Mina didn't touch the desk.
She just stood there, staring at her own name tag.
PARK MINA
Placed neatly. Like it had always belonged there.
"No…"
Her voice came out barely a whisper.
"This isn't funny."
No one responded.
Around her, the class continued like normal—bags dropping, chairs moving, laughter echoing.
Too normal.
Mina turned to Jisu.
"Did you do this?"
Jisu blinked.
"Do what?"
"My name tag—why is it there?"
Jisu followed her gaze… and frowned.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Mina's stomach dropped.
"That's not my seat."
Jisu laughed lightly.
"Since when?"
The bell rang.
Mina slowly sat down.
In that seat.
Her seat.
The desk felt colder than before.
Her fingers brushed against the carved words again.
DON'T LET THEM NOTICE YOU.
This time… there was more.
A second line.
Fainter. Messier.
Like it had been scratched in a hurry.
YOU ALREADY DID.
"Attendance!"
The teacher began calling names again.
But Mina wasn't listening.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the desk.
On the letters.
On the tiny cracks in the wood that almost looked like—
"Park Mina."
She looked up.
"…Here."
Her voice sounded distant.
Like it didn't belong to her.
The teacher paused.
His eyes met hers.
For a split second—
Something flickered.
Recognition?
No.
Something worse.
Awareness.
Lunch break.
Mina grabbed Jisu's arm.
"Tell me honestly—was there ever a student sitting here before me?"
Jisu sighed.
"You're still on that?"
"Yes!"
Jisu looked around, then lowered her voice.
"Mina… you're starting to sound weird."
Weird.
That word hit harder than it should have.
"I'm serious," Mina insisted. "Someone was there yesterday."
Jisu hesitated.
For just a moment.
Then—
"I don't remember anyone."
"You won't get answers from them."
Mina turned sharply.
The same boy from yesterday leaned against the hallway wall.
Watching.
Always watching.
"You again," Mina said. "Then you tell me. Who sat there?"
He didn't reply immediately.
Instead, he looked past her—toward the classroom.
"They're already adjusting."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," he said calmly, "you took the seat."
Mina frowned.
"I didn't take anything."
"You sat there."
"…So?"
He met her eyes.
"And now the seat belongs to you."
A chill ran down her spine.
"That doesn't make any sense."
"It doesn't have to."
Mina stepped closer to him.
"Then explain it."
The boy studied her face.
Like he was deciding something.
Then he spoke, quietly.
"There are rules in this place."
"What rules?"
"You don't notice what's missing."
Mina's breath caught.
"You don't ask questions."
Her grip tightened.
"And most importantly—"
He leaned in slightly.
"You don't sit where no one sits."
A loud crash echoed down the hallway.
Both of them turned.
A locker had fallen open.
Books scattered across the floor.
Students gathered, murmuring.
Mina walked closer.
Something felt… wrong.
"What happened?" someone asked.
"No idea," another replied. "It just opened."
Mina stared inside the locker.
Empty.
But not just empty.
Clean.
Too clean.
Like it had never belonged to anyone.
"What's the number?" Mina asked.
A student answered, "27."
Mina's eyes widened.
"That's not possible."
"What?"
"That's… that's my locker."
Silence.
The students looked at her.
Confused.
Then one of them laughed.
"Nice joke."
"I'm not joking," Mina snapped. "This is my locker!"
She reached into her pocket—
And froze.
Her key.
Gone.
The boy's voice came from behind her.
"You're losing your place."
Mina turned, panic rising.
"What is happening to me?"
He didn't look surprised.
"You're being replaced."
Her heart stopped.
"Replaced… by who?"
The boy glanced toward the classroom.
Toward the empty desk.
"No one."
That night.
Mina checked her phone again.
The photo was still there.
But it had changed.
The girl in the seat—
Her face was clearer now.
Too clear.
Mina zoomed in.
Hands trembling.
And dropped the phone again.
Because the girl in the photo…
Was her.
[End of Chapter 2]