Old Friends

The grass scrunched from their footsteps, coming back up as they walked on. Encountering the red haired pyrokinetic somehow made the situation worse than it was.

Jeongin looks up to Kazuo, gazing at him while they walk side by side. He was much taller than him, his red hair continued to amaze him and at some point, he wanted to ask if it was his natural hair color. "It's not. I just color it. Pyrokinesis. Red hair. You know the gist." the man glanced at him through the corner of his eyes.

"Can you read minds?"

Kazuo chuckles, running his hand through his hair. "I can read faces."

Chan pulls Jeongin to his side, giving Kazuo a stink eye.

"And it's still very much creepy that you can, Sofia." the redhead laughs out loud. He can’t actually read faces as an ability. He’s just very observant, which later on gave him a lot of benefits. "It's been decades and I still can't figure out why you hate me so much."

He looked at Chan, his face was calm and neutral. He was the only person he couldn't figure out. It didn't annoy him at all. It's just.. he was curious.

How much has this person been through all these years? He never knew why Chan never opened up to him, although they spent decades together at the Sofia's mansion. He opened up easily to the others. But he does know that the vampire doesn't hate him. The perfect word might be 'resent'.

"Shut up."

"Aw, come on. We go way back!"

"...thank you."

Kazuo stares at the vampire's back as he walks past him. He smiles.

Chan doesn't resent him either.

He speeds up, pacing himself with the vampire. "For what?" He saw how Chan’s tense demeanor slowly relaxes. "For saving my family."

-

"When we escaped the building, Changbin gained consciousness but he was losing a lot of blood. His wound was healing way slower than normal. I remember Chan saying that if ever something really dangerous appears or we have gotten into a really tight situation, we were to go to any Neutral zone that's nearby. And the closest was this place."

Seungmin pulls Jeongin before he gets run over by a coach harnessed to 2 horses. They had walked for what felt like an hour until they reached a town in the center of the neutral zone while Jisung was explaining what had happened.

The place looked like you're in the beautiful streets of Rome.

The narrow streets are paved with small, square, black bricks. They walked past maybe a dozen bakeries, the smell of fresh bread made Jeongin's mouth water. Most of the buildings that line the streets have so much character, they are worn looking and earthy colored. Seungmin swore every building they pass by has a fancy rustic balcony.

There were no cars or anything that emits hazardous smoke. Instead, bikes and coaches were the modes of transport within the town. But what littered the streets the most were people, different beings to be exact.

The crowd is a river of them, the only difference is that it flows in different directions. You will see different faces only to be forgotten once they pass by. Some were enjoying their alone time while others moved in groups staying together with fingers entwined or shoulders close to each other.

All of these people are supernatural beings that try hard to fit in the human world. Most of them might be centuries old, used to adjusting themselves with different people. The burden for the young ones is big, but the prize of being able to move freely outside neutral zones is worth it.

None of them were mad about the fact that it was they who needed to adjust. None of them ever regretted doing good outside for minimizing the risk of being caught. They were grateful. Plus, human beings are way scarier than any being out there. The capacity of their minds and actions were far more superior, leading to a lot of negative effects outside.

"How did you manage to sneak Jeongin in? He's human." Jisung glanced at Seungmin for a second before fixing his coat.

"Oh, that. The old lady let us in. She stared at Jeongin for a while before letting us through." he shivered, recollecting the scene from earlier. "She's one scary gatekeeper alright." Changbin couldn't agree more.

He was half-aware of what was going on but he could still feel the immense amount of power being contained by a frail and wrinkled old lady.

"Says the one who got recognized by that old lady." Jisung shrugged. Seungmin, on the other hand, wondered what Chan meant by that. Recognized? As in, she knows Jisung personally before or what?

"But as soon as we entered the area, Changbin collapsed. He was pretty much gone." Seungmin and Chan both looked worryingly at the said wolf. His state now was so much better than earlier.

The wolf laughed softly. "I was seeing double even before we got in. I just had to hold it in before we got into the safe zone. I had to protect Jeongin and Jisung. But, I was weak."

Jeongin steps up and gives Changbin's shoulder a squeeze, making the wolf look back at him.

"You aren't weak. You're the strongest.''

Those words were cliche but it made him feel a whole lot better. He continued. "What pulled me back into consciousness was Woojin's howl. He was miles away but I still shivered as if he was just right beside me. It was almost as if he was crying. Calling out for me. Telling me to keep it together. Help is on the way."

Jisung put a hand around Changbin's shoulder. "I heard it too, so I knew I had to stay strong for these two." he said, giving a glance linked with a smile at Jeongin in which the boy returned back.

Help was on the way? So that means, Kazuo knew about Changbin getting hurt and them entering the neutral zone? Seungmin looked at Kazuo, did he expect them to arrive at the right moment because Woojin told him?

“Did Woojin tell you?"

Kazuo smiles. Ushering them inside a huge tavern with a sign outside that says 'Forest and Fauna Inn'. The question hung in the air unanswered as they entered a ramshackle, weather-worn wooden building situated in the northwest part of town.

Upon entering the place, it looks quite more pleasant than the outside. The smell of smoke and stale ale welcomed the bunch. Surprisingly, it was much quieter than the usual 'bar' or 'inn' you see in movies or read in books. People huddled around wooden tables, the tinkle of glass on glass wipes the awkward atmosphere for unacquainted people. Quiet murmurs and occasional cheering made the place... quite lively enough.

This tavern draws in people of all sorts. Witches, wizards, orcs, wolves, spirits and rare ones like high elves, multi-headed creatures, human-born beings, goblins, and vampires.

Each race or being has their own system or we can call them "agencies" that manage each and every type of being. They provide order and laws to be followed promptly by everyone. Surprisingly, there are humans who work within those agencies. Of course, they're bound by a pact that won't allow them to talk outside about what sort of work they do and who their superiors are. Such offices are located everywhere and are often camouflaged as normal offices.

The vampire population is quite huge as well. Most of them are populated in Europe and on glacial places like Alaska, Mongolia, Finland, Greenland, Russia, and even the inhabitable Antarctica. There are also a few of them in South Korea and neighboring countries like China and Japan.

That's how Seungmin was assigned to Chan to make sure he doesn't cause any harm or drink blood from a human being, which is far from happening at all. He was in it for the money at first, but somewhere along the way, he enjoyed nagging the vampire and sometimes caring for him.

"Well, I be damned. Someone give me a neck to offer. Looks like we got ourselves a vampire." a distant voice cheered from behind a crowd pooling near their table.

A mysterious man leered down on Chan as soon as they sat down at a table near the bar.

Oily voice, greased back hair, hunched back, piercing black eyes, and a false smile.

The atmosphere was suffocating. Seungmin peers from the opposite side of the table, as his view was blocked by Changbin who sat in front of him. It surprised him to see all eyes were on them.

The buzzing sound of talking and loud cheers vanished as everyone's attention was on them. He angled his head more to see the barkeeper wiping the counter, not minding the situation at all, was he used to rumbles in here?

In the middle of all the tension, his eyes caught a redhead coming up to the counter. Is that? Kazuo? Getting a drink?! Is he not concerned about what was happening?

"Woah woah woah."

The rest of them panic, when Chan stands up and turns to face the man. Jeongin was clinging to his right arm, almost begging him to not start a fight.

He caresses the boy’s hand, as if cue, Jeongin lets go. Chan was not planning on making a scene at all and he got the message clear. Seungmin, on the other hand, grew way more anxious.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” Alas, the heavy atmosphere was broken by the two men hugging each other, the contrast between their bodies was unimaginable, it was like Hercules hugging a dwarf.

“Long time no see, Uiane.” Uiane patted Chan's back before removing himself from the vampire. His yellow teeth are on full display as he laughs out loud.

“Ye fuken bellend, ye ne’er came back!” His weird accent was a mixture of what seemed to be either old English and Scottish? And his name? Was it Um-ya? U-ya?

Chan chuckles, shaking his head in defeat. Uaine moves away from him, letting the rest of the people behind him greet an old friend.

“Okay, what is going on?”

Their confused faces looked at Chan laughing and hugging the men who looked much like pirates, before landing on Kazuo who got back from the bar.

“Oi, wait. Chan? Wha-where are yo-and there he goes!” Seungmin threw his hands in the air, the rest of them felt sympathetic towards the witch. They were all confused as much as the next person.

Seungmin was now lost.

Everyone was shaken up by what happened earlier, someone got injured badly, they lost track of them, and now they’re sitting inside a tavern owned by the Sofia’s! That’s not the worst part of it! The old lady still gave all of them the creeps.

The redhead snuggled beside Jeongin. Way too close for personal space. And when did they get all chummy? How on earth did they become all buddy-buddy with each other that fast?

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