Seungmin's eyes opened. The groggy state of his body prevented him from sitting up and forced him to stare at the bumpy ceiling. He laid there trying to recall everything that happened. Fuck. My mother. Seungmin's adrenaline started to course through his body again. His eyes darted around, recognizing he was back in his bed at the dorm. Jeongin and Hyunjin were not in their bunk bed when Seungmin scanned the room for the nth time.
His heart began to slow down realizing he was not in that hell hole anymore. Wait. Seungmin hastily looks down to see his abdomen. What the fuck? His abdomen felt completely fine, making Seungmin lift his shirt to see a series of scars that made the wrath of Seungmin's mom evident.
"Ahem" Seungmin shot his head up to see Chan with his elbow resting on the door frame with his head in his hand.
"Ch-Chan! Um, I- I.. I-"
"Explain. The others went to class, so it's only us two now." Chan's eyes softened as he made his way next to the younger, climbing into the bed to sit by him.
Seungmin let out a breath and recuperated his thoughts. He had to tell him now."Chan... I'm sorry you had to see that yesterday." Seungmin paused and tilted his head towards Chan. Chan nodded slightly, enticing him to continue. "My mother... she is, I guess abusive? She beats me, curses at me, and takes money at will." Chan's eyes darkened as his grip on the comforter tightened. "But, she wasn't always like this... We used to be on good terms until my father died.... They would go everywhere together hand-in-hand and had one of the deepest relationships that man could have. She still blames me for his death. I should have just kept my mouth shut so he could focus on the road... My mom has a valid reason for her hatred for me-" Seungmin's voice hitched as tears began to roll down his rounded cheeks. Chan released his grip from the comforter and palmed at Seungmin's small soft hands. "Yesterday, I guess she broke when she heard a-about my acceptance to this university. We didn't even g-get to talk to each other when she p-pounced on me." Seungmin spoke through broken hiccups, wiping away at his face to rid the tears. "I didn't want y-you to worry about me, so I tried to hide my wounds before you got there." Seungmin's eyes widened and captured Chan's gaze. "H-how did my wounds h-heal?"
Chan sat up and took both of Seungmin's hands in his, "I took you to the school's medical bay and got them to fix you up. Seungmin, I was so worried that you were not going to make it. You lost so much blood that night..." Chan stared at the beige wall that seemed to decipher his thoughts through the intricate puzzles his mind held.
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry Seungmin? I should be the one that is sorry! I should have been there sooner." Chan's face was contorted with anger as he felt his feelings start an internal battle within himself.
Seungmin slid his arms around Chan's waist, planting his face into his back. Why am I such a burden? "Chan, thank you for taking care of me.."
Chan flinched. His expression was surprised by the younger's words. "I won't let anything happen to you again." Chan turned around, cradled the boy's head in his chest, and roped his arms around Seungmin's back to pull him deeper into their embrace.
Chan and Seungmin's classes were going to start up again in two hours, giving the two some time to get ready and freshen up. Seungmin slipped into his uniform and made sure his tear stains were nowhere on his cheeks. Chan followed suit and allowed the younger to hitch a ride in his car.
Seungmin walked into class a bit early, taking out his notebook to record notes for the Charms lecture their professor was about to teach. He tossed his bag on the chair and doodled every diagram, spell name, and description for each charm. Seungmin never really cared about his academics, but felt obligated to do something productive or else he would regret it later. Sitting through the lecture was an easy task for Seungmin, the other students, on the other hand, was a different situation. Most of the class was either on their phones, talking to their friends, sleeping, or straight up just leaving after the first five minutes of class. Seungmin paid no mind to them, zeroing in on the professor's words and gestures to absorb all the information he could process.
The morning was going by slowly, lunch finally arriving as Seungmin saw the table where only Young K, Hyunjin, Felix, Jeongin, and Changbin were.
"Shut up pizza-face lookin' ass bitch." Young K laughed out as Seungmin sat down next to Jeongin.
"Hey, at least I don't have some rat up my ass spreading shit like the plague." Changbin retorted.
Jeongin leaned over to Seungmin whispering, "Don't worry, they are just fighting about who would get Felix's last homemade brownie." Seungmin made an "o" with his mouth, as he tuned back into the argument.
"Dude, you can literally cut Seungmin's ass cheeks in half with your chi-" Aaaaaaand, Seungmin had enough of their convo and spotted Jisung passing out what looked to be flyers.
Jisung flagged Seungmin's attention and gestured for the puppy-like boy to come over.
"Seungmin! How has your day been? Chan told me you felt a bit under the weather earlier."
Seungmin remembered what happened in the dorm and was grateful Chan did not spread the information to the rest of their roommates. "Good. Why are you passing out flyers?"
"Oh, the student council officers have to pass out these flyers to the students. It is about the dangers that are arising from the broken barrier." Seungmin received a flyer from Jisung, looking through the text.
"Wait, so you, Chan, and I'm guessing Minho are all student council officers?"
"Yep, Chan is the President, Minho is the Secretary, and I'm the Communications officer, where I have to distribute information to the rest of the campus."
"Wow, things are getting bad aren't they." Seungmin focused on one section of the flyer.
PROFESSOR FOUND DEAD BY 5 OGRES RAVAGING HIS CORPSE AT THE NORTH SIDE BARRIER
Jisung nodded and held his head down. "Yeah, things are going to shit ever since the barrier broke. Almost every after-school activity is canceled, and this is just the first casualty of many to come." Seungmin hoped for this to be the only one, but even he knew that there will be more as the situation goes on. "Chan is going to conduct more plans with the teacher board to situate the groups of students to hold off against the monsters from the gorge that surrounds the campus."
"When do you think the first assignment for our group is going to be?"
"Chan knows that this is your's and Jeongin's first time fighting against these monsters, so we will probably fight against the minor creatures like Goblins and Slimes tomorrow. The bigger monsters like Ogres, three-headed Wolves, and Harpies will go to more experienced groups, like Young K's group."
Seungmin felt his heart pace a bit faster, knowing that he will need to fight monsters tomorrow with the group. He was tasked as their Healer, so he must protect and heal them if they get injured. He can't lose them.
Attending his Healer's class, Seungmin retraced each stance. Making sure his form was perfected and fluid with each cast. He wanted to increase his stamina by redoing the same spell over and over again. The energy drained from him, feeling like a weighted blanket that slipped off the bed when he collapsed on the floor with his palms supporting his weight. His abdomen throbbed in pain, trying to conceal the pain that was left from the night before.
"I think that is enough for today." Seungmin's professor helped him up, letting him spectate the girls in the class that could not even perform the first stances still.
Seungmin got to practice his techniques once more towards the end of the class and was shown a little bit of the third technique to settle his restless mood.
The day finally passed as his potions class hastily ended with the click of his pen signaling the end of his notes. He spots Hyunjin fixing his hair on the other end of the class, the light striking his features at all the best angles. Girls rallied up to guard "their" territory, rubbing up on Hyunjin's arms and intertwining their fingers into his long locks. He manages to free himself from the crowd and spots Seungmin staring into his dark eyes. Seungmin didn't even realize he was staring until Hyunjin shot him a questioning look with the tilt of his head. Seungmin jerked his head to the side to avoid eye contact, concealing his face with his palms to cover the creeping redness overtaking his face.
Seungmin stood up from his desk and pushed his chair in, heading to the exit of the lecture room. His backpack felt snug to his back as he saw Jeongin in the main hall. He made his way towards the younger, seeing how he was talking to Changbin and Minho. Taking another step further sent a jolting pain down his abdomen as his back hit the wall. His eyes readjust to the sudden motion seeing a handsome man that is wearing a devilish smile as he hardens his grip on Seungmin's waist, pushing him parallel to the wall.
"What are you doing here, sweetie?" Seungmin spots the emblem of the unknown man's uniform to see a Fire Spirit. A crowd starts to form around the two where chants are heard to be favoring the guy pinning Seungmin to the wall. Minjun? Is that his name?
Seungmin couldn't respond as the other man's hand slammed against the wall by his head, fully encasing the small boy's frame. Seungmin was terrified and was on the verge of tears, feeling the building pressure of the man's hand on his waist.
The boy raised his hand from the wall, taking a stance that looked like he was going to slap Seungmin. He braced for impact as he heard the dreadful noise of skin-to-skin contact. Wait, why don't I feel pain?
Seungmin opened up his eyes to not feel the man's hand on his waist but to see the said man being pinned to the floor by Hyunjin. The crowd erupted with split cheers, attracting more attention than before. Hyunjin was blocking the punches the other boy threw, looking back to smile and calm down the younger. Minho and Jeongin run-up to Seungmin and pull out their weapons against anyone else they may face.
Water puddles formed on the floor as one of the professors on campus encased both boys in wavering water bubbles. Chan shortly arrived at the scene, shoving away two Green House girls that recorded the whole incident.
"Seungmin!" Chan made his way to Seungmin and wrapped him into a tight bear hug.
The bubble soon dripped down to both of the boy's torsos where they could not escape as they began to get interrogated. Another professor joined the crowd and instructed everyone to return to their training as time was scarce. Chan still had his big arms around Seungmin as he buried the younger's head into his chest and rested his chin on top of Seungmin's hair. Minho and Jeongin step back and sigh with relief.
"He started it!" Chan and Seungmin's focus returned to the arguing trio of the teacher, Hyunjin and Minjun, releasing themselves from each other to check up on Hyunjin.
"I don't care who started it, but why did you both think it was a good choice to hurt each other when we are meant to be preparing against the entity that is ravaging this campus as we speak!" Both of the boys fell silent as the professor's voice echoed in the now empty corridor of the main hall.
"He just- he hurt Seungmin," Hyunjin's eyes fell to the floor as the teacher released them from the bubbles.
"I've heard enough. You." The professor pointed to Minjun. "Don't ever make another mistake like this or I may have to break one of the school rules for you to fully understand." The professor's voice was laced with venom as he left the boys alone after he was called to assist at the southern barrier.
Minho and Jeongin walked over to Minjun and began to berate the latter with threats which he responded with an annoyed eye roll. Seungmin slowly approached Hyunjin and softly tilted his face towards himself so he could get a full look at Hyunjin's battered face. The bruises have already begun to blossom over his fair skin; one of the bruises spreading over his right cheek left behind a deep plum color that had a ring of yellow surrounding it. Seungmin gasped at Hyunjin's busted lip that leaked fresh crimson blood over his chin.
Okay, Seungmin. You can do this.
Seungmin released Hyunjin's delicate face as he took out his staff, ready to cast the first stance of the healing spells. Closing his eyes, Seungmin performs the cast, and out flies an orb that strikes Hyunjin's chest which makes him stumble backward. Seungmin opens up his eyes as he watches the orb dissipate into wisps that flurry around Hyunjin which begins to reduce the swelling and bruising of Hyunjin's body.
Hyunjin feels around his face, the effects of euphoria flourishing as he feels as if he could tackle a train head-on. Seungmin stumbles a bit before regaining his footing, looking back at Chan with a look of accomplishment. Chan walks over to the two and pats Seungmin's head as he begins to talk to Hyunjin.
"Hyunjin... Are you okay?" Chan slots his fingers into Seungmin's hair with his fingertips massaging his scalp.
"I'm alright now, thanks to Seungmin." Hyunjin steals a look at the younger before returning his focus to their leader.
"Well, I'm glad that we know that Seungmin can do it!" Chan wraps his arms around the two boys and quickly releases them to motion Minho and Jeongin over who is now finished with Minjun.
"Some other news I got today is that we have our first assignment. The council determined that our group defend the Northwest part of the barrier that used to block the forge from the forest." Chan releases his hand from Seungmin's soft hair and begins to lead the group out of the hall and into the yard of the campus where they meet Young K and his group. Chan walks up to Jae, a member of Young K's group, and Seungmin assumes they are talking about strategy for their assignments.
Seungmin takes the opportunity to sit with his legs scrunched up against his chest to take in the serenity of the glade the campus occupies. The uniform stocks of grass caress his ankles as the wind wisps his hair gently. The birds chirp in the distance as the sun starts to begin its wistful descent into the night. Seungmin glances up at Chan and marvels at his sharp jawline and toned body under his uniform. The fire spirit accented his focused eyes and articulated voice.
Seungmin can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of security when he looks at Chan. Those muscular protective arms around his small frame are a scenario Seungmin is too familiar with imagining every so often. His dark eyes contain a hint of glimmering white that shines deep with his soul. Chan just lights up Seungmin's day and wouldn't trade anything to replace it.
[-]
The dorm was quiet as everyone was unwinding in preparation for tomorrow's schedule. Classes were going to be cut early for groups to arrive at their assigned locations before the real onslaught begins and overtakes one of the vantage points. The principal cautioned the students eagerly as he shed light on another casualty of the potion's teacher assistant that was slain by an ogre on the south barrier. Tensions were high at the school as more restrictions were enforced as the monsters claimed more of the campus grounds.
Seungmin just finished his charm's lecture and ran to the training grounds where Chan wanted everyone to meet. He spots the brunette in the crowd and finds a spot in between Hyunjin and Jisung as his eyes rest easy on their leader's instructions.
"Okay. Now that everyone is here, I wanted to talk about our formations." Chan pulled out a notepad and started scribbling on the page.
"Now, I want Seungmin, Minho, and Jeongin in a triangle shape so we as fighters can protect y'all from any ambushes. Seungmin stays in the middle. If you get hurt run towards the center while he patches you up. Any questions?" Chan reassures each of his members with his calming gaze and turns around ready to lead them to their spot.
The group assumes their positions as soon as they leave the training grounds. Seungmin's feet tiptoe through the glade trying to stay quiet. The glade was quiet, beckoning the dark aura of silence and horror with each step towards the forest. Seungmin looks at the point the barrier broke, the faint sight of strands that once symbolized the crystal barrier that protected the area. The group passes through and holds their stance as a movement rushes past them in the tall grass.
Seungmin tenses up after seeing the sudden movement, readying his staff while aiming at Changbin who was situated at the front of the group.
"Look out!" Jeongin yelled as he through a water orb at the flying wyvern that nearly grazed Hyunjin's head. The orb exploded and repelled the wyvern backward as another orb grew in Jeongin's hand. Changbin swings his ax down and nearly misses the wyvern. Jisung crosses its flight to impale its head with his polearm and exploded its brains with pure energy radiating from the tip.
The group was not even allowed to breathe as slimes come up behind Jisung and secure his feet to the ground as they start to consume his legs with their large gelatinous bodies. Minho shoots out a spell that seems to absorb the slimes' bodies allowing for Jisung to escape before losing all control.
"Thank you.." Jisung huffs as he regains his footing after being soaked from the slimes. Minho nods and begins to focus on the other monsters approaching the group.
Seungmin feels so out of place as the rest of the members are fighting while he can't do anything to fend off these monsters. He begins to channel a charm he learned recently to cast a protective barrier around everyone in his group. He gathers up his energy into his staff and casts it upwards.
"Ah fuck yeah!" Changin yells as he goes headfirst with a harpy that disintegrates to dust from the impact.
Seungmin collapses to the ground from the energy being drained from his body. His eyes lapse in vision, struggling to focus on the battle that is a multitude of colors being flashed. He tries to rise to his feet but his muscles fail him leaving him face down in the dirt.
Suddenly the ground begins to shake prompting Seungmin to glance above the grass and see a golem barreling toward him. Seungmin's legs buckled as he narrowly dodges the charge of the golem, resting his weight on one of his knees. The golem slowly turns around as Seungmin once again collapses to the ground, unable to get up. The golem winds up, running towards the young healer that is spayed across the dirt. Seungmin feels the fear encase his whole body as the golem gets closer and closer, accepting that he has nowhere to go. Bracing himself, Seungmin clenches his body into the fetal position closing his eyes together into tiny creases.
"Argh-ah!" Seungmin glances up from the sudden clash and sees Hyunjin blocking the impact of the golem's charge with his broad sword inches away from Seungmin. A whirl of knives could be heard as a storm of blades make quick work of the golem's abdomen causing it to fall into a cloud of silent dust.
Hyunjin helps Seungmin up as the fighting subsides. Hyunjin begins to dust off the dirt from Seungmin's face and gently caresses his cheek when inspecting for any injuries.
"Thank you Hyunjin..." Seungmin's face begins to burn from the intimate touches and lets himself cave to the warmth of Hyunjin's hand.
Hyunjin only smiles as he tugs at Seungmin to ride his back for a piggyback ride back to the campus. Seungmin begins to feel a fiery gaze as he mounts Hyunjin's back comfortably, looking back to see an expressionless Chan that seems to avoid the younger's gaze.
As Seungmin sees the group replacing them so they can rest, he turns back around as his mind begins to wander and replay the events of the fight. Nobody got hurt or injured which was good, but he felt almost useless for the lack of impact he had during the battle. Seungmin was already doubting his abilities and subdued himself to the depth of his subconscious that reminded him that he was lucky to be in this group and that he was expendable if he messed up.
Darkness fell on the campus when they returned and made their way to the cafeteria. Hyunjin plops Seungmin into one of the seats and nudges him awake. Seungmin drowsily rubs his eyes and leans his head on Changbin who was sitting on the other side of him. Changbin then chuckles and signals for Jisung to come over.
"WAKE UP BITCH!" Jisung screams into Seungmin's ears causing the puppy-like boy to jolt awake and cling to Changbin's chest. The table erupts into laughter from everyone except Chan who is watching the whole ordeal from afar.
The group begins to talk about their battles allowing for each of them to bask in the limelight where they could show off their abilities. Seungmin laughed along and praised each one of them saying how each of them contributed a lot to the team.
I will never be enough.
Hyunjin begins to tell his story when Seungmin starts to stare off into the distance. His eyes settle on Chan who was staring out of the window, looking out onto the glade where darkness enveloped each crevasse that was once occupied by light. Seungmin feel's a sense of dread and remorse from Chan's gaze and tempts him to go and comfort the elder.
A hand wrapped around Seungmin's waist where he was now pulled towards Hyunjin who was proclaiming that he saved Seungmin's life.
"Jisung would only save Minho if he had to choose between all of us though," Felix suggested as Hyunjin plopped his hand on Seungmin's thigh.
Heat flushed into Seungmin's face from the sudden change of pace and couldn't make another move before Hyunjin's head was now pinning Seungmin down on his shoulder. Chan finally glanced back at the group and scoffed as soon as his eyes landed on Seungmin and Hyunjin.
Seungmin felt the guilt overtake him and apologized as he gently unwound Hyunjin from his body to follow after Chan who disappeared down the main hall.
"Chan!" Seungmin yelled into the dark hall. His footsteps echoed off the walls of the empty corridor. Descending deeper through the hall the more his fear grew as the walls seemed to close around him.
What was that
A loud metal clank boomed behind Seungmin making him turn back to see a can rolling down the stairs crashing with each bounce. His breath hitches as he sees a figure looking at him through the window from the glade. The creature's eyes were a deep purple that was illuminated by the moonlight. Its body was concealed by the brush but its gaze froze Seungmin in place.
"Seungmin?"
Whew. Felix!
"Seungmin? What are you doing here?"
"F-Felix! Do you see that thing staring at us in the glade?" Felix looks a the direction Seungmin is pointing but doesn't see anything.
"Uhhhhh-"
"Look it is right-" Seungmin looked back and the creature disappeared. The brush seemed untouched and the moonlight was bright as ever which would have exposed the beast.
"I swear it was right there..." Seungmin felt embarrassment encase him in a bubble as he lowered his hand and faced Felix who looked puzzled from the whole ordeal.
"I believe you Minnie, but what did this creature look like?"
"I-I'm not sure, but I saw two purple eyes from that bush that seemed to paralyze me from head to toe. I felt so scared and vulnerabl-"
"No fucking way..."
"What is it?"
"No...this can't be real." Felix's features transformed from confused to paranoid as he fumbled through his pockets to grab his phone. He quickly dialed a number waiting for the line to pick up.
"Hello, Changbin?" Felix's face was stressed and worried, leaving Seungmin overwhelmed with two dilemmas: One, why is Felix freaking out now, and two, where did Chan run off to?
"Yes, please come here with the rest of the group." Felix hung up the phone and faced Seungmin again, capturing the younger's eyes.
"Seungmin. Have you ever heard of the curse of the widowed witch?" Seungmin nodded his head to the side and shrank to Felix's intense gaze.
"Well, the story goes that there once was a woman and a man who recently got married in the glade of Prism University. Their wedding was extravagant and lush as the groom came from a wealthy background that had enough to sustain the two for life.
Anyways, the two were living peacefully together and decided to explore one of the trails in the forest. The groom was a fighter that came from the Red House and the bride was a mage from the Blue house, so the two knew how to fight if something got in their way. They traversed deeper into the wood and found a meadow that was twining with the rocky landscape that merged with the calm river. The area was beautiful and prompted the two to relax under the warmth of the sun.
Soon, night fell on them. The meadow looked ethereal under the soft moonlight and light winds that made the flowers dance uniformly like a ballet.
They made their way back on the trail before an ogre popped out and grabbed onto the man, restraining his movements. The woman shrieked and began to cast spells that would make the ogre release her husband. The ogre began to run, trampling over the meadow and crushed the man's body with his large fist, throwing his body into the once beautiful river. The man's blood seeped into the river's water tainting the purity of the meadow. The woman cried in agony and slain the ogre out of anger. To her, the flowers no longer danced but mocked, the moon no longer shone but burned, and the water no longer flowed but washed away all the memories of her husband. Her motives turned to hate and ravage as many have speculated that the two were connected by the most powerful bond any two witch or wizard can experience."
"And what is that?"
"Well, it was said that the man was the white to the woman's black."
"What does that mean?"
"Okay," Felix sighed, "I know this is going to sound ridiculous but you need to know." Felix took in a big breath before continuing.
"It is very rare, but some people who have color magic are born with a secondary color. One can be born with the secondary color of white which symbolizes purity, innocence, and life, and the other can be born with black which symbolizes death, hardship, and evil. Well, these secondary colors like to pair up together which creates what is known as the 'infinity bond' which is a bond that is so strong that it can drive one to insanity forever if it's broken.
That's why I mainly believe that the couple was interlocked with the infinity bond to explain the rampage the woman expelled."
"Wait so are you saying that the thing I saw in the glade was the woman?"
"I'm hoping not, but I've heard rumors that those who have seen the widowed witch recall her piercing purple eyes and her haggard appearance. She is known to be so powerful from the amount of hate she has accumulated over the years and terrorizes the students that venture into the forest. She sends monsters to destroy the happiness she was never allowed to enjoy with her husband."
Seungmin feels his stomach quench, feeling uneasy as he glances back at the empty glade trying to search for answers.
"Seungmin! Felix!" Jeongin runs up to the two where the rest of the group, including Chan, joins them while Felix tries to settle them down to say what Seungmin saw in the glade.
Seungmin makes his way toward Chan and timidly grasps his large calloused hand to ease his nerves.
Felix finishes the story to the group and an unsettling silence cowers over which was shortly broken by Hyunjin.
"If this shit is real..." Hyunjin's voice trailed off, causing Chan to clasp Seungmin's hand a bit tighter.
"I will speak to the council about this tomorrow, but for now, we should all return to the dorms and rest for tomorrow." Chan then tugs Seungmin a bit forward and snakes a possessive arm around Seungmin's small waist as he leads them back to the dorm.
Once again Seungmin felt warm and protected in Chan's arms drifting in and out of consciousness from the gentle circles being rubbed softly into his side. He wouldn't do anything to replace this moment as Chan felt like a piece to Seungmin's puzzle.
A piece that cannot be replaced.
A/N: Hey guys... :D