People always say silence is peaceful.

Comforting.

Safe.

I used to believe that too.

Before the accident.

Before the headaches.

Before the voices started living inside my head.

Now silence felt impossible.

And honestly?

I would’ve done anything to hear it again.

The first thought I heard after waking up in the hospital wasn’t dramatic.

Not some dark secret.

Not a tragic confession.

Just—

Ugh… I shouldn’t have eaten that pudding.

I stared blankly at the nurse standing beside my bed.

She adjusted the IV calmly and smiled at me.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

But her lips hadn’t moved when I heard that first sentence.

My heart began pounding unevenly.

The nurse continued checking the monitor while another voice echoed clearly inside my head.

I still have three more hours left in this shift. I’m exhausted.

My throat tightened.

No.

That wasn’t possible.

I looked around the room quickly. My mother was asleep beside the window, rain tapped softly against the glass, and the hallway outside smelled strongly of medicine.

Everything looked normal.

Except me.

Maybe the accident had affected my brain more than the doctors thought.

That had to be it.

Because there was absolutely no way I could hear people’s thoughts.

Right?

Unfortunately…

the voices didn’t stop.

Not the next day.

Not the day after that.

And definitely not when I returned to school three days later.

By the time I reached the front gates, I already wanted to go home.

Students walked past me laughing loudly while morning sunlight reflected off the windows around campus.

Normally, I liked mornings.

Now they were torture.

I forgot my homework.

Please don’t let there be a surprise test.

That senior is seriously handsome.

I need coffee so badly.

Thoughts crashed into my head nonstop.

Different voices.

Different emotions.

All at once.

I pressed my fingers against my temple painfully while trying to ignore them.

“Eli!”

I nearly flinched hearing my name.

Mina jogged toward me with her usual bright smile. Her bag bounced against her shoulder as she stopped beside me.

“You’re late again,” she complained.

Then instantly—

He looks awful today.

I froze.

Mina blinked. “What?”

I stared at her.

“…Did you just say something?”

“What? No?”

Did he hit his head harder than we thought?

“WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?!”

The hallway suddenly went quiet.

Several students turned to stare at us.

Mina looked horrified.

“Eli?!”

Crap.

I slapped a hand over my mouth too late.

Mina grabbed my arm quickly and started dragging me toward class before I could embarrass myself further.

“You are acting extremely weird today.”

Seriously, is he okay?

“I AM OKAY!”

Now people were definitely staring.

Wonderful.

My social life was dying in real time.

By lunch break, the headache behind my eyes had become unbearable.

The cafeteria was the worst place in school.

Too many students.

Too many voices.

Too many thoughts.

The moment I stepped inside, noise exploded in my head.

I hate math class.

Should I text him first?

I’m hungry.

I need sleep.

That guy is cute.

Every thought layered over another until I couldn’t breathe properly.

I gripped my lunch tray harder.

The room spun slightly.

Too loud.

Everything was too loud.

“Eli?”

Mina’s voice sounded distant now.

I stumbled backward accidentally—

—and crashed into someone.

My tray slipped from my hands.

Food scattered across the cafeteria floor.

Several students gasped loudly.

But I barely noticed.

Because suddenly—

the noise disappeared.

Complete silence filled my head.

I froze completely.

No voices.

No thoughts.

No pressure crushing my skull.

Nothing.

For the first time since the accident…

it was quiet.

Slowly, I looked up.

A tall boy stood in front of me wearing the school’s black winter uniform. Dark hair fell over sharp eyes, and his expression looked cold enough to scare people away without trying.

The transfer student.

Kael.

I recognized him immediately from the rumors spreading around school.

People said he was violent.

Dangerous.

Untouchable.

Apparently he got suspended from his old school after beating someone badly enough to send them to the hospital.

But standing near him now…

I couldn’t feel fear.

Only relief.

Because the silence around him felt warm.

Safe.

Like finally breathing after drowning.

The cafeteria slowly filled with whispers again.

“That’s the new transfer student…”

“I heard he broke someone’s arm.”

“Why is Eli staring at him like that?”

I barely heard any of it.

I kept looking at Kael in shock.

Then suddenly—

a strange whisper brushed faintly against my mind.

Broken.

Quiet.

Different from everyone else’s thoughts.

…found you.

My blood ran cold instantly.

The broken tray pieces slipped from my trembling fingers and shattered loudly across the cafeteria floor.

The entire cafeteria stared at us.

Or more specifically—

they stared at Kael standing in front of me while I looked seconds away from collapsing.

Whispers spread through the room instantly.

“That’s Kael…”

“Didn’t he hate physical contact?”

“Why is Eli so pale?”

I could hear every single thought clearly.

Too clearly.

This is awkward.

Kael looks scary up close.

Did Eli just cry?

I wanted to disappear.

But the moment I stepped slightly away from Kael—

the noise slammed back into my head violently.

My vision blurred.

A sharp pain stabbed behind my eyes.

I nearly lost my balance again.

Then suddenly—

a hand wrapped around my wrist.

Silence.

The relief hit me so fast it almost hurt.

I inhaled shakily while staring down at Kael’s hand holding mine firmly.

Warm.

Steady.

Quiet.

No voices.

No chaos.

Nothing.

For the first time in days, my head stopped hurting.

The cafeteria, however, became even louder around us.

HE TOUCHED HIM.

Wait, Kael is helping someone?

I thought he hated everyone.

My ears burned from embarrassment.

Kael looked completely unaffected by everyone staring at him.

Instead, his attention stayed on me.

“You look sick,” he said calmly.

His actual voice surprised me.

It was lower than I expected.

Quiet.

Not cold or threatening like the rumors described.

Just… calm.

I stared at him blankly.

No thoughts echoed from him.

Nothing.

That terrified me almost as much as the silence itself.

Because every other person around me was painfully loud.

But Kael?

It was like standing beside an empty room.

“…What’s your name?” I blurted out before thinking.

Several nearby students gasped dramatically.

Kael blinked once.

“…Kael.”

Right.

Of course I already knew that.

Still, hearing him say it himself felt strangely different.

Mina suddenly rushed toward us looking horrified.

“Eli,” she whispered urgently, “why are you talking to the human red flag?!”

Please don’t let him die today.

“I’m not going to die!”

Mina froze.

“You did it again.”

Crap.

I slapped both hands over my mouth immediately.

Too late.

Kael’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly.

“…Did what?”

My brain stopped functioning.

Think.

Think quickly.

“I just meant—uh—I’m not dying from embarrassment?”

Terrible save.

Absolutely terrible.

Mina looked like she wanted to abandon me permanently.

Kael stared at me for a long moment.

Then his gaze shifted toward my trembling hands.

“…You’re shaking.”

I quickly pulled my sleeves lower to hide it.

“I’m fine.”

Lie.

A complete lie.

The moment Kael loosened his grip slightly, noise immediately rushed back into my skull.

I’m hungry.

This is so dramatic.

Kael’s surprisingly handsome.

I flinched hard.

Kael noticed instantly.

Without saying anything, he tightened his hold around my wrist again.

Silence returned.

Warmth spread through my chest so suddenly it scared me.

My body relaxed automatically before I could stop it.

Unfortunately…

Kael noticed that too.

Something unreadable flickered across his expression.

Not annoyance.

Not pity.

Something softer.

That strange broken whisper brushed faintly against my mind again.

…cute.

I choked on air.

Kael blinked calmly.

“…Why are you turning red?”

“I’M NOT RED!”

Now the cafeteria was openly watching us like a live romance drama.

I wanted to transfer schools immediately.

Mina looked seconds away from screaming.

Meanwhile Kael still hadn’t let go of my wrist.

Not that I wanted him to.

Which was honestly becoming its own problem.

Because my body was already starting to memorize the feeling of silence around him.

And I wasn’t sure I could survive losing it again.

Kael glanced at the untouched lunch scattered across the floor before looking back at me.

“You should go to the nurse’s office.”

“I’m okay.”

“You almost collapsed.”

“…Still okay.”

For the first time, Kael sighed softly.

Like I was exhausting him already.

Then—

before I could react—

he stepped closer.

Way too close.

Close enough for me to notice the faint scar near his jaw.

Close enough to smell rain on his uniform.

My heartbeat became dangerously unstable.

And then I heard it again.

That broken whisper inside my mind.

Clearer this time.

…don’t break again.

My breath caught.

Break again?

What did that even mean?

Before I could ask—

Kael’s fingers tightened around my wrist gently.

And for one impossible second…

his expression looked afraid.

The rest of lunch break became a complete disaster.

Not because I fainted.

Not because my tray shattered across the cafeteria floor.

But because Kael still hadn’t let go of my wrist.

And apparently the entire school had eyes.

The whispers followed us everywhere.

Even after we left the cafeteria.

“That’s the transfer student…”

“Why is he holding Eli’s hand?”

“They seriously look like a couple.”

I wanted to jump out of a window.

Meanwhile Kael walked beside me calmly like none of this was strange.

Which honestly made it worse.

The moment we stepped into the hallway, the noise inside my head became unbearable again.

Students crowded the corridors loudly while thoughts slammed into me from every direction.

I forgot my assignment.

That test was horrible.

Kael looks terrifying.

Wait… are they dating?

I pressed my free hand against my temple painfully.

My headache returned instantly.

Kael noticed.

Of course he noticed.

Without saying anything, he tightened his grip around my wrist slightly.

Silence spread through my head again.

Warm and immediate.

I nearly sighed from relief.

That was becoming a problem.

A very serious problem.

Because my body was already getting used to him.

To the silence around him.

To the strange comfort only he could give me.

And I didn’t know how to feel about that.

Mina suddenly appeared beside us while staring at our joined hands dramatically.

“You know,” she said slowly, “this looks extremely suspicious.”

Oh my god they actually look good together.

“I can literally hear your judgment.”

She gasped loudly. “You did NOT just say that out loud.”

Crap.

Right.

I still hadn’t figured out how to stop accidentally replying to people’s thoughts.

Kael glanced at me carefully.

“…What did she mean by that?”

My soul left my body immediately.

“Nothing.”

Mina crossed her arms. “Eli’s been acting weird since his accident.”

Please don’t think he’s crazy.

“I’m not crazy!”

Now several students nearby were openly staring again.

Wonderful.

My reputation was dying faster every minute.

Kael stayed quiet for a moment.

I couldn’t hear his thoughts clearly.

Only faint static brushed against my mind occasionally.

Like distant radio signals.

Fragments instead of words.

And somehow…

that silence felt more comforting than actual conversation.

The bell rang loudly across the hallway.

Students immediately started rushing toward their classrooms.

The sudden flood of thoughts hit me again.

Move.

I’m late.

I need sleep.

Too loud.

My breathing became uneven.

I instinctively grabbed Kael’s sleeve before he could walk away.

The second I realized what I’d done, I froze.

Kael stopped moving.

Slowly, he looked down at my hand clutching his uniform.

Heat rushed to my face immediately.

“I—I just…”

What was I even supposed to say?

Please don’t leave because your existence is the only thing stopping me from losing my mind?

Yeah. Absolutely not.

But Kael kept staring at me quietly.

Waiting.

The hallway suddenly felt strangely small.

“…Don’t go,” I whispered before my brain could stop me.

Silence.

Not the peaceful silence surrounding Kael.

Real silence.

Even Mina looked shocked.

My own heartbeat sounded painfully loud in my ears.

Kael’s expression changed slightly.

For one second, the coldness around him cracked.

Like those words affected him more than they should have.

Then—

for the first time—

I heard his voice clearly inside my head.

…he asked me to stay.

The whisper sounded soft.

Almost disbelieving.

And underneath it—

something warm.

Something dangerously gentle.

Kael stepped closer slowly.

Too close.

My heart immediately started malfunctioning.

“You only look calm near me,” he said quietly.

I swallowed hard.

Because he was right.

And somehow…

that terrified me more than the voices ever had.