Yejun woke up feeling... weirdly refreshed. No nightmares. No tossing and turning all night. Actual decent sleep for once.
He reached over to his nightstand to check the clock—
5 PM?!
Excuse you? What the actual hell?
This was literally one of the only times he had gone to bed early-ish, and now he had slept the entire day away? Unreal. Whatever.
He had wanted to meet up with his friends, but clearly it was way too late to go searching for them now. Sighing, Yejun dragged himself into the common room. He barely ever went in there if he could help it—every time it was either deafeningly loud or just... weird. But today? Today, for once, it looked almost normal.
He glanced around, looking for any familiar faces, and spotted them immediately: Owen, Rae, Hana... and, of course, the one and only certified asshole, Doyun. God. Whatever. Yejun walked over, a little hesitant. They were all sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, hunched over something Yejun could not quite see. "Hey, guys—" he started, but before he could even finish the greeting, someone yanked him down into the circle.
Perfect.
The four of them, not counting Yejun, were crowded around an old spellbook, wands out, a plastic candle flickering in the middle.
"Guys, what the actual hell are you doing—" Yejun muttered.
Doyun shoved his shoulder roughly. "Shut up," he hissed.
So polite, as always.
Yejun stared at them, deadpan. These people were actually insane. What were they even trying to pull now?
Suddenly Owen started coughing like his lungs were about to collapse. Hana smacked him on the back. "Owen! What the hell are you doing?" she snapped. "I'm literally coughing, weirdo," Owen grumbled, rolling his eyes. Yejun could hear Rae's dramatic sigh loud and clear. He tilted his head. "Seriously though... what are you guys even doing?" Doyun finally answered, and of course it had to be him.
"They're trying to summon a ghost or something," he said casually. Yejun nearly exploded trying to hold in his laughter, a small smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. He cleared his throat, trying to brush it off, but Hana was already running her mouth. "See, Owen, you made our poor Yejun sick now!" she said, way too loud.
"I'm not sick!" Owen snapped back, clearly offended.
The two of them started bickering and, shocker, it went on forever.
Yejun finally got sick of it, standing up and tossing out the laziest excuse he could think of.
"I need to get something from my potions class," he muttered, already halfway out the door.
Only when he made it out of the dungeons did he realize something. Of course. Doyun was following him. "Can you stop following me everywhere I go?!" Yejun snapped, picking up the pace. No answer. "Don't ignore me!" Still nothing. "Doyun, answer me!" he shouted.
Still acting like he could not hear him.
Finally, Yejun lost it. He shoved Doyun back against the wall, pinning him there without thinking.
That got Doyun's attention, fast. "I said, why do you keep following me—" Yejun started, but before he could even finish the sentence, Doyun flipped their positions. Now Yejun was the one pinned against the wall, Doyun grinning like he had already won. "Why? Are you mad?" Doyun teased, way too close.
Yejun rolled his eyes hard enough to strain something.
"Let me go."
Surprisingly, Doyun actually listened.
Huh. That was suspiciously easy.
The two of them walked around in a tense silence for a while, until Yejun accidentally bumped into someone.
Nari.
Perfect.
He had been meaning to talk to her anyway, especially about the fifth floor situation.
They waved at each other awkwardly. Nari was about to walk off, but Yejun caught her by the sleeve.
"No, no, no. Nari, wait. I need to ask you something about the fifth floor," he said quickly. Nari raised an eyebrow but nodded, following him toward the library. Technically three people went, though, since Doyun still refused to leave and trailed behind them, hands shoved deep in his pockets like he owned the place. They sat down at a table tucked into the corner. For once, Nari did not have that cursed notebook out. Small miracles. Yejun leaned forward, keeping his voice low. "Nari... I don't know if you know this but... whatever. I have to ask you eventually. Does the fifth floor have anything to do with... the person who goes by 'Master'?" Nari tilted her head, frowning. "What? Well, no shit. I thought you knew that? That's literally why I told you not to go up there," she said, looking genuinely confused. Yejun blinked. Doyun, naturally, was suddenly paying very close attention. Not that he was subtle about it.
"But... why are you even asking?" Nari pressed, leaning in a little. "You haven't gone up there, have you?"
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-Author
Sorry for updating less recently💔
thx for reading this chapter