Belle's POV
Since that day, we haven't seen her face. We believed that if we gave her some time, she would appear to us again. But it wasn't. We were initially concerned because whenever something would happen, she would distance herself but she never missed the school. Our homeroom instructor informed us that she had taken a leave of absence.
"Oh? Dani? Her family called and informed us that she would not be able to attend school for a while. Well, it's okay anyway, since you guys are just practicing your upcoming graduation."
"When sir?" Jun asked him again to confirm.
"I think it's last week. You didn't know? Aren't you guys always together?" He asked us as he fixed his glasses, confusion on his face.
We're unable to respond. We also thought so. We also assumed that we were close enough for her to at least notify us or send us a message. She hasn't been seen for weeks. She also didn't say anything. Following that, I sent her several messages.
When we didn't receive any reply, we decided to visit her house. Or more like a mansion. It is situated on the outskirts and I'm still amaze every time I visit. Since it's late spring, many trees are flowering along the road, and flowers are pushing through the ground colored by fresh and bright light bursting from the sky. But as you walk, the surroundings will get eventually darker as it was surrounded by towering trees.
When Dani led us here, the guys joked if she was going to kill us and bury our corpses in this place. To our surprise, a very tall and old gate stood upon us. It encloses the gloomy and lone white mansion. The gate is so high and the trees surrounding it are dense. Seeing it, I couldn't help but think if they're trying to protect someone or prevent it from going out.
The path leading to the mansion is old and drab. The buildings are modernized with a mix of European style. But the growing mosses and vines, the clutter and cracks in the walls bring a sense of bleakness in my eyes. It feels deserted. Coming from the sides, we make our way to the center of the elevated stairs where the front door is located.
We proceeded along the corridor and noticed several large windows aligned. Each curtained with a black cloth, blocking the sunlight. There is very little furniture, empty rooms, no portraits, and little decorations. It feels like a haunted house. The most stunning discovery was that she is the only person living here! Aside from her, we learned that her family lives in abroad.
"Should we explore this place?" I woke up from my trance when Jun spoke loudly.
Explore this place? I looked at him in surprise. Dani is obviously not present. However, entering her home without her consent... it felt like I was going to do something wrong. At first, we either hang out at Jun's house or Eugene's. But Dani doesn't like to go outside often that much. Before we knew it, we would always come here to have fun. Dani was grumpy about it at first, but surprised us when she handed us a spare key and the security code to the gate, allowing us to come and go as we pleased.
"Hey Belle, don't look at me like that! It's not that we're going to do something bad," Jun grinned at me and continued while hanging the keys in front of my face. "And isn't it the same as giving us permission? There's a lot of rooms we haven't visited yet. Weren't you curious?"
"I'm curious," David answered, honest as ever.
"And you know....." Jun stopped speaking as the grin on his face vanished. It's very serious that you won't think he's just goofing around a moment earlier, "We might find something..."
A mutual understanding descends upon us. Even if we don't elaborate, we all know for ourselves. We don't know anything about Dani.
"You can go ahead. I'll pass", Eugene broke the silence, making us turn to him at the same time. Fixing the creases on his clothes, he adds, "I'm going to wait in the living room."
"I'll pass too. I'm going to make something in the kitchen. Be quick." Kenneth followed Eugene in his direction. Looking at their backs, Jun said to me before shaking his head.
"Haaaa... Those two are really cunning."