It was 11 PM.
Room 05 was quiet except for the faint sound of unpacking.
Eden stood near the desk, placing his books one by one into a small stack. The room still felt unfamiliar, as if it belonged to someone else.
He opened his bag again and reached for another book.
As he placed it on the desk, something caught his attention.
One of the drawers was slightly open.
Eden frowned faintly.
He didn't remember touching it earlier.
Slowly, he pulled the drawer open.
Inside, there was nothing except a single sheet of paper.
Printed on the paper was a QR code.
For a moment Eden simply stared at it.
Then he took out his phone and scanned it.
A video opened.
The screen flickered.
Then the image appeared.
It was the tower.
And standing on the edge—
Eden.
His hands were shaking violently as he stood at the edge of the rooftop.
The wind pushed against him.
Far below, a crowd had gathered.
The clip ended abruptly.
For a moment the screen went black.
Then white text appeared.
Next time complete it.
A second line slowly appeared underneath.
You almost disappointed everyone watching.
Eden's fingers froze around the phone.
Eden stared at the frozen frame on his phone.
The image showed him standing near the edge of the tower.
His back facing the camera.
His hands trembling.
Eden's breathing slowly became uneven.
Something about the angle suddenly felt… wrong.
He replayed the clip.
Again.
And again.
Then it struck him.
The camera wasn't below.
It wasn't part of the crowd.
It was behind him.
Eden froze.
Which meant only one thing.
Someone had been standing on the rooftop with him that day.
Watching.
Recording.
Eden's fingers tightened around the phone.
A thin layer of sweat formed along his temples.
His chest felt heavy.
The thought kept repeating inside his head.
Someone was there.
And he never saw them.
The next clip started playing.
This time the screen showed a dark room.
Eden was sitting on the floor.
In front of him was a pair of boots.
His hands were trembling as he polished them, the cloth moving nervously over the leather.
Someone behind the camera spoke quietly, but the voice was distorted.
Then the screen went black.
Another sentence appeared.
"It can be worse than before. Keep your mouth shut."
Eden's breathing became uneven.
Cold sweat formed at his temples.
Before another clip could begin loading, he quickly stopped the video and removed the QR code from the phone screen.
His fingers tightened around the paper.
He tore it apart.
Once.
Then again.
The pieces scattered across the floor.
For a moment Eden just sat there, staring at the torn paper.
He forced his hands to steady against the desk.
But after a few seconds he forced himself to stand.
"No…" he murmured under his breath.
His voice was barely audible.
"This isn't happening again."
He looked around the room slowly.
"I'm not invisible anymore."
He took a slow breath.
"Things are different now," he murmured.
The words sounded more like reassurance than certainty.
Eden looked down at his hands.
He clenched them once, then turned back to the suitcase.
Without another word, he continued unpacking.
This time faster.
---
The hostel corridor was quiet.
Most lights had already been turned off for the night.
Keris walked slowly past the row of rooms.
His steps were unhurried.
Room Five.
The light beneath the door was still on.
Keris paused for a moment.
Students sometimes stayed awake late.
Nothing unusual about that.
But something else caught his attention.
His eyes shifted upward.
The corridor surveillance camera above the door.
Keris stepped closer.
He tilted his head slightly while observing it.
The angle felt… different.
Just slightly.
As if someone had adjusted it.
Keris looked at the door again.
Then back at the camera.
He didn't knock.
Instead he stepped back and continued walking down the corridor.
As he left, a quiet thought crossed his mind.
Someone touched that camera.
---
At the same moment—
Inside the principal's cabin, the lights were still on.
Adrian sat behind his desk, studying the list of students who had cancelled their counselling sessions.
A few names were marked.
Beside several of them, small notes had been written.
His phone buzzed.
Adrian glanced at the screen.
A motion detection alert.
The notification came from Room 05.
Adrian studied it for a moment.
The system only reacted to unusual movement patterns.
"So someone finally touched it," he murmured.
Unknown to most people at Hillcrest, Adrian had installed additional safety measures in Room 05 twenty-four hours earlier.
The system was connected directly to his phone.
If anyone entered the room unexpectedly, it would notify him immediately.
Adrian picked up his phone again and typed a short message.
To Raymond:
Go to Eden's room. Tell him that if he needs anything, he can call the staff at any time.
He paused before adding another line.
He has permission.
Adrian placed the phone back on the desk.
Somewhere in the hostel corridor, Raymond had already received the message.
A soft knock sounded on the door.
Eden quickly pushed the torn pieces of paper closer to the drawer with his foot.
"Come in," he said.
The door opened.
Raymond stepped inside.
His presence was calm as always.
"Principal Adrian asked me to check if you need anything," Raymond said.
Eden shook his head.
"No… I'm fine."
Raymond nodded once.
His eyes briefly moved around the room.
Desk.
Suitcase.
Drawer.
Then the floor.
Small torn paper fragments near Eden's feet.
Raymond said nothing about it.
He simply looked back at Eden.
"If you need anything," he said calmly, "call the staff."
Eden nodded again.
Raymond turned and walked out.
The door closed quietly.
Outside the room, Raymond paused.
His eyes briefly shifted toward the door again.
Then he continued walking down the corridor.
A single thought crossed his mind.
Raymond glanced once more at the closed door before walking away.
At Principal cabin --
Adrian attention returned to the list.
"Forty percent received money," he said quietly.
"But what about the remaining sixty percent?"
He leaned back slightly.
"If they didn't receive money… what did they gain by staying away from counselling?"
Adrian opened another folder.
Inside were the background records of every student.
Family situations.
Academic history.
Financial status.
Adrian began scanning through the files slowly.
Looking for patterns.
Anything that connected them.
Several minutes passed while Adrian continued scanning the student files.
The silence inside the cabin was broken by a knock.
"Come in," Adrian said.
Professor Finch stepped inside.
"Sir, you called this late?"
Adrian nodded slightly.
"Professor Finch," he said calmly, "you've been part of Hillcrest for many years."
"Yes, sir."
"You've seen several principals come and go."
Finch nodded again.
"Quite a few."
"And professors transferred."
"Yes."
"And incidents that were never completely resolved."
Finch hesitated slightly before answering.
"That also happens."
Adrian leaned back in his chair.
"For an institution like Hillcrest… that must create long memories."
Finch adjusted his glasses.
"It does."
Adrian tapped the pen lightly against the desk.
"In your opinion," he said, "who would feel the most discomfort because of my arrival?"
Professor Finch did not take long to answer.
"The Devil Trio, sir."
Adrian's expression remained unchanged.
"Anyone else?"
Finch thought for a few seconds.
Then he shook his head.
"Not really. Those three hold most of the influence among students. If the balance of authority changes… they would be the first to feel it."
Adrian watched him silently.
"Tell me something else," Adrian said.
Finch waited.
"Who would benefit from Hillcrest closing down?"
The question caught Finch slightly off guard.
"Well… quite a few people, sir."
"Explain."
Finch exhaled slowly.
"In the past, many individuals have left this campus after being humiliated here."
Adrian did not interrupt.
"Some of them tried to challenge Hillcrest afterward," Finch continued. "But none of them succeeded."
"Why?"
Finch gave a faint smile.
"The Devil Trio."
Adrian remained quiet for a moment.
Then he asked another question.
"Were there any who left… after making serious threats?"
Finch frowned slightly, thinking.
"There were many angry people, sir."
"Anyone particularly influential?"
Finch stayed silent for a few seconds longer.
Then he spoke again.
"Three names come to mind."
Adrian looked up.
"Park Hosek."
"A professor?"
"Yes. He joined with the intention of reforming Hillcrest."
"How long did he stay?"
"Three weeks."
Adrian wrote the name down.
"Next."
"Jeon Hi Sang. Another professor."
"Also a reformer?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"He left in about the same time."
"Three weeks?"
Finch nodded.
Adrian tapped the pen again.
"And the third?"
Finch paused before answering.
"Mark Manson."
Adrian's gaze sharpened slightly.
"A principal?"
"Yes, sir."
"How long did he remain at Hillcrest?"
"One week."
The room fell silent.
Adrian wrote the name down.
"Reason for leaving?"
Finch shook his head.
"Officially? Personal reasons."
"And unofficially?"
Finch hesitated.
"There were rumors."
"What kind?"
"That he realized very quickly that Hillcrest cannot be changed."
Adrian closed the file slowly.
"You may go, Professor."
Finch nodded.
"Good night, sir."
After the door closed, Adrian looked at the three names written on the paper.
He tapped the pen once more.
"Three reformers," he murmured.
"Three departures."
Then he leaned back in his chair.
"Interesting."
---
It was now 2 AM.
Most of the lights inside Hillcrest had been turned off.
Only a few corridor lamps remained lit.
At the main gate, two night guards sat quietly on duty.
The hostel corridor fell completely silent after midnight.
A security guard slowly walked past the rooms during his routine round.
His flashlight briefly moved across the doors.
Room Three.
Room Four.
Room Five.
He paused.
For a moment he thought he heard something from inside.
A faint sound.
Maybe movement.
The guard stood there for a few seconds.
Then shook his head.
Probably just a student moving furniture.
He continued walking down the corridor.
Inside Room Five, the torn pieces of the QR paper still lay scattered near the drawer.
---
Outside the campus—
A car moved slowly along the empty road.
Inside the car were Marcus, Leon, and Ethan.
Leon leaned back in his seat.
"That was fun," he said. "We haven't played like that in a while."
Marcus looked out the window.
"Hm."
Ethan glanced down at his phone absentmindedly.
A notification appeared.
He opened it.
The message contained only three words.
"Don't try to dig."
Ethan's expression changed slightly.
So it's about the phone.
"What happened?" Marcus asked.
Before Ethan could answer, Leon spoke.
"He's quiet because he lost by one point tonight."
Ethan forced a small smile.
"Yeah. Something like that."
He muted the notification and deleted the message.
Then he locked the phone.
Marcus didn't say anything.
But he had already noticed the brief tension in Ethan's face.
The car continued down the dark road in silence.
Marcus glanced at Ethan briefly.
Ethan had already deleted the notification.
But his expression remained slightly tense.
Marcus kept his eyes on the road.
Then spoke calmly.
"Spam messages usually don't make people stop breathing."
Ethan looked at him.
"It was nothing."
Leon laughed from the passenger seat.
"Arey, he's just upset because he lost today."
Marcus didn't react to Leon's joke.
His eyes stayed on Ethan for another second.
Then he looked back toward the road.
"Maybe," Marcus said quietly.
Ethan said nothing.
But he didn't unlock his phone again.