They were all sneaking g Shouko, watg her like she rey.

  Yet, Shouko herself had no clue. She sat there with a hint of excitement, her eyes taking in the room.

  Because of her hearing dition, Shouko rarely went out or did things like watg movies. Now, sitting with what she thought were friends, she felt a glimmer of happiness.

  The tape was quickly ied into the pyer.

  The TV hummed to life, the s crag with static.

  "By the way, I'm going to grab some drinks!" one of the girls said suddenly.

  "Yeah, me too!"

  "I'll e along!"

  Before they eveled in, the group made their way toward the door.

  "???"

  The movie was starting, so why were they leaving now? Shouko was fused and instinctively stood up to follow.

  But one of the girls put a hand on her shoulder and smiled sweetly.

  "Shouko, stay and watch! We've already seen this movie once. Just wait for us to e back, okay?"

  "..."

  Is this really alright?

  Uo speak, Shouko reached for her phoo type out a response.

  "It's fine!"

  The girl pressed the power button, turning off Shouko's phoh a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

  "We'll be right back!"

  With no choice, Shouko nodded. I'll wait for you, she thought.

  Outside the private room, the girls shut the door and exged satisfied gnces, silent ughter bubbling up. Their pn was unfolding perfectly.

  "Finally, we breathe again. That curse has had me up all night," one of the girls muttered, eyes wide with lingering fear.

  The others heir expressions grim.

  "Should we head baow?" anirl suggested.

  "Not yet!" the lead girl said, a smirk pying on her lips. "Don't you want to see the look on Shouko's face when she finds out?"

  "..."

  The group fell silent, but their eyes glimmered with anticipation.

  Ihe private room, Shouko felt a strange sense of loneliness wash over her. The air felt colder, more suffog than before.

  Why do I feel this way? I'm used to being alone.

  Zzzt-zzt-zzt!

  The TV's statitinued, but after a moment, the s shifted.

  The movie finally started.

  Shouko's gaze flicked to the door, w why her cssmates hadn't returned yet. Should I pause it and wait for them?

  Before she could get up, the se oV ged.

  It showed a forest, dark and dense. In the middle of it stood an a well, the stone rim cracked and covered in moss.

  What's this?

  It didn't seem like the beginning of any movie she knew.

  A chill ran down her spine, making the room feel even colder. But the air ditioning was off.

  Suddenly, a pale, bony hand emerged from the well.

  "!"

  The abrupt appearance made Shoko's heart jump. But the real horror was just beginning.

  First, a hand. Then a head covered with long, matted hair. A torso. A woman's figure slowly cwed her way out of the well.

  "!!"

  The chill in the room intensified. Shouko tried to move, to reach for the remote or her phone, but found herself paralyzed. Even her voice, which was already faint, wouldn't e out.

  All she could do was stare, wide-eyed, as the figure on the s inched closer.

  When the woman was right at the edge of the s, her hand reached through the TV, crossing the boundary betweey and nightmare.

  "!!"

  Shouko's body shook, and if she could scream, she would have.

  Is this… Sadako?

  Shouko didn't know much about the cursed legends, but after learning that sorcerers and supernatural phenomena were real, she'd read up on urban myths, hoping she'd never have to fae herself.

  But now, it was happening. And she finally uood—the tape was cursed. They didn't bring her here to watch a movie; they tricked her into being cursed by Sadako.

  But why?

  Even if they weren't friends, she couldn't imagine why anyone would go to such lengths.

  The woman fully emerged from the TV, moving toward Shouko with deliberate slowness. Tears welled up in her eyes as Sadako came within arm's reach.

  Then, the figure stopped.

  A voice, cold and eg, whispered in her ear:

  "Seven days."

  Sadako's curse. Anyone who watched the cursed tape would be haunted and killed after seven days.

  With that, Sadako retreated bato the TV, and the s went dark.

  "…"

  Shoko sat there, her whole body trembling, sweat soaking through her clothes. Seven days. She had only seven days left.

  She was still in shock when the door creaked open.

  "Looks like it's over."

  The girls returned, notig the dark s. They exged looks and rexed.

  "…"

  Shouko's eyes, once filled with fear, now bzed with anger. She watched them, clutg her phone as she rapidly typed.

  Why?

  Why would they do this to her? They didn't have any deep-seated hatred. She'd never done anything to provoke them. This wasn't just bullying—this was a death sentence.

  "Eh, you're mad? You're really clueless, aren't you?" the lead girl said, smirking as she took in Shoko's expression.

  "If yoing to bme someone, bme your bad luck. At least your death means we're saved."

  "???"

  What? What did they mean by that?

  "You deserve to know, I guess." The girl shrugged and held up the cursed tape, her expression void of any guilt.

  "We stumbled across this tape by act. Thought it was some kind of joke at first, but when we realized it was Sadako's curse, we were terrified."

  She shuddered, eyes gng at the floor as if reliving the fear. Every night, they had dreamt of the horrifying se of Sadako taking their lives. It had driveo desperation.

  "If you want to bme someone, bme Ryuji."

  "???"

  Ryuji? What did he have to do with this? Shoko couldn't uand.

  "Isn't it obvious?" The lead girl crossed her arms, an arrogant tilt to her . "If Ryuji had just helped us deal with Sadako, we wouldn't have e to you."

  "…"

  The sheer absurdity of it left Shoko speechless. So it was Ryuji's fault because he didn't solve their problem? They hadn't even approached him for help, too afraid to front him directly, and now they thought it was justified to involve her?

  "Ryuji didn't help us, so we had to help ourselves!" anirl chimed in, proud of their twisted logic. "Acc to what I've read, as long as you show the cursed tape to someone else within seven days, the curse will trao them. We had no choice but to try."

  There were tless stories about Sadako, and many suggested that passing the curse on was a way to survive. They couldn't be sure if it would work, but they were desperate enough to try.

  And now, after making Shouko watch the tape, they felt an immediate, albeit unfirmed, sense of relief.

  They were safe, or so they thought.

  "Look, we even gave you a ce!" The lead girl tossed the tape at Shouko. It fell into her p as the girl's mog voice tinued. "Find someone else to pass it on to. If you , that is."

  With that, they left, their ughter eg down the hallway.

  "Let's go celebrate!"

  "There's an izakaya nearby. How about that?"

  "Perfect! Let's go!"

  They left without an Shouko, ung of what would happe.

  "…"

  In the private room, Shouko sat motionless, clutg the cursed tape with trembling hands.

  That evening—

  "Shouko isn't back yet?"

  After a long day at work, Yaeko returned home, visibly exhausted. She frowned when she saw only Yuzuru in the house.

  "Yeah." Yuzuru's face was etched with worry. She had go to search but retury-handed.

  Yuzuru had always been protective of her sister, even cutting her hair short and adopting a tomboyish look to ward off bullies.

  "…"

  Yaeko's face hardehough she was a strict mother, she cared deeply for her daughters, even if she rarely showed it. She knew how much Shoko had endured growing up due to her disability.

  And now, she hadn't e home. Was she being bullied again?

  The thought made Yaeko's fists ch.

  ***

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