The game.. (contd..)

> The footsteps pause. Right outside the storage room now. The doorknob jiggles gently. Once. Twice.

Ren (voice soft, playful, almost sing-song):

“Miiirei… Are you in there?”

> His silhouette lingers like a ghost through the glass. The blurred outline of his face turns, like he's listening for her breath. A slow exhale from his nose — amused. Confident.

Ren:

“You always follow the rules, don’t you? That’s what makes you fun.”

> The sound of him leaning against the door. A pause. A long silence.

Ren (quieter):

“But you're not hiding because you're scared of breaking the rules, are you?”

(beat)

“You're hiding because you already did.”

> And just like that, he walks away. The soft thump of his shoes fading down the gym hall.

---

Mirei remains frozen. Still biting her finger. Still trembling in the dark. The metallic taste of blood still warm on her tongue.

Mirei (muttering):

“No. No. I didn’t break anything. He didn’t see. He didn’t see.”

> But deep down… she knows. He did.

Later That Night – Mirei’s Room

The heater hums. Her room is immaculate — posters perfectly aligned, notebooks arranged by subject and date. And in the center of her desk…

A photo of Ren. Taken from a classroom window. Slightly blurred.

Dozens of similar photos line the inside of her drawer.

Next to them — the blood-stained PE shirt. Folded. Reverently.

Mirei (to herself, lovingly):

“If he disappears…

Then I’ll have to chase him into the dark, won’t I?”

> Her eyes flick toward the scissors lying near her pencils.

> Scene: Ren's Room — Midnight

His room is tidy. Minimalist. Too clean for a teenage boy. No posters. Just shelves of books — psychology, classic literature, chess strategy.

The only light comes from the small desk lamp, casting long shadows across his notebook.

Ren sits at his desk, legs crossed under him, quietly sipping hot tea. The steam coils in front of his eyes as he flips to a fresh page.

He writes:

---

"Experiment: Mirei Asahina."

Subject Profile:

— Obsessive tendencies increasing

— Denial still active

— Intelligence: high

— Control: slipping

— Reaction to imposed restriction: unstable arousal

— Risk of violence: rising

Hypothesis:

If you give a girl a boundary, she will eventually cross it.

---

(He sets his pen down. Leans back. Smiles to himself.)

Ren (murmuring):

“She’s going to crack… beautifully.”

He glances at the wall. There’s a pinboard there. Covered in photos, maps of the school, seating charts. And in the very center, taped neatly —

A photo of Mirei.

Laughing with friends. Smile perfect. Eyes too wide.

Beside it — an envelope. Inside are pieces of paper she's written him in class but never handed over. He’s been collecting them. Reading them at night like bedtime stories.

Ren (to himself):

“She thinks she’s the predator.

But love is a mirror, Mirei.”

> He closes his notebook. Lays back on the bed. Snow starts to fall outside his window. Soft. Silent. Suffocating.

Ren:

“You’ll be the one who pulls the trigger.

All I have to do… is hand you the gun.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***