Stress was the one word that came to mind when Somi caught sight of Hyunwoo first thing in the morning. He had been back for two days now, and whilst her trust and bond with Changkyun and Hyungwon had improved tremendously, the same could not entirely be said for their physical strength, and the same could most definitely not be said for Somi's reputation on the campus. To Hyunwoo's predictions, Somi was not yet at the level she needed to be at in order for her to thrive in the higher grade. He was visibly worrying for her future, their future. It was written all over his face for Somi to read like an open book.

"Things are not going as you had planned while you were gone, are they?" Somi quickly caught on; Hyunwoo shot his head up to look at her. Changkyun and Hyungwon watched them quietly.

"In my mind, I had imagined you would find a friend or two while I was gone. Your strength and determination have improved tremendously, though. I can now see that is because you have grown more trust for Changkyun and Hyungwon," Hyunwoo replied.

"We've trained together lots also", Somi noted; Hyunwoo nodded.

"This is not what you are accustomed to", Somi prompted when Hyunwoo remained silent. The comment had Hyunwoo exhaling.

"When I made my arrival to your father's deck, he was not new to this way of life like you are. He had acquainted himself with battling, upgrading and trading cards, looking for the perfect deck to hold onto" Hyunwoo fixed his coat and rolled out his shoulders to keep a tidy appearance.

"There was nothing that I could teach your father instead; he was the one to teach me how to be part of a deck and then the leader of a deck."

"But things aren't going as you thought they would?" Somi guessed, filling in the open silence that Hyunwoo had created by drifting off.

"This does not exactly follow the famous Han Mingyeol's how-to manual" He nodded, agreeing with her.

"But, I did not waste my time with him. My eyes have been opened to my obvious behaviour. From now on, when I say that I will work hard with you to make us the perfect team, I sincerely mean this" Hyunwoo's bow was deep. Somi breathed out, hands on her thighs, gripping her school skirt tightly when she bowed back to Hyunwoo.

"I sincerely hope our time together can be well spent."

"We can spend our time well together in the gym after classes." Hyunwoo quickly moved on to the next topic.

"Always to the point, aren't you?" Somi mused with a lack of excitement, Hyunwoo gave a single nod.

"We must work harder for the sake of you doing well in the higher grade."

"It's going to be very hard", Somi bit down on her lip nervously as she took a moment to acknowledge the thought.

"As we build your strength and a routine for you, you will become accustomed to this way of living", Hyunwoo tried to reassure.

"Besides, that is not all", Hyungwon chimed in like a breath of fresh air to Somi's deprived lungs. His gentle voice automatically made the room feel lighter.

"You will have us with you every step of the way", Hyungwon reassured, and Somi nodded.

"That, I am looking forward to" Somi downed the last of her orange juice and stepped around the kitchen island to wash her cup as she smiled at the trio.

"Now, who will be accompanying me to class today?" She quizzed, and the three males looked amongst themselves.

"Hyunwoo has not been able to for a long while. Changkyun and I will allow him to be your today. You can call either of us if you need anything" Hyungwon volunteered for himself and Changkyun. Hyunwoo nodded to show that he was alright with the decision made. Somi glanced over to Changkyun, and he smiled, indicating he didn't mind.

"Ok then, I will see the two of you later. Hyunwoo, are you ready to go?" 

"When you are Somi", Hyunwoo bowed his head, and Somi hummed.

"I will put my shoes on then." 

"Please, allow me" Hyunwoo followed Somi to the front door and knelt with Somi's shoe in hand.

"Hyunwoo, we don't do that here", Somi reminded the male kneeling on his knee before her.

"Please, allow me", Hyunwoo repeated himself, and Somi huffed out a defeated sigh, looking around to make sure that Hyungwon and Changkyun were gone as gentle fingers clasped her ankle and raised her foot, allowing Hyunwoo to slip Somi's shoe on and tie the laces for her.

"This can stop after today", Somi directed. Hyunwoo hummed in understanding.

"I wish to do well now that I have made my return."

"That can be done without you putting my shoes on for me." Somi pointed out to Hyunwoo.

"If you would allow me to do so, just for this day," Hyunwoo continued, so Somi caved with a nod of her head.

"Just for today", She breathed out, and Hyunwoo returned to his full height in front of her.

"You should not be the one to carry your bag", Hyunwoo chided, slipping the bag off of Somi's shoulder to put it over his own.

"Just for today", Somi reminded herself to remain patient, something she had never been the best at.

In Moonstar Academy, there was a prominent water feature. It was so large that Somi was amazed that you could walk through it, past a seat where you could place yourself if you so wished to. Being a water feature, there was water, and just like every other butler with their student, Hyunwoo was determined that Somi would not have to touch the water.

"Why isn't anyone just taking a detour?" Somi grimaced as one female student was swooped into the arms of her butler with a graceful giggle and prolonged eye contact.

"We can just walk ourselves," Somi took a step to take her detour around the water feature, only to squeak as she was wrapped in a jacket around the waist and scooped into Hyunwoo's arms before she could even blink.

"Hyunwoo, we can walk around!" Somi exclaimed as they followed the trail of students through the splashing water.

"This is the route that everyone else is taking, and we must not stray from the group", Retorted Hyunwoo without even looking down at Somi.

"I'm sure we could have walked around", Somi grumbled with her arm around Hyunwoo's shoulder. Once the path was clear of any water, Hyunwoo put Somi down just as gently as he had scooped her into his arms. He undid the jacket he had wrapped around her and neatened her clothes while Somi looked down at Hyunwoo's shoes.

"I hope that didn't make your feet wet" She frowned.

"That is not something I cannot deal with", Reassured Hyunwoo, confirming Somi's thoughts.

"We can go back and get you a fresh pair of socks. I'll dry your shoes myself," Somi turned back in the direction of the dormitory, but Hyunwoo put his arm out in front of her, his other arm gesturing in the direction of her classmates who were getting further away from them.

"We cannot miss out on your education Somi. My shoes and socks are completely fine," He assured her, and Somi huffed, looking at the gap she had made between the pair and her class.

"If you say so", She admitted defeat, so they followed after their peers once more.

"You're looking especially creepy today, have you noticed?"

"Oh off, would you?" Jooheon didn't even turn around to look at Minhyuk when he snapped at him. Instead, he continued to walk casually but close to the wall, staying out of the peripheral of the ones he was following with his eyes glued to them.

"Oh, come on, I was coming to see what my fellow free man was doing with his time. I get kind of lonely, you know?" Minhyuk sniggered sarcastically as he eyed Jooheon, the other male still not turning around to acknowledge his presence. Minhyuk followed behind Jooheon, walking one step slower than he was.

"Well, you've seen where I am, so go waste the oxygen of some other place that doesn't have me in it" Jooheon waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder, and Minhyuk scoffed.

"I won't be leaving now that I know you're up to something that looks like it could get interesting", Minhyuk retorted.

"Go away", Jooheon warned.

"What are you doing anyway? Not trying to be part of the class excursion, are you?"

"No", Jooheon immediately shut down Minhyuk's thought.

"Then why are you creeping around after them?"

"Why are you following me while I creep around?"

"So you admit that you're being a creep who's creeping around?" Silence met the pair, and they stopped walking against the wall like poorly disguised spies.

"Would you be a darl and go yourself somewhere out of my sight?" Minhyuk should have known better than to expect Jooheon to be all smiles and cheery toned as he called Minhyuk a darl. Still, his face flattened in disappointment at Jooheon's blank face with a direct stare and sharp tone that was the furthest thing from doting on Minhyuk.

"You don't want to watch?" Jooheon could only scowl, making Minhyuk feel like he had won this time around.

"Beat it", Jooheon snarled, turned, slapped his hand against the brick wall and continued to follow the class on the excursion out of the school grounds. Minhyuk crouched low like Jooheon, with his hand against the wall and his eyes flickering from Jooheon's face to the class they were following until he could pinpoint what Jooheon was doing.

"You're watching the girl?"

"No", Jooheon automatically denied. Minhyuk raised a sceptical eyebrow at Jooheon.

"There is someone new with her", Jooheon divulged in a mutter to himself. Minhyuk looked at her again and crossed his arms, standing to his full height so he could casually follow Jooheon's lead.

"Isn't that her original shadow?" Minhyuk scoffed, the sound cutting off as he was yanked back down by Jooheon, out of sight from the body of people they trailed.

"You know them?" Jooheon hissed, turning back to look at Minhyuk.

"I've seen them around" The other male shrugged, and Jooheon huffed.

"If you really want to know-" Jooheon started.

"Eh, only if you have to tell me" Minhyuk cut Jooheon off with his shoulders bobbing like it was the only thing they knew how to do.

"-Shut the up. If you really want to know, yes, I am watching them. But only because they're infuriating me."

"So shouldn't you just forget about them, so that stops?" Minhyuk logically remarks.

"No! I have to figure it out."

"I don't think I want to know anymore" He wasn't getting on Jooheon's last nerve like he usually would, so Minhyuk lost interest and tried to push himself back up to his full height.

"That guy, he is powerful, I can smell it" Jooheon waved a hand towards his nose the same way one would take in the smell of hot food on a table, and Minhyuk grimaced at the gesture.

"And that other tall one? He is too. The third one isn't too far behind them. I'm not here to play the hero-" Jooheon refused to stand at his full height again. "-but I am going to discover what it is that's keeping these people roped around her finger so tightly, double knotted, triple knotted if you will," Jooheon looked over his shoulder and realised he was about to lose sight of the pair and stood up straight.

" off and quit following me", Jooheon snapped at Minhyuk and began a heavy paced walk away from him.

"Why would I do that? That means you get all of the fun" Minhyuk refused to listen to Jooheon and trailed after him on quick feet.

"So why do you need to figure this out? You're no hero, remember? I hardly think you've got any sort of heart to be able to free them if they're in danger. You wouldn't want to put in the energy for that, nor would you care."

"Since you can't off, the least you could do is keep your mouth shut instead of berating me to my face" Minhyuk looked to Jooheon with a look on his face that told the other male that he had to be stupid, which Minhyuk believed he was if he seriously thought Minhyuk was going to do as Jooheon told him.

"So this is really worth spending your time on, huh?" Minhyuk sighed heavily. His hands forced their way into his pockets to avoid the cold.

"Come on everyone, the quicker you get onto the bus, the quicker you get out of the cold!" A teacher's voice hollered, so loud that Minhyuk and Jooheon could hear it from where they were discretely sticking back from the crowd.

"What now?" Minhyuk questioned, and Jooheon breathed out. He knew there was no getting on that bus without being stopped and questioned by the teacher doing a headcount at the vehicle's doors.

"Eh, I'm over it for today", Jooheon dismissed, shrugging his shoulders and turning on his heel.

"Is he serious?" Minhyuk turned his head over his shoulder until his body followed, watching Jooheon walk away without looking back.

"He's got a lot to learn if that's where he gives up", Minhyuk sniggered; there was no reason for him to act the way he did next besides the fact that he would have something to rub in Jooheon's face later on.

"See you after the field trip then", He called out, making Jooheon look back.

"What?" Jooheon snarked, but Minhyuk was already rushing away towards the bus to join the line of boarding students and butlers.

"He cannot be serious" There was a short exchange of words between Minhyuk and the teacher, a discussion that Jooheon's sharp ears were not able to pick up. The conversation ended with Minhyuk boarding the bus, looking over his window for Jooheon and grinning when he confirmed that Jooheon was, in fact, watching him.

"There is no way in hell" Still in disbelief, Jooheon watched as the bus doors shut and Minhyuk sat down in the extended vehicle that departed from the school grounds.

"What the hell is that bastard doing" The bus was quickly out of sight, but not out of Jooheon's mind, all because of one pesky fly that refused to leave him alone because they were "in the same situation".

No, they weren't.

Jooheon wasn't lost and afraid in the real world like Minhyuk felt.

Jooheon was free and alive, safe in his solace.

He didn't need some lowly human claiming they owned him because of what he was.

------------

"I'm bored."

"Somi, this is an excellent opportunity for you", Hyunwoo reminded, and Somi deflated. Knowing that she was in the best place to learn things about the life she wanted to lead somehow wasn't sparking any interest in her.

"I know, but all we are talking about is how to acquire cards, what the description on them means, why they are certain colours and all else. I learnt that on my first day Hyunwoo."

"And now you are learning it in depth, from a person with more experience than you do years of life."

"I've gotta say," Another voice casually joined the whispering, "I agree with the little lady here. There's a whole room of artifacts around us, and we're listening to a repeat of the same story we've heard a thousand times" Somi and Hyunwoo flicked their head to their left. The intruder of their conversation didn't look away from the speaking person up the front right away, but when he did, he blinked at them like he was surprised by the way Somi and Hyunwoo were looking at him. 

"She's got a point" He shrugged as he whispered again.

"Are you new?" Somi whispered back, and the new face in a breath that showed his answer was too complicated to be whispered. Hyunwoo looked the male's figure up and down until an answer registered in his brain. Quicker than Somi could blink, she was on Hyunwoo's other side, and he was pushing her away, creating distance between them.

"Hyunwoo?" Somi whispered worriedly as they shuffled through their classmates crowding around the speaker.

"Keep walking in that direction", Hyunwoo whispered back, pointing ahead of them.

"Why are we moving?" She hissed back.

"Because you do not need to be near that person."

"Ok, everyone, that is my introduction done. If you follow me, I will start showing you everything that we've collected here up to date" The loud voice of the speaker interrupted, and everyone broke out into chatter, glad to be moving finally.

"Hyunwoo, what was that about?" Somi spoke up, and Hyunwoo breathed out, a guiding hand hovering over Somi's lower back so she couldn't step back.

"That guy is not someone you are safe to be around," Hyunwoo explained, and Somi's mouth fell open to question him again, "There is no official title for what he is. Some call themselves a free man, and other card residers call them a danger to society. But whatever he decides to be labelled as is a danger to you either way. He has no holder, and he could very well be his own holder if he could beckon himself back out of his card."

"Now, that's not too nice to say about me, and I could have explained myself better than that" Hyunwoo's back didn't look like it could get any straighter until he realised they were, in fact, being followed.

"Damn it", He muttered under his breath, and Somi looked back.

"Are you following us?" She asked. She got a smile in return.

"Do not engage with him, Somi. It is not safe for you."

"You've got a real worrywart there, don't you miss?"

"Better to worry than to not worry" Somi nodded a single nod back. Her answer garnered her a chuckle.

"He doesn't seem very nice either."

"Come on, Somi, this is not safe-"

"I mean no harm" Nothing in his tone was malicious, and Hyunwoo cursed, contemplating scooping Somi up and sweeping out of the building with her over his shoulder to get somewhere he knew they would be safe from their newfound shadow.

"What are you?" Somi questioned, making the shoulders of their follower shake.

"You could say I'm curious," He shrugged, "But most call me a free man, not by my name, which is Minhyuk, by the way."

"Sorry I didn't ask" Somi's cheeks dared to be flushed at Minhyuk's point towards her rude question.

"No one really does", Minhyuk shrugged, brushing past the pair with Hyunwoo pulling Somi to his other side, further from Minhyuk.

"This is an interesting history lesson. I'm surprised Mr bodyguard here is allowed to follow along."

"It's not that kind of history lesson", Somi muttered.

"Right", Minhyuk nods, agreeing with Somi's statement. From there, things go quiet. Somi clears and looks at Hyunwoo, who is less than pleased by the predicament they're in.

"The first thing that I want to show you all is a painting of your school's founder and first principal," Hyunwoo gestured for Somi to walk with her classmates, and she did as he requested, coming to stand next to another girl who kept her long dark hair in braids that swayed behind her back as she walked. She glanced Somi's way, who politely smiled and bowed her head. The gesture was returned before they turned back to their speaker and guide on the excursion.

"This man made your school what you know it as today, and it is thanks to this man that we were able to all be educated in the safety of his grounds. When Mr Moon was in his early twenties, there was no such thing as safety for people like you or your butlers, which is why he created Moonstar Academy and is also why we live our lives in secret, as not to repeat history."

"So that's what Mr Moon looks like"

"Do not follow us" Hyunwoo glared at Minhyuk. Minhyuk looked back at Hyunwoo like an innocent lost puppy. He blinked and stared up at him to further prove his innocence. 

"But no one else is letting me follow them either", He muttered, as if he had gone to everyone else first. Hyunwoo, who was the only one acknowledging him, rose an eyebrow.

"You are not following us around. I will not allow Somi to be put in such danger."

"Oh, come on," Minhyuk whispered, "I'm not Jooheon. I don't intend for any harm to be done."

"Jooheon?"

"He's my friend, well he doesn't want to admit he's my friend, but he doesn't have a cardholder either, but he's more of an , he's a real , in fact."

"Have you been allowing this Jooheon near you?" Hyunwoo whispered to Somi. She shrugged her shoulders and looked up at him.

"I've spoken to him once or twice," She informed him. Hyunwoo's expression only continued to darken.

"Have Hyungwon and Changkyun not been keeping you safe in my absence?"

"They have taken great care of me" Somi shut down Hyunwoo's accusation. Hyunwoo breathed, rolling out his shoulders and pulling himself back into line.

"You will tell me more about this Jooheon", He stated. Somi shrugged her shoulders and faced the front again, ending their conversation. The speaker moved the class around the building to show off many artifacts that included photographs, people's belongings and important pages from newspapers older than Somi, among many other things.

"One of our most attention-grabbing pieces and one I could talk about forever is this right here. It never looks like much, but the stories that these metal bars could tell would astound you all." The speaker raved.

"This," He opened an arm to gesture to the piece, "is one of the cell doors, broken off from the very explosion that was caused by Lee Misun and her partner in work, Kim Kibum, when they were tasked with finding Prison Zero and rescuing the hostage, card residers, all of them."

"Wow," Somi breathed out. Hyunwoo didn't have to speak for Somi to know, but he told her anyway.

"That was your mother's maiden name." 

"That was my mother", Somi affirmed.

"Lee Misun achieved many incredible things in her career and went on to marry fellow cardholder Han Mingyeol. Both of which could tell many stories just like this cell door could" The speaker gestured to the door again.

"You're being watched", Minhyuk pointed out. Hyunwoo shot Minhyuk a look and used his hand on