Uzuki turned around. There they were—Aoi, Amano, and Kaoru—walking shoulder to shoulder, inseparable as always. Uzuki was suddenly struck by the unsettling feeling of being shut out.
“What a handsome guy. He wouldn’t happen to be your boyfriend, would he, Uzuki?” Aoi sidled up to Uzuki and Gao Sijin with a teasing lilt in her voice.
“He looks like such a pure-hearted person,” Class President Amano added, her gaze fixed on Gao Sijin. “He has beautiful eyes.”
“Truly remarkable. Just what I’d expect from you, Uzuki.”
Before Gao Sijin could even react, he was already completely surrounded by Uzuki’s friends. Facing this relentless barrage of high school girls, he found himself struggling to keep up. But knowing his behavior could very well affect Uzuki’s school life, he marshaled all his strength and said:
“Hello, my name is Gao Sijin.”
Hearing him introduce himself, the three girls paused for a moment, their interest clearly piqued.
“Are you a foreigner? From China or Country K?”
“China,” Gao Sijin replied, doing his absolute best to come across as friendly.
“No way, are you from the Magic City? Your skin is so fair, and your features are so refined.”
“Uh, no. I’m from Chuncheng, in the Northeast.”
“Uzuki went and found herself a foreign boyfriend. She turned into a normie without making a single peep,” remarked Kaoru, who always seemed a bit less conspicuous than the rest. “At this rate, won’t I be the only one left who’s never had a boyfriend?”
“You’ve gotta put in some effort too, Kaoru,” Aoi said with a mischievous grin.
The fashionably dressed Aoi, who came from a wealthy family, had already gone through five boyfriends.
“If I find a suitable boy, I’ll introduce him to you, Kaoru,” Class President Amano said with complete seriousness. She herself was dating the ace of the baseball club.
Gao Sijin calmly watched this chattering flock of high school girls. For some reason, a wave of inexplicable disgust welled up inside him. It was as if they were all code programs running on pre-set templates.
Behind him, Uzuki silently clutched his sleeve, completely at a loss. She could tell this was definitely not the right time to bring up Minako’s disappearance, so she kept her lips tightly sealed.
“If it’s not a problem, let’s exchange contact info,” Aoi demanded.
“Ah, no fair! I want to, too.”
“Since he’s Uzuki’s boyfriend, he obviously has to pass our inspection first.”
And so, without really understanding why, Gao Sijin ended up adding Uzuki’s friends on Line. He kept a strained smile plastered on his face the whole time, unable to fathom why Uzuki felt such a strong need to maintain her friendship with these girls.
The high school bell rang. Aoi slung her bag over one shoulder and said:
“Oh no, we’re gonna be late. Well, let’s catch up another day, Uzuki’s Boyfriend-kun.”
“Wait for me, Aoi!”
The three high school girls vanished in a flash, showing absolutely no intention of waiting for Uzuki. Uzuki’s little hand remained clenched tight around Gao Sijin’s sleeve.
“Uzuki, if you don’t want to go to school, just take the day off.”
“I’m going to school…”
“I’ll pick you up right at the gate after school. For now, let’s all stay together at the apartment in Bunkyo Ward.”
Uzuki gently wrapped her arms around Gao Sijin. The embrace was warm, but firm.
She couldn’t stay stuck in place forever. She had to take a step forward.
One step. Two steps. Three steps…
She’d been shunned by her classmates before, left completely alone. There was nothing left to be afraid of now.
She turned back and saw Gao Sijin still standing at the school gate, waving at her. She was like a ship about to embark on a long voyage, leaving behind the safe harbor where she’d rested. That harbor was warm and full of happiness, but she couldn’t stay by Gao Sijin’s side forever. Because Gao Sijin was the one Cousin Rio loved. And Uzuki herself? She was nothing more than an orphan of a branch family, a leftover with no parents at all.
“See you at three o’clock, Uzuki!”
Gao Sijin waved at her, a lingering unease still in his heart. If he had to judge from everything he’d just witnessed, Uzuki was already being ostracized. Uzuki, who’d once been part of the inner circle, wouldn’t be cut off directly. It would happen gradually, step by step, a slow drifting apart. When it came to social relationships, classy people didn’t suddenly vanish. They executed a strategic retreat.
It was a slow, agonizing process. Just like that girl—the one full of malicious curiosity, who loved to torment people slowly.
“Huh?”
Wait, who was that again?
In his memory, there always seemed to be a girl like that. One who sent chills down his spine.
Gao Sijin got back into the car where Yu Qingxue had been waiting for quite some time. He had already gotten permission from the professor for the day off. He decided he would wait at the school gate until Uzuki’s classes were over.
Uzuki sat through her classes in a daze. Her mind kept replaying all the supernatural events from that day, and the image of Minako vanishing into the mirror.
Minako was gone.
Swallowed up by the mirror.
But why were Aoi—who was supposed to be Minako’s friend—the normally gentle and kind Amano, and Kaoru, who was exceptionally good at reading the mood, all acting as if nothing had happened?
A living, breathing person had disappeared. Did it never occur to them to try and get Minako back?
Yet during the break, they continued chatting and laughing, as if Minako had never existed in the first place.
Uzuki got through the morning like this. Aoi, as usual, invited Uzuki to eat lunch with them.
The four girls pushed their desks together and took out their respective bento boxes.
“Uzuki, you look terrible,” Aoi said, her expression full of concern as she looked at Uzuki. “Did you not sleep well last night?”
“You have to pull yourself together, Uzuki,” Amano, ever innocent and kind, chimed in, resting her chin on her hand and gently stroking Uzuki’s hair.
“Here, Uzuki. I’m on a diet lately, so you can have my squid sausage,” Kaoru said, transferring a piece of food from her bento onto Uzuki’s rice.
That picture of cheerful harmony hadn’t changed. But after something like that had happened, could they really keep pretending nothing was wrong?
Uzuki didn’t know who was the abnormal one—her, or them. Did they seriously not care that Minako had disappeared?
“Where exactly did Minako go?” Uzuki pursed her lips and mumbled wearily, looking at the others.
“Tch.” A distinct click of the tongue came from Aoi.
In J-Country, that sound was practically a provocation, a clear sign that the other person was seriously annoyed.
Uzuki stole a glance at Aoi. The concern that had been on her face moments ago was gone, replaced by a livid, terrifying expression, like a Hannya mask.
“Minako didn’t go home?” Amano asked, looking confused.
“No way, she hasn’t contacted me either. That’s pretty absurd, hahaha.” Kaoru scratched her head.
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. The events of that night came flooding back into Uzuki’s mind.
Minako from the Supernatural Club had vanished, leaving behind only a pair of sneakers.
“We have to get Minako back,” Uzuki said cautiously. “If we don’t get her back, then…”
“And how are we supposed to find her?!” Aoi cut Uzuki off, her voice sharp.
The sudden, icy hostility in her voice made Uzuki jump. Aoi slammed her hand down on the desk, crossed her slender legs, and pressed a hand to her forehead, as if nursing a headache and running out of patience.
“But we have to get Minako back…”
“I asked you, how?!” Aoi shot to her feet so violently that her bento box tipped off the desk and clattered onto the floor.
The vicious glare in her eyes was like countless sharpened blades. Thin, dark circles rested beneath Aoi’s eyelids.
