Chapter 8

• I was diligently typing down all the necessary information for my research after class had finished. The entire classroom was already empty when Xia entered with a box of blank papers in her hands.
• "So, uh, the professor said you have to bring this to the storage room, h-hehe." Xia handed me the box. I stared at her with doubt.
• "Can't you do this yourself? It doesn't even look heavy."
• "But Yuji, come on, help your girlfriend out." She pleaded, her eyes welling up with tears.
• "I'm busy with our research."
• "Huuu… please?" She then unleashed her puppy-dog eyes on me, which led to me looking at her with feigned disgust. "Ugh, what is wrong with you?"
• "Tsk, you're so hard to charm."
• "Because you're charmless," I teased, letting out a laugh.
• "Whaaaat!?" She looked at me with disbelief. "For your information, most people called me a cutie. I've had plenty of people who liked me and plenty I've turned down. You should feel lucky to have me as your girlfriend."
• All her boasting only made me laugh even more. I found it amusing to tease Xia when the opportunity arose. She wasn't entirely wrong about herself, though. She was undeniably adorable. I pinched her puffed cheeks while chuckling, which caught her off guard.
• "I'm sorry hahaha! Fine, fine. I'll help you with this, but you have to continue the research while I store these papers." I told her.
• She happily accepted my offer and took my seat to continue her work. "Be safe on your way there; I heard there are ghosts lingering around the corridors leading to the storage room," she warned.
• "Uh-huh, seems like that's the reason why you don't want to go there."
• She didn't even deny it. "Of course! I hate ghosts!" I couldn't help but chuckle at the contrast between her bravery in confessing her feelings and her fear of ghosts.
• As I reached the storage room, I noticed a note that had slid out from underneath the door. It was a strange note that simply said 'help.' "Spooky," I muttered with a bored expression, crumpling up the note.
• I found it distasteful that young adults were still playing pranks like this; it felt quite immature. When I opened the door to enter the storage room, the lights were already on, and I promptly began storing the papers. The atmosphere inside was undeniably eerie, and I felt goosebumps on my arms and legs.
• As I finished storing the papers and tried to open the door to leave, I was startled to find that it wouldn't budge. "Fuck!" I exclaimed in frustration.
• This development terrified me even more—could the ghost rumors be true? "W-Who's there!?" I yelled, my nerves on edge.
• "Huh? Toma?… What are you doing here!?"
• "Well, I was sleeping--ahh no, I actually had to return something here, and I got stuck in this storage room. The door won't open from the inside," he explained.
• "So I'm stuck here… with you," I mumbled, realizing just how unfortunate my situation had become.
• "Aww, geez, I thought you were here to help me. Well, at least we're stuck together!" He managed to laugh despite our predicament. I remained silent, but deep down, I was internally screaming.
• After finishing my class, I sat alone in the empty classroom, diligently typing down the necessary research information. Unexpectedly, Xia entered the room holding a box of blank papers.
• "So, uh, the professor said you have to bring this to the storage room," she said hesitantly, offering me the box. I gave her a skeptical look.
• "Can't you do this yourself? It doesn't even look heavy."
• "But, Yuji, come on, help your girlfriend out," she pleaded, her eyes welling up with tears.
• "I'm busy with our research," I replied, trying to focus on my work.
• She let out a pitiful whimper. "Please?" Then, she deployed her puppy-dog eyes, a tactic that usually worked on others, but only prompted my disgust.
• "What's wrong with you?" I scoffed.
• "Tsk, you're so hard to charm."
• "Because you're charmless," I laughed.
• "What!? For your information, most people call me a cutie. I've had plenty of admirers and even had to turn some down. You should feel lucky to have me as your girlfriend."
• All her bragging only made me laugh even harder. It was amusing to tease Xia like this. She wasn't wrong about her looks; she was indeed an adorable creature. I couldn't help but pinch her puffed cheeks while laughing, which seemed to shock her.
• "I'm sorry," I said between laughs. "Fine, fine. I'll help you with this, but you have to continue with the research while I store these papers."
• Her happiness was evident as I did her a favor. She immediately occupied my seat and began typing. "Make sure to stay safe on your way there. I've heard rumors about ghosts lurking in the corridors near the storage room," she warned.
• "Yeah, it seems like that's the real reason you don't want to go there," I teased.
• She didn't deny it. "Of course! I hate ghosts!" She admitted her fear of ghosts, despite her bravery in confessing her feelings.
• As I reached the storage room, I noticed a note slid under the door. It had the word "help" scrawled on it. "Spooky," I muttered, unimpressed, as I picked up the note and crumpled it.
• It was disheartening to see young adults still indulging in immature pranks like this. Upon entering the storage room, I quickly stored the papers and began to feel uneasy due to the eerie atmosphere. Goosebumps formed on my arms and legs.
• When I tried to leave the storage room, I panicked as the door wouldn't open. "Damn it!" I yelled, frustrated and frightened. Could the rumors about ghosts be true? "Who's there!?" I shouted, terrified.
• "Huh? Toma?... What are you doing here!?"
• "Well, I was sleeping... Oh, no, actually, I needed to return something here, and I got stuck in this storage room. The door won't open from the inside," he explained with a friendly tone.
• "So, I'm stuck here... with you," I mumbled, realizing my unfortunate predicament.
• "Aww, geez, I thought you were here to help me. Well, at least we're stuck together!" Toma managed to maintain a cheerful attitude. I remained silent but internally was screaming.
• Ugh, just when I was trying to finish the research. Toma glanced at me with a friendly expression. "Why didn't you do anything to get out of here?" I asked, annoyed.
• "Oh, I actually did. I yelled for help, tried to make a lot of noise, and even put a note under the door so someone could help me… but none of it worked." So, the stupid note earlier was his doing.
• I sighed, feeling helpless. "Tsk, what to do, what to do..." Then, I remembered my phone. I searched my pockets but realized I had left it in the classroom. Damn it.
• "!... Yeah?" Toma spoke, maintaining his friendly smile. Ugh, his face right now was quite irritating.
• "Do you have your phone with you?"
• "Uh, I thought about it, but, um, I left it with Cami."
• "Yeah, she asked to borrow it. She's checking out the pictures we've taken together."
• "I left it in the classroom."
• "Tsk, let's just wait until someone comes to get us."
• "Ha... somehow, this feels like déjà vu," Toma suddenly mentioned.
• "Remember the time when we were kids? We were playing at school and got ourselves locked in the library." Thinking about it made me laugh a little. I did recall that incident - we were stuck together for hours until the school guard found us.
• "It was fun," I said, smiling to myself.
• "I know, right? While we were stuck, we'd tell each other scary stories, play made-up games, and talk some more."
• "Yeah," those were good times, but... I doubted something like that could happen now that we're adults. There was so much work to do, and being stuck here for hours felt like a waste of time.
• While lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized that Toma had moved really close to me. "So, Yuji, do you mind if I ask you about Xia?"
• Since there was nothing else to do, I entertained his questions. "Sure."
• "I used to see her around in some classes since we were freshmen, and I got to know her at the beginning of the school year."
• "How did you guys start dating?"
• "Well, she confessed to me, and I decided to give it a shot."
• "What!?" Toma was surprised by this revelation.
• "It's surprising that a girl confessed to you. Most girls who used to pester me about you in high school didn't have the guts. They kept saying you were scary and that you might reject them."
• This was news to me. "What!?" I exclaimed,