(Oops, I was kept late at work so...)

Deadline is so near! Even when I want to write every idea that passes through my mind, I just can’t! Anyway, I’ll still be writing more of these supernatural!aus in the future, maybe explore some of the ships here (me-and-my dormmate version lol). And—yeah, here’s the final chapter! Please wish me luck in winning the contest! ^~^

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Three

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A new semester will be starting soon.

Minghao smiles at Jeonghan and ushers him to open the door to their hall. It wasn’t easy getting back here after he’d been brought to heaven and got himself healed. Unfortunately, Chansik’s spells had caused serious wounds on his wings and he might not be able to use them for a while. It’s alright. He’ll be fine. He’s got Minghao by his side anyway.

Jeonghan turns the knob and opens the door and he’s met with a heartwarming scene. Everyone in the hall have gathered in the common area, some look like they’re ready to go to class and others are still in their sleepwear, each holding a sheet of paper.

“Jeonghan-hyung!” Chan was the first to notice them, making the others look up and see the two heavenly beings standing by the door. From the looks on their faces, they’re all pleasantly surprised. Because, really, it’s been a long semester break without the other residents.

“Hyung!” Soonyoung was the first to move, scrambling to stand up from his place on the floor, quickly changing into a small dog, and jumping onto Jeonghan’s chest. Jeonghan catches him just in time. “Hyung! You’re home!” Seokmin transforms into his fairy form and flutters towards the door, just as the others crowd around Jeonghan and Minghao.

“Alright, kids, settle back down or you’ll suffocate them.” Seungcheol is sitting next to Jihoon by the couch, smiling that fatherly smile of his at the kids he’s accidentally adopted. Minghao had been sending him messages about Jeonghan’s healing progress, but he didn’t expect them to be back so soon.

“Welcome home, Jeonghannie, you may want to sit down. The others have classes soon so we’re doing this now.”

Jeonghan nods and makes his way to sit next to Seungcheol. Minghao sits next to Seungkwan on the floor.

“One. Curfew is… we don’t have curfews. Two. No bringing of outsiders into the hall—“

---

Did you think anything changed since last semester? The answer really depends on where you’re looking from. The university’s still solid, holding a stronger barrier against outsiders, and still standing as their one home despite the variety of the students living here.

Vampires still whine and complain about the food service. Werewolves still break bathroom accessories (and rip their clothes) accidentally. Fairies still make up 90% of the campus noise most of the time. Rares are still bored out of their wits. Angels are still head-turners. Demons still dress in black (except for a certain demon prince whose favorite color is probably white).

So what did change?

Well, first off, the student population grew and so did the variety of species. Chan’s class, “Responsibilities and Consequences”, usually empty, now have opened another time slot because of the increase in the number of students. Many species are now convinced that the friendly association of different kinds of species is vital when trying to adapt to the human world. It’s because of this, however, that Minghao’s promise of giving Chan his own room had to be broken.

Second, Hall 17 have been renovated due to unforeseen circumstances namely “accidentally summoning a monster, causing partial destruction of the first rooms” and “accidentally summoning a monster, causing partial destruction of the first rooms part 2”. Goddammit, Jihoon! I already told you—

And speaking of renovations, Soonyoung and Seokmin, with the help of Jihoon and some fairy dust, have set up magical sound-proof barriers to the third rooms, in consideration to the other residents of the hall. See, they’re still chatterboxes, and hyperactive little shts, but they’ve learned to respect others’ need to have peace and quiet.

Mingyu and Wonwoo have always fought for the pettiest of things, and that has and always will be happening. Now, however, they became sensitive of beings not their own—to the shapeshifters and ogres and many types of fairies and the vampires (most especially the vampires)—and have sought friendship and warmth from an angel others. It’s a miracle. Werewolves who only ever thought about their kind are now capable of communicating with other species.

(And for fights that get quite ugly, they depend upon Minghao to peacefully mediate.)

Jeonghan and Joshua have been on good terms recently. They haven’t talked for a while but they do offer pleasant smiles and greetings when they pass by each other in the hallway. It’s not that Joshua doesn’t want to talk to Jeonghan but the thought of him, as one of the high demons, breathing the same air an angel breathes is still… not quite acceptable. Given time, perhaps, when origins won’t matter anymore, they could go back to the best friends they’d been.

(Nothing much changed between Vernon and Seungkwan. Except maybe, nowadays, he’s hanging out a lot with the other fairies, and they all... just kinda… sing.)

Seungcheol thinks of it every day, you know, cry in frustration. Because while it’s good that the kids are getting along quite well, the trouble their causing other students seemed to double now. Like when they team up to do whatever stupid agenda they might have for that day, or join that university-wide singing contest (Fairies ft. Vernon yooo), or petition for better quality blood for their crown prince, or create the dance club, or—you get the idea, right? It’s especially tiring now that they actually gather in the common area to eat dinner (or breakfast for the nocturnals). The kitchen is finally in use, Mingyu leading in creating many supernatural delicacies, while also taking note of what species don’t eat, (like Wonwoo who’s allergic to seafood). And okay, fine, the thirteen personal mugs by the cupboard is heartwarming. And that welcome mat they put by the door was a nice touch.

Seungcheol is a sweet person, really, he takes care of the kids, he reminds them when to take suppressants or any other things that need to be scheduled, he covers up for them whenever the time to report to the higher-ups comes, and he genuinely looks after their progress in the institution. But it’s tiring. And he’s starting to lose his momentum.

But here’s where Jihoon comes in. Jihoon, after many clinical trials, finally perfected his healing potion, which he supplies to Seungcheol every now and then. It helped a lot especially during that one time when Chan fell sick and Seungcheol had to look after him.

Jeonghan is another story. His presence have always had this soothing quality to it, and he can empower it at will. But Jeonghan helps in the more mundane tasks within the hall, like, picking up socks and shirts scattered by the common area, sewing Mingyu and Wonwoo’s clothes when they accidentally rip them, and waking up everyone every day for their classes.

…Seungcheol isn’t as oppressed as he thinks he is.

He takes one look at the students of hall 17 and—oh, wow, how much have they changed? The one hall where the relationships are dysfunctional are now gradually becoming home that everyone could comfortably return to.

Home.

---

“Hyung,” Seungkwan corners Seungcheol in the common room one Sunday morning. His face is lacking the usual jolly expression and he’s looking at Seungcheol like their hyung has committed murder. Seungcheol unconsciously inches away from the fairy.

Suddenly, another fairy is right next to him. Seokmin. “Hyung, don’t even try to deny it.”

This is bad. They’re getting weirder. What could they possibly want from him? He stands up from the couch and tries to brush them off. He honestly doesn’t need this kind of drama so early in the morning. But then, something heavy pounces on him, making him fall back to the couch and getting trapped under the weight of a… small brown bear? “S-soonyoung, please get off me or I’ll—“

“ANSWER THE QUESTION, HYUNG!”

“W-what question?”

“Playing the innocent card, I see,” says Seungkwan as he stares threateningly at their hall manager.

“You didn’t even ask me any questi—“

“THAT YOU’RE NOT THE PERSON YOU SAY YOU ARE!” Seokmin looks at him with big eyes.

What.

Are you—

Are you serious—

Seungcheol’s previously panicking face morphs into that of an unimpressed one. Really. These kids are scaring him for something so stupid? Haven’t they talked about this before? These brats.

He pushes the small bear off him, and Sooyoung who’s landed on his bum transforms back to his human form. “I swear, you three, if I find any drugs in your rooms, I’ll kick y’all back to your hometow—“

“STOP AVOIDING THE REAL ISSUE HERE!”

“What issue are you even talking about?! ‘Cause as far as I know, you haven’t told me what I’m being accused of!” Seungcheol raises his voice, effectively startling the three fairies who’ve originally cornered him. Seungcheol is a scary hall manager. And he’s more scary when he’s mad, and now that the fairies knew that he’s….

“That you’re! You’re…”

He sighs. “Seokmin, you—“

“That you’re a dragon!”

“WHAT?!” Mingyu and Wonwoo exclaim at the same time. They’ve just come from the hallway and are quite shocked at the revelation. “Seungcheol-hyung’s a dragon?!” And they hurriedly join the little interrogation by dropping to their knees next to Soonyoung. A dragon?! An extinct creature of earth? Seungcheol?!

“What kind of sht—“

“Yes! We’ve checked all the facts!” says Soonyoung as he brings out a notebook from out of nowhere. “We got you this time, hyung! You can’t hide the truth anymore!”

“What truth?” This time, it’s their youngest pair, Vernon and Chan who are peering out from the hallway. They’re both curious, of course! A dragon! Wasn’t that the myth among myths? Vernon and Chan met lots of people in their lifetimes, but this—this is probably the most interesting yet! Ohgod. A dragon, a dragon, a dragon! They quickly join the growing crowd in the common area.

“I’ll say this once: I am not a dragon,” declares Seungcheol calmly. For every second that passes by, his shoulders droop lower and lower. It’s so early in the morning and he’s already so tired. This must be how fathers feel all the time. He’s just… so done.

“But you are! Exhibit one!” Soonyoung rattles, “How could it be that no one can detect your magic? I’ve read somewhere that dragons are so mysterious, they actually know how to conceal their magic completely.” Vernon and Chan nods excitedly. It’s true. Being the most sensitive of species, they could only feel Seungcheol when he’s near. His frequency is one that’s always very difficult to pin.

“I—“

“Exhibit two!” It’s Seungkwan who says it this time, and Seungcheol immediately realized that the fairies are all going to take turns in humiliating him. “Why does it seem like you know everything? Like that one time when Joshua-hyung was invisible, and we wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t pointed it out.”

Joshua suddenly materializes behind Soonyoung. His face tells everyone he’s completely convinced. He’s actually thought of the possibility but laughed it off ‘cause dragons don’t exist anymore. And it’s true. Only Seungcheol was able to know things before they happen, and he always knows how to solve them. Could it be? All this time? All of them are living with a legend?

“Guys, this is so stupid—“

“Hyung, you have the right to remain silent,” says Chan in a quiet voice. Vernon follows it with an “Anything you say can be held against you.”

Right. Seungcheol opted to just let them continue. The faster they say what they want to say, the faster all of this will be over. He needs coffee. Where’s the coffee.

“Exhibit three!” As expected, it’s Seokmin’s turn this time. “Why does it seem like you have absolutely no weakness? Dragons are known to have no weakness too. Remember when we fought those Hunters? You were not afraid of all the repellants they brought! I thought, hyung, just what are you? And you took the Joshua-hyung’s brother by yourself!”

The brats nod vigorously among themselves.

“What do you say about those, hyung? Care to explain? ‘Cause there really is absolutely no way we’re letting you go until you spill the truth yourself,” Seungkwan raises his brow and talks as if he’s so sure of himself. Which he is. He has his arms folded over his chest too.

Silence and anticipation embraces the whole common room. The usually rowdy residents of this hall are now looking expectantly at him.

“You know, guys,” he starts. He really doesn’t know how to say it, not when he has these many eyes on him. He sighs again. Where’s Jeonghan when you need him, seriously…

“I’m not a dragon.”

“LIES!”

“SHUT UP AND LET ME TALK FOR ONCE, WILL YA?!”

….

“I’m human.”

“HA! I KNEW IT! FROM THE START I—WHAT?!”

“WHAT?!”

“That’s gotta be the funniest joke I’ve ever—don’t take the daddy jokes so seriously, hyung—“

“I’m serious. I. AM. HUMAN.”

“But if you’re human, can you disprove the facts?”

“I’m glad you asked, Seokmin. Because that’s what I’ve trying to do...” Seungcheol snarls at the fairy beside him. “Listen, you lot, and listen well, okay?”

“One. You can’t detect my magic, because I fcking don’t have magic. How could you even detect something that’s not… there? Two. Why does it seem like I know the solution to everything? It’s called HUMAN. COMMON. SENSE. Which you obviously don’t have because if you did, I wouldn’t even have to explain it to you.”

Oh, wow. Seungcheol sassing game too strong.

“Three. No weakness to salt, iron, and sun? Well, duhh, I’m human. I don’t have weaknesses but I also don’t have strengths like yours. I can’t shapeshift into a llama if I wanted to! I can’t be forever young! I can’t even reach the remote sometimes!”

He huffs and looks at each one of them in their eyes. The realization is obvious on their faces. “I’m not a dragon.”

Seungcheol is not a dragon.

Seungkwan isn’t as convinced though. “B-but what about that one time! We had the same class, and when I left the dorm, you were still in your pajamas! And when I came to class, you were already there, all dressed up and chatting with the others! You have teleportation! Or levitation, at least! You can’t just be a human, no way!”

A familiar chuckle wafts into the common area, catching their attention and making them look at the source. Jeonghan. And Minghao and Jihoon. Who are all laughing like they’ve just heard the joke of the century.

“Seungcheol-hyung is very much human, alright,” explains Jihoon, “I know, because I met his parents over summer break.”

“And that one time, Seungkwannie,” Jeonghan is trying to stop himself from bursting out into another fit of laughter, “I’m sorry, but that was the time Seungcheollie asked me to fly him to class because he was going to be late.”

Minghao is nodding along to Jeonghan’s statement. It’s not new. Sometimes they’d fly high in the sky to get to where they needed to be. Their wings aren’t just for show. “Oh, but don’t tell Jun-hyung, okay?” he says and really, telling Jun that a human is sleeping just next door is the least of their problems at the moment.

Mingyu, Wonwoo, Chan, Vernon, and Joshua turn their eyes back on the three fairies, their expressions showing that of disbelief. Why did they even listen to fairies? Who are known to spread rumors upon baseless grounds? When there’s smoke, there’s fire, but here it’s only the smoke from pulverized fairy dust.

Needless to say, nobody took them seriously for about a week.

(And Jun who was sleeping that time, was a little suspicious when he woke up.)

---

You know, Chan came here with big expectations. He wasn’t disappointed. Coming to a school for supernaturals, something he’s never heard of from his previous lifetimes, is certainly entertaining. He didn’t expect to have a Kitsune, Vernon, as his roommate. He expected people like Jun, and Wonwoo and Mingyu whose species are popular with humans, but he was surprised at how quickly they can adapt to each other’s kind. The fairies are the most notable out of all. Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Soonyoung bring life and drama to everything they set their eyes upon. Not one day had been boring when he’s with them.

Another thing he didn’t expect was the presence of both light and dark energies in one plane. Jeonghan and Minghao are truly fascinating, and though Joshua may be a little peculiar, he’s still the kind that you can’t dismiss so easily.

Jihoon was probably the most studious person in the campus, and he’s been helpful to Chan for many times. He’s the one with the most sense (just don’t mention his umm). There were many nights he’d wonder, how can there be someone with lots of talents? I aspire to be like that.

And Seungcheol too, a human. He’s never encountered someone with so much determination. He’s probably the bravest human to even consider going to a school where he’s literally the menu. But maybe, that’s just how humans are. They’re weak and they live such short lifespans, but that made them all the more hopeful and positive about living on earth. It’s admirable.

Weren’t they the ones who initiated this whole ‘unification of all living species on earth’ thing? If it hadn’t been for them, he wouldn’t have met all these wonderful people. He would have waited for a longer time before he could have friends.

Before he could have a… strange but very warm family.

Chan is a phoenix.

A firebird.

And phoenixes live long and boring lives, only to be reborn again and again and again. And Chan wanted to stop that kind of life, where he’s not really living, but waiting for his time to stop. It’s futile. He dies. And lives. And dies. And lives. And it repeats like that. Without any sense of time.

This lifetime is his best one yet. It’s colorful and filled with memories he’ll surely treasure for the many more lifetimes he has. He won’t ever forget that once upon a time, he lived with twelve other beings who made him very happy for ever being born.

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The End.

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Final notes: ayooooo, im done so done time to catch up with my carrots!!1one

Thank you so much for reading! (I got 53 subs! In one chapter! Nevermind that it took me so long to update it I feel so fab haha) I look forward to reading the other entries now. More SVT supernatural!au fics, please? o u o About coups, he was the first one I introduced~ He was in the foreword (;

And for one last time, do upvote this story if you liked it! And comment too~ I reply to every comment!

xx Minted

Thank you, kukunoona for this cute image! You're so sweet!

(EDIT 02/22/2016: Do you think I should upload another chapter about the settings and all that? There may be some answers/trivia that you'd like to know. I still have my drafts, the layout for hall 17, and even their positions when they talked about what they are. There were some facts I didn't put into the story because I thought it might be too much...)