That afternoon, the sky was a bruised gray, clouds hanging heavy over the village like a secret no one wanted to speak aloud.
Yona didn't go home after school.
He wandered.
First past the empty park bench where Daiki used to wait for Aria after class, headphones around his neck, sketching things he'd never show anyone. Then toward the bookstore, where Daiki's name was still scribbled on a faded chalkboard list for a copy of some out-of-print manga. Finally, to the canal bridge , a place Yona didn't even realize he remembered, until he found himself staring over its rusted railing, water glinting faintly below.
Daiki was everywhere and nowhere.
And still no messages.
Still no trace.
Still nothing.
Yona pulled out his phone again. No new alerts. No calls. He tapped open Daiki's thread. The last text sat there untouched:
"You okay?"
Sent: Yesterday, 7:13 PM
Delivered.
Not read.
He stared at the message for a long while.
Then, as if driven by something outside himself, he pulled up Aria's number.
The moment he did, his thumb hovered, uncertain. He hadn't messaged her since… since before she vanished. Before Daiki started spiraling. Before everything in their quiet world began to feel haunted.
But before he could send anything, something strange caught his eye. A flicker on the corner of the screen. A notification.
Not a text.
A shared photo.
From a private group chat .. the old one they all used in middle school, long since abandoned.
Yona's heart kicked up. He opened the thread.
One image.
Posted at 3:04 AM.
No caption.
It was dark, low resolution. Grainy. The kind of photo taken quickly, like the person holding the camera didn't want to be seen.
But Yona recognized the room.
Bare mattress. Concrete floor. Faint graffiti in the corner.
The abandoned flower shop.
But there was something ...someone... just barely in frame.
The edge of a jacket. Torn. A hand, curled loosely like it had fallen there.
He zoomed in. A part of his mind screamed to stop.
It looked like Daiki's jacket.
Yona's breath caught. He stumbled back, his fingers trembling. The photo had no sender. Anonymous.
But there, beneath it, one reply.
From a name long dead in the chat:
Aria.
One word:
"Help."
Yona froze. His skin crawled, cold sweat sliding down the back of his neck.
Aria's number had been disconnected.
She was missing. She couldn't have sent it.
And yet…
He looked around. The street was too quiet. The wind rustled dry leaves like whispers.
He had one name left to call. Someone who used to know every hidden place in this village ...every tunnel, every ruin, every room people forgot.
Mia.
He'd said he wouldn't.
But now?
Yona pulled up her number.
This time… he hit "Call."
She answered quickly on the first ring. They stayed quiet for a moment. Then he spoke softly,
"Can we talk?"
She remained silent for a few seconds.
"It's about Aria," he continued.
Mia nodded, replying, "Okay."
Then they ended the call.
Yona stood frozen, the faint glow of his phone screen illuminating the edge of his face. The image still lingered on the screen, the crumbling room, the shape of a fallen hand, and Aria's name beneath it like a whisper from beyond.
Then—
Footsteps.
Soft.
He turned slightly, and there she was.
Lena.
She stood just a few steps behind him, her bag still slung over one shoulder, hair brushing her cheeks in the cold wind. She looked at him, eyes uncertain, then down at her hands.
"I saw you from far," she said quietly, voice barely above a whisper. "I thought you would… like me to be with you. More than being alone."
Yona stared at her for a moment, the tension in his jaw easing just slightly. But then he looked away, the weight of everything pulling him back.
"I'm sorry, Lena… but there's something going on."
She stepped a little closer. "Daiki?"
He nodded once. "And Aria."
She lowered her eyes. "Yeah… It's on everyone's lips. No one knows where they disappeared."
Yona's voice was quiet now, rough around the edges. "I think… Mia might know something about where Aria used to go. Before she vanished."
Lena looked up at him, her expression softening. Then, hesitantly, she asked, "Do you… miss her?"
The question hung in the cold air.
Yona didn't answer right away. His silence was louder than words.
After a long pause, he turned toward the road. "Do you want to come with me? To ask her. Maybe she knows something…"
Lena didn't answer at first. Just looked at him.
There was a flicker in her eyes ..something quiet, something sad , but Yona didn't see it. His gaze was already fixed forward.
She nodded slowly. "Yes. I would like to."
And without another word, he started walking.
She followed him.
The two figures moved through the dusky streets, long shadows trailing behind them. Heading toward a place neither had visited in a long time. Toward Mia's house.
----------------
The path was quiet, lined with trees that cast long shadows over the cracked pavement. Lena walked beside Yona, neither speaking. The silence between them was heavy .not awkward, but full. As though both were thinking the same things but too afraid to say them aloud.
Suddenly, Yona stopped.
Lena halted too, turning toward him, startled. "Yona?"
He didn't answer. He pulled out his phone, the glow of the screen lighting up his serious expression. He tapped it, then turned the device toward her.
The photo.
The dark room. The shape on the ground. That barely-there hand. That haunting glow from under the door.
Lena's breath caught in her throat.
"W… What is that?" she whispered.
Yona's voice was low, unsettled. "I don't know. It just… showed up. I didn't open anything. It was just there."
Lena looked at the screen again, her voice trembling now. "I'm scared, Yona."
He looked at her, his throat tight. "Me too."
Their eyes met.
Yona held her gaze longer than he meant to. There was something in her eyes ...fear, warmth, trust ..all of it swirling at once. The wind brushed her hair across her cheek, and she didn't move it.
"Lena…" Yona whispered, barely aware he had spoken her name.
Her eyes didn't move from his. "Yes, " she breathed.
She closed her eyes and, gently, carefully, reached for his hand. Her fingers curled softly around his.
Yona's eyes widened.
He stared at her .. really looked at her ..at the shape of her face in the pale light, at the softness in her expression, the quiet strength behind her gesture.
And then… his gaze shifted.
Past her shoulder.
And froze.
His blood turned cold.
Standing just beyond Lena, half-shrouded in shadow, was a figure.
Still, Silent, Watching.
Yona's breath caught. His hand went stiff in Lena's.
Lena opened her eyes slowly when she felt the change, the stillness. Then, following Yona's wide, horrified gaze, she turned.
Her eyes widened.
There, under the dim glow of the flickering streetlamp, Mia stood motionless. Her wide eyes fixed on them, unreadable. Her coat hung open, wind brushing her hair around her face like dark vines. Her lips parted, but no words came.
The air seemed to go silent around them.
Three hearts, Three breaths.
And a hundred questions screaming in the dark.
Then, Mia slowly raised her hand. In it, her phone glowed faintly against the night. She tilted the screen toward them.
"I thought… it's important to show you this," she said quietly, her voice distant, unreadable. She looked away, not quite meeting their eyes.
Yona and Lena both shifted, glancing at each other before Yona stepped forward. He raised his own phone and turned the screen toward Mia.
"It's here too," he said. The same image. That same strange, haunting scene.
Mia's gaze slid to the screen in his hand.
"It's not just me then…" she murmured. "We all got the message."
But Lena, still standing close to Yona, spoke up gently.
"Not me," she said, her voice soft but clear. "I didn't get anything."
Mia turned to look at her. Slowly. Something strange flickered across her face, confusion at first, then something else. Something harder to name.
She stared at Lena for a moment longer than felt normal, then finally turned her eyes away.
"I think we need to do something," she said, her voice steady but distant.
Yona's eyes narrowed. "Something?"
Mia looked at him directly now, her tone colder. "It's not a coincidence. You and I got the same thing, at the same time. The image wants us to see it. Maybe it's leading us somewhere. Maybe it wants us to follow."
Lena took a small step back, a hand wrapped tight around her phone. "You mean like… it's a clue?"
"Or a trap," Yona muttered under his breath.
Mia didn't disagree. "Maybe. But it's all we've got."
Yona looked at the image one more time, jaw tight. "What if it's a warning?"
Mia's eyes didn't waver. "Then maybe it's our only one."
Lena glanced between the two of them, unease crawling up her spine. Yona's hand was still warm in hers, but everything around them suddenly felt colder.
The three stood under the dim light, the strange image burning quietly between two screens, and one question hanging heavily in the dark:
Why didn't Lena get it?
To be continue ...