Chapter II

Several hours later, Minwoo woke up, feeling a lot better than before. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. He looked around the room, but couldn't see Yusa anywhere. Thinking he must have left sometime ago, he got out of bed and left the room.

One thing he noticed, the house was made of wooden logs. It reminded him of the wodden lodges in forests that are in fantasy storybooks. He chuckled to himself and wantered into the sitting room. Yusa was there working on something. 

"Ohayou gozaimasu." Minwoo greeted, bowing politely. The older vampire (Minwoo remembered this time.) looked up at him from what was in his hands and smiled.

"Ohayou. Have you slept well?" he asked. Minwoo nodded.

"Yes, thank you..." he sat down on the sofa. Yusa turned to him and held up a white dress shirt.

"Here, I made this for you." he smiled. "You would need it when you go to the academy." Minwoo blinked.

"Academy...?"

"Yes. Remember, last night, I told the five vampires you were claimed by one of my students. At the academy, humans are supposed to wear a uniform, as to be known from others." Yusa explained. 

"Oh..." Minwoo frowned absentmindedly. Yusa saw it.

"Hey, don't worry." he reassured him. "He is not like the others. You'll be safe with him." Minwoo smiled weakly, not sure if he should believe the vampire's words. "Now, let's get you changed. I have fixed your clothes."

"Thank you, Yusa-san." Minwoo bowed. Yusa smiled.

"By the way, what's your name, kid?" Minwoo mentally facepalmed.

"I-It's Minwoo..." the younger smiled. Yusa got up from his seat and and handed Minwoo his old clothes.

"Alright, Minwoo. Change into these quick. You are coming with me to the academy." Minwoo nodded hesitantly. "Hey, it will be really fine, I promise you..." He walked to the boy and patted his head. "Just stay by my side at all times, and no one will dare to hurt you." He nodded again and went back into the bedroom to change. By the time he came back, Yusa had already served some porridge for both of them. They had breakfast and left, heading for the academy.

It was still dark, and later, Minwoo discovered there was no such thing as 'morning' there. It kind of made sense, since these are creatures of the dark and so on. Indeed, the lodge was deep in the forest, like Minwoo predicted. It was quite scary, though. As he walked along with the vampire, he clould feel someone was watching them from afar, and the rustling sounds didn't help. He inched closer to Yusa, keeping up his pace.

"Say, Minwoo," Yusa started the conversation. "Why are you here in our realm?" 

"I..uh... I was looking for someone... A friend of mine..." the younger replied. Yusa gave him a puzzled look.

"A friend?" he asked. "A vampire?" Minwoo shook his head.

"I...I don't know..." he sighed. "He never told me anything like that... And I never suspected anything about him...."

"Is he a good friend?"

"Well, yes. He was my best friend." the younger smiled absentmindedly. "He..commited suicide.. Or so I think, and weeks later, I found a note for me in his room... He said something about his closet, and I went in, then found myself here...."

"And your sole purpose and hope you are clinging to is to find your friend." Yusa stated more than questioned. Receiving a nod from Minwoo he smiled. "That person is so lucky to have someone like you."

"T-thank you." the boy smiled with a light blush dusting his cheeks.

"What was he like...?"

"He was...quiet..and shy.. Most of the time." Minwoo tapped his chin a couple of times. "He seemed a bit reserved at first, but he opened up to me easily, ever since the day I met him." he smiled. "I haven't known him for long, but we were good friends."

"I see..." Yusa smiled knowingly. "He sounds like a nice person."

"He is!" The older glanced at the smiling Minwoo beside him and couldn't help but smile wider. His enthusiasm and hope to find his friend made Yusa feel happy. Minwoo didn't seem like he was going to give up. "That's why I'm here. To find him and bring him back."

"You'd most probably find him at the academy. A lot of students study there." Yusa said. "I myself work there too, but I'm on my days off."

"How much do they last?"

"A week or two. Only teachers of high ranks can take a break from work. A school with a lot of vampires is hard to handle." he sighed. "I just hope my student accepts you as his human partner."

"Partner?"

"Yeah, something like a slave, but you live in a better condition, so we didn't call it 'slavery', but 'partnership'." Yusa explained. "The student I chose is of a high rank, good academic record -except for chemistry- and is most of the time quiet, and some kind of clod and friendly fused together, but can be really funny at times. He's one of the special students I have."

"Sounds...better than the vampires of yesterday..." Minwoo sighed in relief. 

"Oh, but be careful, he is a bit to picky, and has a pure perfectionist vampire blood running though his veins. Do not make him mad, or else." Minwoo gulped and nodded. "Good. Here we are." Minwoo looked ahead and saw the large gates of the academy. Yusa walked in, and Minwoo followed him close by. There were a lot of vampires out, not all of them looked like Yusa. Minwoo walked by the vampire's side closely, eyeing the creatures around him in fear.

"Don't worry, Minwoo... You are safe with me..." Yusa reassured him, gripping onto his arm. Just as they reached the front steps, a small vampire approached them, smiling wide.

"Yusa-sensei! You brought another one?" he exclaimed cheerfully. He was a small vampire of dark reddish-brown hair and big blue eyes. He looked at Minwoo carefully, eyeing him up and down. "He looks cute. Can I touch him?"

"Sure." Yusa smiled. The little vampire reached out and touched Minwoo's hand.

"Oooooh!~ It's warm~" he smiled. "I'll see you around later, human. bye!" The boy ran off again. Minwoo breathed in relief as soon as the main doors closed after them.

"You needn't worry about the boy." Yusa spoke. "He likes meeting human beings. He thinks they are amazing." Minwoo resisted the urge to smiled proudly at the statement, and followed Yusa through the main hall, all the way to the principal's office. The building was lit by candles, which gave a not-very-bright light, further increasing the uncomfortable vibe Minwoo got from the whole building itself. The kept on walking for a long time till they reached a large oak door. Yusa knocked twice, and on receiving permission, he went in, telling Minwoo to wait for him. 

Minwoo didn't like the idea of being alone in a building full of vampires that wouldn't mind to all his blood out of him. It gave him the chills. He glanced around every now and then, just out of insecurity. One time, he caught the sight of a person, probably one of the students. He was clad in black, with a long cloak around him, a mask covering his eyes, pale skin and long black hair. The figure disappeared in a flash, and Minwoo thought he was making up things.

"Minwoo." Yusa's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Come in."  he nodded and walked in slowly, with Yusa by his side. The principal, a scary-looking man with a sharp gaze and harsh features, looked upon him. Minwoo froze on the spot, just staring at the floor. 

"...So.." the principal spoke in a deep voice. "This is him..?"

"Yes, master." Yusa nodded politely. "Have a candidate that I have chosen." 

"Who might that be..?"

"Masquerade..." Yusa looked up. "I think he is the most suitable. This young man here might meet his requirements." The principal took another look at Minwoo. 

"True enough... He seems like Masquerade's type..." he said. "But Masquerade has some missions at the time. The human is to stay with you till your top student is back. We'll see about it then." Yusa bowed once more.

"Thank you, master." he said before he and Minwoo left the room. Minwoo sighed in relief.

"I was so scared..." he admitted. Yusa ruffled his hair.

"Oh, don't be like that. Now, come on. I need to buy some things from a nearby town. It won't take long, then we can go back to the lodge." Minwoo nodded, and they both left the academy. Like Yusa said, the town was not very far away. Lots of vampires walked through the streets, and Minwoo had to stick to Yusa's side like before. Yusa bought some clothes for the young human, along with some food supplies, and soon, they were on their way back. The atmosphere was getting colder each minute, Minwoo was shivering. He missed the warmth of the human world already.

"Here." Yusa wrapped his cloak around Minwoo, securing it around his body. 'this will keep you warm." the older smiled and went on in his way, with Minwoo following him.

"Won't you get cold?"

"Nah, I can handle it." Yusa nodded with the same smile on his face. By the time they reached the lodge, they were both tired fom walking around all that time. Yusa and Minwoo both sat on the couch -Yusa was more like throwing himself than sitting- all worn out.

"Now I can see why humans have cars..." Yusa mumbled before laughing. "I always say that after every outing I make. probably I just need some sleep." Then he got up, but that's after we eat something first."

"You eat human food?"

"yes, though I don't benefit much from it, I like it. It tastes nice."

"Didn't ever think vampires would like human food." then Minwoo laughed. "I didn't even know they existed." Yusa smiled at him.

"Well, life is sure full of surprises. Sit down and rest while I make some food for you." he left. Minwoo took a deep breath and smiled, enjoying a moment of solitude before his mind wandered off once again to his band mates. Donghyun must be really furious, he though, cringing at the image of what scolding he would get if he goes back. Save the long lectures from Hyunseong and Jeongmin... And their furious manager...

Oh dear.. he would be in deep trouble. He wondered if bringing Haruka back would make it better...

That is, if he gets to find Haruka here...

After dinner, Yusa tucked him in bed. Wishing him goodnight, he headed outside.

"Wait, where are you gonna sleep?" Minwoo asked.

"On the couch. It's not comfortable, but I will be fine." Yusa smiled. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable." he left, closing the door behind him. Minwoo smiled a little.

"...thank you," he murmured, getting ready to sleep. All the walking earlier made it really easy. He soon found himself in a deep slumber.