WHO IS THAT GIRL

Chapter 14 – The Strings You Don’t See

By Wednesday, the noise stopped.

The same hallways that had hummed with laughter two days ago now held their breath when Mirae walked through. Conversations stalled. Heads lowered. The silence should have been a relief, but it felt heavier, stranger—like the pause before a storm rather than the calm after one.

When she reached her locker, there was no note waiting for her. The absence itself was unnerving.

Harim met her between classes, flashing his usual smile. “Hey. Looks like they got bored of us already.”

Mirae nodded uncertainly. “Maybe.”

He leaned against the wall, studying her. “You don’t believe that.”

“It feels wrong,” she admitted. “People don’t just stop talking.”

Harim shrugged. “Maybe someone told them to.” He sounded light, but a shadow flickered behind the words.

Before Mirae could ask what he meant, the bell rang and students flooded the hallway, cutting the conversation short.

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After the final period, she stayed behind to return a book to the library. The late afternoon sun poured through the tall windows, painting long stripes of gold across the floor. The quiet was soothing—until a voice came from behind one of the shelves.

“You look surprised that no one’s whispering anymore.”

She turned sharply. Seo Rihan stood between the shelves, blazer immaculate, a book held loosely in one hand. He stepped forward until the shadow of the shelf no longer touched him.

Mirae’s heart thudded once. “So it was you.”

Rihan tilted his head slightly. “Was what me?”

“Whatever you did. People stopped talking overnight.”

He placed the book on the table, straightening the edge as if lining up a chess piece. “I reminded them of the rules. Nothing more.”

“What rules?”

“The ones they forget when they think cruelty is free.”

Mirae folded her arms. “You told them to stop.”

“I made them choose to stop,” he corrected quietly. “It’s more efficient that way.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why would you do that for me?”

“Because this academy runs on image,” he said. “And you were becoming a distraction.”

“That sounds like you did it for yourself, not for me.”

He smiled faintly. “Does the reason matter, as long as the result is peace?”

“It matters to me,” she said, sharper than she meant to. “I don’t want favors I don’t understand.”

Rihan studied her for a long moment. His gaze wasn’t cruel, only searching. “You think everything here has a price.”

“Doesn’t it?”

Something unreadable flickered in his expression. “You’re learning.”

She turned to leave, but his voice stopped her.

“Be careful with Harim.”

Mirae froze. “What?”

“He’s too open. People use open hearts to sharpen knives.”

Her hands tightened around the strap of her bag. “And what about you?” she asked softly. “What do people use you for?”

For a heartbeat, his composure faltered. Then he stepped closer, close enough that she could smell the faint trace of cedar on his uniform. His tone dropped, calm again but lower, almost tired.

“Control isn’t protection, Mirae. Sometimes it’s the only way not to drown.”

She swallowed. “You talk like you’re the only one allowed to control things.”

“Maybe I am the only one who knows how.”

She met his eyes, forcing steadiness. “Then stop trying to pull my strings.”

“I’m not pulling them,” Rihan said. “I’m keeping them from being cut.”

The sentence hung between them, quiet and complicated.

After a moment, Mirae stepped back, shaking her head. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“I know.” His voice softened. “But you’ll thank me when the next wave starts.”

She didn’t answer. She walked past him, her footsteps quick and uneven. Rihan watched her until she disappeared down the corridor, his reflection stretching across the glass like a second shadow.

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Outside, the evening wind tugged at Mirae’s hood as she crossed the courtyard. The silence of the campus pressed close around her—too still, too careful. She should have felt safe, but she didn’t.

Someone had stopped the whispers, yes. But now, every eye that met hers held a different question. Who was she that even Seo Rihan listened to her silence?

And beneath that, another question she couldn’t answer:

Why did all of them keep orbiting her, as if she were the center of a story she never meant to start?

She pulled her hoodie tighter and kept walking, unaware that from the rooftop above, Taewoo’s figure was half-hidden behind the railing, watching her go.

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