It's been seven days since I last stepped foot in the club room.
Seven days since the Aria and Kenta case... Where I messed up.
The purple envelopes crossed my mind.
I haven't received one since either.
If Minji was the sender, had she stopped after I walked away?
Or was someone else watching—waiting for me to step back into the club room before leaving the next one?
---
Before I knew it, I am standing in front of Room 722 door. It looked the same—except the doorknob was bent, the padlock snapped clean from the hasp, the chain hanging loose.
I pushed the cracked door open without knocking.
Minji sat at the table. She looked up, eyes widening for half a second before the familiar smirk settled in. A blue headband held her hair back, neat and deliberate.
"You're back," she said, setting the pen down. "I texted you. Thought you decided to disappear."
I let the door click shut. "I don't quit things I barely started."
"Good." She leaned back, arms crossing. "Last case still rattling you?"
I dropped my bag onto the sofa. "Just checking in."
Minji hummed, eyes already back on her notes. The silence felt intentional.
The door opened again, quieter this time.
Hanni stepped in, ponytail high and neat, hime-cut bangs falling straight with blunt sidelocks brushing her cheeks.
"Sorry I've been gone," she said, not looking up.
"Timing worked out." Minji said, waving a hand casually. "You both disappeared for weeks and then pop back in on the exact same afternoon."
Hanni's eyes flicked toward me, then away. She set her bag down.
"So… reinstated as an Olympiad candidate?" Minji asked, leaning back in her chair. "And Kenta and Aria too. That true?"
"It's my call," Hanni added. "Didn't want the team weakened.... Doesn't mean I trust them."
The room went quiet.
"Another sabotage incident?" I asked, while pointing to the door.
"This morning," Minji said. "Though nothing taken inside. Just enough damage to make a point."
"We need a club advisor," Hanni said.
"Yeah... I'll handle that part." Minji's eyes flicked to the door, then back to us. "In the meantime, we're not stopping."
Her voice stayed even.
"New client. Kang Haerin. Freshman, student assistant in the library. She sent one short text, wants to meet in person to explain the rest. You two can handle it."
I glanced at Hanni, then back at Minji. "Just us?"
Minji's mouth curved—just the tiniest amount. "Yep. Should be straightforward. Something about a missing Math book." She paused, smirk flickering. "Don't worry—it's not gonna give you… any problems."
Hanni sighed. "Wow. That was terrible even for you."
Minji grinned wider, eyes flicking between us.
---
As we walked out of the room, Hanni and I fell into a familiar rhythm, our steps synchronized.
We passed the main gate to the bike racks along the inner fence, mostly empty now. Hanni went to her green bike, and walked it beside me onto the coastal road.
The silence grew thicker for a moment.
Hanni spoke first, her voice light, but the tone felt off. "So… you've really been up on the rooftop every lunch this week?"
"Most days."
She gave a small laugh—half amused. "You always liked high places when you wanted to disappear. Today you even skipped classes... did you doze off?"
I shrugged. Didn't deny it.
We walked another block, her bike rolling steady beside us. She tilted her head toward the bay.
"The typhoon's supposed to hit Thursday night, right? Category 2, maybe 3 by landfall."
"Category 3 if it doesn't curve north," I said. "Wind gusts up to 150 kph inland. They'll probably cancel Friday classes."
A small smile tugged at her mouth. "You really do catch every detail, don't you?"
"Speaking of," she went on, "Mr. Goh pulled us aside after practice yesterday. Said we need to take a real break once it hits. His exact words were 'rest is strategy too.'"
"Sounds like him." I let out a breath. "Glad it's working out. For you. Despite… everything."
Hanni's nudged her wobbling bike with her hip while slowing. She kicked a small pebble, it skittered away and disappeared into the gutter.
"They apologized," she said, voice flat. "Kenta mumbled through it while rubbing his neck. Aria just nodded once. Didn't even look up from her phone."
She exhaled—short and sharp.
I kept my eyes on the sidewalk ahead. "Enough for Mr. Goh to let them stay."
"Enough for the team not to fall apart." She shrugged one shoulder. "That's what matters."
I glanced at her sideways.
She looks calm—too calm maybe, but I knew she was carrying something heavy.
"Mr. Goh still hasn't locked in the final team?"
"Next week. He's still recruiting—trying to pull in a couple more students."
She paused, then added, softer, "You know the candidate pool's still open."
The words hung there.
Part of me wanted to sign up—just to be there if someone tried another stunt on her.
I kept my eyes on the sidewalk. "Too much spotlight."
She didn't answer right away.
When she did, her voice was light on the surface, but the dip at the end betrayed it.
"Right. I suppose I'll just have to handle this the old-fashioned way then, without your insane calculation speed."
She didn't look at me after that.
We reached the fork in the path—her home road veering left along the coast, my station stairs cutting right.
We both slowed.
Hanni leaned her bike against her hip, one hand still on the handlebar.
She turned to face me, ponytail swinging once. "Sorry I went quiet after… everything."
"Didn't think you owed me one."
She gave a small, crooked smile. "But then I expected you to text first... You never did, and I didn't either. Just a stupid waiting game."
A beat.
"I don't want to go back to barely talking again."
Her words from the rain came back uninvited—We're not those kids anymore—and with them, the same uneasiness that had lingered for the past seven days.
She bumped my arm lightly with hers. "Anyway. Stop cutting classes and hiding on rooftops. It's embarrassing."
I let out a breath that was almost a laugh.
Hanni straightened the bike, swung her bag to the front basket again.
"Tomorrow. Lunch. Library. Don't ditch me."
---
The next day, the lunch bell echoed faintly down the hall as I reached the library annex.
Quiz papers littered the tables—students hunched over wrong answers, comparing scores. Ms. Song's warning about rankings had everyone on edge.
A girl stood behind the reception desk. Long black hair hung straight past her shoulders, bangs cut sharp across her forehead. She lifted her head slowly, large cat-like eyes locking on me without a blink.
She tilted her head once, small and precise. No words.
I opened the chess app and leaned against the nearest shelf while waiting for Hanni.
Hanni appeared at the entrance, cheeks flushed from hurrying. She held two paper bags from the campus bakery—one already missing a bite, the other still wrapped.
"Sorry," she said, keeping her voice low. "Line took forever." She pushed the untouched bag toward me. "Here, figured we'd skip actual lunch."
I took it. The paper was warm. Spanish bread... She'd remembered my favorite.
When we reached the desk, she finally spoke. Her voice was low, almost careful.
"You're from the Mystery Club."
Not a question.
Hanni nodded. "Yeah... You said something about a missing math book?"
The girl didn't answer right away. Her eyes moved instead—over Hanni, then me, then past us to the tables behind, checking who was close enough to listen.
Only then did her gaze drop... To my phone.
The chess board was still open in my hand, frozen mid-position.
"That move," she said quietly, eyes still on the screen. "You were hesitating."
I looked down. She was right. I hadn't played.
"Come with me," Haerin said, voice dropping as she stepped out from behind the desk. "It's quieter near the shelves."
She walked ahead without waiting for us to follow.
Only after we started walking did it register—she hadn't bothered with introductions at all.