He didn’t know where this shadow-like feeling came from, but thinking of his persistence over the past four years, he wrapped his clothes tighter around himself and slowly walked toward the location of the gathering.

……

……

“Henry Bennett, you’re here?”

“This gathering is great—we managed to invite the homebody god Henry Bennett, who hasn’t stepped outside in years, and also got to see the goddess Grace Cooper, who hasn’t contacted any classmates in four or five years…”

“Getting Henry Bennett, who was planning to be a shut-in for life, to come out is really a big deal…”

In the private room, the faces of his classmates were all smiling, and they began to overlap with the energetic images in Henry Bennett’s memory, pulling him back to that sunny memory from four years ago.

This made his wildly beating heart calm down a little.

In these four years, they had all gone to college and started a different kind of life.

But he was different. Because of his severe headaches, it was as if his life had been locked in a cage for four years.

He already felt a bit of distance, but Henry Bennett was still very happy. After all, this seemed like a normal feeling, and these were a group of normal people.

“What are you all talking about?”

At this moment, someone spoke up with a smile, interrupting everyone’s discussion.

A bright girl who had been making a phone call outside walked in. She had a slender figure and clean, delicate features, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

The classmates at the table instantly changed their expressions to even bigger smiles, saying one after another, “It’s nothing, Grace Cooper. Now that you’re back, are you staying in Black Gate City this time?”

“……”

She was the center of attention at this reunion, and universally acknowledged as the most beautiful girl.

Even in Henry Bennett’s memory, her image was clear—she was the prettiest girl in high school, with excellent grades, athletic ability, and outstanding in every way.

Besides that, there was a certain mysterious quality about her that was hard to describe.

It was said she came from a prominent family in a big northern city, and had transferred here for some special reason, only to leave after a single semester.

“I’ll be staying here for a while.”

Grace Cooper answered with a smile, “But I’m not sure exactly how long.”

She always seemed to have that kind of aura—gentle to others, yet with a sense of distance. She clearly didn’t care much, but always became the center of everyone’s attention.

“She seems different from everyone else…”

Henry Bennett didn’t even know when it started, but he felt drawn to Grace Cooper.

It wasn’t because she was beautiful, but because she always radiated a kind of presence that Henry Bennett found hard to put into words—something undeniably real.

Only when looking at her did he feel as if he was escaping that unreal sense of dizziness, and his tense emotions slowly faded away.

Maybe all the previous discomfort and panic were just side effects of his headaches, and he was just too nervous, making himself paranoid.

“Heh, Henry Bennett, what are you looking at?”

But just then, a cold voice suddenly snapped Henry Bennett out of it.

He looked up to see William Carter staring at him with a sinister gaze, a cigarette between his fingers. His mouth was twisted into an unnatural grin, but his eyes glinted with a chilling light.

Another classmate was gripping a steak knife, stabbing it vertically into the meat on his plate again and again, but all the while, his eyes were fixed on Henry Bennett.

Across from him, someone yanked their chair with force, making a harsh scraping noise, then slouched back and gave Henry Bennett a mocking, ambiguous smile.

In that instant, Henry Bennett felt as if he had suddenly become the target of everyone’s hostility.

His heart began to pound uncontrollably, and with each beat it grew slower. Henry Bennett felt his nerves tightening again, beyond his control, cold sweat beading on his forehead layer by layer.

That dizzy feeling swept over him again, and everything around him seemed to become unreal.

He could even sense that these people might suddenly leap up at any moment and stab him with the knives in their hands.

“They all want to hurt me…”

When this thought suddenly burst into his mind, Henry Bennett startled himself.

He stood up in a panic. “I’m going to the restroom!”

Fleeing the private room as if escaping, he could still feel countless chilling eyes boring into his back.

“What’s wrong with me?”

A handful of cold water splashed onto his face, and Henry Bennett shut his eyes in pain.

He didn’t know why this was happening. His mother at home, strangers on the street, even his familiar classmates would, without warning, show expressions as if they wanted to kill him.

So, was he actually sick?

He’d been ill since four years ago, suffering splitting headaches, and the whole world would become twisted and unreal.

He’d spent four years exercising in his bedroom, thinking he’d gotten a bit better, but maybe not—in fact, maybe his symptoms had only gotten worse?

……

……

“How long have you been awake?”

Just as Henry Bennett was asking himself in pain and confusion, a calm voice sounded.

Henry Bennett was startled and quickly turned his head, only to see that Grace Cooper had somehow appeared behind him.

She leaned against the wall, a slender cigarette between her fingers, her gaze indifferent as she looked at him.

“I…”

Henry Bennett hesitated, wanting to explain that he’d just said he was coming to the restroom.