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February, the Love Month.
Finally, their school looks a lot more like a romantic one, and a lot less like the medieval desolate castle it is.
Kim Sunoo spies on Yang Jungwon, and it is day 69 since he had started. Sunoo snorts at the number like a middle schooler. He had looked around, and no one had seen him, as per usual. However, tonight, most students were captivated by the gargoyles flying around to hang pink flowers on the walls and red hearts on doors, much to the teachers' dismay.
Sunoo smiles at the Valentine's themed corridors each time he walks through them.
"- Lovely." He blushes. "- Don't you agree?"
Across from him, the tea in its cup jitters mildly, and Sunoo smiles softly.
Again, Yang Jungwon enters their dining hall with yet another blue, shimmering rose between his fingers. He keeps it neigh his lips, and while most would think he is softly inhaling its fragrance, only a few know that blue roses have none, and fewer would catch on when he feebly juts out his lips to kiss the blue petals.
"- Truly lovely..." He sighs again. He rests his cheek on his palm and glances at the empty chair across his own. "- See, that is what romance is about."
The little spoon inside the teacup starts to turn round and round, and Sunoo lets out another sigh.
Yang Jungwon was now dismissing curious students and their questions with a mysterious smile and no answers at all. Sunoo wishes he could talk to him himself, yet he did not want to look like those hungry students, who only seemed to feed on gossip. In truth, Sunoo was simply a fan of Yang Jungwon's love story.
"- How to do this? Do you think this valentines would shed some light on this sweet and wholesome loves story?" He asks as he holds the cutlery again and starts to slice the chocolate cake they have been provided as dessert tonight.
"- Talking to thyself again, arencha?"
Sunoo rolls his eyes and puts down the knife and the fork calmly.
"- I'm not alone." He frowns as he turns around. "- You will offend him."
The boy, a stupid Frankenstein monster, snorts and looks at the table Sunoo currently sits at. Sunoo cannot remember his name, no matter how many times he has come to mock him about the exact same thing.
"- Even so, that bastard isn't the kind to be offended." He clicks his tongue once. "- If I catch him..." He whispers.
"- Ha! Listen, now." The girl who came with him slings an arm over his shoulder and starts to cackle. She is a witch that Sunoo has never seen with the bully before. "- I don't think that dimwitted ghost has the right to sit with such a gorgeous mummy!"
"- ... Oh." Sunoo utters. "- Oh...!" He then blushes. It was not uncommon for him to receive such bold praises, yet he, in this case, was bracing himself for some insult that never came.
The boy pushes the witch away.
"- Did you actually come to flirt with him?" He scolds her, yet she only laughs behind her hand.
"- What about it? I have a thin' or two for bandages." She laughs loudly, and Sunoo is quite puzzled about her true intentions. "- Seriously, Sunoo, you should come join us." She winks.
"- Not at all." Sunoo refuses politely. "- ... Thank you."
Her eyes flicker to the empty chair across from Sunoo.
"- It's a shame." She says simply. Then, just like that, she walks away.
"- You better sleep with one eye open, bandage-boy." The bizarre bully snarks before stomping his feet on the ground as he follows his friend.
Sunoo watches them for a little while as they head back to their large group of friends. Once upon a time, Sunoo would be cheering and laughing amongst the popular tables.
Sunoo feels a chilly air hit his nape, a lot like some snowflakes falling there and sliding down his spine. He, like always, giggles at the softly cold feeling, finding it ticklish.
"- I am sorry for the disturbance, Sunghoon." He sighs then and attempts an apologetic smile.
The teacup the ghost has been stirring tea from now shifts, and spider legs grow briskly from its bottom. The spoon which was stirring the brewery starts to float in the air, and the teacup creeps away along the garnet red tablecloth. It jumps off the table, spilling small drops of tea, then walks away somewhere.
When Sunoo looks at the invisible ghost again, the spoon floats no more, and instead, it is a golden and white napkin that levitates neigh what Sunoo assumes must be ghost Park Sunghoon's mouth.
He must be taller than Sunoo.
"- Charming." Sunoo snorts. "- Isn't it the first time something pranks you?"
Sunoo has a lot of pride. Everyone knowing that the famous, stunning, charming mummy is, in fact, in love with the empty-headed, brainless and prankster ghost who no one has never seen in their life, was quite the blow to said pride.
"- Let's see. Today was boring." He conveys with a slight pout.
Park Sunghoon had a lot of enemies. He is known for his silly misdeeds and hijacks around the school and the dorms. Apparently, Sunoo has a thing for stupidly funny guys, because how else would he fall for the official loser of their school?
The pretty napkin regains its place on the table, and Sunoo resumes his dessert eagerly.
"- The only enjoyable thing was Yang Jungwon's yet new flower gift." Beside your silly pranks.
Sunoo blushes as he thinks of them again, how funny and fun he had found them when he has heard of yet again teachers and students complaining about the ghost that goes by the name Park Sunghoon.
Nothing budges from the ghost's side.
"- Yang Jungwon." He repeats. "- The ace witch in the Witchcraft Department. His secret, anonymous lover gifts him a flower each. Single. Day!" He pronounces and stresses, leaning onwards briefly. "- Hm. I wish you would do the same." He jests, then starts to laugh at his own delusion.
Park Sunghoon offering him a flower each day? How unlikely, the undead might as well die. The only thing Park Sunghoon would gift him was utter silence and no sign that the ghost Sunoo has been conversing with all these months was truly Park Sunghoon.
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"- Oh, beit*, you look lovely as cupid."
(*Beit: Sunoo's way of saying 'oh, my! but!')
The gargoyle says something in gargoyle language, and even though Sunoo does not get what he means, he smiles sincerely to cheer him up. The gargoyle seems a lot dissatisfied with the role of little cupid the school had assigned him.
Sunoo closes the door of his locker, and stares at his reflection, the door painted golden pink but clear almost as much as a mirror.
"- What do you think?" He asks the gargoyle. He still is scrunching up his nose in pure disgust, even when he looks up at Sunoo's cute decorations. "- Valentine's Day themed!!!" He explains, though he feels the small pink hearts and red roses sticked to the locker express it enough.
The gargoyle says some garbage words, doing it in a manner that makes Sunoo think he believes Sunoo understands perfectly Gargoo (language of gargoyles). Sunoo frowns, and the gargoyle does not say anything more. In fact, Sunoo has no other opportunity to harass the gargoyle some more, for a big 'BOOM' resounds through the entire corridor, and every student turn their heads to look up.
"- Monsters, undead and living dead!" A perky voice greets with a sparky giggle. A demon girl is flying, hot pink skin, hot red wings and dressed in the black cheer team's uniform, she holds a loud speaker in one hand as her other one gestures actively to a banner held from the corners by some bats. Its color is a bubbly Fuschia, matching the demon girl's skin as much as Valentine's itself. "- Valentine's is just around the corner!"
Students start to cheer, and with them, Sunoo claps in tiny.
"- The Cheerleading team has this year decided to organize a big event to celebrate it! Make people fall in love, make those in love confess, and make this wonderful day unforgettable for the lovers who already kiss and hold hands!" She introduces brightly.
Then, letters explode in tiny pink and red hearts on the banner, and they say in a vivacious manner, font frolic and bouncy:
SHOOTING HEARTS AND ROSES
The majority gasps, whispers briefly, then starts to whistle, clap and cheer again. Sunoo smiles as he looks at all the smiling faces around him and follows suit, clapping calmly as well, feeling as intrigued and impatient to both know and experience this new tradition.
"- It will take place in the gymnasium, everyone, ehe~" She informs. "- For further information, please do refer to the cheerleading team after classes~ Also, posters will be hanged on walls and folders thoroughly distributed, so look forward to it~"
Sunoo frowns a bit. He had thought that the demon girl would be giving some more information about what the event itself incompasses to add some appeal to it, yet it seemed that the audience was already captivated.
The phrase "𝓛𝓮𝓽'𝓼 𝓯𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓲𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮~" appears under the big title of the event, and Sunoo states at it for some seconds before someone taps his shoulder.
"- Here you go."
A brochure is handed to him by one of the cheerleaders, another demon girl, and Sunoo stares at it for a little while before taking it.
"- Thank you so much." He bows and smiles.
"- Enjoy!" She twits before walking to the other students.
Sunoo looks briefly around first, noticing how other cheerleaders, also demons since the cheerleading team did not accept any other race, and especially not zombies, flew and walked around the corridors to distribute the brochures.
"- Very pretty." Sunoo takes the time to appreciate the aesthetic of the paper, how it matches the banner and smells of roses.
He unfolds it and discovers the details he has been looking for earlier.
A quick introduction of the event, yet what is most catchy is the three columns with titles 'Finding the One', 'Confessing to the One' and 'Perfect Pairs'.
He has no time, however, to get into each list, for everyone around him suddenly starts to gasp and whisper. Sunoo lifts his head just as some strange wind raises. It whistles, bone-chilling and all lights dull, all candles are blown off. The corridor plunges in an eerie and icy atmosphere.
Around the banner, petals wilt to dark and hearts break in two and fade to ash.
The sound of an organ piano starts to play, and frigid, white fog arises and swarms between the students.
"- What is going on?" Someone mumbles.
"- Is this part of the plan?"
"- Should we go now?"
"- Everyone, calm down!" The cheerleader attempts fruitlessly.
It seemed no one knew what happened, everyone was puzzled and somehow even sort of frightened by the violent change. Sunoo shivers from the brisk temperature freefall.
"- Ugh. I smell that bad reek." A student some meters away from him says, yet he is smiling at his own remark. "- Look." He nods at the banner. "- That banner's freezing."
"- Hm?" Sunoo's eyes widen when he finds out that, along with its vivid colors growing coal black, frost has started to appear around its edges and corners.
Sunoo's heartbeat slows down.
The banner freezes as ice cubes, then shatters loudly and falls onto the ground like glass hitting rock.
Students hurry away from the spots with yelps and screams as something starts to glow neon green, like poison, in the place of the banner:
𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥
𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗘 𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗗
𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥
𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗜 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗘 𝗙𝗘𝗗
All the hearts floating happily around the banner grow black of hatered, and break in perfect halves with loud cracks before falling on everyone like black snow, or ash.
"- ... Obviously..." The cheerleader whispers unconsciously in the speaker. "- Park Sunghoon, ugh."
Sunoo's heart swirls at the name, and he blushes. Of course, it would be his doing, albeit no one had any evidence.
Students start to groan and yap about it, yet Sunoo stays rooted to the spot, and looks at the letters, so beautifully written. His handwriting was most admirable and artistic.
"- The rhyming is atrocious." One of the students cringes.
"- There's no rhyming." Someone else corrects immediately.
Park Sunghoon was so stupid and silly. Sunoo smiles and sighs as he daydreams again, then thinks about how the ghost had achieved such a moronic jest.
Park Sunghoon was like those lame cartoons villains, the bark-no-bite type, with very unimpressive and simple "evil" plans, who would stupidly reveal their plan, fully detailed, in the end to the hero, yet before executing it.
Park Sunghoon was such a lame villain in their school.
Something must be wrong with Sunoo if he finds it as attractive as others find it hilarious.