Junghong isn’t late for once. He’s decided that creepy and dangerous things are less likely to happen if he’s surrounded by his chattering, unconcerned peers, so his new mission is to surround himself with them as often as possible. Minwoo and Kyung wholly agree with this new tactic, and make it their personal mission to help him with his. With all of the friends he’s made thus far at school – no mean feat considering what an Junhong can be – he manages to keep himself surrounded for the most part.

Of course it’s impossible for him to be surrounded by people all the time, especially since his teachers have taken his newfound punctuality to mean he’s developed a serious desire to learn. About half of his teacher seem to have decided to use him as their personal errand boy.

He’s in his philosophy class on Tuesday when his teacher, Mr. Cha, calls out his name. Philosophy is his second to last class of the day, and so Junhong is halfway asleep and it takes Yookwon elbowing him in the ribs before he can rouse himself enough to respond.

“What?”

He half expects to be lectured for his disrespectful demeanor but, like usual, Mr. Cha ignores his bad attitude. “I need a book checked out from the library,” the man says, scribbling the name and author on a post-it note. “Just give this to the librarian and she’ll help you find it.”

“Do I have to?” Junhong groans.

Several of his classmates look shocked at how rude he’s being, and a few even whisper to each other behind their hands, but Junhong is running off of practically no sleep and the last thing he wants is to go traipsing around the castle by himself when everyone else is in class.

Mr. Cha doesn’t even seem to notice how disrespectful he’s being. “Yes, Junhong, it would mean a lot to me. Hop hop.”

So Junhong has no choice but to drag himself up to the front of the classroom, accept the post-it note with the name and author of the book, and slip out of the room.

The hallways are deserted, as Junhong had known they would be. He shakes off the stupor of his half-nap. He can’t afford to be caught unaware by whatever it is that’s been following him around. He heads toward the library at a brisk walk verging on running – he’s pretty sure he won’t get in trouble for running in the hallway since he never seems to get in trouble for anything.

But when he enters the library – an enormous room with high, curved ceilings and stained glass windows that open out onto the bailey – he finds that it, too, appears deserted.

“Hello?” he calls out, stopping in front of the librarian’s desk and trying to peer back behind it. “Is anybody there?”

He gets no response. The librarian has clearly stepped out for some reason.

Junhong curses under his breath. He figures he’s got two choices. He can either hang around and wait for the librarian to return and help him find Mr. Cha’s book, or he can look for the damn thing himself. He’s not all that experienced with looking through libraries, but he’ll do anything to get out of there and back to class.

So, with the post-it note clenched tightly in his sweaty hand, he goes in search. The school library, while big, is nowhere near as huge as the public library he, Kyung, and Minwoo had visited over the weekend, so he manages to narrow down the right aisle without too much trouble. He’s scanning the titles of the books when he hears a noise behind him.

Jumping, he whirls around and finds himself face to face with none other than Jonghyun.

Junhong lets out an explosive breath. “Jeez, hyung, you scared the out of me,” he mutters, clutching his heart.

But Jonghyun doesn’t answer. In fact, he doesn’t even look all that much like Jonghyun. There’s something about the twist in his lips that sets Junhong on edge, and his eyes are cold and narrow.

“H-hyung?” Junhong says, feeling a chill go down his spine. “Is everything okay?”

The next thing he knows, Jonghyun has him pinned up against the bookshelf, his forearm pressed against Junhong’s windpipe with enough force that it’s practically impossible for the younger to breathe. Up close, Junhong can see that Jonghyun’s eyes are almost completely black.

Junhong struggles against his assailant, thrashing, kicked, trying to pry the arm back enough for him to breathe. He’s much taller than Jonghyun but the elder is stockier and stronger – almost unnaturally so – and Junhong can’t seem to budge him an inch.

There are spots swimming in front of his eyes as Jonghyun yanks Junhong’s belt open with his free hand. Junhong gurgles a mostly-silent plea, but then Jonghyun is pushing his pants and boxers down around his thighs.

He’s able to gulp down much-needed air when Jonghyun throws him to the ground, but his relief lasts only for a second before the elder is on top of him. Using one inordinately strong hand to pin Junhong’s wrists above his head, Jonghyun uses the other to position himself at Junhong’s unprepared entrance.

Junhong tries to scream but the damage to his windpipe means that nothing more than a hoarse gargle comes out. He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to fight back, but Jonghyun is much stronger than he is.

“Jonghyun?” the voice that interrupts them is shocked and horrified. “What the hell is going on here?”

It’s only a momentary distraction as the black-eyed Jonghyun looks over his shoulder at Kibum, where all the color has drained out of his face and his lower lip is trembling, but it’s enough. Junhong grabs the nearest book he can reach – thankfully it’s a Latin dictionary – and hits Jonghyun in the face with it as hard as he can. Kibum turns and flees as Jonghyun cries out in pain, blood spattering from his nose, and Junhong scrambles to his feet. With a cry and a great amount of effort, he gives the nearest shelf a push until it tumbles over, crushing Jonghyun beneath it.

Then, shaking with effort and terror, he pulls up his pants and hides his face in his hands.

He’s still sitting like that when the librarian returns, and she starts screeching like a banshee until she realizes there’s a student underneath the bookshelf. Teachers are called, Jonghyun is taken to the infirmary, and Junhong is sent to Ms. Han’s office.

He’s never been to the keep before, where all the staff housing is. It’s the tallest, most fortified building on campus and Junhong is pretty sure there are no classes in it. There is an electronic pad by the front door and, when he finds the door locked, he presses it.

“Who is it?” a male demands in a bored sort of voice.

“Uh, Choi Junhong,” Junhong manages to rasp out. His throat hurts like hell and there are already bruises blossoming all across his neck. “I’ve been sent to see Ms. Han.”

The voice doesn’t reply, but the locks clicks and Junhong steps into the cool interior of the keep.

A teacher Junhong doesn’t recognize is waiting for him at the foot of the steps. He looks Junhong over with a cool sort of smugness. “Follow me,” he barks, and heads up the curving spiral staircase. Junhong has no choice but to comply, although each step he takes feels like it’s leading him to his doom.

The teacher stops in front of an elaborate wooden door with iron finishings, and he knocks politely. “Headmistress, the Choi boy is here.”

“Send him in,” Ms. Han calls.

The teacher smirks as he opens the door and gestures for Junhong to walk through.

Ms. Han’s office is circular, constructed of solid stone. There are ancient tapestries hanging on the walls, and a fire is roaring in the hearth even though it is June and quite warm outside. There are bookshelves all around the walls, curving with the stone, and these hold rows and rows of thick, ancient-looking books. Ms. Han is seated behind an enormous wooden desk, her hands folded neatly on top.

“Mr. Choi,” she says by way of greeting, gesturing for him to sit down in one of the chairs opposite her desk. “I hear you’ve gotten into some trouble.”

Junhong doesn’t answer, though he does sit down.

“Can you please tell me what happened in the library?” she asks him in a calm sort of voice, but there’s something in her eyes that Junhong doesn’t trust.

“We got into a fight,” he lies, voice coming out as a rasp.

Ms. Han frowns as if she knows he’s not telling the truth. “Come now, Junhong. I can’t help you if you’re dishonest with me.”

“I’m not being dishonest,” Junhong lies again. “Mr. Cha sent me to the library to check out a book for him, and Jonghyun wanted to check out the same book. Things got a little heated. Maybe my brain was fried from studying too hard or something.”

Her expression darkened but she didn’t call him a liar again. “Perhaps some form of punishment is necessary to prevent fights in the future then,” she suggests ominously.

“You could expel me,” Junhong suggests helpfully. “In fact, I’m sure you should. I wouldn’t want to damage the school’s reputation.”

But she only laughs. “I think detention is in order, Mr. Choi. Perhaps that will teach you not to fight – or lie. You are dismissed.”

Junhong is troubled as the same unknown teacher shows him back down the spiral staircase and out of the keep. Ms. Han had known he was lying, but how? He’s convinced she’s involved in all of this somehow.

He finds that classes have finished for the day by the time he returns to the main castle, so he collects his bag from the philosophy classroom and climbs the stairs to his dormitory wearily. He’s suddenly exhausted.

Only he finds that his dorm room isn’t as empty as he’d thought it would be. Sehun is there of course, but so are Minwoo, Kyung, and – much to Junhong’s surprise – Kibum.

“Are you okay?” Minwoo exclaims, jumping to his feet when Junhong comes through the door. “There are all sorts of rumors flying around school!”

“This may be a situation where the truth is weirder than the rumors,” Junhong mutters darkly, tossing his bag into a corner with absolutely no intention of doing his homework. He glances at Kibum, whose face is red and tear-stained. “How’s Jonghyun?”

“Why do you care?” Kibum mutters angrily. “Nobody should care about that back-stabbing , least of all you. I mean, he tried to you, Junhong! He might’ve even succeeded if I hadn’t come along at just the right moment!”

“Don’t hold it against him,” Junhong says wearily, sinking down onto the edge of his bed with a wince. It seems his entire body is sore. “It’s not his fault.”

“Not his fault?” Kibum splutters indignantly. “Junhong, I saw it with my own two eyes! Who else would make him do something like that?”

Junhong glances at Minwoo and Kyung. “A demon.”

“A demon?” Kibum demands incredulously. “Are you ing insane?”

But Kyung and Minwoo are suddenly even more alert.

“Are you sure?” Minwoo asks seriously.

Junhong nods, running his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, it was the demon,” he assures them. “There was no way Jonghyun could be that strong without extra help. And his eyes…” He shudders. “That wasn’t Jonghyun. It may have been his body, but it certainly wasn’t him inside.”

Kibum suddenly seems less certain about everything. “What are you guys talking about? What demon? What is going on here?”

Sehun, arms crossed over his chest, speaks up. “The three of them are convinced that there’s a demon haunting the Academy and that it’s targeting Junhong for some reason.”

“It’s true,” Junhong insists, wincing as his throat protests the abuse. “It’s happened before. Sehun was possessed before – he started talking in this weird voice and quoting some sort of Biblical nonsense.” He gave himself a shake at the terrifying memory. “I swear, Kibum, you can’t blame Jonghyun for this. It’s not his fault.”

“I-it doesn’t sound like something Jonghyun would ever do,” Kibum admits uncertainly. “I never would’ve believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes. What happens when someone is possessed by a demon?”

Kyung frowns. “It doesn’t seem to have too many lasting effects,” he says. “After Sehun was possessed, he didn’t even remember it.”

“It’s true,” he admits. “I’m still not even sure if I believe it.”

“Honestly, I’m more worried about him getting crushed under a bookshelf,” Junhong mutters. “Those things aren’t light.”

Kibum is on his feet at once. “I-I’m going to go to the infirmary,” he announces. “I just…I want to check and make sure he’s okay.”

The others are silent as Kibum grabs his bag and leaves the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

It’s Minwoo who breaks the silence. “This is getting seriously out of hand,” he mutters. “We’ve got to do something and fast, or this demon is going to get you.”