Translation magic. The ability to speak the tongue, decipher their letters, and process their words into one’s mother tongue. A void spell, they said. However, with the void being a lost element in the present generation, they immediately dismissed the thought. They eventually went with Chaeyeon’s theory.

The theory went: “Familiars can understand orders given to them by their masters, right? Maybe that can explain this phenomenon.”

After Chaeyeon divulges her current knowledge of Yena’s situation, she is soon permitted to excuse herself for the night. Being left alone in the hallway, she can’t help but meander with her thoughts bobbing up and down in the sea contained within her head. 

What if her family is worried sick and is posting pictures of her all over the internet and in town? Had her mother, perhaps, cried in a police station already? Paid a private investigator to trace her steps? Had her brother stopped composing his songs due to her being missing? She would never know, which is exactly why she absolutely must return soon since it's stressful to think about her family's reaction to her being gone for more than a week now. Every minuscule amount of information available is as valuable as carats of gold.

Eunbi also specifically told her not to speak a word of their meeting to anyone. The Academe might catch wind of it and capture Yena and test her with all sorts of potions and stuff. It isn't a good thing since some familiars die in the process of experimentation and mutilation (yes, mutilation), and all they would do is compensate the mage with a huge sum of ecus to make up for it. Everything will be settled, nice and peachy.

Yena abruptly stops in her tracks, her shoes acting as brakes, and she now stands still. White fluffy creature radiating pure cuteness. The sight of Keurim, Minju’s familiar, snaps her out of her ocean of thoughts in a heartbeat. Standing on its four legs, giving her an open-mouthed smiley dog look, Yena’s lips can’t help but twitch up in glee.

“Keurim!” she squeals, rubbing up and down her furry coat with her hands as she knelt on a knee in the hallways. Yena then gently places her hands at either of Keurim’s temples, looking at her beady pair of eyes. The snow hound is alone in the hallways as people pass by, no one showing a sign of watching her for the meantime in her master’s stead. “What are you doing here alone? Where’s Minju? Are you lost?”

As if understanding her question, Keurim swung her head left and right, showing that no, she is not lost, followed by a couple of soft barks. Wriggling free from Yena’s palms, she takes the chance to chomp on her jacket sleeve, showing the desire to lead Yena in a certain direction.

“You want me to come with you?” Two barks. Must be a yes. Getting on her feet, Yena let herself be led by Keurim through the halls and out into the girl’s dorm’s lounge, where some of the girls hang out in their leisure time. Yuri doesn’t go there much as she seems to prefer the comfort of her room, hidden from other students' eyes as she focuses on her notes. Or sometimes even sketching on her huge sketchpad if time allows her to.

They arrive at the sofa near the fireplace, an optimal spot for cold spring nights. Minju sits there in her high-neck long-sleeved blouse, her hair in a single braid running down the right side of her chest, exposing her smooth neck. She holds a book in one hand, her eyes perusing the text, her expressions changing from time to time. Keurim trots beside Minju, and only then does she stop looking at her book, rubbing her familiar’s head. She looks up to face Yena.

“You’re here. Take a seat,” Minju invites, remarkably not surprised by her presence. 

Hesitantly, Yena sits on the soft velvety sofa across Minju, the warmth of the fire from hearth enveloping her frame in the process. “You called?”

Placing a thin silver bookmark between the page, Minju snaps her book shut, placing it on her lap. However, as she is about to open , Yena notices the increasing attention from the other students in the lounge, throwing them confused gazes. Minju’s eyes seem to catch a glimpse of the looks the girls are shooting their way, and she soon tucks the book under her arm, getting on her feet. “Follow me.”

“You still haven’t told me what it is yet,” Yena says, her eyebrows knitting into a frown.

Minju just smiles down at her. “Well, I happen to be a private person. I want my matters to be away from peering eyes.”

With that, Minju walks ahead, Keurim trotting behind her, her tongue out as she sports that signature happy dog look. After one last tilt of her head, Yena soon stands up from the sofa to walk after Minju.

★彡

“Nice view, isn’t it?” Minju says, gazing at the mountain range visible from the balcony, the chilly spring night air biting into their exposed skin. “That’s my home country.”

“A whole different country is visible from here?” Yena asks as she stares at the mountains. Only a small part of it is exposed, the rest of the mountains just ending up a silhouette as fog wraps around its form. The size of the mountain range in view suggests that despite being visible, there still is quite some distance away from where they are standing.

“The academy is just a day away from the border to Chosan on horseback, which is why it appears quite close,” Minju explains. “Anyway, I didn’t exactly come here to talk to you about traveling.”

“Right. So what does the class beauty want with a mere commoner as I?” Yena says, a playful smile on her lips.

A moment of silence passes, only the sound of the buzzing of crickets audible. Minju then opens for a second before closing it again as she tries to formulate a reply to Yena. She soon manages to open once more. “...It’s a mystery how you can just call me something embarrassing like a class beauty with such a straight face,” she tells Yena, her voice small.

Yena’s lips curl down, raising an eyebrow. “Well, why not? I’m just saying it how I see it,” she says, still facing the railings of the balcony. She then sneaks a glance at Minju from the corner of her eyes until they fall on Minju’s ear. This makes her burst into a guffaw. “Pft! You’re not used to it? Your ears!” she says laughingly as she now fully faces Minju, eyes fixated on the tip of her ears, which are rapidly turning the color of Mr. Krabs.

With a slight frown, Minju holds the cartilage of her ear consciously, turning her shoulder away from Yena in an attempt to hide her vulnerability from her view. “It is the first time. All the people I’ve met have been more… discreet. Anyway, I think beauty is subjective, so being labeled with a term such as class beauty is...”

Yena nods wholeheartedly. “I agree with that, of course. And from my point of view, I just happen to find you pretty,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone.

Minju blinks at her, a frown on her face. “You know, I once heard Yuri mumbling the words ‘this shameless familiar’ once, and I can now see where she’s coming from,” she says, rubbing her ear desperately between her fingers to keep her blood from rising in that direction.

“That girl. She never gives me a break, I swear,” Yena says in disbelief, picturing Yuri’s small grumpy figure appearing in her head, waving a wand at her and scolding her. “Though I can’t say I disagree, shame is useless anyway. Why have it? All it does is hold you back from a lot of things.”

Keurim suddenly gives a single bark of approval in reply from the corner of the balcony where she stands guard from any eavesdropper. At that, Minju sighs with a small smile, shaking her head. “I guess you have yourself a companion in your ideology. Keurim doesn’t hesitate to wake me if she’s hungry or in need of hugs in the middle of the night.”

“I knew I liked the dog the moment I saw her. She knows her stuff,” Yena smiles proudly in Keurim’s direction. “Darn, we’re drifting off-topic again.”

“Well, whose fault is it?” Minju crosses her arms, an eyebrow raised at Yena.

Yena raises both arms at the accusatory gaze. “Woah, I asked a simple question, and you made a fuss out of it!”

“Then you shouldn’t say words that can be misinterpreted, Miss Y