"Y-Yes...but...Wha....how....who...." Minwoo babbled, half confused and half scared of the identical twins standing and grinning in front of him. Are they stalkers? Do they want something?

Laughing at Minwoo's reaction, it was Kwangmin's turn to speak up. "Don't you remember us? Maybe not since it was more than 10 years ago since we last met. To be honest we couldn't recognize you at first, but out parents somehow could! We asked them when we saw you at the Magic Market."

Minwoo had some realization on his face but ultimately he still looked utterly lost. The blonde twin noticed this and thought for a little while.

"Maybe our parents' parties would help you remember. That's when we always met each other to play. Chocolate fountains, many toys in the playgroup, always finding some way to disturb the adults? Those were some of the things we all enjoyed most...."

Just as Minwoo was about to shake his head to let the twins know he couldn't recall, Kwangmin added in something that made him froze.

"I think the last party you and parents ever did go to was the huge one when we were 3 years old. I remembered a huge storm."

Everything in that moment seemed to slow into a blur, Minwoo couldn't really hear what the twins were saying after that. His eyes were wide and mouth trembled as a memory flashed through his mind.

FLASHBACK:

"Minwoo ah, it's really late, let's go home now!" A pretty young woman called out. 3 year old Minwoo, who had been sitting by the chocolate fountain with the twins sticky melted chocolate off their fingers, reluctantly stood up and walked slowly towards his umma's waiting arms.

"Aigoo! Look what you did to your nice shirt.." There were chocolate stains all over Minwoo's shirt and his mouth but the cheeky boy just smiled at his mother, who laughed and pinched his cheeks in response.

"Thank you, once again Mr and Mrs Jo for having us over. I hope Minwoo didn't create too much trouble..." A young man dressed in a tux said politely.

"Oh not at all Mr No. He's such a sweet boy. No wonder Youngmin and Kwangmin always love playing with him." Mrs Jo ruffled Minwoo's hair. Suddenly, a roar of thunder resonated throughout the huge mansion, startling everyone currently at the party being held there. The twins jumped in shock while Minwoo yelped and tightened the hug around his umma, peeking cautiously at one of the main hall's huge windows. Rain was beating down relentlessly on the glass, and the pitter patter so loud that it sounded like it was hailing instead.

While his umma was rubbing his back to comfort him, a blinding flash of lightning ignited the skies and Minwoo, who had been staring at the window, could have sworn he saw a silhouette of something that looked like a beast or creature right outside the window. The inky darkness of the night didn't help. He whimpered in fear and buried his face into his umma's shoulder, who looked at him concerned.

"Yeobo, I think we should get Minwoo home. He needs rest. Minwoo ah, say goodbye to Youngmin and Kwangmin."

"Annyeong Minwoo!" The twins said in unison, waving at their dongsaeng by a few months, who gave a small wave back in return.

Mr and Mrs Jo saw the family of 3 out, having a few of their servants holding umbrellas for them and helping the No family get their car from the garage. Rain was pouring down heavily and hardly anything could be seen. The air was chilling to the bone. Minwoo was quickly bundled into the back seat of the car, and thanking the party hosts once again, Mr and Mrs No buckled up in the front and drove out of the mansion gates.

Minwoo, wrapped in his umma's coat, sat tiredly at the back seat staring out of the window as the rain pelted down. Half an hour passed as the car made its way down down the dark, slippery roads, with occasional lightning and thunder. He couldn't see much except blurred lights from lamp posts or another house. He somehow had a very bad gut feeling that something was wrong, and the eerie weather outside did not help either. Soon, the road divided forked into 2 ways and Mr No turned into the road leading to the shortcut through the forest. The forest was even blacker with no source of light other than from the car headlights, only thick looming shadows from the lush trees and muddy rocks could be seen. It was so desolated, so creepy, that this forest always gave Minwoo the shudders.

And then unexpectedly, a huge but faint shadow darted past the car, and lightning once again lit up the surroundings with a flash of white light, making the dark forest even more intimidating. Minwoo nearly jumped in fright and whimpered once again, earning now worried looks from his parents.

"Minwoo ah, what's wrong?"

Before he could reply, there was a deafening crash, a horrifying sound of something slamming down on top of their car.

-END OF FLASHBACK-

"Minwoo, gwenchana?"

Minwoo was pulled back to reality by Donghyun's voice, and found him and the twins looking at him with concern. He then remembered the situation before he started spacing out.

"Uh..ne hyung.." He replied, partially embarrassed and not wanting him to ask what he was thinking about. "It was just a bit much to take in. I think I remember them now."

The Jo twins were glad that Minwoo could somehow register the memory, however they knew Minwoo was thinking about something else. He did not look 100% focused, and in fact, quite shaken.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The dull, loud sound of a bell echoed around the Orion house dorm area. Donghyun hurriedly glanced at his wristwatch. "Minwoo, I suggest you hurry up and change into your uniform. That was the call for dinner and first assembly in the main hall. We shouldn't be late, especially on your first day."

Minwoo nodded and hurried into the dorm room, yanking open the wardrobe to find his sets of uniform already hung neatly. Changing at the speed of light, he put on his badge, straightened his blazer and smoothened out his cape. The young freshman took a moment to glance at himself in the mirror. What he saw was a smart-looking student, indeed a huge contrast from the poor boy in worn out clothes selling bread.

The 3 new Orion house students finally agreed to use Donghyun's magic teleportation to the dinner hall in order not to be late. Minwoo was terrified and shut his eyes tightly, but once he heard a Donghyun mutter a spell and a poof sound, he opened his eyes, finding himself standing in front of an entrance to a huge magnificent hall. Magic does wonders indeed, he thought.

Clutters of students seated themselves in 4 extremely long dining tables placed perpendicular to the front of the hall, which Minwoo assumed one table was for each house. 2 tables on the left and 2 on the right, with an aisle down the middle. Above each table hung the familiar 4 flags of each house. There was another long table at the front facing the students; the teachers' table. A podium has been placed right in the centre of the stage. There was a giant chandelier hanging in the centre, with the rest of the light being provided by the many torches on the walls.

Donghyun led Minwoo, Youngmin and Kwangmin to the table with the Orion flag and found a place a place to sit. The freshmen sat opposite Donghyun, still somewhat in awe of the grand hall they were seated in. The senior prefect chucked at them. "Here's the main hall where you would have all your meals and assembly. Breakfast and lunch are optional but dinner assemblies are compulsory. Sometimes study hall after lunch would be in here too."

The last of the students had entered the hall by now and the caretaker closed the giant doors. Excited chattering filled the hall as everyone scrambled for a seat beside their friends.

"Hyung!" Jeongmin and Hyunseong appeared, plopping themselves down on the seat on either side of Donghyun, before noticing the 3 freshmen quietly seated across them. "Oh my you guys are twins aren't you?" Jeongmin laughed. "Your dorm is right next to ours. Minwoo and Donghyun hyung's should be right across. I'm Jeongmin by the way."

Hyunseong gave Jeongmin a light playful smack on the arms before introducing himself. "I'm Hyunseong. I've already met Minwoo, and it's nice to see twins in SMA! Please forgive this pabo here. You'll get used to it." He said looking at Jeongmin.

Donghyun laughed at both of them while the twins grinned. They were pretty much used to these kinds of situations. Minwoo sat quietly and gave a small smile. He was starting to think that maybe this group of people could be nice companions for this tough school year.

"Attention please!" A sharp clear voice rang throughout the hall, and at once the chattering and whispers died down. Everyone's attention was on the young man standing on the podium. Minwoo recognized K.Will immediately.

"Welcome, one and all, to another year at Starship Magic Academy. I am Mr. Kim, head of this school. A new year, new semester, would mean many great things to come. I'm sure all of you are keen to learn more about the magic world, and here at SMA we are honored to be guiding you on this journey. Now, before we begin, there are a few very important groups of people amongst us which I shall introduce. Firstly, we have this year's freshmen. 200 of them will be joining SMA this year. Would the freshmen please stand up?"

Applause and cheers of welcome were heard as the youngest level of the student body stood up with smiles on their faces. Minwoo, feeling a little shy, looked around nervously, and noted that the freshmen have been quite evenly split up into the different houses. Once the freshmen seated again and the noise level lowered, Mr.Kim continued.

"Please do help these freshmen for their first year in SMA. And as for the freshmen, whenever you need help, you can approach any of the professors or prefects in the school. Would they kindly stand up."

At once the teachers as well as those students wearing ties, including Donghyun, Hyunseong and Jeongmin stood up. Clapping once again resonated throughout the hall. It was at this point when Youngmin nudged Minwoo. "Yah...did you notice how that table hardly has any prefects?" He pointed to the table on the extreme left of the hall, a black flag with a sword on it hanging above. Out of the entire table only a few were wearing ties, and the rest looked fierce, rolling their eyes at the prefects or simply disregarded them.

Minwoo shrugged, not knowing why that particular house was putting on such an attitude. But he didn't have time before K.Will spoke up again.

"Now, as you know, as much as we have fun here at SMA, we do have rules. Freshmen would be given their handbooks soon with the rule list, and the rest of you should know them by heart. Anyone caught breaking the rules would have to go through disciplinary action. I would just list some of the most important ones."

Minwoo sat up, fully attentive. He really did not want to get into any kind of trouble, especially in a school like this.

"Firstly, never abuse the power of magic. Always use it for good, not evil. To help others, and not to harm others. Anyone caught abusing their powers would have their wands and broomsticks confiscated until further notice. Secondly, do not be outside of any of the main buildings after 10pm. As we all know, the night is a dangerous time, especially in the magic world. Hengeyokai have been spotted in the school compounds many times, so if you are wise you would not venture out."

The second rule made Minwoo freeze. His blood ran cold. Hengeyokai? Here in the school? This had to be some kind of sick joke... The young boy began to tremble at the thought of living with his greatest fear, that horrifying, shape-shifting demon. Nightmares of the Hengeyokai still haunt him.

Kwangmin seemed to noticed Minwoo's fear in his eyes. But he didn't ask any questions. He wasn't the type to ask anyway. The rest of the rules droned on but Minwoo couldn't pay attention, too many terrifying thoughts crowding his mind. What if he bumped into a Hengeyokai? What if there was no one there to save him? What if-

He was interrupted by K.Will clearing his throat. "Now, as you all know, all of you are divided up into 4 houses. Each year all houses would compete in the games. The main one, of course being the Hengeyokai one. But I shall save that for another time. I'm sure all of you are famished. We'll have dinner, and then it's off to your dorms. Let's eat!"

Then, with a clap of his hand, endless different types of food started appearing on the tables. The twins stared in awe and fascination, but Minwoo seemed to be the most taken aback. Almost all his life he had been living off dry bread, so seeing such a huge delicious spread in front of him was heaven. There were meats, vegetables, sauces, soups....anything Minwoo could've imagined. He might have even forgotten the taste of such good food. At once the rest of the students started tucking in heartily, while Minwoo awkwardly sat with an empty plate in front of him, unsure of where to start. Hyunseong noticed this, and piled some kimchi onto Minwoo's plate with a warm smile.

"Here Minwoo. Try this. It's delicious."

Thanking his hyung, Minwoo ate, savoring every mouthful of this precious yummy food. Food indeed did taste better when you're hungry. The 3 prefects and freshmen, as well as a few other students from Orion engaged in a light conversation as they had their dinner, laughing occasionally and just having a good time. Even Kwangmin, the supposedly quiet and mysterious one, joined in the laughter once or twice. Minwoo giggled shyly at every joke Jeongmin made. Maybe, he thought, I can actually make it through the year.

After about an hour or so, students started clearing their plates and trooped out of the main hall. Minwoo was still happily chatting with Youngmin as they made their way out.

"Yah Minwoo, did your appa and umma send you here to SMA?"

Minwoo tensed up at the question and looked away to avoid eye contact. He was reminded that no one knew about his current family situation. The younger debated on whether to tell Youngmin the truth. Just as he was about to speak, he slammed straight into someone, causing him to fall backwards painfully onto the floor. A shadow loomed over him. A sharp, curt voice directed at him.

"Yah! Who the hell do you think you are? Can't you watch where you're going?!"