“Luhan is… well… quite well-known for his hate of half-bloods,” Joonmyun explains after Baekhyun fell silent. “Unsurprisingly, he’s a nymph.”

Jongdae’s mind flashes back to the attack. The night where he was beat up for basically nothing other than his bloodline. Bitterly, Jongdae gazes to the floor – unwillingly recalling the horrendous event. Back then, Jongdae thought it was just an ordinary assault by people who just happened to hate his mixed blood. But Jongdae has realized it’s everything but a coincidence. These attacks are purposely targeted on half-bloods.

“You okay?” He hears Kyungsoo ask. Snapping out of his thoughts, Jongdae gives his friend a weak smile before tuning back into the conversation.

“I’m fine,” Jongdae replies, hoping his voice doesn’t sound too shaky. As Kyungsoo and Baekhyun engage in a conversation, Jongdae catches Joonmyun’s gaze. The latter wears a worried expression, looking as if he wants to reach out and comfort Jongdae, but the moment their eyes meet Joonmyun flinches and turns away.

“If I may ask, do you know him personally?” Joonmyun directs his question to Baekhyun, who seems upset.

“No, not at all. It’s just…” Baekhyun bites his lip. “When I attended a magic school for a while, the nymphs who bullied me there idolized him. He’s some sort of… leader? I don’t really know. I’d rather not think about it.”

“That’s okay,” Kyungsoo immediately interjects, placing a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t force yourself to talk about it.”

Baekhyun shoots him a grateful smile before turning quiet again.

“We should probably look more into—”

The double library doors suddenly slam open, disturbing its silence. Mr. Lim stands there in his lab coat, a stern look on his face.

“The school has enforced a new curfew that regulates around class. You will be in your dorms the moment your classes for the day end,” he announces with a boisterous voice. “Back to your dorms, now.”

Whispers break out between the students, their faces paling with worry. Kyungsoo grabs Baekhyun by the arm and pushes him into Jongdae’s body.

“Stay together if any panic breaks out,” he tells them strictly.

“What about you?” Jongdae asks.

Kyungsoo waves him off, “I’ll be fine,” he assures. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

Baekhyun quickly sets a pace towards the exit, dragging Jongdae along. Remembering Joonmyun is still with them, Jongdae looks back on their original spot, but seeing it deserted. Unexplainable worry strikes him and his eyes dart between the mass of evacuating students to find the wizard. Although his arm is still being pulled violently, Jongdae manages to spot Joonmyun’s neat haircut between the crowd. The goodie two-shoes is speaking to Mr. Lim, unsurprisingly. Jongdae ignores the relief and focuses on keeping up with Baekhyun.

Just as they turn the corner, teachers rush past, making them jump back in shock. Baekhyun’s grip on his arm tightens.

“What’s going on?” He whispers shakily.

Sensing panic from Baekhyun’s tone alone, Jongdae tries to look for Kyungsoo, but he’s long lost in the crowd.

“The teachers are handling this, Baekhyun.” He tries to assure after seeing fear in his friend’s face. “Don’t worry. We’re going back to our dorm and the teachers will deal with whatever’s going on.”

Despite Baekhyun’s troubled look, Jongdae drags him to the exit. The cold hits him hard, but he ignores it for Baekhyun’s sake. There’s immediate loud chattering, even hearable with the howling wind. The dormitory is crowded outside. From where he’s standing, Jongdae only sees two teachers, who are occupied by writing down the names of those who enter. With a sigh, Jongdae and Baekhyun join the line. After several minutes in the freezing cold, the two finally get to go inside, rushing to their room the moment their feet touch the doormat.

As soon as Jongdae is in a blanket on his bed, he sends an anxious gaze to Baekhyun, who doesn’t look much better. Biting his lip, Jongdae holds his blanket open for his friend to join, even though he knows Baekhyun won’t feel the warmth. He knows Baekhyun will appreciate the gesture, though. Baekhyun stops pacing as he sees Jongdae’s invitation and immediately curls up with his friend.

“This doesn’t look good at all,” Baekhyun whispers. “Not in the slightest bit.”

“I know,” Jongdae replies softly, nervously plucking at a loose thread on the blanket.

“I’m scared, Jongdae.” He then mutters. “We don’t know anything. They could be preparing to close down the school and we wouldn’t know. We could be in life-threatening danger!”

Jongdae keeps mum at that.

“I’m scared I’ll have to go back to some human school where I’ll be treated as a freak again. Or even worse – a magical school where I’ll be nothing more than someone to pick on.” Baekhyun takes a deep breath. “Jeolban is the only good thing that’s happened to me. I’m normal here, I have friends here. I don’t want this to be taken from me.”

“Me neither,” Jongdae agrees firmly.

“What are we going to do if Jeolban closes down, Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks desperately. “We’ll stay together with Kyungsoo, right?”

Jongdae grabs his hand. “Let’s not think about that. I doubt they’re going to shut down the school without notifying us first. If they do, I promise I’ll stay with you.”

Baekhyun then goes silent, the expression in his eyes becoming distant again. He must be in his thoughts. With a sigh, Jongdae leans back against the wall, wondering what the hell is going on.

One power nap later, and Jongdae shakes out of his dream. Baekhyun is awake, scrolling through his cellphone. He notices Jongdae’s movement and smiles weakly. His hand reaches for a paper on the nightstand and he tosses it to Jongdae.

“New rules,” he explains. “They are to be enforced from the moment this was slipped under our door.”

Jongdae gazes down at the laminated sheet in front of him.

NEW RULES, it says in big, bold letters. 1. Students are to retire to their dorms when class ends and only to leave when class starts. 2. Leaving the school grounds is prohibited and will be punished by detention. 3. No one is to use magic without a teacher’s permission. 4. Tampering with the force fields will be punished by expulsion.

“Force fields?” is the first thing Jongdae asks.

“Yeah, they put a few around the school. Or at least, that’s what I heard from Minseok.”

“What for?”

“More nymph attacks,” Baekhyun answers bitterly. “Apparently, four more students have been attacked and are recovering in the infirmary.”

Jongdae saddens at that. Sighing, he goes over the rules one more time.

“Wait… rule number two… does this mean the grounds are being patrolled now?”

“I think there might be some sort of security. But I know the force fields will stop anyone from both exiting and entering.”

“But that means I have to quit my job!” Jongdae exclaims dramatically. “This blows.”

“Well, you don’t have the privilege to spend money anymore since we’re stuck here for the time being, so at least you’re not losing any money.” Baekhyun tells him with a grin.

“I rest my case!” Jongdae states, crossing his arms defensively.

---

Despite the strong discouragement from headmistress Kang, the three of them won’t stop their research. Since the markings are deflected for the time being, they leave that category alone and try to find out more about nymphs, namely Luhan. Unfortunately, the library doesn’t give them a lot of options.

It doesn’t surprise Jongdae that they hold no nymph-specific books. After all, nymphs wouldn’t want books about them to end up in a library for half-bloods, and half-bloods like to stay away from them as much as possible. There are general encyclopedias on magical creatures that have a small section on nymphs, but there’s simply no books explaining their psychology and other possibly valuable aspects. If there was internet on Jeolban it would be a lot easier.

But since it’s not easy, Baekhyun came with a ridiculous plan. Sneaking out of the school grounds to an internet café in the nearby town. Despite the rule-breaking nature of this plan, Kyungsoo and Jongdae didn’t take long to agree. In fact, Kyungsoo didn’t even scold him for bringing it up. Miraculously, Kyungsoo didn’t interfere with any of Baekhyun’s planning, trusting him for once. He followed every instruction Baekhyun gave, and so did Jongdae.

Which is why Jongdae and Kyungsoo have been waiting in the freezing cold for over ten minutes. Baekhyun told them to wait behind the dorm by the edge of the force fields at sundown, and to run if anyone spotted them. That has Kyungsoo feeling worried.

“Calm down, Kyungsoo.” Jongdae tells him with a chuckle. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”

“Do you realize what kind of trouble we’ll be in if we get caught?” Kyungsoo retorts, his face serious.

“You worry too much! Baek and I do these things all the time.”

“Yeah, but back then you weren’t in danger of being expelled!”

“We won’t,” Jongdae waves his friend’s worry off. “Just relax. We’ll be fine. And if we get caught, I’ll let you tell the teachers that we forced you into it.”

Kyungsoo heaves a deep sigh at that. “That’s sweet but—”

“Hey guys!” A voice interrupts.

The two of them gaze at the source of the sound to find Baekhyun with a girl behind him. He’s grinning naughtily.

“I’m so excited!” He exclaims. Then he grabs the girl’s hand and pulls her forward. “Jongdae, Kyungsoo, this is Soojung! She’s going to make a hole in the field for us to pass through.”

“Nice to meet you,” she greets with a smile.

“I thought only full-blood wizards could do that sort of thing?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Nope!” Soojung answers. “Well, I’m one of the exceptions actually. My mother came from a very pure lineage of wizards so I’m quite powerful for a half-blood.”

“That’s amazing!” Jongdae commentates. “How the hell did Baekhyun get you to agree to this, though? I mean, nearly anyone would avoid this sort of trouble.”

Soojung laughs at that, shooting Baekhyun a knowing look. “I was indebted to Baekhyun. He took revenge on my ex for me. I’m also not a fan of these new rules so I don’t mind breaking them.”

“Even when you could be expelled?” Kyungsoo asks, raising his eyebrow.

Soojung shrugs. “I doubt they’re going to suspect it was me. After all, in the eyes of the teachers I’m a good girl.”

Baekhyun proudly pats her on the shoulder. “Let’s get on with it, shall we?”

“Sure!”

Soojung steps forward, reaching her hand out to feel the force field. The force field is translucent, thus hard to spot in the darkness of the night. Soojung finds it with ease, however. Her powers naturally draw her to it. Where her hand is in contact with the force field, it lights up, a white glow illuminating their bodies. Kyungsoo looks nothing short of anxious, looking over his shoulder nervously. Despite their friend’s worry, Baekhyun and Jongdae watch in amazement as Soojung’s hand starts radiating a strong blue.

Her face contorts in struggle as she tries her hardest to make a hole in the force field. Eventually, Jongdae sees a tiny hole beginning to form, slowly expanding from where her hand touches the shield. Kyungsoo is chewing on his nails by now. Jongdae lets out a laugh at his friend’s paranoid state and pats his shoulder comfortingly. Meanwhile, Baekhyun is gaping at Soojung’s magic, completely entranced with the hole in the force field.

Eventually, a hole big enough for a tall man to climb through stretches over the force field. With a grunt, Soojung stops the expansion, clenching her hand in the wall.

“All done,” she whispers, completely out of breath. “Go in quickly. The longer the gap is there the sooner someone will notice.”

“Thanks, Soojung.” Baekhyun shoots her a genuine smile, which she returns. “I’ll call you when we’re back, okay?”

“Sure,” she answers.

Baekhyun steps through the hole first, not a care in the world. Jongdae follows, cautiously to avoid touching the shield. When both of them are on the other side, they look back on Kyungsoo, who is looking rather unsure. His brows are furrowed as he studies the edge of the gap, as if calculating his next move.

“Come on, Soo! We don’t have all day!” Baekhyun exclaims.

Kyungsoo flinches, bites his lip, then closes his eyes before sprinting through the hole. Once he opens his eyes, he’s met with Baekhyun’s cheeky grin and Jongdae’s raised eyebrow. Soojung, on the other hand, just gives him a weird look before dropping her hand, instantly repairing the gap. One last wave and she’s gone.

“Let’s go!” Baekhyun cheers, skipping through the small shrubbery.

“I really don’t like this,” Kyungsoo confesses as he follows Baekhyun’s steps into the woods.

“Too late!” Jongdae chimes in with a laugh. “Don’t worry so much, Kyungsoo. We’re already off the grounds, so if they catch us, it will be when we get back.”

“That really doesn’t make me feel better,” Kyungsoo replies bitterly.

It takes a twenty-minute walk and a whole lot of Baekhyun’s obnoxious chattering for them to arrive at the edge of the town. The small town is completely deserted, which is not exactly strange for this time of the night. It still gives off an eerie feeling. Jongdae steps closer to his friends, having never felt safe in this town again after that attack. The streets are only lit by awful TL-streetlights, some flickering ominously. Kyungsoo senses his discomfort and sends him a worried gaze.

“So, um, where is this internet café? Is it even open at this hour?” Kyungsoo asks as they turn a corner, onto the main street.

“Of course!” Baekhyun exclaims. “It’s a twenty-four-hour internet café. You didn’t think I would sneak you out to a closed store, did you?”

“You never know these kinds of things with you, Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo retorts dryly.

Baekhyun feigns an offended expression at that, clutching his chest as if Kyungsoo’s words actually hurt him. Meanwhile, Jongdae spots a suspicious group of people by the alley they’re about to pass. Their clothes are dark and hooded, their figures shielding whatever it is that they’re trying to hide. As the three half-bloods come closer, a voice can be heard.

“And they must pay for what has been done to my father,” someone preaches. “We can no longer let these savages run around freely as if they are not a threat to our society! They must be wiped out!”

An eerie feeling strikes Jongdae in the stomach. Distressed by such hateful words, the three huddle closer together, trying to not to pull any attention to them.

“The absolute worst thing about these filthy half-bloods is that they have the audacity to think that they are worth of special treatment,” the same voice spits.

Jongdae and his friends freeze in their steps, alarm bells going off in their heads.

“That school of theirs should be burned to the ground, along with its students!” Cheers erupt among the shadowy figures, which the three of them take as a cue to get away from these people as fast as possible.

That doesn’t happen before Jongdae catches a glimpse of the man behind the voice. Nymphs are generally attractive and pleasing to the eye, but this nymph exceeds all of those standards. His ivory skin and pouty pink lips, the soft colors on his cheeks and the charming arch of his brows – Jongdae knows he will never forget that face. Everything is pretty about this nymph, everything except his eyes; the brown irises fired up with nothing but revulsion and rage.

They manage to run away without attracting any attention. Baekhyun dials Soojung the moment they step back into the woods, his voice desperate. Kyungsoo is as white as a sheet and Jongdae is too numbed by the face of the nymph to feel anything.

When the pace is slowed down to walking, Jongdae opens up:

“I think that guy was Luhan,” he gasps. “The guy who was saying all those things.”

“You saw him?” Kyungsoo asks in wonder.

“I think I did. I mean, he definitely looked like he came from a good lineage. He was…” Jongdae is at sudden loss of words. “He was… I can’t describe it. I was immediately pulled to him, like I didn’t want to look away.”

“Well, that’s what nymphs are known for,” Kyungsoo commentates resentfully.

“But when I got attacked by those other nymphs, I didn’t feel the same way,” Jongdae argues.

“It has to be his lineage, then. We all know the purer a nymph is, the stronger.”

This whole situation is leaving a bitter taste in Jongdae’s mouth. The hate speech was beyond horrifying. Jongdae has known all his life that there is a strong dislike for half-bloods, but hearing it being said so explicitly, with so much feeling, is just terrifying. He can’t imagine what Baekhyun must feel right now. The poor guy is probably remembering some buried memories.

When the three of them eventually reach the edge of the school grounds, Soojung is waiting for them. At first she seems confused, but as her eyes detect their solemn and frightened looks, she goes mum. Not a single question is asked as she repeats the slow process of creating a gap in the force field. She only wears a worried expression every now and then, mostly directed towards Baekhyun. It’s strange for him to be this quiet, and even though Jongdae has gotten used to it these days, it must be a complete surprise for Soojung.

After a long, dead silence, they are back on the right side of the school. Jongdae is about to comment on the fact that Kyungsoo didn’t have to worry, but a loud clearing of the throat stops him. An orange colored light gleams from a hand, slowly brightening to reveal Joonmyun’s face. Jongdae’s stomach drops.

“You do realize that both tampering with the force fields and leaving the school grounds is against the rules?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“We know,” Baekhyun answers timidly, visibly surprising Joonmyun.

“And we’re really sorry about it,” Kyungsoo adds, looking as remorseful as possible.

A short silence ensues in which Jongdae feels cold sweat on his back. They could get kicked out of school for this. Soojung is shaking in her spot, keeping her head low.

“I’ll let this slide,” Joonmyun decides. “Now go back to your dorm before I change my mind.”

“Oh, thank you!” Kyungsoo cries out, immediately sprinting off to the night dorm.

As soon as the relief has settled in, Jongdae follows Soojung and Baekhyun.

“Jongdae,” Joonmyun then calls, causing Jongdae to flinch. “Could you come over here for a second?”

Jongdae shuffles back with fear in his eyes, wondering what Joonmyun could possibly want from him.

“What is it?” He asks, trying to seem unfazed.

Unexpectedly, a blush appears on Joonmyun’s cheeks. Jongdae can’t believe his eyes. “I, uh, found something that might be of good use,” he stammers, reaching into his bag. “I heard about what you and your friends are… researching and um, well…”

A book is shoved into Jongdae’s arms.

“I-it’s something from the library at home. I didn’t think I’d ever have a use for it here,” he admits shyly.

Completely baffled, Jongdae gazes over the copy of Nymphs: All You Need to Know. The book is small in his hands, but at least two hundred pages thick.

“I’m—wow, Joonmyun… thank you,” Jongdae mutters. “This is so useful… thank you so much!”

Joonmyun turns embarrassingly red. “Y-you didn’t get it from me!” He splutters before rushing away.

Jongdae watches the wizard leave with a wide grin. Their trip wasn’t so hopeless after all.

The force field holds up for about two weeks before another attack is reported. And another. The two students were attacked at the same time at night, just when they were about to go to class. It has the school shaken up again. Both students and teachers are growing more paranoid with each passing day.

Jongdae ignores his fear in favor of finding more about what’s happening. They have a pretty good lead – it is sure Luhan is behind this. The letter and his speech in town are more than enough indication. Why and how are still unanswered questions. The why is somewhat answered; nymphs naturally hate something that is not crafted by mother nature – something that isn’t in its natural state. But that’s not enough to start an attack and possibly kill. There is another reason. Something rooted deeper than the instincts. Jongdae just knows it. That look in Luhan’s eyes held such a blunt rage, so much fire, so much hate. Jongdae shudders just thinking of it.

The bell rings, reminding Jongdae that he’s actually in class. He hasn’t been able to concentrate at all in class lately. No one has. He packs up his books and moves to the hallway, where Baekhyun jumps him with the widest grin.

“First snow, Jongdae!” He exclaims, flailing his arms towards the windows.

Jongdae snaps his head towards the grimy windows, eyes widening. How could he have missed this? Even through the dusty, filthy windows he sees the little flakes floating down, coating the world white. Jongdae immediately feels excitement sifting through his skin, and Baekhyun seems to feel the same – pulling Jongdae along the hallway. He glances through each passing window until they are outside.

Baekhyun immediately drops face first in the snow, carving snow angels with his body. Jongdae is tempted to do it as well, but he doesn’t feel like catching hypothermia. Not having cold blood . Instead, he drops armfuls of snow on top of Baekhyun, creating some kind of blanket. Baekhyun revels in the feeling, the texture being nothing but softness for him.

The people who are walking back to their dorm stare at them strangely. Seeing someone this unaffected by snow is weird, even in a school designated for half-bloods. Baekhyun and Jongdae are blissfully unaware, however. The two of them are now engaged in a snowball fight – or rather a snowclump fight, since both of them just smash two hands of snow together before hurling it at the other.

“You !” Jongdae yells out after Baekhyun misses another shot.

“You’re one to talk! You haven’t even hit me twice!” Baekhyun replies with a grin, dodging another one of Jongdae’s pathetic throws.

Jongdae lands with his in the cold snow after escaping two snowballs thrown at the same time.

“Now my is wet! Thanks, .” Jongdae grumbles. Meanwhile, Baekhyun is dying of laughter. He has dropped to his knees, wheezing out waves of laughter. At first it’s irritating to Jongdae because this wet-clothing situation is awfully cold, but as Baekhyun’s laughter fails to stop, Jongdae finds himself grinning along. “Shut up,” he whispers teasingly, pushing his friend by the shoulder.

They are still giggling when rushed footsteps come their way. The crackling of the snow under boots signals the arrival of someone, and Baekhyun and Jongdae turn to find Mr. Yang looking distraught.

“You are friends of Do Kyungsoo, right?”  

Panic immediately settles into Jongdae’s bones. He looks over to his friend, but all expression has melted from Baekhyun’s face.

“Yes, why do you ask?” Jongdae answers with furrowed brows.

“Please come with me to the infirmary,” Mr. Yang whispers. “He’s been attacked.”

---

A/N: >:)
heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehehehehheheheheeh
I feel bad for you readers :')
I'm laughing to myself rn lol

anyways, thanks for subbing, voting and especially commenting!!!!!!!!
happy holidays and stay safe my friends!!!! kisses<3