The Monday morning air at Saebom High felt heavier than usual. Jae-wook sat at his desk, his fingers tracing the cold, silver star keychain hidden in the depths of his pocket. Every time the classroom door creaked open, his heart performed a painful somersault.
He looked down at his desk. He was back to being "Invisible Jae-wook." The glasses were back on, his hair was flat and unstyled, and his shoulders were hunched forward. He felt like a fraud. Yesterday, he had looked Park Yoo-na in the eye and felt like an equal. Today, he felt like a shadow again.
"Jae-wook? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Jae-wook flinched. Lee Hae-in, the history teacher, was standing over him with a faint, knowing smile. He leaned in closer, whispering so the other students couldn't hear. "You look tired. Late night gaming again? Or did something happen at that café?"
Jae-wook felt his face heat up. "I... I don't know what you're talking about, Hyung," he stammered, using the informal term for an older brother, which he only did when they were alone.
Hae-in chuckled, patting his shoulder. "Sure. Just try to focus. The class is watching."
As Hae-in walked back to the blackboard, the whispers started.
"Look at them," Min-ji whispered loudly to a group of girls. "The teacher's pet is getting special attention again. It's so weird."
Jae-wook ignored them, but his eyes involuntarily drifted to the front row. Yoo-na was there, but she wasn't laughing today. She was frantically digging through her bag, her face pale with worry.
"I can't find it, Min-ji," Yoo-na whispered, her voice trembling. "My star keychain. It's gone. It must have fallen off at the café yesterday when I was meeting Gun."
Jae-wook's hand tightened around the silver star in his pocket. He had to give it back. But how? If he gave it to her, she would ask how he got it. If he said he found it at the café, she would wonder why he was there. The glitch in his reality was starting to tear a hole in his secret.
During the lunch break, the classroom emptied out, leaving only Jae-wook and Yoo-na behind. She was still searching under her desk, her eyes misty with unshed tears.
Jae-wook stood up, his legs feeling like lead. He walked toward her, each step feeling like a mile. He stopped a few feet away.
"Yoo-na?" he said, his voice barely a whisper.
She looked up, surprised that the "quiet boy" was addressing her. "Oh, Jae-wook. Sorry, I'm just looking for something I lost. It's really important to me."
Jae-wook took a deep breath. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver star. He held it out on his open palm.
Yoo-na's eyes widened. She gasped, grabbing it from his hand. "My keychain! Where... where did you find it?"
Jae-wook had prepared his lie, but looking into her bright eyes, his throat felt dry. "I... I found it near the entrance of the school. It must have fallen off when you arrived this morning."
Yoo-na looked at the keychain, then back at Jae-wook. A small frown appeared on her forehead. "The entrance? But I could have sworn I had it when I left the café yesterday... and I didn't see it on my bag this morning."
She stepped closer to him. Jae-wook froze. She was so close he could smell the faint scent of her strawberry shampoo.
"Jae-wook," she said, her voice dropping to a thoughtful tone. "Your voice... it sounds different today."
"Different?" he squeaked.
"Yeah," she murmured, her eyes searching his face behind the thick glasses. "For a second, you sounded just like someone I met yesterday. Someone very confident."
Jae-wook stepped back, panic rising. "I... I have to go to the library. Glad you found your star."
He turned and bolted out of the room before she could say another word.
Behind him, Yoo-na stood alone in the quiet classroom, clutching the silver star. She looked at the door where Jae-wook had vanished, a flicker of suspicion crossing her face. The "Invisible Boy" had just done something very visible, and for the first time, Yoo-na felt like the wall between them was starting to crack.