Shoutout to my darling girl BYEOLI18 for the amazing, mind blowing cover!! I'm sorry I made you wait for the update! But this is making up to it! Saranghae!
August, 18.
Gwendoline Bane.
It had been exactly a fortnight since my encounter with the lycan. Even less after I had made that sacrificial deal with Min Ri and all that haunted my dreams were dark eyes burning holes in me like laser moonlight.
The clan had quieted down about it. Sure, I was still getting disapproving stares and rumours behind my back about being delusional with "those bewitched eyes". I tried to take the compliment but the stab under the words weren't lost on me.
Outsider, it said.
Besides Kyro and Yu Na, I had no one else to confide in. Vangard treated me like a weapon most days and a precious possession on others, but I wanted more than anything to be considered as a person. Not a prize or an object of hate.
I had just finished putting the PB&J sandwiches into the toaster, when my phone pinged with a message. And then again with another one.
Kyro : *Van was looking for you. So get your ass over to the institute, Gwendoline Bane. I know you read that last part in Van's voice.*
I scoffed at his immaturity. The next message was from Min Ri.
Ri Ri : *Yuki-ah, when are you stopping by the restaurant again? I've convinced Gong Do-ssi to make coffee brownies for tonight. Come over soon*
After several years of running and distancing myself from people, Min Ri had finally reached out to the side of me that still held onto a piece of humanity. And here I was lying to her.
The thing was, I couldn't tell her the truth even if I wanted to. I couldn't tell her about my real name, or my origin or my profession because that would mean exposure of the entire institute to the world. I couldn't do that to the people who had given me a life, albeit one I never wished for.
I opened the chat-box to Min Ri.
Yuki : *Sorry, Ri Ri. Have a case to discuss with the seniors today. We need to close it asap. I'll try to drop by tomorrow. Save some for me! Sleep tight~~~*
Ri Ri: *T_T alright. Sweet dreams Ki Ki. Fighting! ^3^*
I smiled to myself. Maybe, I wasn't as alone as I considered myself to be.
The toaster whirred and the bread slices popped out. I grabbed one and bit into it.
Gwendoline : *I'm almost there. Bet you read that in your girlfriend's voice. Oh wait, you're too repulsive to have one!*
The profanities that followed in the next text from Kyro cracked me up and I nearly choked on my toast, while I got ready to head out to the institute.
It was a short walk there, and an even shorter drive but I just wanted to get over with whatever Van had to say and then have a goodnight's sleep, so I took the car.
When I had turned into the parking lot, I found Jeon Woo Bin standing there next to my usual spot. He was wringing his hands together, forehead scrunched and when he saw my car approaching, he nearly jumped onto the bonnet.
"Yah! Woo Bin-ah! Are you trying to pin me with murder or something? Why did you jump out like that?"
"Ah! I'm so sorry sunbae-nim!" He bowed profusely until I got out of the car and stopped him.
"Enough with the respect, now tell me what you messed up this time."
Vangard had assigned a junior to each one of us so-called efficient hunters, at the beginning of the year. Kids that had just been enrolled into the program.
You needed to stand out to be a part of the Hunter clan. Something that links you to the supernatural and this kid had nothing. To top it, I had got him out of the entire bunch. Van thinks I can break him, break his core out from under his layers of awkwardness and fear. Somehow, where I was involved, Van's instincts ran haywire.
I had succeeded in nothing for the past half year with the kid. Except for covering up for me when I was sick or AWOL, there was nothing he was exceptionally good at.
I still hadn't told Van about it, but I didn't think he would make it through. I didn't say anything because that would mean I was giving up, and I wasn't a quitter. Not because I felt bad for the kid and wanted to try to help him. Nope that wasn't it.
"Sunbae-nim, believe me when I say none of this was my fault. I was practicing just like you had instructed me to. I was following your schedule as it was, but then Team Leader saw me practising alone and asked for you. I couldn't come up with a lie soon enough, and he was already walking off to complain about you, so I..."
Young Dong Woo was really pushing it now.
"Enough. Is that why you're standing out here, instead of following on your training like you're supposed to?"
His eyes widened at my statement. He bowed again, twice.
"Sunbae-nim, I apologise. That's not what I meant to do...."
"Get going now. I don't want to see you slacking. Get to work. And if Team Leader comes asking for me again, just tell him that my private life is private for a reason and that he needs to get one for himself instead of nosing in on other people's."
The boy gaped after me in shock, but hurried along as I walked to the entrance. The sound of people training, blows landing and punching bags creaking filled around me as I entered the centre.
Woo Bin waited with me by the doorway but I gestured for him to go on and he obliged. I looked up to see the lights on in Van's balcony office. The top of his booted feet were visible from being kept upon his desk. There seemed to be no one else there so I proceeded.
"You asked to see me?"
He swivelled around in his easy chair to face me.
"Ah yes, Gwendoline. Were you at your apartment? Aren't you supposed to be training as well?"
"I took the day off. I trained overnight for the past few days and it was catching up to me. I didn't think it would be that big a deal."
Van didn't seem to be listening to me. He was sorting through stuff in his drawer, pulling out papers and stuffing them back until he grabbed a file and slammed it on the desk.
"Got it. Now that you're well rested, you can get back on the field, Gwendoline."
"On the field? Tonight?"
"Yes. Have you lost your hearing as well?"
I gritted my teeth from lashing out at the comment. Van should know better than to doubt my claims and test my temper. The contempt must have been showing because he began to chuckle.
"I'm only joking, Gwendoline. Have a seat. This job calls for you."
"It isn't something to joke about, Van. It was a lycan not a tooth fairy." I remained standing.
"I know, I know. I believe you. That's why I called you here."
"You do? Oh, you do! Then why didn't you say something in front of the clan? When everyone was making me out to be a complete idiot and a coward!"
He believed me? So much for that. He had to accept to that in the confines of his office and not where his word actually meant something.
"Gwendoline, sit down. You know I always have a reason."
I took the seat.
"I believe that there could be a lycan. Perhaps more than one." My eyes grew wide at the fact.
"Is that why we shifted to Gangneung city all of a sudden? Did it have nothing to do with..."
"It had everything to do with her death. But that isn't why I chose Gangwon-do province as our next base. Several sightings of 'rabid creatures' had been reported by our scouts. And that's not all. There has been sightings of Magik as well."
"Magik? How is that possible? The last band of them were murdered in Pennsylvania. It's been over 4 years since that massacre."
"As we are all well aware. But our scouts say differently. That's why I need you to check it out tonight. There's a latest spotting of a Magik in the Chodang Dubu village."
"That's not too far from coffee street. How did I not sense it?"
It wasn't far at all. It was pretty close to where Min Ri worked, and the thought of it didn't sit well with me. How did I miss it? It was the same with the lycan last week. Were my senses truly getting dampened?
"Don't beat yourself over this, Gwendoline. Magik are known to be masters in cloaking themselves. Or for all we know, it could be an imposter."
"If they're lucky."
Van smiled knowingly. He then turned his tablet in my direction, pointing out the various roads and alleys that could be possible escape routes for our suspect when cornered.
The hologram was the perfect depiction of the roads and I memorized them. I made a plan of my own as I scanned through the map. It would take Yu Na as well as Woo Bin for me to deal with this.
I would never confess to it, but he was like a portable lucky charm of mine. Missions seemed to go unusually easy when he tagged along. Besides, it would be a chance for him to prove his worth, if there was any.
"But, Van, how does all of this connect with the lycan?"
He swiped at the hologram which now showed a video on pause.
"Watch."
It was dark and it must have been raining from the static like noise in the background. I could make out the faint outline of a building. There was very faint lighting in the footage probably from a nearby street lamp and a shadow suddenly fell upon the opposite wall. One of a very large animal. It fell away just as quickly. Then it showed a person walking by the side of it. He turned this way and that, pausing in his stride. He turned towards the direction of the camera afterwards and my breath caught. His irises glared a deep circlet of red, despite the absence of lighting.
It was too dark to make out his face though somehow I knew it wasn't my guy. The gait, the silhouette, it was all wrong. But I didn't say anything.
I watched as the camera followed him down the alley. His pace had increased and he seemed almost afraid. What could it be that had a lycan running in fear?
Before he could take another turn, there was a blinding flash of light. It appeared as if a bunch of fireworks were lit at the same time. The lens of the camera was flooded with light for nearly a minute before it cleared.
The alleyway looked untouched. There was no evidence of a person or any of the damage expected from a firepower of that intensity.
"Where did..."
"Wait."
It happened then. The camera began to blur around the edges as a humming sound reverberated through the speakers. A face came into focus. A hooded face. It stared into the camera for a couple of seconds before everything went blank.
I turned away from the tablet, more confused than ever. I never expected to see the lycan to be the victim. And who was that man who appeared and disappeared all at once, with no trace whatsoever?
"I don't understand, Van."
He switched off the hologram and met me with a serious gaze. He looked worried, which meant that something was definitely wrong with that video.
"The lycan was attacked. Not killed. I'm guessing he was kidnapped. And that man, who destroyed the entire set of CCTVs that lined the neighbourhood, was a Magik."
"The Magiks are after the lycans? But whatever for? And why aren't the lycans fighting back? I'm sure they can kill a dozen Magi with a single swipe."
"That's what we need to find out. Tonight, there's supposed to be a ritual for the beginning of the festival of the Harvest Moon, down at the village of the sightings. Magi will definitely be present. I need you to be careful and supervise the going-ons and report back to me."
Things were much more dangerous than I thought they were. First a lycan, now multiple and the Magik were back. We had to get to the bottom of this and fast, or people were going to get hurt.
"Alright then, I'm leaving right away.I will need Yu Na and Woo Bin with me."
"Woo Bin? That twig of your trainee? Why? He's just going to cause you hindrance."
"Trust me, Van. Oh and I'm taking the Monster."
"Why do you even act like you need my permission with that car when you're going to take it even if I say no?"
"Because, I respect you, Van-ssi Sunbae-nim!" I bowed at him mockingly and rushed out of the office as he aimed a paper weight at me.
************************************
The streets of Chodang Dubu portrayed a stillness that was almost eerie. A small lake ran beside the streets and under the bridge that we drove over. It looked straight out of a painting. Cherry blossoms were in bloom and no building rose above 20 feet. Houses and shops looked alike and there were very few people out on the road. We reached around sunset and all the little shops seemed to be closing up for the day.
"They're already closing up? Does no one work beyond the evening?"
Yu Na and I said nothing. The more shops we drove past, the more it became clear. They weren't closing the shops, they were reopening them. We were crossing a little tea shop, when the owner flipped the sign board over and it lit up with fluorescent letters and symbols I'd never seen before.
점쟁이
"Jeomjaeng-i", I heard Woo Bin whisper.
Fortune teller.
Van was right about this area. The hangul was in normal letters but there were certain symbols on the sign that stood out in the approaching dark. The fluorescence was a spell. Yu Na raised an eyebrow at me and I looked at Woo Bin through the rear view.
"Woo Bin-ah. Do you see the sign board over there? The one that said Tea shop earlier?"
"Nae, sunbae-nim. It says Fortune teller now. What is this street? It doesn't seem to have any resemblance to the village we had entered."
I pursed my lips, shaking my head at Yu na. Woo Bin couldn't spot the fluorescence. Van was wrong, the boy had no hidden link to his core. Their was no core at all.
We drove on and watched as the quaint little village transformed right before our eyes. The thatched roofs opened upwards to the sky, the walls slid into one another forming an open enclosure. Paper walls turned into stuff thick as cement, rectangular buildings hollowed out into burrows on the side of sloped hills. The entire ordeal seemed something out of a magicians handbook.
As the day dimmed around us, the lights grew more effervescent and bold with the dark. The roads that were empty until then, began to brim with a crowd that seemed to have appeared instantly.
It was easy to distinguish the Magik from the humans for me, given my abnormal sight. Yu Na could detect auras around people. That was her link. But Woo Bin remained indifferent to the supernatural pulsation around us.
The poor kid was clueless, looking out the window with childish awe rather than predatorial focus. What if it was a bad idea to bring him along? I had to be the most inconsiderate senior ever.
Amidst my self-reproachful feelings, I failed to notice the young girl who had walked onto the road and stood there facing my car with intense determination.
I didn't see her holding her hand out and moving her lips, muttering incantations as her eyes turned a milky white.
What I did see was a light so pale and blinding, which came towards us, before I heard Yu Na yelling at me to turn the steering, followed by a loud crash.
And the scream of a woman.
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