Morning. Classroom 1-B.
The sun filtered through the windows, golden and quiet. But the air between Raon, Areum, and Daehyun crackled with unspoken thoughts.
Areum sat beside Raon now.
By "coincidence."
But everyone in class noticed. Even the teacher.
And Raon?
He didn't say much. Just offered his usual soft smile, notebook perfectly neat, answers flawless as always.
Areum leaned in slightly.
"I still think you're hiding something," she whispered under her breath.
Raon tilted his head.
"Then why sit next to me?"
Areum hesitated.
"Because I want to know what's behind the mask."
---
Later, during lunch.
Daehyun watched them from across the room, a fake laugh plastered on his face as his friends joked beside him.
But his eyes never left Raon.
Not since that thug he'd hired ended up in the hospital.
No injuries visible.
Just… trauma.
"He did something," Daehyun muttered. "I know it."
His fingers tightened around his chopsticks.
---
That afternoon—during homeroom.
The teacher stepped out briefly.
That's when Daehyun stood up.
He walked to the front of the room, holding up a piece of paper.
"Hey everyone," he said with a grin, "did you know our school's perfect student submitted his transfer records late? Kinda suspicious, right?"
Whispers spread like wildfire.
Areum looked at Raon—who hadn't flinched.
Raon simply rose from his seat.
Walked forward.
And stood beside Daehyun.
"I could clear that up," he said softly. "But then…"
He leaned in, voice barely audible.
"…who'll believe your next lie, Daehyun?"
Daehyun's heart skipped.
Raon turned to the class.
"I moved from a special program. That's all."
He handed the teacher a folder—one he'd just planted in her office earlier this morning.
Official. Sealed. Forged.
Perfect.
---
Later. On the rooftop.
Areum found Raon staring out at the sky, wind brushing through his dark hair.
"You don't get angry," she said.
"Waste of energy."
"You scare him."
Raon smiled. "Shouldn't I?"
Areum frowned.
"You don't act like a kid."
Raon glanced at her. "That's because I'm not."
For a second—just one—she saw it again.
That eerie, inhuman calmness.
And yet…
She still stood beside him.
---
Final Panel:
Inside a locker, hidden deep in the storage wing, Daehyun finds something.
An old photo. A cracked ID. The logo of a destroyed research lab.
Raon's face.
But not as a student.
As a technician.
> "What… the hell are you?"
---