Those Who See the Comments Vanish

On April Fools' Day, Seth Sterling, the campus heartthrob whom I have a crush on, invites me to a karaoke lounge bar to have some fun.

But when I arrive at the private room, I find out that all three of my roommates, who I'm enemies with, are there.

One of my roommates is about to leave when she pauses in her tracks and turns back to look at us.

"Did you guys see the words floating in the air?"

The next thing we know, the lights go out in the private room.

A scream rings out afterward. When the lights are back on, the roommate who has spoken up earlier is gone.

"Where did she go?"

I swap looks with the other two roommates quietly. Then, I stand up and pretend to look for the missing roommate when in reality, I'm trying to sneak glances at the live comments in the air.

The commenters are cheering with each other.

"I told you so! Someone in their dorm can see us!"

"No wonder the male lead keeps flaking out on the female lead! A filthy slut who's capable of seeing the live comments must be seducing him this whole time!"

"Let's kill her! That way, she won't be able to affect the lovey-dovey relationship between the leads!"

Kill? Did my roommate disappear because she could see the live comments?

I tremble violently at the thought. My first reaction is to open the door and get out of this place.

But that's when the live comments grow more agitated.

"Hang on! Someone else in this room can see us!"

"We must find her!"

Silence descended upon the room after my roommate, Quinn Lawrence, disappeared.

I looked at my other two roommates, Rosalie Walters and Tiffany Norton.

We tried to push the door open again to no avail. It didn't even budge an inch.

My heart hammered wildly in my chest as I looked at the wall of comments before me. A thin layer of sweat beaded across my forehead.

I knew without a doubt that the person that the commenters were looking for was me.

After I changed majors during my junior year in university, I developed a crush on the campus heartthrob, Seth Sterling.

At first, Seth treated me indifferently. He wasn't moved in the slightest, no matter how I tried to show my affection for him.

However, things changed three months ago when I realized that I could see comments floating in the air around him. They told me about his likes and dislikes, and whether he was in a good or bad mood.

Using those hints, I got closer to Seth, one step at a time.

I thought that Lady Luck was finally smiling down on me. I was finally going to escape single life after so many years. I never would have imagined that it would turn into a death sentence for me.

The strength fled from my legs when I thought about Quinn's terrified scream from earlier. However, I knew that I couldn't afford to let the commenters know that I was the one they were looking for. It would be all over for me if they did.

I turned around and took a deep breath. I forced myself to appear calm as I gestured for the others to take a seat.

"Maybe Quinn just left early. I'll call the front desk and let them know that the door's jammed," I said.

Rosalie and Tiffany nodded and curled up on the couch.

I pulled out my phone and called the front desk. However, I was met with a busy tone even after trying several times. I tried calling with another phone, but got the same results.

Rosalie, who was naturally timid, cried and complained about wanting to leave.

"What's going on? Why are we trapped here?"

She stood up and rushed at the door, ramming her shoulder against it with a loud bang. She ended up staggering to the floor from the impact.

"Don't waste your strength," Tiffany said gloomily as she leaned against a corner of the room.

"It's going to be okay. I've already left a message for the front desk," I said comfortingly as I helped Rosalie back up to her feet. "They'll definitely send help the moment they see it."

We returned to the couch and waited to be rescued.

Countless comments scrolled past above our heads. It seemed that the commenters were getting impatient.

"One of them must be able to see the comments. Who could it be?"

"Stay calm. We just have to test them one by one. We'll definitely find out who it is."

"Whoever it is will certainly let the cat out of the bag once they take action."

I stared at the fruit platter on the coffee table, not daring to move an inch.

A long time passed before Tiffany suddenly asked, "What are the two of you doing here?"

The room was illuminated only by ambient light, casting our surroundings in a faint blue glow.

The tense atmosphere seemed to lighten a little after Tiffany spoke.

Rosalie was the closest to her, so she answered her question first.

"My club is hosting a gathering here, but I ended up running into the three of you when I arrived. What about you?"

Rosalie and Tiffany looked at me.

"My best friend just went through a bad breakup. We agreed to meet here so I can accompany her."

My heart plummeted into my gut just as the words left my lips.

I had made a grave mistake. I couldn't afford to lie, since the commenters had impersonated Seth to send me the message.

As expected, the room was plunged into darkness again.

A flood of comments appeared in the darkness, scrolling past at breakneck speed.

"They gave themselves away! They must be able to see the comments!"

"Everyone was invited here by 'Seth', so why did they lie?"

"Hurry and get rid of these two bitches!"