Episode 1 — The Noise

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.

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