Footsteps
Zyn let out a soft sigh as she made her way back toward the dining hall.
She quickened her pace — the atmosphere was growing increasingly oppressive, for reasons she couldn't name.
It felt like an invisible force was pressing down on her, squeezing her body in a silent grip.
Her heart began to flutter, her breath growing shallow.
Her legs started to feel stiff — and heavy.
Then suddenly —
all sound vanished.
The silence came crashing down without warning.
She felt it again — that vague unease blooming into something closer to panic.
Her heart began to pound.
Thump.
Thump.
She exhaled slowly.
Trying to shake off the feeling, Zyn kept her eyes locked forward and ignored everything else.
Eventually, the familiar sight of the dining hall doors came into view — with two guards posted in front.
Relief flooded her chest.
She inhaled deeply, taking in a full breath for the first time in minutes.
From inside the dining hall, the murmur of voices and casual clatter of dishes spilled out into the hall —
shattering the tense silence that had gripped her.
Her eyes scanned the room.
Then, in the corner of her vision, she caught sight of something familiar — her friends.
The moment she spotted them, she hurried over.
"Hey! I'm back..!" Zyn called out, her voice carrying a breathless, slightly strained cheer.
She gave a tired grin as she dropped into the seat beside Eliza.
"Oh? That was quick," Eliza greeted her with a smile.
"You're sweating," Gaia remarked, spooning some food into his mouth before turning to glance at Zyn.
"Ah... the bathroom was far, so I ran,"
Sinta replied, letting herself drop into the seat in front of her meal tray. She picked up her spoon and stared at it.
She noticed it — the slight tremble in her hand.
It wasn't very obvious, but she knew.
Her hand wasn't steady. She was scared.
She dipped the spoon into the food, slowly stirring it around before scooping up a blob of something sticky and viscous.
Bringing it to her mouth, she ate it carefully, chewing the chewy mass while her eyes drifted toward the door she had just walked through.
Then she looked back —
at her group of friends, quietly eating their meals.
Her gaze moved forward again, resting on Rain.
He was lying face down on the table, his bowl of food still half-full and just as messy as always.
That sight — oddly comforting —
helped ease something in her chest.
Zyn drew in a slow breath, trying to cast off the weight of the strange experience just moments earlier.
***
Time passed.
Students who had finished their dinner gradually began to leave the dinning hall.
Rain slowly pulled himself up from the table, sitting upright again before stretching and yawning lazily.
He pushed his food tray away and stood up.
Gaia and Eliza, who had also finished eating, stood as well.
Gaia stretched his arms fully.
"Shall we head back to the dorms?" Gaia asked while twisting his torso to loosen up.
Rain looked at his friends, then lowered his voice.
"I want to use the bathroom first."
Gaia turned to him.
"Want me to come with?"
Rain shook his head slightly.
The four of them decided to go their separate ways for a bit.
Eliza opted to visit the library to read for a while.
Gaia said he'd head straight back to rest.
They all exited the cafeteria.
Rain walked through the doors, letting out a small yawn before turning the corner right after stepping out.
He passed a few students going the opposite direction, eyes fixed downward, watching his feet as he walked.
Tap. Tap.
Rain jolted. He froze in place for a second, a chill creeping up from his toes to the roots of his hair.
He turned to see who had tapped him.
…it was Zyn.
She had followed behind him, raising a hand in greeting with a half-smile on her lips.
"Yo, dude."
"Oh— hey?"
She quickened her steps to walk beside him, glancing at his face.
"I'll come with. I need the bathroom too."
"But… didn't you just go?"
"Gotta go again, I guess…"
Rain nodded lightly.
She turned her gaze forward as the two of them continued walking side by side.
As they walked down the hallway, their footsteps echoing faintly against the walls,
Zyn's voice broke the silence that had wrapped around them like a thin fog.
"It's always so quiet here… don't you think?"
Rain turned to glance at her, his expression neutral.
He replied in a flat tone.
"What do you mean? You can still hear the other kids around."
She furrowed her brows slightly.
"That's not what I meant…"
"..."
Silence fell between them again for a brief moment—
until Zyn spoke up once more.
"Don't you think it's weird?"
"…Weird how?"
Rain looked at her again, raising an eyebrow as if to prompt her to explain.
She turned to glance around—both ahead and behind.
As they passed a corner, her eyes flicked toward the other branching hallways.
Then she sighed and spoke up again.
"This place… it's just too empty, you know? Since we started walking, we've barely seen anyone here except the guards and us students.
And the only guards we ever see are the ones stationed in front of rooms.
The ones who actually patrol? They're almost never around.
And the kids from other classes—we only ever see them during break times.
Other than that, when we walk around, I've never run into anyone from outside our group…"
Rain fell silent, his mind working through what she was saying.
After a moment, he gave a small nod.
"You're right… the last time I saw students from another unit was back in the library…"
Zyn pressed her foot down softly on the floor, making a faint tapping sound as she walked.
Then she spoke again, her tone more serious now.
"Don't you think there's something off about the system here?
Like… something about it just doesn't feel right…"
Rain thought for a moment, and Gaia's words suddenly surfaced in his mind—
—about the collars, and how they pick up sound.
His thoughts began to spiral.
Maybe… was he just overthinking everything?
But then a question emerged in his head:
How did Gaia know the collars picked up sound in the first place?
Or… could it be that the collars were designed to detect something else entirely?
He recalled their first day in this place.
The announcement from that morning still echoed clearly in his mind:
—"The collars that each student wears allow the 'adults' to monitor behavior patterns for evaluation purposes."
It could track their heart rate…
And maybe more.
Maybe things they still didn't know about.
As Rain processed all of this, Zyn's voice rose again softly beside him.
"Hey..?"
Rain's eyes widened slightly.
Then he made up his mind.
"Shhh…"
He tilted his chin up just slightly, letting out a quiet shush, and raised his hand, signaling for Zyn to stay quiet.
His eyes fixed forward—steady, sharp.
As if suddenly… he was suspicious of something.
Zyn was visibly puzzled by Rain's sudden change in demeanor.
She raised an eyebrow, her frown tightening with growing suspicion.
"…Is something wrong?"
He kept his face expressionless, eyes focused straight ahead, and resumed walking.
Then, with a subtle shake of his head, he muttered softly,
"…Nothing."
The silence between them thickened again as they continued down the corridor—
side by side, wordless.
Their destination: the bathroom, tucked deeper within the long hallway.
In the shadowed corners above, several small surveillance cameras rotated silently—
moving as if alive, tracking their every step.
The lenses glinted in the dim light, never losing sight of the two students.
And the footage—
it streamed elsewhere, to a place no one spoke of.
No one knew.
Their footsteps finally came to a halt at the door of the restroom.
The sign was clear, marked with direct and sterile text.
Without another word, the two quietly separated,
each stepping into their respective side.
***
Rain stepped into the restroom, the sterile lighting flickering faintly above him.
Almost immediately, he heard it—
a faint sound from inside.
A whistle.
Soft, almost too soft to notice.
But it was there. Someone else was in the bathroom.
He advanced cautiously, his footsteps muffled against the cold, tiled floor.
His eyes scanned each closed stall he passed.
The toilet ones.
As he walked past the first one—
the whistling stopped.
He paused.
Standing in front of the stall door, he reached out and pressed the button beside it.
His fingertip met the chill of the small, circular sensor—
which lit up with a soft white glow.
The thick metal door hissed open slowly.
Inside—
was nothing.
He exhaled, quietly relieved, and moved to the next one.
Another press of the button.
The same slow hiss.
The door slid open halfway—
And suddenly—
Eye contact.
"Ah…"
A boy.
A fellow student.
Sitting comfortably on the toilet, mid-business, nonchalantly whistling to himself.
At the moment the door opened, his head lifted—
and their eyes locked in immediate, mutual horror.
The boy froze, then slowly lifted a hand to cover himself, his expression blank.
"…Uh."
A dry cough escaped him.
"So… I guess I forgot to lock that.
Would you—mind shutting that for me?"
Rain snapped out of it like being struck.
"Ah—right! Sorry!"
He spun away, red-faced, and slapped the door control in a panic.
The door slammed shut with a loud mechanical THUNK!
Silence returned.
Rain stood there, wide-eyed, unsure whether to laugh or scream.
***
Not long after finishing up, the third metal stall door slowly slid open.
Rain stepped out and turned toward the row of sinks.
There, he spotted the same boy from before, now calmly washing his hands.
Rain approached and took the sink beside him, turning on the faucet.
"Um... sorry about earlier."
The boy glanced over at him while rubbing his hands under the stream of water, his expression relaxed.
"Oh, that? Nah, don't worry about it. I forgot to lock the door anyway."
"Ah... right."
Rain gave a small nod and resumed washing his hands.
The boy chuckled softly.
"Still, that gave me a real scare! Haha!"
"Me too..." Rain looked at the floor.
The boy finished rinsing, shook his hands dry, and moved to the air dryer nearby.
He glanced back at Rain again—
but this time, he turned his whole body and looked at him more intently.
"Say...
Were you the one standing in front of that pink-haired girl?
During class the other day?
Or am I mixing people up?"
He flashed a wide, innocent grin.
There was a genuine cluelessness in his face—bright-eyed, friendly, and a little dopey.
Rain glanced down at the boy's collar tag.
The white letters on the matte black metal read: A5-050-BX.
"Ah... yeah, that was me."
"Haha, cool,"
the boy chuckled lightly.
He looked at his now-dry hands and wiped them off on a nearby towel without much thought,
then turned back to Rain with another bright smile.
"So, what's your name?"
Rain lifted his gaze and answered clearly,
"I'm Rain."
"I'm Zheairn! Nice to meet you, Rain!"
"...Yeah, likewise."
Rain blew lightly on his hands to finish drying them,
but he could still feel Zheairn's eyes lingering on him—watching.
***
As he stepped out of the restroom, Zheairn followed closely behind.
Outside, Zyn stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed and eyes cast down,
deep in thought.
"Yo, I'm back," Rain said casually.
Zyn looked up immediately,
frowning the moment she saw the unfamiliar boy trailing behind him.
"Who the hell's that...?"
Rain glanced back at Zheairn standing just behind him.
"Oh, him? His name's—"
"I'm Zheairn!"
he cut in cheerfully, stepping forward with a wave.
"Hey there! Ah... you're the girl in the class too, right?
Are you Rain's friend?"
Zyn looked at Rain briefly, then shifted her eyes back to Zheairn.
"...Yeah. I'm Zyn."
"Nice to meet you!"
"...Same to you...?"
The three of them walked back to the dorm together.
Rain was in the middle, with Zyn on his left and Zheairn on the right.
The sound of their shoes echoed faintly through the empty hallway.
Rain glanced at Zheairn, thoughts stirring.
The boy was rather small, with soft features—almost sweet-looking.
Even now, though he wasn't laughing, he still wore a natural, gentle smile.
Is he always this cheerful? Rain wondered.
We only just met… but he doesn't seem dangerous or anything.
Along the long corridor, lighthearted chatter began to fill the silence.
Nothing serious—just random questions and casual curiosities.
***
"Whaaat? You met him in the mid-business?"
Zyn turned sharply to stare at Rain, her expression deadpan.
"Well… I didn't think anyone was in there,"
Rain mumbled, eyes drifting toward the ceiling.
Zheairn laughed softly before speaking in his usual calm tone.
"When I was walking over here, it was eerily quiet.
Not even a guard in sight.
Guess they only patrol on a schedule or something?"
***
And just like that,
Rain unexpectedly ended up with a new friend
on their quiet walk back to the dorm