Chapter 20: The Assassin in the Mirror

“Where’d she go?”

Kim Dodam scanned the classroom subtly, puzzled when he couldn’t spot his childhood friend.

Seol Haru, with her athletic prowess and quiet demeanor, remained an enigma despite years of knowing her.

Her striking looks didn’t translate to making friends easily, so she was often alone in class.

“Haru? Think she went to the bathroom.”

“Got it, thanks.”

A random girl’s reply made him nod, thinking, Typical.

The girl grinned mischievously.

“So, what’s the deal with you two? Always together.”

“Huh?”

“Kids say Haru’s hard to approach. As vice-class rep, she’s got this cold vibe. Some find it charming, though…”

That was probably just her annoyance at being roped into class duties.

Top grades aside, she had zero interest in being a rep.

“You guys dating?”

“What?! No way!”

“Just saying, you talk to her so easily…”

“We’ve known each other forever. Childhood friends.”

The girl clapped, surprised.

“Ohh, childhood friends! No wonder.”

The term “childhood friends” seemed to spark something in teens.

Every time he mentioned it, reactions were over-the-top like this.

‘…It’s not like that.’

Sure, they were closer than most, but time also built barriers.

A middle school memory surfaced.

Haru, always distant, had been confessed to by a bold boy aiming for more.

Her reaction was beyond icy—glacial.

‘She thinks she’s unpopular since no one’s confessed since.’

Who’d dare after that?

Why she was so cold remained a mystery.

Honestly, he didn’t know much about her.

What she liked, how she spent her time—all vague.

The weirdest part? He’d never seen her study, yet her grades were freakishly high.

“So, yesterday…”

Girls entered through the back door.

Choi Sua and her friends, who’d gone to the bathroom.

No sign of Haru.

“Running late.”

Stomach issues, maybe?

The casual thought turned serious when the bell rang and the teacher arrived.

“Everyone rested…? Where’s Haru?”

“Huh?”

“No vice-rep?”

“Anyone know? Dodam, you’re her desk mate.”

“…No idea. Heard she went to the bathroom.”

Haru, far from a delinquent, never missed class.

Ms. Park Irim, aware of her stellar record, raised an eyebrow.

“Teacher, I’ll check.”

“Please, Hwaseo.”

“Got it.”

Hwaseo dashed out, hand raised.

Maybe their rep duties bonded them; she looked worried.

She returned, face grim, shaking her head.

“…Not there, ma’am.”

Something was clearly wrong.

Unlike Joo Kihyun’s absence, a student who’d been at school vanishing mid-day stumped the teacher.

Hwaseo, chewing on unease, recalled yesterday.

“I definitely felt spiritual energy then.”

Rushing over, she’d found Haru on the floor.

No energy from her, so Hwaseo thought it was a mistake.

But if it wasn’t…

If she ignored a sign, and Haru got hurt…

Guilt crept up.

“Haru reached out to me, and I…”

Tampering with memories felt vile.

Even if unavoidable, it weighed on her.

She’d avoided Haru, wanting to be friends, yet Haru still extended a hand.

Their library talk, sharing ideas, felt like a dreamy drama scene.

Yet she failed to protect her again.

“She’s pretty, kind, smart, but I’m nothing without being an exorcist.”

If she couldn’t even do that right, what was her worth?

“…No. Don’t jump ahead. Nothing’s confirmed.”

Too early to assume the other side’s involvement.

Cutting off dark thoughts, her eyes caught a familiar boy.

“She wasn’t in the bathroom?”

“Nope, didn’t see her.”

“For real? Someone said she went there.”

“Maybe she left early? Or was in a stall. We didn’t check every one.”

Dodam grilled the girls, frustrated, raking his hair.

“Where’d she go? Not answering calls…”

“…”

Many were looking for her.

Hwaseo needed a different approach.

That’s why she approached the red-haired boy she’d usually avoid.

“Missing?”

“Not in school. She was here earlier.”

“Suspect a ghost?”

“She wouldn’t just vanish. If the other side’s involved…”

Han Doryeong, after brief thought, nodded.

“Where was she last seen?”

Personal feelings about Hwaseo didn’t matter before the other side.
This was duty.

He had to confront it, especially hating ghosts that harmed the living.

“Girls’ bathroom.”

Doryeong, superior in ghost-hunting, faced one barrier.

“…Gotta wait till after school.”

Gender walls were absolute.

My eyes fluttered open.

I was in a strange place.

“What the…?”

Sorting foggy memories, the bathroom incident came back.

“Right. They pushed me toward the mirror.”

Multiple girls attacked at once—I couldn’t react.

I got sucked into the mirror… sucked in?

That’s what happened.

So, this was inside the mirror?

“Sua wouldn’t do that… would she?”

Her not remembering the plushie, that odd unease, now made sense.

She wasn’t the real Sua.

Nor were her friends.

“Then Kihyun’s in the same boat.”

My mistake.

I thought it was just him, but it had spread.

A ghost story that grows stronger over time.

“Can’t stay here.”

Have the exorcists noticed?

No clue.

This thing was cunning, building power unnoticed.

I hadn’t sensed it either.

“…Though my mimicry played a part.”

Still, I was caught.

I tried raising my spiritual power to break this world.

The surest way to escape.

“No good.”

It might’ve worked before being pulled in, but breaking it from inside was tough.

Reluctantly, I walked, scanning around.

Like an inverted school.

A mirror-world version, vastly different from what I knew.

Still, I recognized the second floor—first-year classrooms.

“So quiet.”

My footsteps echoed in the empty hall.

It reminded me of an urban legend: a deserted world where you’re alone.

Terrifying for most, but it didn’t faze me.

Though it felt lonely.

Like my childhood, wandering alone.

“Gotta get out… huh?”

Entering Class 3’s room, I saw several figures slumped over desks.

Approaching cautiously, expecting hostility like Sua’s, they didn’t stir.

Shaking their shoulders did nothing.

“Asleep? No, more like frozen.”

Sua, Kihyun, the girls from earlier.

Some unfamiliar kids too.

These were probably the real ones.

The ones in reality were fakes wearing their forms.

“Not possession—more like clones—”

“Mmm…”

Kihyun stirred, eyes opening.

“…!”

Why him, when the others were still?

Then it hit me—because I’d destroyed his fake.

I let my guard down.

If he saw me wandering here, he’d get the wrong idea.

‘Wait. He doesn’t know I was pulled in too.’

As long as he didn’t see me, it was fine.

After a split-second thought, my form shifted.

Taking on ‘another appearance,’ our eyes met.

“Where am I…?”