Sanghyuk stared out of the window, watching the rain pouring down. The drop thundered on the roof, banging loudly.

He sighed. "Wrong time, rain, wrong time," he softly murmured.

"Talking to yourself now?"

Sanghyuk turned around to see Wonsik standing behind him, carrying a pretty heavy book. He shook his head. "Not really, just thinking."

"Penny for your thoughts?" Wonsik offered.

He gave the elder a weak smile. "It's not worth that much," he said. The younger turned back to the window, his eyes fixating on the water droplets as they ran down the glass. "Just...the rain feels atmospheric..."

Wonsik came up beside the younger and looked up at the sky. His eyes narrowed slightly at the dark clouds hanging low and the blue-grey hues of the town. "Pretty atmospheric, alright," he admitted.

"I was just thinking that it came at the wrong time," Sanghyuk said.

"Time?" Wonsik asked.

Sanghyuk shrugged lightly. "I don't know," he said. "I just...in all the movies, it always rains at the end of a battle, washing away the tension, cooling everything down, starting everything anew. But right now, it just seems like the wrong time for rain."

Wonsik turned back to the rain, pursing his lips as he thought about the younger's words. As he contemplated, the more they seemed to make sense.

"How do you think they're holding up?" Sanghyuk suddenly asked.

"Hm?"

"Taekwoon and Hongbin," he clarified. "Think they'll be alright?"

Wonsik thought about it for a moment. "Taekwoon-hyung'll be fine," he said. "He bounces back quickly, he's that kind of guy."

"And Hongbin?"

"I-I'm not sure..." Wonsik sadly admitted.

"You don't know?" Sanghyuk asked. "Aren't you his best friend?"

"I am," Wonsik replied. "But I've never seen him like this before, or in this kind of situation. The Hongbin-hyung I knew was always happy and smiling, now that smile's disappeared from his face."

"Will he be fine?" Sanghyuk inquired. "Can he still continue?"

Wonsik took a deep breath. "For all our sakes, I hope he can."

After explicitly telling Taekwoon to leave him alone, Hongbin attempted to escape reality by heading to the bathroom. While he still knew that Taekwoon followed him, he knew that he wouldn't follow him inside. He also knew that no one would be in right now, which would give him some time to think.

He moved to the sinks, removing his school blazer and placing it beside the ceramic basin. Rolling up his sleeves, he ran the water and washed his hands. The water was cool, feeling like ice on his warm skin. That chilled water was like heaven to his bruises.

Turning the water off, he grabbed the edges of the sink and looked up, at his reflection in the mirror.

The Hongbin that looked back at him looked like he'd been through hell and back. His skin had turned an unhealthy pale, and his lips were dry, chapped and cracked. His hair was ruffled, losing its shine, now much thinner and hanging over his eyes. From the constant stress, dark circles had appeared under his eyes. A thin scar traced his right cheek.

He sighed. He looked terrible.

No one had batted an eye to the two wolves' disgruntled appearances, writing off their sub par looks to the stress of the upcoming exam season.

But now that he looked at himself, he was seeing himself in a completely different light.

The only thing that seemed normal about him was his clothing, that was nice, wrinkle-free and stain-free. All he noticed was that his tie had gotten a bit loose, but he didn't mind, since anyway his shirt collar was choking him. Undoing the collar button, he put his blazer on and left the washroom.

When he stepped out, just as he expected, he spotted Taekwoon leaning against a wall opposite the washroom. He wasn't alone, however, since he was happily chatting with a girl, a girl he recognized as being in their year, but in a different class.

Since he was currently occupied, Hongbin turned and took off, walking down the hall to his classroom.

Along the way, he passed by tons of students, some in groups, some in pairs, some alone. The hallway was filled with the sound of chatter as the students intermingled among themselves. Their voices resounded in his head.

Exams. Classes. Homework. Physics.

None of them had any clue what was happening in this town.

The only things that were on their minds were the upcoming tests and who'd finished their homework well. Not that the town was plagued by demonic entities that threatened their very existence. They didn't even have to think about them, forget even coming face to face with a creature from the depths of hell.

They were so different.

Wait, no. He was the one who was different.

He stopped walking as the sounds of happy students floated around him, throbbing in his head. The world around him blurred, and the students passing by him looked like speedy blurs. At that moment, he became aware of all the people around him, of all the voices in his head, and of how he was just standing.

His world...was so different.

A high pitched ring suddenly sounded, snapping him out of his trance. Quickly fishing out his phone, he answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" he asked, trying to keep the shake out of his voice.

"Why are you trying to run away from Taekwoon-hyung?" Wonsik asked.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"Because he called me to ask where you were."

Hongbin sighed. "I'm...not running away from him. I just need some time alone. I told him that."

"And you expected him to just leave you alone?" Wonsik asked.

Hongbin opened his mouth to argue back, but paused and thought about it. "Yeah, what was I thinking?"

"None of us know, hyung," Wonsik said. "Hey, even if you want some alone time, you know Taekwoon-hyung won't leave you alone. Just get used to it."

"I know," Hongbin agreed. "I know."

"And if something's wrong, tell me," Wonsik said.

Hongbin stopped, his mouth open slightly. "Actually..." he said, lowering his voice. "I do have something to talk about."

There was a momentary pause. "Where are you?"

"At school, in the hallway."

"So you're at the place you go every single day," Wonsik said. "What's your problem?"

"Their...their world is so different from ours," Hongbin said, gritting his teeth a little. "They don't have to worry about anything. They don't even know that their lives are in danger."

"So after eighteen years of being alive you suddenly have an existential crisis?" Wonsik said.

Hongbin kept quiet, trying to swallow down the lump that had formed in his throat. "Hyung, didn't you tell me that it was better that they stay in the dark?" Wonsik asked. "Besides, you're not human, you were never going to be like the others."

"But you are," Hongbin said.

"And I chose to join this fight," Wonsik said. "Look, hyung, it's nasty, let's all admit this. And not to mention we just lost our families in the blink of an eye. The other students may never experience this, and that's good."

Hongbin quietened down again while Wonsik drew a breath. "The reason you're still standing, the reason you're still fighting, is because you're not human. Only someone who wasn't human could withstand this fight."

Hongbin had walked a little as he listened to Wonsik's strangely calming and deep voice. When he stopped, he realized he'd come upon a window. Looking out, he saw the rain hitting the glass.

"Sanghyuk's still human, isn't he?" he idly asked.

"I doubt it," Wonsik sadly admitted.

Before Hongbin could ask anything else, Wonsik spoke up again. "The thing is, we're in the middle of a war right now. It's not the time to be thinking about your place in the universe."

Hongbin nodded. "I know. I'm sorry I got distracted."

"It's okay," Wonsik said. "Just...be on the lookout for the next victim."

The next victim?

Hongbin turned his eyes towards the hallway, to see the stream of students passing by him, all carefree with minimal responsibilities.

Something caught his heart as he put the phone down, looking at the students, turning his head to see a few teachers, around to see the school janitor, another way to see the security personnel...

They were all victims.