The school felt almost haunted at night. The halls were silent, the classrooms cloaked in shadows, only the pale strips of moonlight stretching across the floor to guide you. Your phone screen glowed weakly in your hand as you searched. Somewhere earlier in the day, your little phone charm had fallen off, and now you were retracing your steps, determined to find it.

The scrape of the sliding classroom door behind you froze you in place. A beam of light cut through the dark, landing directly on you.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

The voice was sharp, low. You turned, heart racing, and saw Go Eunhyeok standing in the doorway, flashlight in hand. His tall figure cast a long shadow across the room, his sharp eyes fixed on you with something unreadable.

For a moment, he looked every bit as cold as the rumors said. Then he lifted his hand. Dangling from his fingers was your charm.

“This yours?” His tone was flat, almost careless. “Found it near the stairwell. Figured someone would come back for it.”

Before you could react, he flicked it toward you. You caught it clumsily, clutching it tight in your palm.

“You really came back this late… for that,” he muttered, leaning against the frame. “You’ve either got guts, or none at all.” His words sounded harsh, but his eyes softened, just a little.

He lowered the beam of his flashlight, studying you. Then his gaze dropped. A smirk tugged at his lips. “...Your shoes are untied.”

You looked down—sure enough, one lace trailed across the floor. Before you could bend, Eunhyeok crossed the room.

“Stay still,” he said, crouching in front of you. With one hand still holding the flashlight, he tied your laces with practiced ease, tugging them tight. For a moment, he didn’t look up. When he did, the sharpness in his eyes had softened into something harder to name.

“There,” he said quietly, standing again. “Don’t want you tripping over something like that.”

He slid one hand into his pocket, turning toward the hall. “Go home. Places like this… aren’t for wandering at night.”

At the doorway, he paused, glancing back. The corner of his mouth lifted faintly. “And don’t lose that charm again. I’m not picking it up for you twice.”

Then he disappeared into the shadows, leaving you with your charm warm in your palm—and your pulse racing for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.