Fate returned

Her fingers stayed in her notebook for a moment longer than necessary.

She knew that feeling.

When silence shifts.

When something is about to come closer.

From the corner of her vision, she saw movement.

Three figures.

Approaching.

Her body went still.

Lee Su Ah walked in front.

Confident.

Smiling.

Like she owned the space between desks.

Behind her came Kim Seo Mi and Lee Da Hye.

Su Ah stopped right at Desk 3.

And leaned slightly forward.

Her smile widened.

“Look who it is,” she said softly, almost sweetly. “Isn’t it our beloved Ju Hee?”

Ju Hee didn’t respond.

She couldn’t.

Her throat tightened before any words could form.

Su Ah tilted her head, pretending to study her carefully.

“I wasn’t sure at first,” she continued. “But when I looked closer… it really is you.”

A light laugh escaped her lips.

“Wow. What a surprise seeing you here.”

She placed a hand on the desk.

“It must be fate.”

Seo Mi stood just behind her, quiet but familiar in the worst way.

She wasn’t new to this.

Ju Hee recognized her immediately—not as someone from this school, but from before.

From middle school.

From when everything started.

Da Hye, on the other hand, simply followed Su Ah’s lead, watching without expression, like it was routine.

Su Ah leaned in a little more.

“I was actually worried, you know,” she said, voice soft with fake concern. “When you transferred to high school without telling me.”

Her smile sharpened slightly.

“I was bored without my little plaything.”

Ju Hee’s fingers tightened under the desk.

Not visible.

But painful.

Su Ah straightened slightly, continuing casually.

“But it’s okay. I found a replacement.”

A pause.

Then her eyes returned to Ju Hee.

“But honestly… you were the best.”

At that moment, across the room—

Ji-won noticed everything.

She didn’t interrupt.

Didn’t react outwardly.

Her face stayed neutral, almost detached.

But her eyes didn’t move away.

They stayed fixed on Desk 3.

One of the three girls standing.

Ju Hee sitting perfectly still like she was trying not to exist.

Ji-won saw it clearly now.

This wasn’t some random teasing.

This was familiar.

Repeated.

Intentional.

And Ju Hee…

Wasn’t just uncomfortable.

She was trapped in a memory that had followed her into a new classroom.

Ji-won remained silent.

But she didn’t look away.

Not even once.

The classroom felt louder after Su Ah’s words.

Not because anyone said anything.

But because nothing did.

That kind of silence always carried weight.

Ju Hee stayed still.

Her eyes were lowered, fixed somewhere on the edge of her desk, as if looking up might make everything worse.

Su Ah smiled faintly, satisfied with the reaction she didn’t need to force anymore.

Seo Mi stood beside her, quiet—but watching Ju Hee like she was confirming something from the past.

Da Hye glanced around briefly, then back at Su Ah, waiting for the next cue that never needed to be spoken aloud.

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