"N, you're not going to be jealous, are you?"

N laughed. "Oh, Jae Ren. I am a civilized man from the late 18th century. I am not swayed by such emotions."

"Right." Jae Ren mentally rolled her eyes. "After all, I spent the entire day with you yesterday. And only you because the others were too busy." She reminded. "Just this one day, all right?"

"But I still don't see why you keep training every day. It'll tire you out." N finally said after holding it in for so long. "And Jae Ren, how come you only have guy friends in the first place?! Seriously, there are a lot of girls in WA!" He would know. Some had already annoyed him with their 'interest'.

"... They don't really talk to me at class..."

He blinked, noting the awkward silence. After an internal discussion, he sighed. "Can I watch?"

"Sure. Onew would be there, too, you know. And it's just at the backyard. Really, N." She laughed. "Stop acting like such a boyfriend."

"DON'T SAY THAT WORD IN FRONT OF ME!"

She jumped in shock by his outburst, though she laughed as soon as she noticed he had vanished like thin air from her doorstep.

It truly made her laugh when she found out N had a 'problem' with that word. Almost happy enough to ignore the serious problem that Leo left in her life.

She came to regret the words she last said to him. She didn’t make things easier for either of them.

A week of not seeing Leo made her paranoid. Like he would suddenly appear and finally say goodbye. She didn't want that. Stupidly, she kept hiding. She didn't even want to eat lunch with the others since she wanted them to invite Leo instead.

He never came, though.

"Hey, Jae. They're here." Ravi appeared in a flash from her door. "That guy you said... he wasn't kidding. I feel his every foot step."

"Don't mention it, Ravi. He might be offended." She said. He had meant the power Taemin had.

"I'm sure I'll die in a heartbeat if I offend him."

"Don't joke about that!"

Ravi laughed and stalked away.

Jae Ren knew they were trying to cheer her up. They were also trying to regard the matter with jokes. N would 'help' Hongbin in cooking. Ken and Ravi kept fighting over the new bed in the bigger room with N.

She tried her best. She really did.

"Aren't you tired yet?" Onew watched from over her shoulder. "Taemin, maybe you should try something simpler. It seems she can't project it from a distance yet."

"Hush, hyung. I know what I'm doing." Taemin waved him away. "This was how I first learned to control it. Electricity was not common by then so I kept playing with the unsold candles my sister made." He explained to Jae Ren.

She was sitting on the grass, a meter away from an unlit candle with her hand extended. She was tasked to make it melt.

"Didn't they hunt magic users before?" N asked. He, too, watched her. In fact, everyone crowded around her.

"Don't talk about that. The Dark Days is a very... sensitive topic." Onew shook his head.

"No one's around." Ravi informed. "So please, explain."

Reluctantly, Onew explained. "Well, back in the day, humans ruled this planet and magical creatures were forced into hiding. The elders named this the 'Dark Days'. Any slight evidence of someone practicing magic or hoarding creatures that they thought weren't supposed to exist, were killed."

"Harsh." Ken commented.

"Right." Onew nodded. "This went on until the late 17th century. A war commenced against humans and us magical creatures. Of course, we had the advantage. A hundred of them could be taken out by ten of us. After almost a millennia of violence, some from our side suggested a truce. A truce of co-existing."

"It was hard at first- since they were suspicious and afraid of us. Soon, after a century, they got used to it. After all, they were losing." Taemin added.

Jae Ren tried to tune out their conversation of violence. It made her uneasy.

"Then if that's what happened, why does a place like Santuary exist in the first place? If the world was supposed to be safe..." Hyuk blurted.

Onew hesitated but decided to continue anyway. "That's because after the war, even with the truce, problems still erupted everywhere. And not only humans were causing them. Some black market dealers kept selling illegal items like mer-creature scales and tonics and potions that had side-effects. A lot of species were being hunted. Sometimes, by their own kind."

"And that's how Sanctuary was born." Taemin ended. "You kids better stay out of that business."

"Wait, how old are you two? If you know all of this, how come we don't?" N asked. To him, this seemed like vital information. Yet why did no one from the outside or even inside of Sanctuary mention this before?

Taemin grinned. "I'm going to tell them, hyung." He said, earning a sigh in return. "That's because it's to prevent a second war."

"... What?" Jae Ren couldn't concentrate anymore.

"Think about it. Think about all the students you've seen so far in here." Taemin said. "If they found out that it wasn't supposed to be this way- that they deserved to stay out of hiding, wouldn't they be furious? And if they realized just how powerful they were, how capable of war this place was, wouldn't they want it?"

Onew nodded. "Why do you think they keep track of all witches and warlocks outside of Sanctuary? Even one of those people is enough to wage another war. That's the horrible truth of the world."

"You mean this world." Hongbin whispered.

"Then why would they build a school that taught us to fight?" Ravi asked.

"For the exact same reason." N said. Everything clicked into place. "In case we go to war."

Jae Ren stopped trying with the candles anymore. "Is this what they called me here for? To become a soldier?"

"Jae Ren, that's not it at all." Onew shook his head. "This is self-defence."

"It's true." Taemin crouched down beside her to calm her down. "It is a fact that we were almost extinguished in the war. That second war thing was just one of the possibilities."

"One of the councilmen that take care of Sanctuary is a master at logical thinking. It is true that the training was in case of a second war," Onew had to give N props for figuring it out. "But the main reason still stands as self-defence."

"Great power comes with great responsibility." Taemin added. "And you have a great responsibility, too. To protect the people around you, you have to learn how to use your magic. We are still being hunted." He reminded. "If the elders had left the world as it is, you would have died the moment you Awakened."

Jae Ren bit the insides of her cheeks. What did she really know of this world? She glanced at the others and found that they agreed with Taemin. Even N. So she just continued her work.

Taemin smiled, grateful she understood. "Next, we'll talk about Onew hyung's thousand year-old obsession with chicken."

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Happy Holidays~