Liora was running.

The world around her was nothing but shifting darkness, a maze of whispering shadows stretching endlessly in every direction. Cold air pressed against her skin, wrapping around her like unseen hands, trying to pull her back. She could hear them—voices, soft and hollow, calling her name from the depths of the abyss.

"Liora..."

She didn’t look back. She couldn’t.

Her bare feet hit the ground, though she wasn’t sure if there even was a ground. It felt like running on water, every step sinking slightly before pushing her forward again. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her chest tightening as if something unseen was wrapping around her ribs, squeezing the air from her lungs.

Then, she heard it.

A song.

It drifted through the darkness, soft and sorrowful, like a lullaby sung by someone who had long forgotten the meaning of sleep. The melody curled around her, threading through the cold emptiness, weaving itself into the very shadows that reached for her.

She knew this song.

It was the one she never dared to sing.

Her steps slowed. The whispers grew louder.

"Sing, Liora."

She tried to speak, but her voice was gone. Panic surged through her as she clutched her throat. Nothing. No sound. It was as if the darkness had stolen it, swallowed it whole.

The shadows surged forward, spiraling around her, thickening like a storm cloud ready to consume her. The song grew louder, almost pleading.

And then—she saw them.

Figures emerging from the darkness. People. Or what was left of them. Their faces were blurred, their bodies thin and weightless like smoke, their eyes nothing but empty voids. They stood in a circle around her, their mouths moving, singing the song she couldn’t.

She tried to scream, but still, nothing came out.

One figure stepped closer. It was smaller than the others, delicate and familiar. As the shadows shifted, Liora’s breath caught in her throat.

It was her.

Or rather, a reflection of herself—pale, hollow-eyed, lips parted as if singing the song that had been locked inside Liora for as long as she could remember.

The shadow-Liora reached out a hand. And as their fingers almost touched—

Liora woke up.

She bolted upright, chest heaving, heart pounding like a drum inside her ribs. Her room was dark, but not the suffocating blackness of her nightmare. Moonlight trickled through her window, soft and silver. She was safe.

But her throat ached.

As if, in another world, she had been screaming.

Liora stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection as if it belonged to someone else. Her dark hair was tangled from restless sleep, and faint shadows clung beneath her eyes—a lingering trace of the nightmare that still clung to her skin like damp fog.

She touched her throat. It didn’t hurt anymore, but the sensation of being voiceless in the dream unsettled her. Even now, she wasn’t sure if it had been just a dream… or something more.

A knock on the door made her flinch.

“Liora! You’re going to be late,” her mother called.

Snapping back to reality, Liora hurried to get ready. She pulled on her uniform—a crisp white blouse, navy blazer, and pleated skirt—before slinging her bag over her shoulder and heading out the door.

The morning air was crisp as she walked toward Eunha High School, the towering brick-and-glass building coming into view. The school was prestigious, known for its academic excellence, but to Liora, it was just a place where she blended into the background.

Students bustled through the gates, laughing in clusters, some half-asleep as they dragged themselves inside. Liora kept her head down, weaving through the crowd unnoticed. That was how she preferred it—no attention, no expectations.

But as she stepped into the school hallway, something felt… different.

Whispers.

They curled around her like invisible threads, not in the usual way students gossiped about weekend drama. This was something else.

"Did you hear? Someone saw her sleep-talking in class yesterday."

"Weird, right? Like she was saying something… but no one could understand her."

"Maybe she’s just—"

Liora’s hands tightened around the straps of her bag. Her heart pounded.

She didn’t remember sleep-talking. She barely even spoke at school.

Had her nightmare followed her into the real world?

As she reached her classroom, she hesitated at the door. Then—

“Liora!”

A soft, cheerful voice broke through her thoughts.

She turned.

Standing there was Mina—small, bright-eyed, and effortlessly adorable, like a character straight out of a shoujo manga. Her honey-blonde hair was tied up in two messy buns, a few stray strands framing her round face. She was hugging her notebook to her chest, rocking on the balls of her feet as she smiled up at Liora.

“You okay?” Mina asked, tilting her head slightly.

Liora blinked. No one ever really asked her that. Not in a way that felt real.

“I…” The word barely left her lips before she hesitated. She should just say she was fine, brush it off like she always did. But something in the way Mina looked at her—soft, curious, like she actually cared—made her pause.

Before she could answer, the bell rang.

Mina pouted. “Aw, guess you’ll have to tell me later.” She reached out, gently squeezing Liora’s hand before skipping past her into the classroom.

Liora stood frozen in place, the warmth of Mina’s touch lingering against her skin.

Something was changing.

She just didn’t know what yet.

Liora sat in her usual seat by the window, staring outside as the morning sunlight filtered through the glass. The world outside looked normal—students chatting in the courtyard, the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze—but inside her mind, the echoes of last night’s nightmare still lingered.

Mina plopped into the seat beside her, immediately invading Liora’s space with her boundless energy. “So,” she said, resting her chin in her hands. “Are you going to tell me what’s up, or do I have to guess?”

Liora hesitated. She wasn’t sure how to explain the dream, the voices, the eerie feeling of something following her even after she woke up. Would Mina even believe her?

“It’s nothing,” she finally muttered, fiddling with the hem of her blazer.

Mina pouted. “Liora, you’re a terrible liar.” She poked Liora’s arm. “Come on, you were totally spacing out. Something’s bothering you.”

Liora sighed, knowing Mina wouldn’t drop it. She glanced around, making sure no one was listening, before lowering her voice. “I had a nightmare.”

Mina’s expression softened. “Was it bad?”

Liora nodded. “It felt... real. Like I was trapped in it. I couldn’t run, and when I tried to speak—” She swallowed. “I had no voice.”

Mina frowned. “That’s creepy.”

Liora let out a small, bitter laugh. “Yeah.”

Mina tapped a finger against her lips, thinking. “You know, there’s this belief that dreams can mean something. Like, your subconscious is trying to tell you something important.”

Liora raised an eyebrow. “And what do you think mine is saying?”

Mina grinned. “That you need to start talking more instead of bottling everything up.”

Liora rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help the tiny smile that tugged at her lips. Only Mina could take something unsettling and turn it into a teasing moment.

“Or,” Mina continued dramatically, “maybe you’re secretly cursed, and the shadows are trying to steal your voice forever.” She wiggled her fingers in front of Liora’s face like she was casting a spell.

Liora swatted her hand away, but a chuckle slipped out. “You watch too many horror movies.”

Mina gasped. “Excuse me! Horror movies are art—”

Their conversation was cut off as the teacher entered the classroom, signaling the start of the lesson. Mina shot Liora a final look, mouthing, We’re not done talking about this.

Liora shook her head, but as she turned her attention to the front of the class, a strange feeling curled in her chest.

She had told Mina about the nightmare.

But she hadn’t told her the strangest part.

That the voice in the dream—the one that had been singing—

Had sounded just like hers.

____

The school day dragged on, but Liora couldn’t shake the lingering weight of her nightmare. No matter how many times she told herself it was just a dream, something about it clung to her—like a melody she couldn’t quite remember, but somehow knew had always been there.

By the time lunch rolled around, she barely touched her food. Mina, of course, noticed immediately.

“Okay, this is serious.” Mina leaned forward, propping her elbows on the cafeteria table. “You never eat much, but today you’re barely pretending to care. Spill.”

Liora poked at her rice with her chopsticks, debating whether to brush it off again. But something in Mina’s expression—genuine concern, curiosity, the way she always seemed to see her when no one else did—made her exhale in defeat.

“It’s not just the dream,” Liora admitted quietly. “It’s… the song.”

Mina tilted her head. “The song?”

Liora nodded. “In the nightmare, I heard it. Soft, almost like a lullaby. It was familiar, but I don’t know from where.” She hesitated before adding, “And the voice singing it… sounded like me.”

Mina blinked. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her lips. “Okay, that’s actually really cool. Creepy, but cool.”

Liora gave her a flat look. “Not helping.”

“No, no, I am helping.” Mina tapped a finger against the table. “Think about it. What if your subconscious is trying to remind you of something? Maybe it’s a song from your childhood or—” She gasped dramatically. “What if you were a famous singer in your past life?”

Liora sighed. “I’m serious, Mina.”

“So am I.” Mina’s teasing softened into something thoughtful. “Maybe there’s a reason you can’t remember it. You should try singing it out loud. Maybe it’ll come back.”

Liora stiffened. “I don’t sing.”

Mina groaned. “You say that, but I know you can.”

“No, I—”

Mina’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Liora,” she said in a sing-song voice, “if you don’t sing, I will start belting out love songs in the middle of the cafeteria. Loudly.”

Liora’s face burned. “You wouldn’t.”

Mina took a deep breath. “BABY, BABY, BABY, OHHHH—”

“Okay! Stop!” Liora hissed, slapping a hand over Mina’s mouth, but she was already giggling against her palm.

“Seriously, though,” Mina said once Liora let go, “at least try to hum the melody later. If it’s stuck in your head, maybe it’s important.”

Liora exhaled slowly. “Fine.”

Mina beamed. “That’s my girl.”

Despite everything, Liora smiled.

But later that night, when she sat on her bed and tried to hum the song from her dream—

No sound came out.

She clutched her throat, panic flashing through her. Her lips moved, but there was nothing. No voice. No hum.

Just silence.

And from the corner of her room, where the shadows stretched just a little too far—

A whisper.

"Sing, Liora."

Mina wasn’t the kind of person who let things go easily.

She had always been like this—curious, relentless, and just a little too nosy for her own good. It was what made her such a good best friend, though Liora would probably argue otherwise.

But today, something about Liora felt off.

Mina had noticed it from the moment they walked into school. The way Liora hesitated before speaking, the way she kept touching her throat absentmindedly, like something was wrong. Liora was always quiet, but this? This was different.

Mina chewed on the end of her pen as she stared at Liora from across the classroom. Liora was staring blankly at her notebook, pencil unmoving.

Yeah. Something was definitely wrong.

At the end of the day, Mina didn’t let Liora escape.

“Okay, spill.” She grabbed Liora’s wrist before she could vanish down the hallway. “Something’s up, and I know it’s about that dream.”

Liora hesitated. She looked around as if making sure no one else could hear before sighing. “I… I tried humming the song last night.”

Mina perked up. “And?”

Liora’s expression darkened. “Nothing came out.”

Mina blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean my voice was gone.” Liora touched her throat, frustration flickering in her eyes. “I tried again and again, but it was like something was stopping me.”

Mina stared at her. The usual playful remark died on her lips.

“Liora,” she said carefully, “you don’t think—”

“I don’t know what to think.” Liora shook her head. “But it’s not normal, Mina.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And then… I heard it again.”

Mina swallowed. “The whisper?”

Liora nodded.

Mina crossed her arms. “Okay, that’s creepy.”

Liora gave her a gee, you think? look.

Mina chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “We need a plan.”

Liora raised an eyebrow. “A plan?”

“Yes, a plan. Step one, we figure out where that song comes from. Step two, we see if this whole ‘I can’t sing’ thing is some weird mental block or something… supernatural.” She wiggled her fingers for dramatic effect.

Liora sighed. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Mina grinned. “Nope.”

Despite the strangeness of it all, despite the shadows creeping at the edges of her life—Liora felt a little lighter. Because Mina was here. And no matter what was happening to her, she wasn’t facing it alone.

Even if neither of them realized just how deep this mystery was about to go.

____

Mina had never considered herself the detective type, but if there was one thing she excelled at, it was not giving up.

Which was exactly why, the next day, she dragged Liora to the school library.

Liora, of course, looked unimpressed. “How is this supposed to help?” she muttered as Mina pulled her toward the shelves.

“Well,” Mina said, scanning the rows of old music books, “if the song from your dream is real, then maybe we can find something about it. Maybe it’s an old lullaby, or—” She gasped dramatically. “What if it’s cursed?”

Liora groaned. “Mina.”

Mina grinned. “Relax. It’s just a theory. But wouldn’t it be cool if—”

She paused.

A strange feeling prickled at the back of her neck.

The library was nearly empty, the air thick with the scent of old paper and dust. But something about it felt… different.

Off.

Mina turned, eyes flickering across the dim rows of bookshelves. She could’ve sworn—

“Earth to Mina?”

Liora’s voice snapped her out of it. Mina shook off the weird feeling and pulled out a thick book from the shelf. “Let’s start here,” she said, dropping it onto the table with a thud.

Liora sat down, flipping through the pages while Mina grabbed another book. For a while, they worked in silence, searching for anything that might match the haunting melody in Liora’s dream.

Then—

“Wait.”

Liora’s voice was barely above a whisper. Mina looked up.

Liora was staring at a page, her fingers tightening on the edges of the book.

Mina leaned in. The page held a faded sheet of music, the notes curling across the staff like delicate ink vines. The title was smudged, unreadable. But something about it felt… familiar.

“Is this—?” Mina started.

“I think so,” Liora murmured. Her fingers traced the notes, almost reverently. “I don’t know how, but… I know this song.”

Mina shivered.

Then she had an idea.

“If you recognize it, then try humming it,” she suggested. “See if anything happens.”

Liora hesitated. But then, slowly, she parted her lips.

And once again—nothing.

Not a single note.

Liora’s eyes widened in panic. She clutched her throat, her breath quickening.

Mina grabbed her hand. “Hey, hey—breathe. It’s okay.”

Liora’s fingers trembled against her own. Her voice should have come out. There was no reason for it not to. And yet—

A noise echoed through the library.

A faint hum.

Mina froze.

It wasn’t coming from Liora.

It was coming from somewhere else.

From the shadows between the bookshelves.

Low and haunting, like an echo of something forgotten.

Mina’s grip on Liora tightened. “We need to go.”

Liora didn’t argue. They slammed the book shut and hurried out of the library, the strange humming fading behind them.

But as they stepped back into the bright hallway, Mina realized something.

That song—

She had heard it before, too.

She just didn’t remember where.