I slowly open my eyes—and immediately know something's wrong.
First, it's far darker than it should be.
No one is in the classroom.
A winter breeze slips through the open window, stabbing through my already fragile nerves.
I rush over and slam it shut.
What happened…?
On the board, the letters J.Z. are written in thick strokes.
No bags anywhere—including my own.
And the schedule on the wall… every class is in German.
I don't feel safe at all.
"IS ANYONE THERE!?"
…
No answer.
Unbelievable.
If someone fell asleep during the last class of the day, someone would wake them up.
This can't be a simple accident.
Something else is happening.
My mom always said,
"If Yuki ever breaks her routine, it's an omen of disaster."
I always thought she was joking.
Maybe this is a disaster scenario.
But if it is—
Where is everyone?
Did… years pass while I was asleep?
I look outside.
No, it looks like an ordinary winter evening.
I head toward the door—but as I approach, a stabbing pain erupts in my chest.
"I have a really bad feeling about this…"
I step outside.
The hallways are empty.
I try calling out again.
"IS ANYONE HERE!?"
"NOOOOPE."
"AAAAAAAAA!"
The voice echoes from far away.
Panic floods me instantly.
What if it's a murderer!? A stalker!? Or worse—
some metaphysical entity I never believed in!?
God, please forgive me for not believing in you—
God—God—
"Hey, relax. It was just a joke. Why are you screaming?"
I freeze.
A silhouette appears at the far end of the corridor, slowly becoming clearer.
He's a student—probably a year or two below me.
Black curly hair, glasses, taller than me by maybe five centimeters.
Acting like absolutely nothing is wrong.
"You scared me half to death! What are you doing here at this hour? This stopped being funny a long time ago."
"Haha, I just wanted to joke around a little. Relax."
"Relax!? Under these circumstances!?"
"I mean… does panicking help you in any way?"
This kid—
Does he not realize something is terribly wrong?
If we can't figure this out—
or I can't—
who knows how bad this gets.
"Who are you?"
"Kim."
"Yes, who are you?"
"I am Kim. My name is Kim."
He looks at me with the dumbest innocent expression.
I take a breath.
"All right, Kim. Sit down. We need to talk seriously."