Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So, would you like to try the Night Class?” The receptionist looks over for your response.

Staring at the last options on her screen, your eyebrows furrow as you ponder for a moment. This isn’t the entire plan at all. After being in the city for a year and now enrolling for your second year, you’ve stuck to a routine. 

During the first year, all your classes have been held in the morning. It was hard to adjust at first, but you managed to get the hang of the gruesome morning schedule. After that, you would do your homework in the Cafe you frequent and stay until it closes. It’s the most peaceful your life has been ever since you moved to a different city. No drama, no betrayals, just you finally getting to enjoy the simple things in life.

That is still the plan.

Well except for this one unexpected subject. The professor for this subject in particular was someone you’ve heard so many good remarks about. Honestly, he sounds too good to be true. He’s strict most of the time but there’s a mutual respect between him and his students. Perhaps that’s a detail you’ve overlooked as the receptionist explained earlier about how many people enrolled into his subject.

“Professor Zed also does Night classes. I honestly don’t know how he does it– the man looks like he’s overworked to the bone at times.” 

It would make much more sense if you just enrolled for the next semester and gun for the morning option. Though, this is the first time you’ve heard about Night classes. Before you can open your mouth to ask a question,

“With your current schedule, inserting a Thursday night schedule doesn’t seem that bad. You don’t have any classes for Fridays so you’ll definitely get to sleep in.” 

“You sound like you’re trying to sell land to me.” 

“Seems like being in sales does pay off.” There’s a little shock in your face before the receptionist laughs.

“Well, I might have to bite the bullet then. Will you get a commission from it?” She smiles at your attempt to joke back and starts encoding your final schedule on the computer, continuing the small talk. You’ve discovered that she’s only a few years older than you, and that she actually has a sibling around your age who’s taking the Night Classes. As there were only the two of you in a foggy Saturday morning, she even starts gossiping about some rowdy bunch of brothers who wanted to enroll, only to look extremely shocked with the fact that there were only a few Night classes. They’d have to take Morning classes as well if they want to catch up with others for this semester.

Night classes do exist in the University but they are rare due to how cold it can get at Night. Only selected rooms have a heater or two but that wouldn’t be enough to accommodate everyone. That’s why some of the Celebrations at Night are done with some bonfire sections. It’s one of your favorites.

“If you have any problems or questions, feel free to approach your professors or me. I’ll see what I can help you with.” The thick card holding your schedule is warm and you take a few moments to go over them, making sure that there wasn’t a thing you missed. Satisfied, you look at her and give a smile.

“Thank you so much. I’ll take note of that!” With a small wave of goodbye, you happily exit the office, quickly sending a message to your mother about what you’ve achieved for the day.

That’s today’s only errand, and it feels like there’s no better reward than to head to your favorite Cafe. 

It’s one of the places you hunted down during your first year. As much as you liked being at home, it was lonely and too quiet for your liking. The atmosphere and the vibe of strangers doing their own business and the smell of baked goods has been something you craved. 

‘Garden of Eden’ 

As you glance up at the warmly lit sign, you feel a little giddy inside. This place has been your haven, especially after creating a nice relationship with the owners. It was incredibly rocky at the start though, you actually almost punched one of them at the airport– but that’s a story for another time.

Even just from the outside, a waft of freshly made bread hits your nostrils and you can’t help but imagine already having the precious loaf in your hands. It’s warm and fluffy, and once you bite into it–

The gentle push of the door hits the chime above, announcing your appearance. With the lack of customers present, you curiously check your phone.

7:48 am.

For this foggy city in particular, the Sun only becomes visible around 9 am. It’s so cloudy and cold in the morning that some people tend to miss getting to work on time. And since it’s a Saturday, nearly everyone’s still in their beds, catching up on that extra hour of sleep they missed during the weekdays.

You aren’t an exception to this cozy, albeit sometimes spooky morning weather. It was one of the first things that was slightly hard to adjust to in this city. You managed to miss your first Monday subject a total of 5 times. You barely passed but you couldn’t care. The professor for that subject was a bummer anyways.

“Morning, our lovely patron.” 

A familiar voice comes from behind the counter, bringing you out of your thoughts. It’s one of the Cafe owners, Shin. He’s a man around his 20s with strawberry-blond hair and a gold eye. His left eye is covered by a neatly designed eyepatch and he wears some blue studs on his right ear. 

Once he places down the crate he’s been carrying, you notice the pink sweatshirt you gifted him last year. Paired with some black joggers. Pink does suit him . You think as you eye the crate, curious about the items in it.

“I’m pretty sure I had the sign turned to ‘closed’ but you’re already here.” Looking at the main door, you realize he’s messing with you and roll your eyes. 

“What’s in the crate anyways– and where’s Carla? He’s usually the one taking care of things at this hour.” You lean forward, trying to get a glimpse of a white haired man in the kitchen but there is no shadow to be seen.

Shin looks at you as if you just shot him, finding your question offensive. “I’m literally here– first for the first time and you ask for my brother?” A hand on his chest, “What does he have that I don’t?!” 

“His pastries?” Looking at you as if you’ve claimed that aliens are real, he shakes his head in disbelief, crossing his arms. You try to stifle a laugh, which makes him give you a quick glare. It’s true though, Carla, his brother, has way more patience when it comes to baking. The two tend to bicker on whose goods people would prefer more. It isn’t a question though. Shin’s either underbaked or burnt. Carla’s not about to risk the business for his brothers’ .. well, lack of creativity.

The sound of the crate opening and plastic makes you look towards what Shin is currently doing. “If you’re really curious, he’s actually on a business trip. He’ll be back in a week or two.” 

With the mystery of ‘ where is Carla?’ solved, you start discussing how your days have been over the summer. Well, it’s not really over yet– there’s at least three or two weeks left but you have been staying at home more often. After your not so exciting summer story, Shin talks about a particular place he’s gone to.

“A Sauna by the top of a mountain sounds very rewarding.” A toothy grin forms on his face and he nods in agreement. You wouldn’t say you’re athletic, but weak wouldn’t define your status either. A hiking trip does sound fun with Shin talking about the different sceneries they saw while on their way to the top. You wonder if you could have that as your plan for the next summer–

“You should come with us next summer, I bet I’ll finally have someone to chat with while hiking.” Now finished with placing the packed goodies inside the display section, Shin holds up a coffee paper cup and a mug with child-like drawings on them. 

“I think I’ll be staying for a while.” Not giving him a proper answer for his previous statement, Shin nods and takes the mug with him into the kitchen. This allows you some time to think about what else you haven’t yapped about to the one-eyed man. Speaking of one-eye, you never really knew how or why he’s wearing an eyepatch. Was it from an accident or just a random prop he likes to wear? What if you rip it off from him and there’s a second eyepatch underneath?!

“You know, if you keep staring at me like that, you might just melt my face off.” Shin carefully places down the mug from earlier. The aroma of the drink is lovely and you hold it with both of your hands, enjoying the warmth it’s giving.

“Was I really staring too hard?” Nodding, Shin copies your movements and expressions. Propping up his elbows, he rests his chin on his hands. Furrowing his eyebrows, he stares at you with a weird intensity. You can’t help but find his exaggerated, well you hope to be exaggerated demonstration funny. Laughing a little, you take a small sip of your drink.

“It tastes better than last time.” You comment, seeing his eyes light up in response. It’s as if you just said ‘good boy’ to a dog. The more you think about it, Shin would definitely have a wagging tail right now. 

“Oh, right!” Finally remembering what happened earlier, you recount the little gossip you had with the receptionist. You forgot to ask for your name but that seems to be the least of your concern when Shin looks worried for a moment. You notice his body is tense and before you can ask him, he clears his throat.

“I don’t like em. Don’t let nobodies waste your time.”

You stare at him, raising your eyebrow.

“Just from that information, you think they suck already?” Shin scoffs and places down a small slice of cake in front of you. “Please, I’ve met a lot of useless people. You don’t wanna waste even a second for those types.” As if speaking from experience, you just nod.

“I mean, I don’t really know them. I don’t have any plans in getting involved in drama again. So fingers crossed, yeah?--” You sigh in annoyance, feeling like you’ve just jinxed yourself by saying that. To quell this, you take a big bite of your cake. Shin stares at you with an annoying grin and it feels like he’s plotting something against you.

So punchable.

“Well, you know to call me if anything wrong happens– or if you get kidnapped. I’ll see if it’s worth my time rescuing you.” You roll your eyes and lightly punch him on his arm, earning a sinister laugh from him. 

『────────────』

You should honestly get a car at this point.

.

.

.

.

.

Well, maybe if you had the money.

Walking home is something you don’t mind since you’ve done it for a year now. Everything’s pretty accessible and you really only take the bus if you go out for groceries. Other than that, there’s really no reason to get a car. As much as it was a joke earlier of being kidnapped, it now weighs heavily on your mind. You pretty much live alone, you don’t really talk to your neighbors– not that you see them most of the time, and your emergency contact lives a country away.

Perhaps it wasn’t something to worry about until now. You honestly don’t know why it’s now bothering you when you know your routes. Joggers passing by keep your mind at ease. There’s no way someone would do something that outrageous in the morning, right? Right? 

You feel your body tense up as your mind gives you one bad scenario after the other. Your hand starts to slowly reach for the keys in your pocket, holding onto them. You know you’ll be safe once you’re home but goodness is it a bitch  to be interrupting the nice Saturday you’re having.

A loud honk from your left makes you whip your head towards the arriving bus. A sigh of relief escapes you, not even realizing that you’ve been holding your breath this whole time. The grip on your keys loosen.

As you enter the bus, you notice that it's pretty crowded. Where’s everyone headed? You wonder. Maybe there’s an event or it’s people coming home from their trips. Or.. maybe last minute trips? There’s a slight pang of jealousy on your chest, realizing how mundane your own summer has been. You didn’t mind… though you could’ve used some excitement. 

Simmering in your thoughts for longer, you don’t notice the abrupt movement of the bus as it hits a road bump, making you latch onto one of the handles on reflex. Only except, this handle felt really nice? You didn’t know the handles were now decorated in some nice type of fabric– and it was quite warm actually.

You hear a chuckle. Damn, the voice of this handle is great as wel–

You pause.

This isn’t a handle.

You finally look up to see this ‘handle’ connecting to a young man who seems to be finding your whole embarrassment entertaining.

“Oh my goodness– I’m so sorry!” Finding the actual handle, you grab onto it like your life depends on it. He gives a little smile and shakes his head.

“It’s alright. If you didn’t hold onto my arm, I’m afraid that you would’ve bounced off the windshield.” Feeling blood rush to your cheeks, you try to apologize and thank him at the same time. All the while, you take notice of his appearance. He’s taller than you, with black ruffled hair and white tips. His eyes seem to be a dull blue.

“Actually, I am a bit lost. Can you tell me which stop leads to the grocery?” Tilting your head at the question, you give a quick nod before looking up at the small neon sign inside the bus.

“Seems like three more stops. Get down when it says Lily Avenue. There’s a big green sign, you shouldn’t be able to miss it.” He gives you a curt nod and types it on his phone.

“New here?”

“Yes. My brothers and I just moved in.”

“The mornings are pretty cold and foggy, it’s perfect weather for staying in.”

“I see.” 

The noise of the crowd inside the bus serves as silence to you as your mind turns blank on what else to say. Oh well, you tried–and that was… awkward. Hey, got to help this guy find the grocery store though! A pat on the back for you! Your imaginary little you pats you on the shoulder as you put your attention to your stop instead. Not even attempting to make another small talk to the stranger from earlier, you get off the bus with a few others.

The moment your shoes hit the ground, you feel something weird. Like there are eyes on you. The people that got off with you are heading their own separate ways, so it isn’t the crowd. You turn around to look at the bus. 

There’s a dark figure in the crowd of people, ominously looking back at you. 

And then it starts to move.

“Yeah, no– fuck this.” Not wanting to see whatever that figure decides to do, you grab your keys in your pocket, quickly feeling for the right key as you start to speed walk towards your home.

Grabbing your keys in your pocket, you start speed walking towards your home. There’s more tension than your earlier anxious thoughts of being abducted. It’s this uneasy feeling that’s stuck in your lungs, like a cough that won’t come out no matter how hard you try to. 

Seeing your house closer than ever, you feel a divine intervention as you pull out your hand. It’s the right key. You slam the key into the lock and twist the doorknob, almost tripping as you lunge into your home. You swear you felt something on your leg before slamming the door shut and locking it.

You finally take some deep breaths, slumping onto the floor as you check your surroundings. Safe. You’re safe.

“Jesus, what is it with this day?” You groan loudly as you carelessly toss your shoes off to the side. Jumping into the couch like it’s a big bear wanting a hug, you instantly melt. There truly is no place like home. The silence that envelopes your home is so much different than earlier. It doesn’t feel like there’s any danger lurking ahead. Maybe it’s because you kept watching horror movies last week. Yeah, that’s it. You reach out for a pillow and hold it close to you.

There’s better things to distract you.

You pull out your phone and send a message to your friends.

────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

The subject changes and you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through your social media while replying here and there. The sound of your stomach grumbling makes you sigh and put your phone on the coffee table. Things are going well, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s not like you jinxed your luck this year… right?

Chapter Text

“This is bullshit.” 

Sighing in annoyance, you stare at the broken AC. Perhaps telepathically telling it to fix itself would work so you squint, hoping that it’s the same as telling your mother about an item you couldn’t find and she’d magically grab it out of thin air.

I look stupid. 

You groan loudly as you carefully get off the chair you used to check on the now broken appliance. Another thing to add to your lists of ‘must do’s’. Calling is not your forte though– never is, never has been. Even having to mentally prepare to answer a call is not something you want for this year’s bingo card. No, thank you.

Sitting on the edge of your bed, you fold a piece of cardboard from your desk to fan yourself. Was it always this hot in the middle of the day? Surely not, the weather whenever you’re on campus has always been so damn nice. Some students even take naps there on the field.

You pull out your phone to check the weather. 

It’s 30 degrees celsius! Feels like 32 . The little sun with a drawn face in the app mocks you with its smile.

“There’s no actual way I’m going to live like this.” 

Productivity is a nonexistent word in this house at the moment. Even if you turned on the fan to its highest setting, it would practically be useless. You’re pretty sure you’d accumulate more sweat than work done within today.

Another sigh escapes your lips as you think about the nice ambiance of the Cafe.

The food’s cheap enough for you to afford, plus, there’s Shin and his wonderful employees, and they keep the Air Conditioning really–

『────────────』

“Good Morning! Boss isn’t here right now– he’s taking care of some deliveries.” An employee instead of Shin greets you as you take your seat by the counter. He sees your exhausted state and offers some tissue. You take it and wipe off the beads of sweat evident on your face.

“Oh–thanks. What’s with the weather today by the way? I’m pretty sure summers in this city shouldn’t be this–”

“Ah, Yeah. Before the summer ends, the weather here tends to have weird mood swings. Tomorrow might be just pouring rain or just sunny as if nothing bad ever happened.” The employee places down a glass full of water with ice. Trusting his words, you nod.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be back to that cozy cool weather we all love.” 

“Thank you.”

You graciously accept the drink. Taking big gulps, you feel so much relief just from having something refreshing and cold in your system. Definitely better than earlier. You take this time to look around the Cafe, more customers piling in, the same state you were 30 seconds ago. The employee excuses himself as he starts tending to the thirsty crowd, giving you the opportunity to pull out your laptop and try to get something done.

Good with your studies? Well, ish. More of, decent with what you liked. There’s a little guilt with that one subject you barely passed. And so, you want to give yourself a little head start. No need to intensely read something, just skim through. Any idea is better than none. 

Especially with that Night class

You sigh. You are excited, of course. Though there aren’t any expectations of you, you do want to try harder this time. Aside from that, you also wanted to explore more of the city. 

There’s only three locations you know by heart.

The Campus.

Your Home.

The Grocery Store.

Okay, make that four since the Cafe is included– but that’s too little. There’s so much of this place you’ve yet to discover. Maybe you can rope Shin into this when he’s free, Carla too once he’s back from his business ventures. Oh, maybe one of the employees can give you some insight on the best places to go for. Some secret shops?

There’s a stupid grin on your face as you excitingly type these into a digital notepad on your laptop. Looking up some suggestions from the internet would help too. The idea of finding some dumb stuff to buy sounds right up your alley. The house could use some more personality too for when your mother comes home from her vacation. Well, if you can call being on a business trip for months as vacation.

Gods, you miss her.

She hasn’t replied to your last message but you were left on read. No reason to panic. She’s just… super busy. There’s a little frown on your face now as you scroll up your chats with her. Most of the messages were from you. She responds, yes, but not as often as you do. The best one you could receive was a thumbs up or a heart emoji on your messages.

 You stop on a specific photo of her making an adorable peace sign while sitting down on a bench. Which country was she in again?

Mom, where did you say you w-/

Crash!

You blink twice at the screen, eyes slowly looking down on the new state of your keyboard. Your hands continue to hover over it, frozen as you notice shards of glass and some pieces of candy on it.

Your message remains incomplete and unsent. Looking to your left, you see a purple haired man, holding a teddy bear with his left while his right hand is directly on the destroyed glass bowl of candies. 

There’s gasps from the other customers as blood slowly drips down from this stranger’s hand, some shards still stuck in his fist. None of them dare to get involved. Others were too busy minding their own business, headphones stuck on.

“That’s very inconsiderate of you to tell me the cake I want is gone…” He trails off in a whisper. He sounds calm but his actions are entirely different. Slowly tilting his head to the side, he holds the teddy bear closer to his chest.

“Sorry sir, we can make one for you tomorrow.” There’s an unbothered tone as the employee gives a kind response. And because you’re the nearest, you know it isn’t out of fear. Shin’s employees don’t take kindly to this type of customer behavior, especially when said customer broke something within the Cafe. Though, today seems to be a little different. You’d expected that they would’ve escorted the customer out for acting like this.

“I want it now.” His voice is soft yet there’s clearly a threat. 

“Wasn’t there that new recipe you guys made today?” Both heads turn to you and you try your best to remain as calm as you can. Honestly, kicking out this customer is the better solution, something that you should’ve said instead.

Though with the crossfire you’re in, you’d rather not be the next thing this guy lashes out on. You focus your attention on the employee, who looks surprised with your intervention. You nod and wink at him, praying that he understands what you’re trying to pull.

“R-right! Hold on, let me get it out of the fridge.” You don’t remember what cake was even sold out at this time. You’re just hoping this guy buys your bullshit and leaves the Cafe soon enough.

“ You weren’t included in the conversation.” Internally praying for the employee to come back with whatever cake they have in the back, you look at him, trying to seem composed.

“That new recipe is really good.” He looks unimpressed so you continue.

“Would it help to say you’re getting it for free?” I’m paying for it so you can leave faster…

“...Really? Teddy, did you hear that?...”  You see for a moment that his eyes light up like a child. There’s some weird conversation happening between the man and his teddy bear and you know to yourself that your hearing isn’t that great to know what else he mumbles.

Your eyes trail to the destroyed bowl and your laptop, which you know is going to be such a pain in the ass to clean. The screen wasn’t affected, just your keyboard. That gives you some sort of consolation. You sigh in relief.

“I was just gone for a moment, and you’ve already embarrassed yourself.” The voice is coming from behind the two of you, and the purple haired man holds his teddy bear tighter, knuckles turning more white. You can see the blood from his hand staining the brown bear. Your concern lands on the plushie.

How would you clean that off? Right, I’m pretty sure I saved a reel on how to clea–

Hearing footsteps approaching, you turn your head, still mindful of the minefield around you. 

“I wanted cake, Reiji. You took too long.” There’s a scowl on his face. The man named Reiji assesses the damage, his eyes landing on you for a moment. Dark hair, combed neatly in place– deep red violet eyes that look like rubies, wearing a semi-formal attire. He looks like one of those old Victorian nobles. He adjusts his rectangular glasses and the white gloves just make the whole look more… fancier?

Not to mention how this man looks like a certain character you’ve seen in a show before…

“I apologize for the recklessness of my brother.” He speaks in a formal tone, eyes now towards the employee with the box of cake. Your brain barely registers to conversation happening between them, knowing it’s not your place to meddle. So your focus is now on your keyboard, trying to see if there’s anything in your bag to help with wiping off the little shards. You try rummaging through your bag, yet there’s nothing that can be of use.

“I hope they never come back again…” The employee grumbles and you look to your left to see that those two have already left, the chime above the door celebrating.

“New glass bowl location for the candies sounds like a good call?”  He looks at you and his eyes widen. “What? Is there something on my face?” He doesn’t answer and goes over to grab a first aid kit. You pull out your phone to see your reflection. There’s a cut on your cheek, the blood oozing from it now dry. 

How did you not notice this?

Thankfully, there’s another employee who comes by to help clean the mess on the counter and the floor. This finally gives you the chance to hop off your seat, noticing that some of the shards were on your lap, now on the ground.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t move that much. Would Have injured yourself more.” The employee sighs as she sweeps it away from you. You take this time to clean your face up with the first aid kit, applying a bandage over the small cut.

“I’ve never seen anyone that angry to just slam their fist on a glass bowl. Why didn’t you guys just kick him out though?” Finally raising the question, the two look at each other before answering. 

“That guy seemed dangerous.”

“Boss told us not to try and start fights with the dangerous ones, especially if there’s a customer nearby.”

You nod, finding their answers reasonable. Dangerous wouldn’t be the word you’d use though– maybe creepy? You’re not one to judge but the way he was talking to his teddy bear was unnerving to say the least.

With no more shards or candies on the counter, the only thing left to clean off is the large remaining piece of the bowl. The employee, now wearing some safety gloves, tug on the piece.

“Huh? Did we super glue this or something?” There’s a little ding that sets off in your head as you now start to process everything. You jokingly suggested way back then that Shin superglue the bowl to the counter after a kid almost toppled the bowl of candies over when he couldn’t reach the counter properly. 

On rare occasions, kids enter the Cafe with their parents to look over some nice looking treats. Though, the candies were honestly for your fellow College students. Everyone deserves a candy or two. 

It doesn’t take a while before he finally removes the bowl, spilling out curses as he inspects the porcelain counter. “That guy doesn’t even look strong but he almost cracked the damn counter.” He mumbles, annoyed.

If Shin saw this, he’d be–

“What the fuck happened here?” All three heads whip towards the familiar voice. You guys look like deers in headlights as his one eye scans over the shards, the counter, and then you. His pissed expression grows worse by the moment and you raise both your hands up to explain.

Shin not being here earlier was a blessing in disguise because who knows what he’d done if he witnessed what happened earlier. The two employees are now busying themselves up in the kitchen, probably preparing themselves for their boss’ future reprimands.

“Sorry..” He lets out a deep sigh and looks at you, his gaze softening. “You shouldn’t have gotten yourself involved.” There’s concern in his tone, looking at the bandaid  on your cheek. He lifts his hand to trace the bandaid. It has little strawberries on it.

“I didn’t really know what else to do there–”

“Punch him next time.” He pulls his hand away.

Huh?

Huh?!

There’s a dumb founded look on your face as he continues, “Or tase him. Catch him off guard and then my employees can take care of him.” There’s now a cocky expression on his face.

“You’re kidding me.”

“You were literally prepared to punch me at the airport.” He deadpans.

“That was because I had no sleep!” He laughs at your flustered expression. That incident was not one of your best moments. Worse that it was his first impression of you.

“And– I’m not just about to punch a customer–”

You gasp and he crosses his arms.

“Unless you’re trying to find a way to ban me from your Cafe.” You dramatically put a hand over your heart, looking away as if you got hurt. You see Shin shakes his head and you let out a laugh.

“Seems like you were trying to send a message before this all happened too.” You see him now staring at your laptop.

“Yeah– was trying to ask my mom which country she’s in now.” You quickly finish the message and press send, sighing.

“When is she coming back?” You shrug at him.

“I have no clue. But– I am hoping to get a call from her soon.” You cross your fingers and smile at him. If there’s at least one consistent thing, your mother calls you once a month. It’s one of your proofs that she’s still alive. As terrifying as that sounds, she’s never been direct with you on what her actual job is. One moment, she’s at the beach. And the next moment, she’s now somewhere cold.

It has always scared you to think that a month will pass by without a call from her, but she’s always pulled through. Despite your pleas for her to come home and just stay with you, she gently declines– promising that you’ll understand why one day.

“A grilled cheese for the frowning patron. On the house.” The delicious smell of the freshly made grilled cheese takes you out of your worried thoughts, seeing the smoke rising from it. You look at Shin, who’s now behind the counter, staring at you with a toothy grin.

“Not even a thank you? You truly wound me.” 

“I didn’t ask for one, but thank you.” Before you can bite into your meal, a loud ring startles you. You excitedly look over to see if it’s your mom, only to end up confused.

“What is it?”

“It’s an unknown number.” Still holding your sandwich, Shin slides the phone in front of you both and presses the red button. “If they call again–”

Ring Ring! 

You bite into your food and shake your head as he presses decline again. “You sure you didn’t go to any weird websites?” You choke on your food and shake your head even harder, glaring at him as his grin progressively gets wider. 

『────────────』

“I need more of you.” You grab packs of noodles and place it on your cart. You start to push the cart around, heading to the dairy aisle for milk.

The mini weird incident that happened yesterday in Shin’s Cafe lingers in your mind. After the relentless calling from the unknown number, Shin’s annoyance led him to block the number in your stead. 

Though it’s not uncommon to have these random numbers, it’s pretty odd and unnerving that it’s the same number calling. You thought of a few possible scenarios to explain it. One being that it’s just misdialed and they didn’t notice. Or someone’s had a similar number before. 

“Didn’t think we’d meet here again.” A voice catches you off guard, feeling your cart stop abruptly. The culprit’s hand on your cart belongs to no other than a tall brown haired man wearing a comfy black sweater and brown pants. From behind him, you notice the stranger from the bus days ago. 

“Oh, it’s you.” You give a small wave as you move your cart to the side, realizing that the tall figure was stopping your carts from colliding. “How’s the grocery run going?” 

“Better than I expected. This part of the city seems quite easy to navigate.” You nod and look towards his companion. “Your boyfriend?” The man in question, chokes on whatever he’s chewing and you feel nervous. Did you somehow stumble in a ‘ and they were roommates’ type of scenario? Like those types of stories you’ve read. They haven’t admitted it to each other but soon they’ll–

“He’s my adoptive brother.” 

“Oh.” You had it so fucking wrong. 

“.. AHHAHA-”

The nonchalant response from the stranger is entirely different from his— what you now know is his adoptive brother’s, hunched over as he laughs loudly.

Thank goodness he didn’t completely choke on his food but god, maybe it should’ve been you instead. There’s an awkward tension in the air, and you try to look for a way to exit this atmosphere you’ve created. Your eyes dart down to what seems to be an ungodly amount of pasta boxes and find an opening.

“You seem to really like a certain dish.” Now that you take your time to observe their cart. It looks like they’re stocking up for war with the amount of items that are piled up. You would have to fight tooth and nail with coupons if you wanted to have a cart like theirs.

The tall figure is trying to stifle his laughter, seemingly not over your wrong accusation while his brother seems unbothered.

“It’s for our brother. He’s been pestering me to make him his favorite dish.”

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Before you knew it, you’ve now joined the party of two, navigating the entire grocery in search for some items they’ve been looking for. Your cart came in extra handy as theirs was almost full, offering the space you had (You barely made a dent of items) for everything else they needed.

As much as being uncomfortable, you felt none of it, especially when Yuma, the tall one, was doing most of the talk in the conversation. Both him and his brother, who you’ve come to now know as Ruki seem to be interesting folks. And they’re actually around your age.

“Oh! I’ve been looking for these!” You quickly stop your cart and squat down towards a shelf full of sweets, specifically those stretchy gummy worms.

“Those look yummy– worms?” Yuma squats down beside you and you can see the difference in height. He’s still taller than you and you take a moment to stare at him. It doesn’t last long as you quickly avert your gaze when he stares at you for an answer.

“They’ve been my favorite as a kid. A must-get whenever me and my mom went grocery shopping.” You grab three packs of it and place it on your cart—well the part in your cart that’s yours.

“We can’t go over the limit, Yuma.” Ruki calmly states, not looking up from his book. 

“Tch. I’m still getting them.” He stands up and you realize that he’s just dumped twice the packs in your cart. There’s a surprised look on your face but nevertheless excited for him, raising two thumbs up while Ruki just sighs.

“I’m sure the campus will have plenty of snacks. You don’t need this much.” Yuma grumbles something under his breath before taking out half of his new found sweets.

“Happy?”

“Not quite. But that’ll do.” 

“... You and your tight ass budget.” 

“...Huh.” Both heads turn to look at you and you smile a little. “Oh, I just didn’t think I’d meet some fellow college students.” You explain before you start pushing your cart, Ruki following suit after. 

“Oi! Ruki, we can definitely ask her for directions!” As much as Yuma attempts to whisper, you can still hear him–which you find a little funny. 

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As you get your items checked out first, you discover a few things about your new possible college friends. One, they’re transfer students. They mentioned something about the school they were in having some sort of incident that had them changing schools for safety. Two, there’s four of them. The missing two had volunteered to stay back, apparently the most tired from moving and all. 

And three, they’re filthy rich. A three digit payment for those groceries was something you were trying to predict—but holy shit, they went into four digits. FOUR? What else did they get?! Is there gold in the items they bought?! 

Sure, you were present when their cart was nearly full, but you didn’t expect this— Compared to your tiny box of items, they at least had what– six large boxes? 

“Is this normal?” You could not hide the shock on your face as you realize that the cashier isn’t done with scanning items.

“We like having enough stock so we don’t keep coming back.” Ruki faces you.

“A fly will get into your mouth soon.” You close your mouth immediately and you can see a hint of amusement in his eyes. Ass.

You try to gently push one of the stacked boxes, and it barely budges. “How will you get these boxes home with just the two of you?” Yuma just grins at you when he lifts the stacked boxes with ease.

“You lift?! Damn…” You’re quite impressed with this flex from Yuma. His muscles are a bit more noticeable and you nod with this internal realization. The tall brother seems to relish in your reaction and he grabs another box, not having any sort of problem in the new weight.

“Let’s go.” Ruki tucks the book he was reading god knows where and picks up the remaining boxes with ease. Damn! You remain impressed as you follow behind the two, gawking at the view like a kid who went to the zoo for the first time in her life.

『────────────』

“So yeah, I think I’ll be offering them a tour around the Campus.” You end your weird adventure of the day on a video call with some of your friends. You had your camera on since you were trying to replicate Yuma’s strength and your friends laughed at the demonstration.

“By the amount of stories you tell that’s this recent, I’m surprised you’re alive. I love you though.” Gia says and you laugh, agreeing with her. The group is deciding on whose turn it is to spill some updates on their life when your phone loudly rings, the happy tune playing as you quickly apologize and hit the mute button, grabbing your phone to chat with your mom.

Your face falls. Unmute.

“It’s another unknown number.” 

Chapter Text

It gets lonely at home.

The first floor consists of the living room. There’s no big partitions so you have easy access to the kitchen and dining area. There’s two small rooms off to the left side for the laundry area and a bathroom. It’s easy to watch small you do whatever while your mother remains in the kitchen, on a phone call with someone from work as she chops some meat for dinner.

On the second floor, there’s three rooms: the master bedroom, the guest bedroom, and your mother’s art room. 

There wasn’t a point to have your own room separated from hers when she always went away for work. So you always slept in the master bedroom alone. But when she was here, you two would stay in the art room. Little you with wide eyes listening to her rambles about work while the two of you were on the floor. You were busy slamming your hands full of paint on your mini canvas and she was busy sketching landscapes. Just you and her.

When she would go away for work, much to your dismay, she’d remind you of all that she’s taught you. 

“You lock the windows and doors, everytime you leave. Always check the front camera. Leave no corner unchecked.”

At that point, your body’s been on autopilot. That should’ve made your home safe— you safe. Safe enough to sleep in your bed, to eat without thinking something’s been messed with. 

Nightmares aren’t uncommon, you’ve come to live with that fact. Perhaps it’s the countless worried unsent messages to your mother or the weird silence that occupies the house when you just got home. The unnerving stillness of you being the only living being aside from the plants outside your house. And Nightmares happen only when you sleep.

So why was there a shadow looming over your open window?

“I think you should get a new phone.” Carla’s voice brings you out of your little flashback. You stare at the white haired man looking at you with concern from the other side of the screen before sighing. 

“As much as I’d like to, Carla, I’m on a budget. Plus, my phone’s still working aside from minor scratches.” Tucking your knees to your chest, you hug yourself. You can see the little reflection of you on the phone. Hair slightly disheveled and still in your pajamas. You had no choice. The only thing you remember grabbing was your phone and wearing your slippers before running, nearly slipping on your way down the stairs.

Shin was barely awake when you called him. It took three tries before he answered, sounding annoyed at first before realizing it was you. He was trying to avoid answering Carla since he still wanted to get some nap, not that you’d know. So imagine his surprise when it was you calling. 

He’s never heard you that terrified. Labored breaths on the other side as you begged him to let you stay over at his place. And you’ve never pleaded with him– never asked for a favor. Not until now. You sounded like you were being chased. He instantly left his bed, telling you he’d be waiting by the cafe. With just a look, he summons one of his familiars, telling them to locate you and make sure you’re safe.

Who knew 15 minutes would take this long. And who knew you could run that fast? Perhaps it’s the adrenaline because once you saw him, you nearly tripped in relief. You tried explaining what you saw, tears threatening to fall but he only shushed you as he gently led you into the cafe and up the stairs, further into their own home. 

And that’s what brings you back to the present. After passing out on his couch for almost three hours, you wake up to Shin talking to Carla on the phone. Seeing you come to life, Shin drops his phone in your hands and sneakily heads back to the kitchen. Now you’re on Carla duty. 

“A new sim card would help at the very least.” Now that you’re more awake, you finally notice what Carla’s been doing on his end. You can see the elder brother holding a fountain pen and there’s a few scribbles on the paper.

“Who are you writing a letter to Carla?”

“A former friend. They prefer being more discreet so I’m sending them a letter to catch up.” 

“Oh, a pen pal?”

“I’m afraid not. They’re just not well versed with the new technology these days.”

“Dang, they’re older than you Carla? Must be ancient.” There’s a slight irk on his face and you laugh. You’re quite thankful for the distance via wherever Carla is in right now because if he were here, you’d be in trouble. He sighs and clears his throat, focusing back on writing.

“No random calls at the moment right?” You look up to see Shin, holding a plate full of something still hot and you nod. “What did you make? Smells yummy.” There’s a little smirk on his face as he places down the plate. Now, you can see slices of bacon, eggs, and a stacked pancake with a  poorly drawn smiley face. You take the fork he hands you and take a small bite, the happy noise you’re making gives Shin a sigh of relief.

“I never expected you guys to have breakfast menus like this.” You joke and start taking more bites.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be here at,” he looks at his watch, “five thirty-two in the morning either but here we are.” By the time he looks back at you, you have both hands covering your mouth as you chew your food.

“Shorry.” He shakes his head. You kind of look like a squirrel. “That’s out of my own fridge too.” He walks back into the kitchen to wash the dishes, unable to see your failed attempts for a finger heart as a thank you, your shoulders slumping as you put the plate on your lap, enjoying the warmth of the food.

“For your safety, you should tell your mother. She might send more money this time so you can get more security installed.” You shake your head.

“She doesn’t know?”

“I haven’t told her yet. Plus, she hasn’t answered my message yet on where she is. And..” You sigh. You don’t want to worry her. Part of you would feel glad if with one message, she’d be on her way home to stay with you, to make you feel safe again. The other part tells you that you shouldn’t be bothering her with something as trivial as this. She’s that busy that she can’t even answer you most of the time. And worrying her to death is not on your bingo card for this year– or any year at all.

“I think I’ll consider getting a new sim card if this weird ass caller persists. Thanks, Carla.” You don’t see the frown on his face as you put your focus on the breakfast Shin made to feel better.

“Anytime.” As if on cue, Shin comes back, wiping his hands off his apron. “Thanks for keeping the grump entertained, I’ll take it from here, birdhead.” You send a glare to him while patting down your hair and brushing it with your fingers. He laughs at you and grabs the phone, heading back to the kitchen. You can still see him but his back is facing you. You can’t really hear what they’re talking about so you take this time to properly look around their home.

From the outside, the building looks quite cozy. Inside, at least with the third floor, it feels more fancy. There are red draped curtains, the furniture made out of wood has some neat details carved into them, and the very one you’re sitting down on is some type of material at the tip of your tongue. All you do know is that it feels custom. It’s like those hotel lobby seats that are comfortable enough to take a nap on. And how can you forget the large chandelier hanging above you?

  Just how rich are these two?

You huff and take a significant bite out of your pancake. 

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“So have you found them yet?" Shin asks, pulling out a cup and filling it with some dark substance before taking a sip. 

"Not yet. But their scents are all over the place. I'm sure they're here." Carla responds, his eyes trying to look past Shin and his brother chuckles at this.

"I think we have some pests arriving soon. I don't think we can stop her from meeting them . One of them was in my Cafe yesterday. " He sneered, the grip on his cup tightening. The stench of those vampires being near his territory was pissing him off. If people weren’t there, he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill that boy off. But they have to lay low. Blend with others.

"It's not a coincidence he's doing the same thing. But we're far ahead of him ." 

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From the comfort of the couch that you’ve returned to lay back on after finishing your breakfast, you took this opportunity to doom scroll on your phone. 

ding!

  ────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

␥Ruki: (Name)? I’m hoping I got this number right.

────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

You quickly tap the message that pops up, a welcomed surprise. Before you went your separate ways, Ruki asked if you could tour them around and you agreed, exchanging numbers. Messaging back a small ‘hello’, Ruki then proceeded to send a picture of his schedule. You snort. It was blurry; you could barely read the words.

  ────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

␥Ruki: Sorry, Yuma tried grabbing my phone.

────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

He sends another photo, and this time, it’s clearer. You start explaining to him the ins and outs of the campus. Before you can type further about where his classes are located and other information, you see him typing. You pause for a moment, feeling bad that you might’ve just overloaded the poor guy with information. The chat bubble disappears for a while and you feel a bit confused. Maybe you should pull out your notes and type there first. 

You wait and wonder what the question could be, glancing at the clock. It’s almost seven in the morning and the sunlight’s slowly peeking through the blackout curtains, almost blinding you for a moment when you tilt your head. 

Right, the weather’s weird again.

Minutes pass and you're now back onto doom scrolling, checking the chat here and there for any messages you might have missed.

Did I fuck up or something? Or maybe I should’ve let him respond before dumping all that info… 

Finally hearing the little ding, you look at your phone, holding your breath.

  ────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

␥Ruki: My brothers keep bothering me with questions about the schedule. If it’s all right, I’ll add you to a group chat with them.

  ────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

Oh! Well, that makes more sense. Before you can type out a response, there’s another notification and you press it. There are now five people in the group chat, you being the last one to join.

  ────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

␥Ruki: She’s here. Now stop bothering me.

␥Kou: Don’t need to be so harsh! ≽^- ˕ -^≼

␥Yuma: Yo, (Name).

␥Azusa: Hello…

␥You: Yo!

  ────୨ৎ──────── ୨୧ ────

Kou was the first one to ask questions, but he didn’t have his schedule yet, which left him in the dust real quick since his brothers had theirs. Yuma’s next, curious about a mentioned greenhouse. Azusa was last to ask since Kou kept spamming memes that you’d respond to, only amplifying the brother to send more in return. The questions that Azusa asked were… a tad bit weird. They were about bruises and scars but quickly changed when Yuma scolded him. 

Seeing as neither of you can stay properly on topic, Ruki requests for a meetup three days from now. You agree and schedule a time, pinning the final date so you won’t forget. The moment it’s settled, Kou banters with Yuma. Something about stealing food. With Ruki’s occasional messages and Azusa responding with tiny little emojis, you feel a bit entertained with this new group of people.

Having no siblings of your own, it wasn’t uncommon for you to feel a tad bit jealous when some of your friends’ siblings came over to hang out with them. Your mother has mentioned before that you did have a  brother but nothing else came out of her mouth when you tried probing her further. Something you understand as a little joke.

The chat quiets down and your eyes trail back to the pinned message. Right, you should put that on your calendar too. A little hum leaves your lips and you do a few taps on your phone. Man, you wish you  brought your earphones on the way too. It was tangled on the floor and you couldn’t be bothered to pick it up before whatever was there got to you.

“You got a date?” 

A low voice by your ear startles you and you drop your phone, jolting up from your position on the couch. The culprit is no other than Shin, who wore this sadistic look on his face. Currently propped up behind the couch with his elbow resting on the top, cheek resting against his hand, his one eye just staring at you with such— This smug little… You raise your hand to quickly cover your ear that’s red by now.

How long has he been there?!

“Holy fuck— Shin, don’t scare me like that! And no, it’s not a date!” You scream at him, hitting his arm with your other hand. The smirk doesn’t fade but grows wider.

“Hey–wait, stop! Ow!” He tries to shield himself but you keep on playfully hitting him.

“Serves you right for scaring the hell out of me!” 

“Not my fault you’re too focused on your phone to hear me! I was trying to get your attention.” He huffs and crosses his arms at you and you roll your eyes at him, grabbing your phone and standing up.

“Woah woah wait— where are you going? I didn’t scare you that hard, did I?” The prideful demeanor melts quickly into worry, the softness in his voice surprising you. He looks at you like a sad puppy being left by his owner for work. It’s honestly cute, you’ve never seen him like this.

“I need to go home and take a shower and all. Besides, I’ve already bothered you enough. You have to open the Cafe too.” Shin stands up and clears his throat. 

“I’ll accompany you back to your place.”

“No need Shin–”

“You literally ran out from your house in just your pajamas at an ungodly hour from a possible stalker. If your window is left open, I don’t think it’s safe for you to head home all by yourself. Plus,” He places his hands on his waist. “Think of this as payment for making me serve you breakfast.” You raise your hands in defeat. As much as you never forced him to make you food, you’d be lying if you said that you weren’t thankful that he was awake to let you in his home. And, the food was delicious too. 

“You’re right, you’re right. You're the best Shin.” The smirk returns to his face and he hums in victory, grabbing his keys off the counter.

“How are your legs by the way, all that running must’ve gotten them jelly.” You raise two thumbs up. “I’m alright. Thanks for letting me rest on your couch too, I think that helped a lot.”

“Do you know you drool in your sl– Ow!”

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The bus ride home is less lonely, to say the least. Shin recounts some of his Karen customer encounters as a way to keep you both entertained and you listen, laughing at the bizarreness of some. You can’t help but glance out of the window while he talks, seeing the trees sway. Shin notices this and shifts the topic on how the weather’s been for the past few days. Shin blames the recent eclipse while you roll your eyes at his obsession with superstitions.

“I’d honestly love to see some rain for tomorrow.” You tell him as you two exit the bus, feeling giddy that there’s wind hitting your face. The normal fog that would happen around this time is gone, replaced by the harsh sun. The employee was right, the weather has mood swings.

You just hope they go back to normal faster.

“I’d rather have the moon 24/7 than this. It’s still so hot.” Shin says and you agree. 

“Ooh! Moon rating, which phase would you want if the moon were to be 24/7?”

“Full moon.” Shin answers with no hesitation and you nod. “It’s the prettiest too, agreed, agreed.” He looks a little surprised.

“You’d want it to be a Full moon too?” 

“Well, It’s the prettiest.” You repeat your answer and shrug. “Ooh! I know what type of moon I want to see one day.” Shin stares at you while the two of you continue walking. You see your home in the distance.

“A red full moon,” His jaw drops a little bit. Do you not really understand what you’re implying? “Oh, really?” His eyes darken for a moment, not that you’re paying attention at all. 

“Mhm! Always seen them in movies, would love to see one in real life one day. I bet it would be sick!” He internally sighs. You really have no clue. It shouldn’t be hard to make that come true once they take over. That’d be first on his list.

The smile on your face falters as you two now stand in front of your home. Shin gazes up. The window’s closed. There’s a relieved look on your face while he looks more worried.

“I’ll help you check, c’mon.” You nod and take the lead, twisting the doorknob open. “I just realized, I never got to invite you and Carla over to my house. You guys can hang out here some time. Well, as long as there isn’t any weird stuff happening.” You try to make light of the situation as you start looking around. 

“We can definitely arrange something like that.” Shin agrees behind you as he helps check the place. The Living room remains the same. No food stolen from the fridge, no thrashed belongings on the floor. No broken frames or shattered glass. You make sure to check every corner. Nothing. Everything remained the same as –no.

This isn’t how you remember things to be earlier. You’re sure of it.

“I heard glass breaking, I swear I did…” You march up the stairs in a hurry, Shin following suit. He knows you’re not one to lie. After a whole year of knowing you, you wouldn’t be joking about this. And he can sense it. Something was here. 

It’s locked. The window by your bed.

“Must’ve been a really bad nightmare.” Shin gently leads you to sit down with you on your bed and you sigh. He’s right. It must’ve gotten worse. You groan at this realization and frown.

“Well, at least it was just a nightmare. I’m so sorry for bothering you Shin. You’re a life-saver.” Before he can respond, you wrap your arms around him, catching him by surprise. His body is stiff for a moment before relaxing in your embrace. You’re warm . He likes that.

“Just a call away.” 

『────────────』

Shin doesn’t immediately leave as you thought he would. After locking your door, you happily made your way to your long awaited shower, music blasting. He can still hear the music while he’s outside your house, humming to your choice of music. One of the perks to having a really good sense of hearing. 

Whoever was chasing you is still lingering around. He finds this annoying but it shouldn’t be something to worry about. He raises his hand and one of his familiars comes forward.

“Stay and guard this place.” He doesn’t need to say more as the wolf merely bows, slowly backing up as it disappears into the shade of the nearby tree. A weakling dared to follow you. What’s more is that it was bold enough to follow you in daylight. He clicks his tongue in annoyance.

Big brother’s not going to like this.