Ah, the roof. His sanctuary. Technically Woohyun was breaking about ten different school rules by being up here, definitely worthy of expulsion. But that was the last thing he was worried about. There wasn't a soul on this entire planet that would dare expel him to his face. He sighed. He sometimes wished that there was someone that could stand up to him, that would give him a challenge, that wouldn't just say yes to his every demand, no matter how farfetched and ridiculous, following him around all swoony eyed, not really realizing what they were doing. 

He knew he should be careful of what he wished for, that he was being kind of ungrateful towards his powers. After all, it wasn't all that bad to be able to get everything you wanted at the snap of your fingers. It was actually pretty great. People would give him the clothes off their back if he barely hinted something in that direction, thrilled to get the opportunity to be of service. If he didn't feel like doing his homework, he didn't have to. He had a thousand different slaves to do it for him. And even if he showed up empty handed the teacher would just grin at him, apologizing to him for having given him homework that wasn't interesting enough for him to want to complete. 

It really was a life of luxury, his life. But it was also a life of loneliness. It rarely happened that he wasn't surrounded by a mob of people fawning over him, but yet he had no one he could call a friend, not really. The life of a true Siren was a tough one. He cussed out loud, imagining that the wind would carry his words to wherever his parents might be. Why did they have to meet each other and accidentally make him in the process. It was not that he didn't want to exist, but if he had been born to different parents, his life would have been so very different. Better, he imagined. 

Pretty much all Sirens in existence, or at least all the registered ones, were half-Sirens. A half-Siren meant that only one of your parents had Siren blood. It didn't matter how far back the Siren blood had entered the bloodline, for some reason it was never diluted to less than half, or at least giving you all the same powers as a true half-Siren would have. 

Being a half-Siren was the sweetest deal there was, Woohyun thought begrudgingly. Half-Sirens could lead a normal, happy life since the Siren powers were softened, meaning they got all the perks and none of the awful side effects. Most of them planted themselves into important positions in the human world, enjoying everlasting popularity, loved by all, leading successful and interesting lives. They didn't even have to worry about being caught, since most people never thought twice about it. They were those special persons who you couldn't really put your finger on what it was exactly, they were just so extremely likeable and admirable, even though they hadn't really done anything to warrant those feelings. Politicians that were elected again and again no matter how corrupt, successful lawyers, popular actors, fancy socialites, they were everywhere.

Sirens were a rare breed. And so it had been ever since the Middle Ages, when the myth of the evil Sirens killing unaware innocent seamen became a popular explanation for ships not returning to port. So much so that it had created a celebrated group of dedicated Siren hunters, practically wiping out the entire Siren population, driving them to near extinction. Or so the story went. The few that had escaped into hiding had apparently somehow managed to pass on their legacy, and therefore there existed only half-Sirens in the world today. 
It wasn't that pure Sirens could no longer come to be, all that was needed were two half-Sirens and a Cupid's arrow. Not literally though, since the Cupids didn't dare interfere in the love lives of the Sirens. However, the likelihood of two half-Sirens being in the same place at the same time was low enough, but the probability of those two half-Sirens falling for each other was unimaginably minuscule. The Sirens were all, in short, certifiable narcissists, feeding on other people's love and admiration, giving nothing back. It wasn't that they couldn't give anything back, they just didn't have to, so they didn't. It was an occupational hazard. It was impossible not to turn out self-obsessed if you were the center of attention everywhere you went, being handed everything you wanted on a silver platter without having to lift so much as your little finger. And since two narcissists in the same room was one narcissist too many, half-Sirens never got together. Almost never.

But nooo, both his parents had to be half-Sirens, making him the only pure Siren known in the modern world. Oh yay, what fun to be so special. So special that even though his parents couldn't stand to be in each other's company for more than that brief moment it had taken to conceive him, not only abandoning each other, but abandoning him as well, everyone else in the mythical community had shared the responsibility of raising him. He was so special that there existed special rules that only applied to him. Rules that made his life so lonely that sometimes he felt like his heart would implode, his soul being into the black hole of loneliness that had taken up permanent residence in its center. 

A true Siren's power was so strong, that no being could withstand it for a prolonged period of time. That was a fact that he himself had taught the world. He didn't know the exact facts, but there had been rumors encircling him his entire life. He had asked to hear what had really happened just about a million times, but there was nobody that could give him a straight answer. They probably thought they were protecting him by not letting him know the truth, the horrible blood chilling truth. But there was no way to stop gossip. Gossip was a slippery bastard that could penetrate even the thickest of walls, somehow managing to sneak into everyone's ears, his included. 

The stories were as varied as they were many, but what he had gathered was that when he was little, someone close to him had died. Died because of him. It was his fault. He had killed someone. He was a murderer. That was a fact that he would have to live with his whole life. Because of him, some innocent person that was trying his or her best to take care of him ended up being robbed of the most fundamental pleasure of life, living. He was dangerous. It was what he feared the most, that it would happen again, so he was prepared to do anything to prevent it. Even if it meant being so excruciatingly lonely that he didn't even remember what it was like to be hugged. Looking on the bright side, since he couldn't remember what it was like, he didn't really know what he was missing. But the longing for intimate physical contact was still there. Unfulfilled. And it would remain that way for the rest of his days.

Nobody really knew why that person had died, and no one was willing to take the risk to find out. The tricky thing about being the first and only recorded true Siren in the world was that you were the first and only recorded true Siren in the world. That is, nobody knew anything about how your powers worked and the only thing they had to go on were the human myths, which could sometimes be worse than knowing nothing. The human myths, although usually based on some grain of truth, were tall tales that had traveled mouth to mouth for hundreds or even thousands of years, growing more unbelievable each time they were told. And they usually reflected ignorance and fear, doing more harm than good.

Still, the tales of Sirens taking the lives of sailors had to be based on something, and the incident from his childhood only corroborated their story. Therefore, the rules were set in place. No one was to spend more than two weeks at a time in his presence, to limit the exposure, and during that time 'one on one' was highly discouraged. Scared that he could cause someone else harm, Woohyun had never broken the rules, not once. He had acted out in all kinds of other ways though, none of which had given him any satisfaction since acting out didn't have much of a point to it if there was nobody to scold him. But he would never go so far as to risk the wellbeing of another person, there he drew the line. 

And so, he obediently changed classes every two weeks. New teachers, new classmates, a new life. A new empty life. He had found out that life meant little unless you had someone to share it with. Joyous moments were hollow without anyone with which to celebrate and sorrowful moments only underlined your loneliness if there was nobody to share the pain. On rare occasions he had managed to make a friend or two, but maintaining a friendship was hard when the time you were allowed to spend with them was severely limited. It wasn't impossible with the help of the wonderful invention of texting, but without his powers people soon lost interest in him. They were only after the Siren-high, that warm fuzzy feeling they got being in his presence. They didn't care about who he really was or what he was thinking, they just wanted to feel good. He had learned his lesson. Trying to get to know people only made him hurt more. So he learned to rely on only himself. He got over it. He would just be alone all his life. That was his lot in life and he had made his peace with it. 

Woohyun's phone beeped, letting him know it was time for class. He took a deep breath, letting it wash away the remnants of his thoughts. It was pointless to wallow, it didn't change a thing. Therefore the only thing to do was to use his powers for his own entertainment, that way his gift didn't go completely to waste. 

He entered the classroom and basked in the two dozens or so adoring stares as he walked the 'runway' to his seat, acting like he owned the world. As he sat down, he winked at the girl who was sitting two tables over. She let out a high pitched squeal, before she fainted. He snorted. Popularity might not be everything, but it sure was fun. The teacher ran to her with a bottle of strong incense, waking her up from her Woohyun induced coma. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. 

As the teacher tried to tear her eyes away from Woohyun’s dashing smile, intending to start the class, the door flew open. It was the boy from this morning, the bookworm on the hallway windowsill. Woohyun had taken note of him because he had been so absorbed in his book that he hadn't even looked up when he passed by him. He couldn't remember another instance like it. Ever. Normally everyone noticed him, regardless of what they were doing. Even in their sleep, they noticed him.

As he entered the classroom, not counting a quick nod towards the teacher, the bookworm kept his eyes firmly on the floor the entire way to his seat at the very back of the class. He hadn't even glanced in Woohyun’s direction. Not a once.

Odd.