Chapter 1: The Letter in the Locker

They said the girl who received the reaper’s letter would die within 100 days.

I thought it was just a rumor.

Until I found a black envelope in my locker.

“To: Seo Hana. Countdown: 99 days.”

I stood frozen in front of the metal door, fingers trembling as I held the note. At first, I thought it was some twisted prank, maybe something a senior came up with to scare the underclassmen. But the envelope was ice cold.

Not just cold.

Unnaturally cold.

Like something had reached past the boundary of this world to touch me.

I didn’t open the letter until I was home.

My room was silent, the soft hum of the ceiling fan the only sound. With a deep breath, I pulled out the paper inside. The handwriting was elegant, neat, like calligraphy from a different era.

“Dear Seo Hana,

Your death has been scheduled.

You have 99 days remaining.

Please make the most of your time.

Sincerely,

The Reaper”

I read it three times.

Then I laughed.

It was a hoax.

A joke.

It had to be.

But when I looked back at the envelope, I noticed something else.

A feather.

Jet black. Soft. Still warm.

I hadn’t seen it fall out.

And I definitely hadn’t owned anything like it.

The next morning, the school was buzzing.

People were whispering about a third-year who got hit by a car the night before.

“She got the letter,” someone said.

“She only lasted two days.”

My blood ran cold.

It couldn’t be real.

Could it?

By the end of the day, I was jumping at shadows.

Then I saw him.

Standing beneath the cherry tree near the back gate.

Tall. Pale. Dressed in black. Eyes like obsidian glass.

He didn’t say anything.

But the moment our eyes met, a whisper brushed my ear.

“Ninety-eight.”

I ran home.

Heart pounding.

Chest aching.

I didn’t tell my parents.

Didn’t tell my friends.

But that night, when I looked in the mirror—

There was a shadow behind me.

Smiling.

Waiting.

*

And I knew then.

This wasn’t a joke.

The countdown had already begun.

—

End of Chapter 1