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That day was a sunny day yet a boring one.
After school, my friend and I, just like usual, went to a nearby supermarket to buy some ramen and snacks. We sat down at the small table inside the store.
"Hey, have you heard the news?" my friend asked.
"News? What news?" I replied. "Man, I've been stressing out over exams. I haven't had time for social media."
My friend sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I thought so. You know Micchi, right? One of the top students."
I glanced at him while taking a sip from the water bottle I had just bought. "Yeah, of course. We go to the same tuition. I'm heading there soon too. She's probably already there."
My friend stared at me coldly.
"Man… I don't think so." His words trembled. "She's missing."
I looked straight into my friend's face. "What? What do you mean?"
"I don't know all the details," he said quietly. "But she suddenly went missing yesterday. Her parents said she was completely normal in the morning and left for school… and they haven't seen her since."
Confusion washed over me. I turned my face away and continued eating my ramen. Under my breath, I muttered,
"That's strange. I hope she's safe. The world outside is scary."
I said goodbye to my friend and headed toward my tuition center. It was evening, around 4 p.m. I walked along the riverbank, the sun already sinking toward the horizon, painting the sky in a deep red glow.
The words my friend had mentioned kept repeating in my head.
Micchi… She was a bright and cheerful girl, always ranking near the top. We weren't exactly close, even though we were in the same class. She had stunning blonde hair, usually tied in a ponytail. She might not have been the prettiest, but she had a captivating, nerdy charm.
I wondered where she could have gone. She didn't seem like the type to wander off carelessly. Was she kidnapped? Did someone take her away?
I shook my head. What am I thinking? What could I even do?
As a classmate, all I could do was send her a message expressing my concern and hoping she was safe. With that, I tried to carry on with my day.
Eventually, I reached the apartment building where my tuition class was held. It wasn't too big or too small just an average, ordinary apartment.
Yet somehow… something felt off. Something eerie.
A random yellow warning board was placed right in front of the stairway door. "Slippery Floor."I frowned in confusion. "Why is it here? It didn't make any sense. The ground was plain concrete. Why would concrete be slippery? Maybe someone misplaced it?" I didn't know. Too many questions flooded my mind.
What's going on…?
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself and shake off the uneasy feeling crawling up my spine. I was probably just overthinking.
I reached down and lifted the board to move it aside.
That was when I found the first thing I shouldn't have.
A ribbon.
A brown ribbon with a small Applejack keychain attached to it.
The moment I lifted the board, my hand froze. The sign slipped from my grip and clattered onto the ground. My heart started pounding as I slowly picked up the ribbon and examined it.
If I wasn't mistaken… this was the exact ribbon Micchi always wore.
She had definitely been here.
But the news said she had been missing since yesterday.
What happened to her? Did something happen here?
I slowly looked up at the building…
…and for a brief moment, it felt like it was staring back at me