A chilly Saturday starts off with studying in the library for the first tests of the year. Jongdae has his head slammed into the books, groaning into the pages. Baekhyun, who is right next to him, is in no better condition, staring at the empty Styrofoam cups littered over his books. The poor guy has lost his sanity. For the last couple of days, Baekhyun has been eating hard-boiled eggs non-stop. The stress has made him unable to hold down anything other than eggs. Jongdae thinks it might be the snake part, but he doesn’t even have the energy to ask.

“I think I’m going to get some more eggs,” Baekhyun mumbles.

“Get me some coffee while you’re at it.”

“No need for that,” another voice chimes in. The next thing Jongdae knows, a large cup of coffee is set atop his books. Jongdae lifts his head and finds Kyungsoo standing there in his large brown coat, books jammed under his arm and a lunchbox in his hand.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Jongdae asks, his eyes searching for a clock.

“It’s almost nighttime, you guys.” Kyungsoo replies with a grin, taking a chair and placing it between his friends’. “Studying really messes you up, huh?”

Jongdae frowns in confusion, gazing over to the windows to see the sunlight has faded and has been traded in for warm reading lamps. He rubs his eyes tiredly. How could he not have noticed it became dark outside? Kyungsoo is right, studying really messes him up.

Baekhyun finally moves his head up from his books, pleasantly surprised at Kyungsoo’s presence. “Soo!” He yells excitedly, earning a smack from his friend and a glare from the librarian.

“Shut up! People are trying to study, .” Kyungsoo hisses. He gives Jongdae a tired look before plopping the lunchbox on Baekhyun’s notes. “I heard you’re doing that egg stuff again so I brought you some.”

Baekhyun looks baffled. “Thanks, Soo…”

“Don’t think too much of it. I only bought them so you wouldn’t die.”

“Still thoughtful,” Baekhyun mumbles before dropping his head back in his notes.

Kyungsoo ignores him and opens his books with a loud sigh. “Math should be banned.”

“At least it isn’t potion brewing.”

“You take that class? I thought it was for wizards only.”

“They let me since I can’t do anything with my powers. I regret accepting the offer, though. It’s boring as hell and the wizards talk about stuff I don’t understand. This nerd I share a table with won’t shut up about dark magic since the teachers banned us from going to the east wing.”

“Dark magic, huh...” Kyungsoo wonders aloud, placing his chin on his palm. “Do you think the east wing stuff has something to do with dark magic?”

A feeling of bitterness runs through Jongdae’s body. “I don’t know. But my gut feeling tells me it’s not anything good.”

“I agree,” Kyungsoo mumbles somberly. His features suddenly turn hard. “I still can’t believe you went in there. Or let Baekhyun drag you in, at least.”

“We didn’t really go in.”

Kyungsoo gives him a pointed look.

“We were curious, okay? I bet you are too.”

“Of course I am.” Kyungsoo replies calmly. “But I don’t want to put myself at risk for a bit of curiosity.”

Jongdae shrugs. “What’s done is done. Let’s just get back to studying.” His eyes drift to Baekhyun’s hunched form. The latter must be tired if he couldn’t sit through Kyungsoo’s and his conversation. “You okay there, Baekhyun?” He asks to be sure.

“No,” Baekhyun grumbles. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Kyungsoo sighs. “You should take a break. Both of you.”

“I can’t,” Jongdae refuses, shaking his head softly. “I have work in a few and I’ll be too tired to study afterwards.”

“You can study more tomorrow,” Kyungsoo suggests, getting up from his seat. “Let’s go.”

Baekhyun doesn’t even look conscious as he trails after Kyungsoo, and Jongdae would have found it funny if he wasn’t so tired. With a low groan, Jongdae rises to his feet and follows his friends’ steps, joints popping along the way.

“Where are we going?” Jongdae whines when Kyungsoo walks past the office.

“We’re going to get some fresh air.”

“But it’s cold outside!” Jongdae protests.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and pulls on the wooden door separating them from the cold. As soon as Jongdae feels the icy wind tearing through his cardigan, he hugs himself, shivering. Kyungsoo had never taken off his coat in the first place, so he is fine in this weather – though Jongdae thinks he sees red rising on his ears. The soft light of the entrance lantern makes it hard to see. Baekhyun, clad in close to nothing as always, breathes in the fresh air through his mouth, showcasing his forked tongue. Jongdae will never get used to it.

The thoughts about his friends fade as another gust of wind hits him. “Let’s just go back inside! This is way too cold for me.”

“Baekhyun’s not complaining,” Kyungsoo commentates dryly, cocking his head to Baekhyun with a grin.

“That’s because Baekhyun doesn’t feel anything!”

 Baekhyun gives Jongdae an offended look while Kyungsoo laughs boisterously.

“You seem to have a lot more energy now,” Kyungsoo then says, closing in on Jongdae and placing his pale hand on his lower back.

Jongdae blinks in wonder. It’s true. His body doesn’t feel as heavy anymore and his head is a lot clearer. He no longer feels the fatigue pulling on his eyelids or the ache in his shoulders from his study position. When his eyes trace Baekhyun’s form, the latter looks a lot livelier as well – his bright eyes are piercing through the dark of night and his body is no longer stiff.

Kyungsoo chuckles at Jongdae’s struck look. “Told you so. Let’s get back inside before we catch a cold.”

The three of them shuffle back inside, Jongdae still shivering. As the warmth hits Jongdae’s frozen cheeks, he closes his eyes in pleasure, relishing in the feeling. One of the good things about the cold is coming back inside, where only soft lights are lit and a homey feeling is all around.

“I hope nobody ate my eggs.”

Baekhyun always knows how to ruin a mood.

“No one’s gonna steal hard-boiled eggs, Baekhyun. Especially ones with no seasoning,” Kyungsoo reasons, walking ahead.

Jongdae catches up to him with Baekhyun in tow. They go the same way back, but just as they pass the office, Kyungsoo halts them. Before Jongdae can even open his mouth, Kyungsoo has already placed a finger on his pink lips, signaling them to be quiet.

“We don’t know what it stands for, Mrs. Kang.” The voice is undoubtedly Mr. Lim, Jongdae’s potion brewing teacher. “It could be anything! We can’t put these students in danger.”

Jongdae’s eyes widen, snapping his head towards his friends’, who look just as bewildered as him.

“The east wing?” Baekhyun whispers.

Kyungsoo nods his head, “I think so.”

“Mr. Lim, I understand the concern. Trust me, I am just as afraid as you are. But shutting down the school… it’s too much.”

Jongdae’s breath stocks in his throat. The school shutting down? Anything but that!

“We can no longer keep the students here. It’s not safe.”

A loud sigh is heard. “I’ll think about it.”

The three students take that as their cue to leave, quickly breaking into a sprint. No words are exchanged between them as they return to the library to obtain their stuff. Solemn expressions paint their faces as they exit. Jongdae feels hollow.

“L-let’s blow off some smoke in the tower,” Baekhyun suggests with a pained smile. Jongdae and Kyungsoo wordlessly agree, knowing they need to be away from the other students right now.

Two towers stand proud atop Jeolban. One on the end of the west wing, and another one on the end of the east wing. The tower in the east wing is inaccessible due to debris blocking the way, so the trio naturally heads to the west wing. From the outside, the tower seems large, but once inside it is quite small. The walls are thick and the ceiling is low, plus the tower is thinner the higher it reaches.

Another painful silence is between them as they ascend the steep steps of the tower. The first words are said when Jongdae plops down between the rubbish, his landing on a soft patch of fabric.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do if the school closes down,” Baekhyun mutters softly, igniting a candle with his lighter. He sets the candle down in between the three of them.

“Me neither,” comes Jongdae’s agreement. With a shaky inhale, his eyes fall to Kyungsoo, who is gazing at the flame with a distant look.

“I really wish you weren’t right about the east wing, Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun sighs.

“You know I’m always right,” Kyungsoo retorts, a small grin playing on his lips. Jongdae can’t fight a smile either.

“Yeah – it’s a little annoying sometimes,” Jongdae commentates, letting out a chuckle. A seriously shocked look paints Kyungsoo’s features, confusing the hell out of Jongdae. Kyungsoo would never get offended at such an offhand comment. “What?” He asks. His eyes dart over to Baekhyun, who looks just as stunned as Kyungsoo.

“Jongdae, you’re…”

“I’m what? Is there something on my face?”

“You’re glowing,” Kyungsoo blurts. “Your eyes are.”

“What?” Jongdae squeaks, immediately reaching up to his face.

“And your is too!” Baekhyun commentates, pointing at his lower regions dramatically.

Jongdae looks down, squeaks again, and jumps to his feet. Surprisingly, the glow doesn’t rise up along with his . Immediately engaged by the dark red glow coming from the cloth, Jongdae reaches his hand out to lift it up. Kyungsoo slaps his hand away instantly.

“What are you doing?” He squawks. “You can’t just touch something that’s glowing!”

Jongdae sees the panic in Kyungsoo’s eyes, but ignores it, lifting up the cloth anyway. Kyungsoo jumps back immediately, while Baekhyun just moves closer, also captured by the glow.

“It’s a mark,” Baekhyun observes.

“A demonic mark,” Jongdae fills in, reaching out his fingers to touch it. The marking is circular in shape with various lines crossing through. Various words in Demonic are circling around the edge, making it look intimidating.

Just as he wants to lay his fingers on the letters, the door slams open, and a similar light illuminates the room. Joonmyun stands there with Minseok by his side, looking as irritated as ever.

“This part of the school is forbidden for— what is that?” Joonmyun gasps.

“It’s a demonic mark,” Baekhyun tells him.

“Did you create that, Jongdae?” Joonmyun asks, frowning.

“Why would I?” Jongdae retorts, baffled. “I’m not even allowed to use my demonic powers!”

“Not being allowed off the school grounds didn’t stop you from getting a part time job either, so why should I believe you?”

Kyungsoo jumps to his defense. “Are you kidding? Jongdae would never do such a thing!”

Joonmyun squints his eyes at Kyungsoo, but a hand on his shoulder distracts him.

“Joonmyun… half-bloods can’t do such powerful dark magic, remember?”

Thank God for Minseok’s ever level-headedness.

Joonmyun visibly calms, his shoulders relaxing and his expression faltering. He clears his throat. “Very well, then.”

“We should take this to the teachers,” Minseok suggests. “If this mark is here it means there is a full-blood necromancer walking these halls.”

Jongdae sees tension slipping back into Joonmyun’s body, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel afraid of this situation as well. He meets Baekhyun’s alarmed eyes. Together they pull away from the mark, eyeing it suspiciously.

---

Mrs. Kang reacts awfully calm to the news. Not a single move is made when Joonmyun tells him what he saw, taking in the information with a blank look. Only after Joonmyun has finished speaking the headmistress moves: pushing up her glasses and moving her gaze to Kyungsoo.

“Were his eyes already glowing when you entered the room?”

“No, Mrs. Kang.” Kyungsoo answers with a shake of his head. “It happened shortly after Jongdae sat down. His eyes slowly started to glow. At first I thought I was imagining it.”

“I see…” Mrs. Kang mumbles.

“I think it might be his demon side,” Minseok suggests firmly. “It was a demonic mark for sure. I’m not surprised that he reacted in such a way.”

The headmistress directs her eyes to Jongdae. “Did you feel anything strange while being in contact with the mark?”

“I didn’t,” Jongdae responds with a shake of his head. “But I wasn’t directly touching it. A cloth was covering it and I didn’t touch it with my hand either.”

Still no expression on Mrs. Kang’s face. It makes Jongdae feel uneasy. This is a potentially dangerous situation, and the headmistress shows no sign of surprise, fear, anger, or any emotion at all. She might be brooding in her mind, but that still does not relieve any tension for Jongdae. After all, hearing about the school getting possibly shut down leads his train of thought to a dangerous place.

“Did a mark like this appear in the east wing too?”

Everyone’s heads whip to Baekhyun. For a split second, Jongdae notices distress on his headmistress’ face, but her features quickly fade back to blank.

A long silence ensues until Mrs. Kang heaves a deep sigh.

“Tomorrow I will give a statement. Retire to your dorms for now.” is all she says before breaking her eye contact with the group of students.

The five of them leave in silence, but Jongdae catches one last look at the headmistress. She has taken off her glasses to wipe her tired eyes. Fatigue has settled into her features and Jongdae feels his heart sink. Jeolban is not a safe haven anymore.

When the door to the office closes, no words are exchanged between the five students. Their expressions are dark and solemn. No scolding Joonmyun, no annoying Baekhyun, no forward Kyungsoo, no ever-wise Minseok, and no cheeky Jongdae. Right now they are half-bloods worried for the safety of the only place they belong.

The silence continues until they arrive at the dormitory, Jongdae being the one to break it.

“I’m going to work now. I’m already late as it is,” he murmurs to Kyungsoo, who smiles sadly.

“Be safe,” he whispers.

Jongdae gives him a brief reassuring nod, moving his body to Baekhyun, who is distant; the latter is avoiding all contact, staring at the ground. Concern sparks through Jongdae, but he lets it rest as he knows Baekhyun would rather be alone.

“Well, I’m going now. See you guys later.”

Only a few feet into the leaves a voice calls out.

“Jongdae, stop.”

Turning around, Jongdae jerks in surprise as Joonmyun is right in front of him. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are long out of sight, but he notices Minseok not too far away.

“What is it?” Jongdae asks, suddenly irritated at Joonmyun. He’s already late for work and the stress caused by the school’s possible shutdown is not leaving much room for patience.

“You should really quit your job,” Joonmyun insists.

Jongdae rolls his eyes immediately. “I don’t have time for this right now. How about we have this conversation when I sneak back in?”

“Don’t be like that,” Joonmyun hisses. “I’m just concerned. After what happened last time, I really—”

“Oh, save it. You aren’t worried about me. You’re only worried about your pretty little hall monitor job that you might lose if you can’t discipline me.”

Joonmyun looks genuinely hurt at that. Something akin to regret punctures Jongdae’s stomach, but he pushes it away. When he turns away to continue his walk to work, his eyes catch a glimpse of Minseok’s glare.

---

A/N: lots of things happening this chapter!!! and lots of hints heheheheheeeeeeeee
I feel like this story turned dark really fast lol

I hope you guys are enjoying this!!! I'm sorry if its boring so far...

Anyways, thank you for subbing, voting and especially commenting!!!!
hope youll look forward to the next chapter and have a nice day/evening!!!

and good luck to those who have exams!!!