Raindrops tapped rhythmically against the dormitory roof as I stepped inside. The damp air smelled of wet earth, a scent that always reminded me of something old and forgotten. The building itself matched the atmosphere—its cracked walls and dimly lit hallways exuded an eerie, unwelcoming vibe.
I tightened my grip on my suitcase and dragged it up the stairs. Each step creaked beneath my weight, the sound echoing through the empty corridor. This dormitory was located far from the main campus, which explained why so few students chose to stay here.
When I arrived at Room 306, the dorm manager barely acknowledged me. He simply handed over the key with a faint, almost knowing smile and went back to whatever he was doing. I hesitated for a moment before pushing the key into the lock.
The door creaked open.
Inside, the room was dimly lit by a weak overhead lamp. The air was stale, as if the windows hadn't been opened in a long time. There were two beds—one near the door and one by the window.
Someone was already there.
A boy with messy black hair sat on the bed across from mine. He wore a dark hoodie, the hood pulled up slightly, casting a shadow over his face. His skin was unnaturally pale, and his posture was eerily still, as if he had been waiting for something.
He looked up at me. His eyes were dark, empty.
"Are you my new roommate?" His voice was light, almost weightless, as if it could disappear into the air at any moment.
"Yeah… What's your name?" I asked, trying to sound friendly.
"John."
That was it. No follow-up question, no attempt at conversation. Just a simple, flat answer.
Something about him made me uneasy, but I shook off the feeling and pulled my suitcase inside. I placed it beside my bed and started unpacking. John remained still, watching me.
The silence stretched.
Outside, the rain continued to fall, the occasional gust of wind rattling the window. The room felt colder than it should have.
The Next Morning
I woke up early, feeling disoriented. The night had been oddly restless, filled with strange dreams I couldn't quite remember.
I turned to check on John.
He was still in bed, his blanket pulled up over his head.
Had he even moved since last night?
Shaking off the thought, I got ready for my first day. The campus was huge, and as a freshman, I had a lot to take in—new classes, new faces, new routines. The dormitory, being so far from the main area, made socializing harder.
During lunch, I sat with a few classmates and casually mentioned where I was staying.
"You live in the West Dorms?" One of them asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, Room 306."
The expression on his face changed. A slight frown, a flicker of hesitation.
"306? That's weird… I thought that room was empty?"
I laughed. "Nope, I have a roommate. His name's John."
The hesitation deepened.
"Huh. I must've remembered wrong," he muttered before changing the subject.
The conversation left an odd feeling in my chest, but I brushed it off.
That Night
When I returned to my room, John was exactly where I had left him—sitting on his bed, wearing the same hoodie.
He hadn't moved.
"You didn't go out today?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
He shook his head. "No need."
A chill ran through me.
No need? What kind of answer was that?
I climbed onto my bed, forcing myself to ignore the growing discomfort. Maybe John was just an introvert, someone who preferred solitude. I had met plenty of people like that before.
But as I lay there, staring at the ceiling, another thought crept into my mind.
There was no smell in the room.
No scent of food. No trace of human presence.
If John had stayed here all day, the room should have smelled like something—leftover meals, the faint musk of clothes that had been worn too long, anything.
But there was nothing.
It was as if… no one had been here at all.
Day Three
I was in the library when I decided to check my phone. Scrolling through my photo gallery, I found a few pictures I had taken of my dorm room the previous night.
I clicked on one.
My stomach dropped.
John's bed was empty.
In the photo, there was no sign of him.
I quickly flipped through the rest.
In every single picture, John was missing.
But I remembered taking them while he was there. I remembered seeing him in my peripheral vision, sitting on that bed, hunched over slightly.
But now, in these photos, the bed was untouched.
I felt my hands grow cold.
Heart pounding, I snapped my phone shut and bolted out of the library. My footsteps echoed through the empty hallways as I raced back to my dorm.
I shoved open the door.
John was still there. Sitting in the same position.
"What's wrong?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
I could barely breathe. Slowly, I held up my phone.
"Why aren't you in the pictures?"
John looked at the screen. Then, he looked at me.
A slow, thin smile stretched across his lips.
"What do you think?"
The room suddenly felt suffocating.
The overhead light flickered violently.
Outside, the wind howled, slamming against the windows with unnatural force. The curtains billowed, twisting as if pulled by invisible hands.
The air in the room changed—it felt heavier, pressing down on me.
John tilted his head further. His smile widened. Too wide.
The shape of his face… didn't seem human anymore.
I tried to move, but my body wouldn't respond.
A shadow flickered across the walls, twisting unnaturally.
And then—
John vanished.
Right before my eyes.
The bed across from mine was empty.
Only the crumpled blanket remained.
And a silence so thick it felt like the world had stopped breathing.
END OF CHAPTER 1