Chapter 3

First Day Blues

Byulyi didn’t see Yongsun in their room the next morning. In fact, she didn’t see her again in their room for a while. Their schedules seemed to overlap, as far as Byulyi knew, and the ordeals of attending classes had sent her collapsing as soon as she returned to her dorm room. If she had more energy, she might even miss Yongsun’s pretty face.

Her first day had been nothing short of a disaster. Her first class was moved to the fine arts building, even though she was a business major. And of course, as if yesterday had been a premonition of her woes to come, she had absolutely zero luck at the Gryphon Station beside her dorm. Twenty minutes of coaxing later, she turned to yelling, which went extremely poorly. After being headbutted several times by a brown and white speckled gryphon she named Bird—or Asbi for short—the proud, independent gryphon finally allowed her to climb aboard.

Except, he decided to drop her off at the top of a tree, so by the time she arrived at her first class, it was already over.

She could still remember Asbi’s smug expression as he turned up his beak at her. It was like he wanted to teach her a lesson, and Byulyi was convinced this was true when he dropped her off five minutes early at her next class in one of the squat blue buildings around the Spire, then shoved her to the ground with his giant head.

A crowd of students watched as Asbi then strutted over and rolled her over with his beak. “What do you want from me? I don’t have anymore food!” Byulyi cried with a mouthful of dust. True enough, Asbi had eaten every edible object she possessed that day. The students murmured. Asbi rolled her over again so that she laid on her back.

Byulyi almost wanted to cry.

Fortunately, the higher powers must’ve heard her plea when an angel from above appeared at her side. “Hyperion, stop!” A dark-haired woman with the most captivating smile and a small pair of curved horns charged up to the speckled gryphon. She reached out—he reeled back and gave a fierce roar, but she stood her ground. “Hyperion,” she said firmly. The mighty gryphon dropped his hooves on the ground, and kicked up a cloud of dust. A few students scurried back, but the dark-haired woman simply raised her arm to her eyes. A few whispered words later, Hyperion raised his head, turned around, and took off.

The other students dispersed, leaving Byulyi lying on the ground in awe. Maybe she shouldn’t have named the gryphon Asbi, she thought grimly.

The girl swung around, a huge grin adorning her face.

“Are you okay?” She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Let me help you up.”

Byulyi stared at her offered hand, and nodded. Tentatively, She touched her open palm—her skin tingled at the first contact. Her ears perk up and an intense need suddenly fills her entire body, mind, and spirit. It was like watching herself being possessed in third person when she gripped the girl’s hand and tugged her close. “Wow, you’re beautiful,” she heard herself whisper.

Her semi-conscious internal self screamed.

The girl tried to pull away, resignation shining in her eyes. “Oh no, oh no,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. “I always forget.”

Byulyi watched herself lean in for a kiss, and tried to pull back, but for a reason she could not explain, her lips were like a magnet. A very, very strong magnet. The girl craned back, clearly not loving for whatever was happening, but Byulyi kept pushing.

Byulyi was a fraction away when she finally managed to say, “I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. I don’t know what is happening.”

“It’s okay,” the girl sighed, pushing her back by the shoulders in a futile effort to escape. Unfortunately, Byulyi had an iron grip on her waist. “This happens a lot. Usually my friends are around to help me, but, ah, today I may have been unlucky.”

“How do I stop trying to kiss you?” Byulyi asked, all the while trying to do exactly that. It was like her mind and body had suddenly separated. Her lips were so close and so inviting.

“You have to stop touching me.”

“I can’t,” Byulyi murmured. She could feel the shred of control she had regained begin to slip.

“Excuse me, can anyone help me tackle this person?” The girl calmly asked the passing students. But her tone was as flat as if she were asking to borrow a pen, and without that sense of urgency, they simply seemed like two lovers fooling around.

Suddenly, Byulyi heard her name being shouted from a distance—she could barely hear a thing with this girl in her arms. She recognized her name being shouted in a not-very-nice tone, but her body, with its one-minded mission to quite possibly eat the girl up entirely, refused to turn. All she could do was close her eyes and wait to be ploughed to the floor for the thousandth time that day.

Any moment now.

She leaned even closer; she could taste her breath.

Bam! A strong hand grabbed her by the shoulder, and pushed her back so powerfully that she missed her footing and found herself flying, floating—everything around her seemed to slow.

Just before Byulyi hit the floor, her senses were filled with a very familiar scent. And sure enough, when she next opened her eyes, she looked right into the red eyes of her roommate. She wore a stoic, unreadable expression, but beside her was a clearly angry Joohyun holding the jackrabbit Seungwan in her arms. Seungwan, even with her big, glossy eyes, looked very concerned.

“Ah, it’s okay, unnie,” her dark-haired saviour hurried out before anyone else could speak. “It was my fault. I forgot to wear my gloves today.”

Seungwan leapt out of Joohyun’s arms and into Seulgi’s. “Seul, are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Ah, you shouldn’t be touching me though!”

“It’s okay in rabbit form,” Seungwan said, wiggling her nose. She snuggled into Seulgi’s neck for a hug.

“Wan-ah, I’m okay. Really,” Seulgi said, grinning as she encased her hands around the rabbit on her shoulder. “But thank you.”

Byulyi caught the darkening expression on Joohyun’s face, and she had a feeling it wasn’t entirely her fault. Still, she crossed her arms and directed the brunt of the blame to the curled-up Byulyi on the floor. “You should know better than to touch a succubus,” she said sternly.

Byulyi was baffled. “A what?”

“Didn’t you check the school Database?”

“N-no.”

“Joohyun-ah,” Yongsun said. She carefully touched Joohyun’s elbow. “We should go to class. We’re already late.”

“Fine,” Joohyun mumbled. “But I’m watching you, Moon Byulyi. Very. Closely.”

As it turned out, Seulgi was in her class. It was a compulsory course for all supernatural beings who possessed sensory abilities they could not control, and as frightened of Joohyun as she was, Byulyi was relieved to know someone in her first Arc course, as they called it—the general term for all unaccredited supernatural training classes. Seulgi was a comforting presence, even if she hadn’t spoken to her since the incident. Maybe with time, they may even be friends.

She also hoped that there would be other werewolves in the class, just in case she needed someone to turn to…someone who understood. If she were to find other werewolves, it would most certainly be in an Arc course.

Arc courses were designed to help students master or hone each student’s individual abilities. Each square building around the Spire were specifically designed for each class. Each room was different, and magically far more spacious than it seemed from the outside. There were rooms that contained grasslands, mountains, swimming pools, or even an entire football stadium in one instance.

This particular classroom was a blinding white laboratory filled with colourful chemicals and futuristic contraptions. Their teacher, like all members of the faculty at ArcIsland, was a dragon. She was small and vaguely sausage-shaped, with golden yellow scales and warm, purple eyes, and a pair of goggles on her forehead to match her white lab coat.

When Byulyi and Seulgi stumbled in, all eyes were on them.

“I’m Kang Seulgi!” Seulgi said with a smile. The tension in the room immediately dropped—everyone was captivated, and Byulyi was sure that it was only partially because she was a succubus. “I’m a succubus.” The class murmured and nodded, giving her space when she crossed the room to stand at the far edge of the group. Byulyi dimly wondered if she was the only one who didn’t know that you couldn’t touch a succubus.

Byulyi hurried after Seulgi, hoping the instructor wouldn’t make her speak. Sure enough, she was far too eager to move on with her lesson to care.

As their instructor settled in on a lecture about the categorization of fundamental supernatural archetypes, Byulyi looked around the room. A pack of werewolves stood on the far end of the lab. A few were watching her with an unfriendly glow in their eyes. She averted her eyes, and wondered if she should approach them nonetheless.

“Don’t try to talk to them,” Seulgi leaned over with a whisper.

“W-what do you mean?”

“The wolf pack. They don’t like competition.”

“But I’m a werewolf too!” Byulyi whispered back.

Seulgi shook her head sadly. “Once a pack is formed, you can’t just randomly join. Since you were late, you’re kind of a rogue wolf now, my friend. You really didn’t read the Database, did you?”

“You’re not serious.”

Seulgi shrugged. “It’s in the Database.”

But Byulyi wasn’t convinced. Because it was the smart thing to do, she puffed up her chest and approached the wolf pack after class. There were five of them, and they were crowded around a table looking at a someone’s phone. When Byulyi approached, a blonde girl with black ears pushed her way forward to face her.

This must be the alpha, Byulyi thought, desperately trying to recall her limited knowledge of wolf behaviour. She tried not to swallow too visibly.

“How can I help you, kid?” The blonde girl asked. When she smiled, her canines seemed to flash in warning.

“I’m...uh...I’m Byul...yi,” Byulyi managed. She tugged at her collar a bit. Suddenly it was really hot, and there were too many pairs of eyes watching. “Do you...uh...want to be friends?”

“Sure!” The other girls looked stunned by the blonde’s response, Byulyi included. A wave of relief peaked, but before it could crash down and wash over Byulyi, the blonde finished her sentence: “but you can’t join our pack. That’s why you’re really here isn’t it?”

“W-what? Why?”

“Party’s full, kid.”

“But I—”

The blonde shrugged. “Sorry. I didn’t make the rules.”

“But wolves have...pretty big packs…”

The group of girls looked at each other. “We’re werewolves. Not wolves,” a girl with white ears said coldly. “You do know the difference, right?”

The blonde quirked her brow. “Haven’t you read the Database?”

What is up with this Database? Byulyi cried internally. Clearly, she had missed an important memo.

“Anyway,” the blonde continued. “You can’t join our pack. But let’s be friends! My name is Hani! The one with the white ears and doesn’t know how to smile is Hyojin. She’s the alpha. You can ask her if you want but—”

Hyojin didn’t miss a beat: “No.”

“Sorry,” Hani said, though she didn’t look very sorry at all. “You really should read the Database though. You know, at least so you can know a bit more about yourself. I like your colour, by the way. You’re pretty cute.”

“T-thanks?”

“Yeah, well, good luck.”

With her tail between her legs, Byulyi gave up. As she packed up her things, she could not help but foresee herself going through these next few years alone just like she had done in her previous schools.

She dragged her feet out the door, dreading her trek back to the dorm room, but was promptly stopped by a hand on her shoulder as soon as she stepped outside. “Hey.”

Seulgi. Her warm smile was the last thing she expected to be waiting for her. “How did it go?”

Byulyi the strap of her bag uncomfortably. “Ah, well, you were right. I can’t join the pack. I don’t even know why I tried…I mean, what is even the point of a pack?”

“I’d ask if you’d read the Database, but I already know the answer to that,” Seulgi snickered.

Byulyi groaned and ran a hand through her hair. “The other werewolves told me to check the Database too, but I still don’t know what that is. I’m so tired of all of this. I just want to go back to my room and sleep.” She bit her lip and glanced over at Seulgi, who watched her with a thoughtful expression on her face. “Sorry,” she added sheepishly, “is that depressing? Aish, I shouldn’t take this out on a stranger.”

Seulgi shrugged, her smile growing broader as she jostled her shoulder lightly. “Let’s go then!” she said.

Byulyi’s brows shot up. “Go? Where? Us?” She spluttered.

“To the library, of course! That’s where the Database is. You did get a card yesterday right?”

Byulyi nodded vaguely. How was she supposed to admit that she’d been too busy gazing at Yongsun’s name on her card to notice anything else?

Seulgi looped a hand around her arm, careful to avoid her skin. “Ah, it doesn’t matter. I’ll take you there. Let’s go, lets go!”

The library was a spherical gravity-defying structure held up by a single staircase up the front entrance. Its opaque glass panels were covered in moss and barnacles as it stood on the very, very edge of a peninsula just off the shore of the humanities buildings. Hovering over the whirling waters, it was unlike anything Byulyi had ever seen before. She looked up from the bottom of the bright red staircase and at the massive iron doors. Byulyi dimly recalled passing through on Seungwan’s tour, but wasn’t sure how she could’ve missed it—maybe she should be a little less awkward...or girl-crazy...or both.

“This is it! Most new students came yesterday. I think they recommend it on the back of your card. I’ve been here since first year, so I can’t quite remember now,” Seulgi said, waving a hand as she ascended the steps two at a time.

“Which year are you?” Byulyi asked.

“Second! You’ll like it here...ah,” Seulgi spun around and tilted her head to the side, “what was your name again?”

“Oh! Uh, it’s Byulyi. Moon Byulyi.” She could not help but grin when she didn’t stutter. Seulgi really was easy to talk to.

“My name is Kang Seulgi!”

“Ah, I remember.”

“Really?” She gasped. “Did I already tell you?”

Byulyi’s chuckled. “You told the class earlier.”

Seulgi clapped a hand on her forehead. “Ah, I’m so forgetful sometimes. Anyway, let’s go inside. It’s really pretty!”

And once again, Seulgi was right. While the outside looked a bit like a dim and mouldy disco ball, the inside was ornate. They stepped into the front foyer. Beyond were three floors of ancient wood. Beneath was a great semi-circular mosaic with a pair of angel wings spread valiantly in front of a broad ray of light. Beneath the wings were the words ‘scientia, pax et ignoscentia’. “Knowledge, peace, and forgiveness,” Seulgi explained, giggling at the fascinated expression of Byulyi’s face. “I bet you didn’t know that’s our school emblem and motto.”

Byulyi shook her head.

“That motto is a pertinent part of Archangel Island’s history, as well as the struggle of supernatural folk throughout the broader history.” a deep voice said. They glanced over at the librarian standing vigilantly at the front desk before them. The very, very tall red-headed dragon sported a crown of horns, a stern purse of lip, and a dashing, white suit. “Knowledge of self and the world, peace with yourself, and forgiveness of the world we live in: these are the three principles in which we must reconcile with ourselves, with others of supernatural descent, and, most of all, with the greater world. You, youngsters, would do well to keep that in mind.”

“Thank you, Mr. M,” Seulgi said with a smile, as Byulyi tried her best not to cower. “We’ll do that.”

The librarian nodded.

Under the watchful eye of Mr. M, Seulgi tugged Byulyi further into the library by the elbow, where rows upon rows of brown desks and matching green lamps awaited them. A few students were already there, studying, sleeping, or gazing into a floating crystal orb. Beyond the desks were walls of shelves on three different floors, divided into two sections on each floor by an arch at the centre.

“You don’t want to go in there,” Seulgi said, pulling her into an empty seat at one of the desks. “It’s like a maze in there. They have some of the oldest books in the world here. Stuff they don’t want the rest of the world know about. Either way, it’s dangerous to go into the second and third floors, so only librarians and faculty are allowed. But the first floor is pretty straightforward, and it has everything you really need anyway.”

Byulyi continued to admire the vertical sea of books. “Have you gone up there?”

“Nope!” Seulgi said, running her hands over the top of her desk. “I don’t really like to read. I’ve heard students disappearing in there too. No thanks! But this,” an invisible slot in the desk slid open and a crystal ball rose out, “is why we’re here. Isn’t it cool?”

Byulyi leaned closer, and saw her warped face inside the floating crystal. “Is that...the Database?”

“Yep! Here, just plug this in.” Seulgi handed her a pair of seemingly normal earbuds.

Byulyi picked up the jack, examined the shockingly mundane contraption,and raised a brow. “Are these...magical?”

Seulgi laughed. “No, of course not! How else do you think we can hear the Database?”

“I plug this,” Byulyi said slowly, pointing at the jack for emphasis, “into a crystal ball.”

Seulgi pointed to the bottom of the ball. “It’s just under here.” Sure enough, Byulyi felt the bump of a port against her fingertips. Of all the fantasy and magic on ArcIsland, she was amazed that standard twenty-first century technology still had a place. Seulgi reached over and took one of the earbuds from her still hands.

“Here we go!” she said. Byulyi could not help but admire Seulgi’s constant enthusiasm and unquestioning acceptance of the oddities on ArcAngel. She, on the other hand, was still stunned useless as she listened to Seulgi’s explanation of how it worked. “...So all you have to do is focus your thoughts on what you want to know more about, and the crystal ball will show it. That’s why a lot of students were here yesterday. It’s all kind of overwhelming, isn’t it? So this makes it really easy to get answers. Anyway, you should try it!”

Byulyi blinked. She watched the ball scroll through a whole roster of supernatural creatures as it awaited her thought. “Now?”

Seulgi smiled. “Yeah, don’t you want to learn more about your kind?”

“Yeah,” Byulyi murmured. At least, intellectually she knew she needed to learn more about herself and why Hani’s pack refused to let her in. She had so many questions about everything and anything, and surely, Seulgi knew this as well.

So she really didn’t know what to say when the crystal ball suddenly produced a picture of a medieval vampire.

Seulgi watched her with some interest, but said nothing as they listened to a general run-through of facts about vampires. At the end of it, Byulyi tugged out her earpiece. “I didn’t know vampires can walk around under sunshine,” she said, chuckling nervously. “Guess books and movies lied to me.”

“I didn’t know you were so interested in vampires,” Seulgi said, much to Byulyi’s mounting dread. “That was very interesting though! I didn’t know they feed only once a month. That seems nice. I’m hungry all the time. Ah, but why did you start thinking about vampires?”

Byulyi blushed. It was he very question—with all of its implications—that she wanted to avoid at all costs. She could just brush it off, but Seulgi’s inquisitive eyes were so earnest, and she’d been so nice. “Well,” Byulyi began, drawing out the syllable to build her courage, “my…my roommate is a vampire...I think. I don’t know. She has fangs and can turn into a bat. That’s a vampire, right?”

“Oh!” Seulgi lit up. “You’re Yongsun-unnie’s new roommate?”

“H-how did you know?”

“There’s only one vampire at ArcAngel,” Seulgi said. “Her family has a lot of history with this school, so we don’t get a lot of other vampires. Do you like her?”

“L-like her?” Byulyi spluttered. “I don’t even know her!”

“Ah,” Seulgi nodded, “okay then.”

It struck Byulyi as odd that Seulgi did not press further, but she was thankful that she seemed to genuinely accept her excuse. While she imagined that most people would pass her a skeptical look in an effort to help her admit to truths she didn’t want to admit, Seulgi genuinely did not seem to care.

“Thank you, Seulgi,” Byulyi said with a grin. “You’ve been a lifesaver today.”

Seulgi pulled her earbud out of her ear and placed it on the desk between them. She leaned back comfortably. “Anytime,” she replied with a broad smile. “I like talking to you! You’re really nice.”

“R-really? I was just thinking that about you.”

“Well, aside from Joohyun and Seungwan, I don’t really know a lot of other people. A lot of people tend to stay away from me because I’m a succubus. They’re nice and all, but nobody seems to want to be my friend,” Seulgi admitted. “So I’m really happy you’re here.”

“Me too. But, um…I’m sorry about earlier too. I never thanked you for saving me from As—Hyperion—and to make it worse, I did that to you.” Byulyi rubbed her neck nervously.

Seulgi simply offered her a smile that immediately seemed to relax the tension in her shoulder. “It’s okay, it happens. Besides, it was my fault for not wearing gloves.”

“It must be annoying,” Byulyi said thoughtfully. “What do you do if you actually like someone?” She paused to bite her lip. “Ah, is that too personal?”

“Hmmm,” Seulgi pressed a finger to her chin. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t really care about that stuff if I’m honest.”

Byulyi furrowed her brows. “What stuff? Love?”

“Yeah! Exactly,” Seulgi shrugged, “don’t care about things like that.”

“Really!” Byulyi said, immediately leaning forward with interest.

Seulgi wrapped her end of the earbuds around a finger as she spoke. The crystal ball now depicted a succubus, but the information crackled through the earbuds unheard. “I like cheering for other couples!” She continued with a wide smile. “Joohyun and Seungwan won’t really listen to me, but I think it’s really cute that they like each other, you know? They’ve liked each other forever—oh! We’re childhood friends—but neither would admit it.” Byulyi nodded along. “I guess it’s just not for me. Sometimes I think that maybe...I just haven’t met anyone yet, but I’m pretty sure this is just the way I am. Ah, I haven’t actually told anyone about this because it’s a little weird for a succubus, but you’re very easy to talk to.”

Byulyi smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. And I feel the same way about you. Will you…um…do you want to be my friend?”

“Of course! Aren’t we already friends?”

“Ah…I guess you’re right!”  

“Tomorrow, when I bring my gloves, we’ll have to celebrate with a friendship hug!”

They shared a grin. Byulyi’s heart grew at the thought of not having to spend her days alone. Seulgi’s bright smile and crescent eyes mirrored the kind of joy she hadn’t felt in so long. Friendship—a place to belong—this was it, wasn’t it?

Who needed a wolf pack when she had a friend like Seulgi?

“Tomorrow.”

Notes: Another chapter so soon?? I'm as surprised as everyone else. The next update probably won't be up in two days though. That is an unhealthy habit for me to live up to ahaha! Noneheless, I hope you enjoyed the new characters, and brand new parts of this weird island. 

Sorry, this chapter was almost entirely Moonseul. I just love them, and I just loved the idea of an aual succubus... Also friendship is beautiful. 

Wheesa, wenrene, and, of course, our darling Kim Yongsun will definitely be back next chapter :) Stay tuned as the ships attempt to sail. 

Once again, comments, subs, and votes are much appreciated.