Author's Preface
HUXLEE
Tuesday, 2:16 PM
A bitter laugh escapes her lips, though there's nothing amused about it. "Then why?"
The question catches me off guard. I open my mouth, but no words come out. I don't even know the answer myself. Why am I following her? Is it because I still believe she's innocent? Or because, no matter what she's confessed to, I can't bring myself to leave her alone?
I tighten my grip around her wrist before finally speaking, "Because I don't want you to face this by yourself."
She stares at me for a long moment, as though searching my face for any hint that I'm lying. She lets out a quiet sigh. "You really don't know when to give up, do you?"
I manage a weak smile. "No."
She clicks her tongue and gently pulls her hand free, though this time she doesn't push me away. "Fine," she mutters. "Do whatever you want."
"I'm coming too," Cyprus says without hesitation as he steps beside us.
Cleovon picks up his phone from the grass, brushing the dirt from the screen before slipping it into his pocket. "Count me in."
Signy folds her arms tightly across her chest. "Seriously?" she says, disbelief written all over her face. "After everything she just admitted, you're all still going to follow her?"
No one answers. The silence itself becomes our response.
Signy lets out an irritated scoff before throwing both hands into the air. "Unbelievable." She shakes her head and looks directly at me. "Huxlee, think about this. She literally confessed."
"I know."
"No, you don't." Her voice rises with frustration. "She admitted she attacked someone! The admin literally said those people are in a coma!"
"Yeah, I know."
"Then why are you acting like nothing happened?"
"I'm not."
She stares at me, waiting for an explanation.
I glance at Ciela before looking back at Signy. "I'm just... not ready to abandon her."
Signy's expression softens for only a split second before hardening again. "You're too trusting."
"Maybe."
Ciela suddenly speaks, her voice calm but unusually serious. "I'm not asking any of you to come."
"We know," Cyprus replies.
"What I'm about to do has nothing to do with any of you."
"It does now," Cleovon says. "That psycho just threatened all of us." He pulls out his phone again and waves it in the air. "If he's watching us this closely, we're already involved whether we like it or not."
Ciela lowers her eyes. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me."
"You don't get to decide that," I say quietly. She looks up. "If we're walking into danger… then we make that decision ourselves," I continue.
For several seconds, she simply watches me. The tension in her face slowly melts into something unreadable. "You're all idiots."
Cyprus chuckles. "Yeah. I've been told that before."
Despite everything that's happened, the corner of Cleovon's mouth twitches into a small smile. Even Signy lets out an exasperated sigh.
"I seriously can't believe you people,” Signy says, shaking her head.
——
The ride across town is quieter than I expect. None of us says much after leaving the school grounds. Cyprus drives with one hand resting on the steering wheel, his usual carefree attitude nowhere to be found. The engine hums softly beneath us as buildings and traffic blur past the windows. Cleovon sits in the passenger seat with his arms crossed, absentmindedly tapping his fingers against his leg, while Signy occupies the seat beside me in the back. Ciela sits by the opposite window, her gaze fixed outside, watching the streets drift by as though she isn't really seeing them.
No one even mentions the fact that we're skipping our afternoon classes. For me, it's a first. I've never skipped school before—not once. If this had happened yesterday, I'd probably be panicking over attendance, worrying about detention or explaining myself to the teachers tomorrow. Now… I can't bring myself to care.
The anonymous admin's messages continue to replay inside my head like a broken recording.
They're all in a coma… this is only a warning...
Every word sinks deeper into my chest. The silence inside the car becomes almost unbearable. And after nearly thirty minutes, Cyprus slows the car before pulling over in front of a modest two-storey house tucked inside a quiet residential neighborhood.
"We're here," he says, shifting the gear into park.
I look through the windshield. The house looks... ordinary. White-painted walls. A small front garden with overgrown shrubs. Curtains drawn across the windows.
Ciela is the first to unbuckle her seatbelt. "Jacob Angeles lives here," she says quietly before opening the car door.
That must be the name of the guy with the video.
The rest of us climb out and follow her. A warm breeze rustles the trees lining the street, but instead of making the neighborhood feel peaceful, it only makes the silence feel heavier. No passing cars. No children playing outside. Just the five of us standing at the front gate. I swallow hard as we walk up the short pathway leading to the front porch.
Ciela stops in front of the door. Without saying a word, she reaches out and presses the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
No response comes from the other side. Ciela presses the doorbell again, the chime echoing faintly inside the house. We wait in silence, exchanging quick glances as the seconds stretch on. Then, at last, the faint sound of footsteps reaches our ears. They grow closer until the doorknob slowly turns. The front door creaks open just enough for a young man to peek outside. He looks to be around our age, with messy dark hair and tired-looking eyes. His entire face drains of color, the moment his gaze lands on Ciela. His eyes widen in pure shock.
"C-Ciela...?" Without another word, he immediately tries to slam the door shut.
"Hey!" Cleovon reacts before any of us can. He thrusts his foot into the gap just before the door closes with a heavy bang.
Jacob grunts as he throws his weight against it from the other side. "Get lost!" he shouts. "Leave me alone!"
"Not happening," Cleovon growls through gritted teeth. He shoves back with all his strength.
The door bursts inward with a loud crack. Jacob loses his footing completely and stumbles backwards before crashing onto the living room floor with a painful thud. Before he can recover, Cleovon strides inside then Cyprus follows immediately behind him. I hesitate for only a split second before stepping over the doorway with Ciela and Signy close behind.
The scent of dust and stale air lingers in the cramped living room, and the curtains are drawn tightly shut, leaving the space dim despite the afternoon sun outside.
Jacob scrambles backwards across the floor, his breathing growing uneven as he stares at us with wide, panicked eyes.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he yells, trying to push himself to his feet.
Cyprus doesn't answer. Instead, he quietly swings the front door closed. The sound of the lock sliding into place echoes through the silent house. The five of us stand between Jacob and the only exit, while he remains on the floor, trapped with nowhere left to run.
“To whom did you give the recording of me?” Ciela asks, her voice sharp as she stares directly at Jacob.
Jacob immediately shakes his head, looking increasingly nervous under our combined stares. “I—I don’t know!”
“And you expect us to believe that?” Ciela crosses her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow at him. There is obvious disbelief in her expression, as though she cannot understand how he could possibly expect us to accept such a vague answer.
“I swear, I don’t know!” Jacob insists. He looks like he is struggling to catch his breath, his words coming out between hurried breaths. “He was wearing a hoodie, and I couldn’t see his face at all. When he told me he needed the video recording because he wanted to ruin you, I just handed it over without thinking twice. I didn’t ask who he was, and I didn’t even bother asking why he wanted it. I know that sounds stupid, but that’s the truth!”
“Wait.” Signy suddenly steps forward, her expression changing as she focuses on one particular word. “ Him ?”
Jacob blinks at her, clearly confused by the question. “Yeah. Why?”
“It wasn’t a girl?” I ask, unable to hide the confusion in my voice.
The answer catches me off guard. I’m confused too. Shouldn’t it have been a girl? After all, she was the one who confessed her feelings to Cleovon by giving him a love letter. So why is Jacob telling us that the person who asked for the recording is a guy?
“Okay.” Jacob lifts both hands in surrender, seemingly frustrated by how many questions we are throwing at him. He plants his feet firmly against the ground and pushes himself upright. Once he is standing, he brushes the dust from his shorts before looking at us again. “I’m pretty sure I know the difference between a guy and a girl. I’m not going to call a man ‘she’ when he’s obviously a boy, am I? He didn’t even sound like a girl, and he was tall. Really tall, actually. So why are you guys acting so confused?”
“And he didn’t sound gay?” Cleovon asks, his brows drawing together as he studies Jacob.
Jacob immediately shakes his head. “No. He had a deep voice.”
The four of us exchange glances.
A deep voice.
That detail only makes everything more confusing.
“You said he’s tall. How tall are we talking?” Cyprus asks. His voice is more serious now, and his eyes remain fixed on Jacob as if he is trying to picture the stranger in his head.
Jacob looks between Cyprus and Cleovon for a moment, seemingly comparing their heights in his mind. Then he points slightly toward Cyprus. “He looked a little taller than you. Maybe around two centimeters taller.”
My eyes widen slightly. What? That tall? If I remember correctly, Cyprus is around 183 centimeters, while Cleovon is about 180. If Jacob’s estimate is even close, then the person who asked him for the recording must be somewhere around 185 centimeters.
That is ridiculously tall. But his height isn't really what matters here. The important thing is that the person who took the recording is a guy.
“You know the guy, don’t you?” Ciela asks, narrowing her eyes at Jacob.
Jacob immediately shakes his head. “No. I don’t know him.” He takes a deep breath then continues, “like I said, he told me he needed the video recording because he wanted to ruin you, so I handed it over to him without thinking.”
“Did he have someone with him?” I ask, watching Jacob closely for any sign that he might remember something else.
Before Jacob can answer, Signy speaks up, clearly still bothered by his explanation. “Why did you give him the recording if you didn’t even know him?”