~If a prayer is strong enough, it can turn into a curse.~
1. Three Weeks That Were Never Truly Calm
Three weeks had passed since Annie's name was dragged back from the grave of her past, and the school seemed to live in two colliding worlds—one pretending to be busy with national exams, the other pulsing with whispers that never died.
I ran into Misaki several times.
But always in crowds.
Always at a distance.
As if the universe itself kept preventing us from being truly alone.
I knew there was something I had to ask.
I also knew she must have sensed my unease.
And that only made my chest feel tighter.
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2. The Upper Terrace and Pretended Exhaustion
Two days after the exams ended, I went up to the terrace to hide from the noise. The gray sky hung low, like thoughts that could never quite land.
I let my body lie back.
Closed my eyes.
Pretended to rest.
But my mind was waiting.
Waiting for someone who, without me realizing when it began, had become the axis of all my restlessness.
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3. The Voice Came Too Close
"Hey."
The voice dropped right above my face.
When I opened my eyes, Misaki was already standing too close. Her face framed the sky behind her. For a moment, I lost all sense of distance.
"Not startled?" she asked lightly.
Only a few seconds later did I jerk back, pushing myself away, my heart beating too fast.
She laughed softly, covering her mouth.
"Impressive. You usually jump right away."
I rubbed my face.
"Stop surprising me like that."
Her eyes narrowed with amusement.
"Your reactions are always interesting."
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4. A Tease That Covers Wounds
She sat beside me—too close to be called coincidence.
"Weren't you with Aoi and Natsumi earlier?"
"Only for a bit." She shrugged. "I came here because I was curious."
"Curious about what?"
She looked straight at me.
"Curious about you."
The answer was too bare to be a joke. My breath caught for a split second.
"Why?"
"For the past few days," she said softly,
her voice thin like mist drifting over a grave marker,
"I know there's something constantly turning in your head."
Her gaze held mine—
too direct to be guessing.
As if she wasn't asking,
but reading my thoughts word for word.
"You want to ask me something, don't you?"
The sentence fell lightly,
yet struck my mind like a hammer in an enclosed room.
And I realized—
even before I opened my mouth,
she already knew my question.
I froze.
Once again, she pierced through what I thought I had hidden tightly.
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5. Anxiety Read Too Clearly
"How do you always… know?" I asked quietly.
Misaki smiled faintly.
"Because you're always talking—even when you're silent."
A chill crept up the back of my neck.
She leaned in slightly.
"So, what have you been wanting to ask me?"
I said nothing.
Annie's story flashed through my mind.
The article on the board.
Her empty stare.
The embers she kept hidden in silence.
And one name that always stood behind it all:
Misaki.
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6. A Question That Could Break Everything
My chest trembled as I finally spoke:
"Misaki…"
She moved closer, as if to catch every vibration in my voice.
"Were you the one who did it to Annie too?"
The air between us froze.
No laughter.
No mockery.
Only a pause.
And within that pause, I realized how dangerous my question was.
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7. A Smile No Longer Kind
Misaki did not answer immediately.
She only tilted her head again, her foot moving slowly as if playing with time, her gaze fixed on me—calm, precise, like a predator savoring the moment before striking.
"You want the truth," she said softly. "Or you just want confirmation of your own fear?"
I couldn't answer.
She gave a thin smile.
But this time, it carried no warmth at all.
Annie's name now stood like a wall between us.