.
They stepped back into the corridor. Naomi paused just outside, clutching her recovered things like a shield.
"I'll see you around," she said quietly.
He nodded. "Yeah. See you."
She walked away—silver hair catching the last slanted sunlight, steps a little lighter than before.
Ryugenn watched her go until she turned the corner.
Then he let out a long breath.
The hallway felt strangely quiet now.
He started walking back toward the lab, already calculating how much of the session he'd missed and how fast he could copy notes from Shin later.
He'd only taken five steps when—
A hand clamped around his wrist.
Hard.
Before he could react, he was yanked sideways—back into the same dim classroom they'd just left.
The door slammed shut behind him.
Darkness swallowed the space.
Ryugenn spun, heart slamming against his ribs.
Someone stood between him and the exit.
A silhouette against the faint light leaking under the door.
Silent.
Watching.
(End of Chapter 4)