“(Breaking News) Blood Fiend Appears in Athletes’ Village; Two Archery Team mbers Dead”
“(Guild of Korea, Awakened Managent Departnt to Search for Blood Fiends Around Athletes’ Village)”
“(Athletes’ Village Temporarily Closed Due to Safety Concerns)”
“(One Victim Awakens, Prevents Athletes’ Village Disaster)”
“What?? A blood fiend in the athletes’ village?”
“Breaking news—two national archers dead...?”
“I’m so shocked my brain’s on pause rn”
“Blood fiend wtf—and one national team mber awakened?? Who awakened?”
“But if you awaken, you can’t compete, right?”
└ “Yeah, only civilians can enter the Olympics”
“Guys, the awakened one is archery’s Park Yeonwoo”
└ “For real?”
└ “Already had awakening test?”
└ “How’d you know?”
└ “Family’s here in the village”
“(Breaking) Athletes’ Village to Remain Closed Until Guild of Korea Completes Search and Safety asures”
“Is it true Kim Myeongjung head-shotted a blood fiend? Wow”
└ “God-Myeongjung, what a legend...”
└ “Isn’t that him awakening?”
└ “No no, article says Park Yeonwoo awakened”
“Survivors say it wasn’t Myeongjung who saved them but so kid—who is that?”
└ “Unknown jaemmini”
└ “Stop joking, I’m serious”
└ “Not a joke lol. So jaemmini just ca for the tour and left. Creepy thing is, nobody knows who he is”
“Saw an aurora-like beam of light over the village today—maybe it’s linked to Park Yeonwoo’s awakening (video)”
└ “Like Jesus descending”
└ “Park Yeonwoo did descend lol”
“Heard from soone that if Park Yeonwoo had been a mont later, he might’ve gone berserk. If he hadn’t collapsed midway it would’ve been close”
└ “Village almost got wrecked”
“Anyone seen the Park Yeonwoo awakening video?”
└ “S-class awakened”
As soon as Roy arrived in Seoul, his hyungs’ fussing got him treated at an Awakened hospital, and he returned ho in one piece. Sure enough, every portal site and community was ablaze with news about the athletes’ village. He even saw articles saying blood fiends no longer only appeared at night.
“(Dayti Blood Fiend Appearances Raise Urgent Need for Counterasures)”
“(Fear Around the Clock! Citizens Panic over Blood Fiend Sightings)”
People had assud blood fiends could only operate when the moon’s power was strongest. But after Maha’s prophecy, the boundary between humans and blood fiends was gradually eroding.
“Feels like Maha’s prophecy is coming true... save us, Gong-hyungㅜㅜㅜ”
“At this rate shouldn’t we allow private gun ownership in our country?”
“The village incident is shocking... but haven’t there always been rumors of dayti blood fiend sightings?”
└ “Right? Suddenly everyone’s losing it lol”
“Just signed up for hobby shooting today. Blood fiends co at !!! (gun-firing GIF)”
└ “Kieeeek!”
└ “Bang. Anyone else?”
“The articles are sensational, but they all happened far from the city—why the panic?”
“Seoul’s safe anyway. I’m most curious about Park Yeonwoo’s attribute~~~”
“They beefed up village security, but one jaemmini breezed right in, right?”
└ “Yeah, if you can’t catch one kid who broke in, what’s the police for? They can’t even figure out how he got in—cody gold”
“What’s the governnt doing? So irresponsible”
“Governnt should support ‘one hunter per household’! Let’s start a petition~”
“Common factor in Sokcho and Jincheon: both near mountains = conclusion: just don’t hike. Mountains are for looking at lol”
“So many people are in denial...”
Reactions split: those alard by fiends’ dayti appearances versus those brushing it off. Roy felt the “public complacency” comnt hit ho. A bigger catalyst was needed to wake people up.
This is bad. Blood fiend sightings are only beginning.
Lying on his bed scrolling forums, Roy felt a sudden chill. Of course he worried his family might be hurt while he was gone—but not knowing Hangyeol’s whereabouts made him more anxious. Why did CEO co up with such a world view? If he’d preferred things like DiXni instead of MaX, life would be prettier. For the first ti, Roy felt a twinge of resentnt toward Jeonseo.
✧
Roy’s worries followed him to school the next day.
“Sigh...”
The weight of being the protagonist. Roy lay face-down on his desk, having skipped lunch, sighing. His seatmate, finishing lunch, plopped sothing on his desk.
“Here, attention.”
It landed—one of the convenience-store hamburger buns.
“What’s this? I don’t need any comrades now. Too late, pal.”
Roy refused the gesture, and his seatmate’s face twisted.
“You’re pathetic. I give you a snack and you’re imagining things. Who wants to hang with you?”
The glasses-wearing seatmate was Seogal Bi—a rare Jungal clan psychic awakened. He’d hidden his na for nearly a month. Roy had been annoyed, but once he learned Bi’s na, he understood why.
“So what is it?”
“...Got worries?”
Oh—this was kind. Bi was the only one in class who looked out for him, even if he seed prickly.
“If I do, will you listen?”
“Keep it short. And if you keep sighing through afternoon classes, I’ll pluck every hair out of your head.”
Bi yelled that Roy’s sighs kept him from concentrating.
“You’re sensitive, Bi.”
“You said stop calling that! My na is Bi—‘to soar high.’ How many tis?!”
“You called stupid!”
“You are!”
“Fine, you’re the only stupid one. But listen, Bi—”
“Dammit!”
Bi, unable to contain his frustration, kicked the desk in lotus position.
Ka-ang!
Oops—he must’ve hit his shin and sat down clutching it.
“Bi, I’m talking—please take this seriously.”
“You jerk... ugh.”
Roy was his nesis; Bi glared with pure resentnt.
“Can I speak?”
“Hurry up!”
“Gosh. I need to chill, Bi.”
Roy sighed deliberately, baiting Bi.
“Listen, Bi—”
“If you don’t say it in three seconds—”
“I feel so weak.”
Silence. Bi’s eyes asked if Roy just realized that.
“I an—nobody ignores because they don’t know . It’s because I’m the main character? I get blad for everything. It’s all too much lately.”
“You psycho.”
“See? Even Bi can’t trash-talk properly.”
Roy joked, but in truth his self-esteem was shot. Especially after the village incident. Without ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Yeonwoo’s awakening and Myeongjung’s help, he’d be dead.
“Why am I so useless? Ha...”
But the worries didn’t end there. Suppose he found Hangyeol—would unlocking Skill Lock guarantee he’d get stronger? He sensed sothing more was at play. His instincts had never been wrong.
“Sigh...”
Roy’s sighs grew louder, while Bi’s expression grew uglier. No wonder so people can’t study... Bi’s glare practically shouted curses.
“Hey, you idiot. If you have ti for this, just go sleep. You think you’re so two-core or sothing? Gonna save the world?”
“Who says I’m not two-core?”
“If you’re two-core, I’ll change my na to Galbi.”
Change your na? Then Bi becos “Jeogal Galbi”? Roy burst out laughing.
“Pfft! You just said it yourself: you’d change it to Galbi.”
“I said if you were two-core, not when! Listen when soone speaks!”
Friends or not, they bickered nonstop. Just then, voices drifted by the window—third-year group in the hallway.
“Hey, hey! Awakening24 says Park Yeonwoo’s up!”
“What? Show !”
“Insane. Elental type? Light attribute? Damn, got it all.”
“But why is his rank C? Kinda h.”
“Maybe he’ll go to Elite High? That school’s got all the elentals.”
“Nah, I heard in the faculty office he might co to our school?”
Yeonwoo-hyung is coming here? Wait—he’s a minor too, right?! Roy had worried about leaving Yeonwoo back there, but if that’s true, he could see him every day. Feeling elated, Roy grinned to himself.
“Hee. Hee-hee! Woohoo!”
“Ugh, what a lunatic.”
✧
After school, in the classroom. As classmates prepared to return to the dorm, Roy’s phone buzzed.
[Hojin: (Art Academy selfie.jpg)]
[Hojin: But, Roy... do you really have to take proof shots forever? It’s kinda embarrassingㅜㅜ]
Roy opened the ssenger; Hojin’s close-up appeared—apron sared with paint over his uniform.
“Wow...”
Terrible selfie skills. Even in Shooting Star days, Hojin was notorious for bad selfies. He tried his best, but sohow beca the definitive selfie disaster. “Wilderness Hojin” was as expressive as Yeonwoo, mixing nostalgia with exasperation.
[Roy: For now, keep going. And why care what others think? I told you not to]
[Hojin: Okay....]
[Roy: Taeeon-hyung said he’d pick you up after class, so stay together]
After the village incident, Roy took steps for Hojin too—he paired him with Taeeon. Blood fiends could target Hojin anyti; this was the best he could do. Taeeon was a B-class Awakened, no penalties, so it’d be fine. Maybe they’d even beco friends.
Roy chuckled at his phone and rose to pack his bag.
Thunk—
He knocked a notebook out of his drawer. Inside, doodles from class: all Hangyeol’s na.
Just then, Bi’s nasty voice cut through above.
“Seo Hangyeol? What’s this? You actually did so notes, huh? Figures.”
Bi. Roy picked up the notebook and dusted it off, glaring at Bi. Arguing with soone five years younger felt petty—and ignoring it felt infuriating. He chose his words carefully.
“Bi, you really have a talent for making your words sound nasty. Watch your back at night.”
A sincere warning from soone older than Bi by five years. Yet Bi clicked his tongue, looking between Roy and the notebook, then sneered.
“Who are you to say? Instead of worrying about celebs, how about minding your own grades? At this rate, you’re guaranteed dead last in the school.”
Bi adjusted his glasses with his middle finger. Roy’s defeat seed certain—until he grabbed the back of Bi’s collar and yanked him to a stop.
“Ugh...!”
“Say what you just said again.”
“You psycho?! You nearly choked !”
“A little force won’t kill you. Now say it again.”
“Dead last in the school!”
“Not that!”
Bi shrank under Roy’s serious glare.
“W-what?”
Roy leaned close.
“I said: instead of worrying about celebrities, take care of your own life! Got it?”
Bi waved him off.
“You... you know Hangyeol-hyung?”
“Who doesn’t know Seo Hangyeol? Unless there’s another Seo Hangyeol besides the actor?”
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