I woke up to the quiet hum of the lights above me, blinking away the sleep from my eyes. I was lying on a bed in the infirmary. My head throbbed like it had been hit by a truck. The nurse was standing by, giving me a tired but relieved smile.

“Good, you’re awake,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “You passed out earlier. Some students carried you here, but I’m not sure who.”

I tried to remember what happened, but everything felt like a blur. The bullies. The fight. My eyes... they’d turned white, and I had no idea why. But it felt like I wasn’t in control of my body at the time.

“What happened?” I asked quietly, my voice rough.

“You fainted,” she replied. “Your body was too overwhelmed. We decided to keep you here for a while, but you should be okay now.”

I nodded, but the memory of the fight still hung over me. The feeling of power, of fear... I didn’t know what to make of it. I wasn’t that kind of person.

“I’m fine,” I said, standing up, though my legs felt shaky beneath me. “I’ll go home now.”

The nurse didn’t argue, but she handed me a bottle of water. “Just take it easy, okay?”

I grabbed the bottle and left the infirmary. The hallway was empty, and I could feel the weight of the silence pressing down on me. It was already late, and the streets outside were quiet as I made my way home. The cold air hit me, making my skin tingle, but I barely noticed it. My mind was spinning too fast.

When I reached my small apartment, I dropped my shoes by the door and collapsed onto my bed. My body ached, but my thoughts were the real problem. I kept replaying everything in my head—how the bullies had surrounded me, how I was pushed around, and then... that moment. My eyes turning white. The fear everyone felt.

I couldn’t understand what had happened. It was like I had changed, but I hadn’t done anything on purpose. I wasn’t the kind of person who made people afraid. But that’s exactly what happened.

What did it mean? Why was I feeling like this? Was it just some fluke, or was something different about me now?

I sighed and rolled onto my side, staring at the ceiling. “What’s happening to me?” I whispered to the empty room.

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The next morning came too fast. The sunlight broke through the curtains, and I woke up feeling exhausted, like I hadn’t slept at all. My phone buzzed with messages.

“Are you okay? You left school so suddenly yesterday,” Jihoon had messaged. “Let me know if you need anything.”

I quickly typed back, trying to make him feel better. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

After getting ready and eating a quick breakfast, I left my apartment and headed to school. The walk felt longer than usual, and every step felt heavier. When I reached the school gates, I immediately felt something was off. There was an energy in the air that I couldn’t ignore. People were staring at me. Some were whispering behind their hands. I kept my head down, but it didn’t help.

As I walked through the halls, I couldn’t escape the feeling that something had changed. I wasn’t invisible anymore. The eyes following me made my skin crawl, and the whispers, though I couldn’t hear them clearly, sent a chill down my spine.

At lunch, I sat in my usual spot, hoping to stay under the radar. But that didn’t last long. Jin, the leader of the bullies, appeared with his two lackeys, looking down at me with a grin that made my stomach twist.

“You look confident today,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You think you can mess with us and just walk away?”

I looked up at him, my mouth dry. “I didn’t do anything.”

Jin’s smirk didn’t fade. “Yeah? You think you’re special now, huh? Don’t think this is over. You’re nothing but a freak who got lucky.” He stepped closer, and I felt my heart beat faster, but I stayed still. I didn’t know what else to do.

The guys behind him laughed, but Jin waved them off. “Don’t worry. I’ll deal with you later.”

I watched as they walked off, their laughter fading, but my mind was still racing. Why were they acting like this? They had always picked on me before, but now it felt different. The way they looked at me—it was like they were afraid. But I didn’t understand why.

After the bell rang, I headed to class, my mind still spinning. In the hallway, I overheard some students talking about other schools.

“Hanlim High is ranked number one, right?” one of them asked.

“Yeah, and they’ve got a lot of tough guys,” the other replied. “They want to control the region by beating other schools. They’re not just about bullying—they take down the strongest students from other schools and take over.”

“That’s pretty crazy,” the first student said. “Suwon Academy’s not far behind, though. They’ll probably try something soon.”

“Guess Seongnam High’s too weak to even try,” the second student laughed.

I froze for a second. Seongnam High? My school? I had always known it was lower-ranked compared to the others, but hearing them talk about it like that made me feel even smaller. They weren’t talking about me, but I couldn’t ignore the way they were talking about power, rankings, and the way things worked between schools.

It made me wonder—was that what was happening now? Was this whole world I had been living in changing without me even realizing it?

I shook my head and kept walking, trying to push the thought away. But a nagging feeling stayed with me. Everything was different now. I wasn’t sure how, but I could feel it. Something was shifting, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it.