#chapter1.

“I’m wondering if anyone nearby is going to tell us how stupid this is.”

joowon’s wondering a couple of things. one: if they’re going to get caught. two, if the dog he borrowed from the front of the convenience store is safe to be around. three, if the dog’s owner is going to come and kick their ass. he’s wondering all of this but not considering the danger of the stunt they’re about to pull. it was her idea! actually it was more his idea than hers but she always went along with crazy shit like this, always wanted to feel the burn of weird things like she was some pioneer. well maybe that was him. maybe he didn’t want to feel like the weird one.

the fact is, he’s still tying the leash around the bicycle handlebars, meanwhile adjusting his phone angle. he’s humming the lyrics to dayday, albeit wrongly, which is strangely fitting. the mentioned ‘dog from the convenience store’ is normal than residents are used to. a big breed that’s sure to make this the best stunt he’s ever attempted. except he’s not on the bicycle. no one is. that’s why he’s standing up, moving his gaze from the dog to her.

THE FIRST CHAPTER The date is September 13, 2019: the Friday before the beginning of a new term, a new school year.

It seems like a scene straight out of a Harry Potter movie-- you know the one, where the students are getting off of the train at the station, bags in hand, chatting excitedly amongst each other, energetic still even after such a long train ride. There’s a difference, though, between that and the scene at the entrance of Astor Academy. Some students are being dropped off by black cars, while others drove themselves to the academy. There are those that took the train as well, and one by one, they enter the grounds. It’s four in the afternoon, and dinner will be ready by seven. Three hours should be enough time for students to settle in their rooms and be prepared for dinner, right?

E-mails have gone out over break: no one is to talk about the unfortunate incident that took place in the Alpha Auditorium, and anyone caught will be subject to investigation. It’s closed off to students for now, but the chairs have been reinstalled, and the walls repainted to cover the Latin words that have seemed to fill certain surfaces around Astor recently. Not to quote the Mathematics professor, but it looks like nothing happened there. However, the culprits remain unknown, and the faculty are adamant at containing the issue as much as they can. But students talk-- they always do.

Tonight, curfew won’t be imposed. Classes don’t start until two days later, and they’re not too strict on curfew on weekends, anyhow. Some spend the rest of the evening traveling to the town for a drink at the pub, or just to get away from the campus. There are those that sit by the dock, catching up with friends about what they did over break, and passing around a bottle of what seems like orange juice, laughing too loudly at a joke someone makes. The dining hall doesn’t close, too, and if you fancy sharing a dessert and a cup of coffee while you chat, there’s surely a place for that.