Minah, Jaeyun, Subin, and Harin headed out of the school building together. Minah said, “I completely forgot about the culture fair! I could cook something to sell.”
“I don’t feel like doing anything,” Subin said. “I’m already stressed enough about applying for an internship this summer.”
Jaeyun said, “The culture fair isn’t supposed to be stressful. It’s supposed to be fun. Besides, aren’t you excited for the beach?”
“I’d like to go,” Harin said. “It’ll be my first time seeing the sea.”
Subin sighed. “Fine. I’ll participate for Harin. In this case our booth must be the best of them all. My parents will be there if I am.”
“Your parents like my cooking,” Minah said.
“But food isn’t unique,” Subin argued. “A lot of people are doing food. We need to do something that people will talk about until finals.”
“I could sell clippings from my plants,” Harin said. “My roses are doing really well.”
“Hmm.”
Minah could tell Subin didn’t exactly like the idea, but she could never tell no to Harin’s face. Something unique, huh? Or at least, something Subin’s parents would be impressed by…
Walking along the main street, the four pass by the city square. “I’m thirsty,” Subin said. She pointed to a café. “Isn’t that the café you do part-time at?” she asked Minah. “We should stop by.”
“Sure. I can get you a discount,” Minah said and led them in. She seated her friends and even took their orders.
“I’ll get a latte,” Subin said.
“Chocolate milk for me please,” Harin said.
“And I’ll get a cheesecake,” Minah said.
Subin looked at Jaeyun. “Aren’t you going to get anything? It’s important to eat and replenish your stamina after casting magic.”
“Not today.”
As Minah left for the kitchen, Subin teased, “Are you acting tough? We all know your magic is the best in the school, even compared to the upperclassmen, but seriously? You aren’t tired at all?”
“I’m tired, but I’ll get something at home.”
Minah returned with their snacks, and they ate. “Are you sure we can’t do somethingfood-related?” she asked Subin.
Subin said, “If it’ll be unique enough… Maybe if you can cook some fancy foreign desserts, like this cheesecake.
Minah thought about it, but she had more skills in cooking staples like noodles and stir-fry. Unless hanging out with her friends, she didn’t eat a lot of sweets. But still, she really liked having an excuse to eat. “I could ask the chef here if she’ll teach me something.”
“Excuse me, you’re Tang Jaeyun, right?” a girl from the next book asked. She sat on her knees, peering at them from her seat. She had on their uniform, though she seemed to be a first-year. Minah and the others had already graduated onto their second year.
“That’s me,” Jaeyun said.
“I heard you’re good at art. I’m interested in selling some paintings at the culture fair, and I’m looking for people to join me since one person manning a booth is kind of boring. Would you—would you like to join me?”
The girl’s face suddenly turned pink, and Minah tried to not laugh out loud.
“I’m already a part of a group for the culture fair,” Jaeyun said.
The girl replied, “But they’re doing cheesecake… I think. And those girls are already three people. You could pursue something you’re interested in. Though it’s mainly just a fair for us students, there’ll be outside people too, including—including adults looking for talent and such…”
“I like art,” Jaeyun said. “But I don’t really care what I’m doing at the culture fair as much as the people I’ll be spending the day with.”
“Oh.” The girl seemed to be sitting back in her booth, but then she said, “I could join you guys—”
Subin cut her off. “We’re full.”
Once the girl ducked her head behind the booth, Subin muttered, “That girl’s got a crush on you.”
“She just thought I could help get her booth noticed. A lot of students are like that. They think because I’m the top student in magic I’m just talented in general but in reality my art isn’t that good.” Still, Minah could see Jaeyun hiding his smile.
Once the girls had devoured their treats, the four friends left the store. “There’s still a couple hours left of daylight,” Minah said.
“My parents gave me tickets for a film screening at the theater near my house,” Subin said.
“Ooh, let’s go,” Minah said, heading to the street to flag a carriage.
Jaeyun stuck his hands in his pockets. “I should head home.”
Minah, Subin, and Harin all stopped to look at him. “It’s only 4pm on the last school day of the week,” Minah said. “I’ll be working the entire weekend as usual, and Subin and Harin have tutoring. Today is our only day to hang out.”
Jaeyun apologized. “I’m tired. I need to go and rest.”
“Rest later,” Subin said.
The carriage that Minah called arrived. “Come on, you’re coming with us.” Minah grabbed Jaeyun’s arm and hauled him into the carriage. Subin and Harin stepped in after them and shut the door.
#
Compared to girls living in the capital, Subin couldn’t be called rich, but among her friends Subin had the largest house in the nicest most affluent part of the city. The carriage rode past her house and dropped the four off at a theater that just opened a couple months ago.
The theater sat tall, its steel architecture starkly different from the mainly wooden buildings that surrounded it. Proceeding inside, Subin gave the tickets to an attendee. “Which film will you be seeing?” he asked.
Harin piped up. “A romance?”
“No, romances are cheesy,” Minah said.
“A mystery?” Subin suggested.
“Being forced to guess what’s happening makes me feel like I’m in class,” Minah complained.
The attendee said, “Might I suggest this movie?” He pointed to one on the screen. It looked like a kind of action flick.
Jaeyun’s eyes lit up. “Sounds good.
“It looks too violent,” Harin whined.
“Come on, you girls are the ones who dragged me here,” Jaeyun said. “Plus, it’s my first time at a theater.”
“Really?” Minah said. She had seen a couple movies in her lifetime, but only because Subin got her the tickets. Girls Minah’s class couldn’t afford them, but having a better-off friend sometimes came in handy.
Harin continued pouting, but Subin patted her on her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
They exchanged their tickets and found their theater. Soon after the lamps extinguished and the only light that could be seen emanated from the projector as it casted an image on the screen.
The title flashed on the screen, then a view of a large city appeared. Immediately the opening scene had a vampire attacking a girl at a mall then having its head chopped off by a paladin, and Harin screamed and buried her face in Subin’s shoulder.
#
When the projector shut off and the lamps turned back on, Minah wondered aloud, “What percentage of the movie did you actually see, Harin? You hid behind Subin for all of it, didn’t you?”
“Why did I let you three convince me to sit through this?” Harin seemed practically on the verge of tears.
“Come on, Harin,” Minah laughed. “You’re almost an adult. You shouldn’t be such a scaredy-cat. It’s not like there are vampires just walking around the neighborhood.”
By the time they left the theater, the sky had gotten dark. Irritatingly, it had also started raining. A long line of people stood under the carriage stop. The friends joined the line. Minah noticed the adults in front of them fidgeted uneasily as they huddled as close to each other as possible to stay inside the spotlight lit by the street lamps.
“The city should get more street lamps,” Harin said, beginning to get antsy too. “Those things, like the vampires in the movie, come out in the dark.”
“Things like projectors like in the movie theater and street lamps all operated on light magic,” Subin said. “It’s really rare these days.”
“It didn’t used to be like that?” Jaeyun asked.
Subin said, “No. Light used to be one of the more populous lineages, but after all the corrupted monsters like the ghouls popped up and the king sent the light mages to the front lines, the population has really dwindled. It doesn’t help that it seems both parents need to be light mages to produce a baby with light magic.”
“Hmm, strange,” Jaeyun remarked. “My mother is magicless like Minah, but my father is a fire mages. My brother and I practically came out spitting fire.”
Subin said, “I guess fire magic just likes being present. In any case, these days light mages are obliged to become paladins under the king. It’s because of this reason that ‘nonessential’ light magic-fueled objects like projectors and lamps are old. No one’s around to continue building or even maintaining them.”
“Don’t talk about no one maintaining these lamps,” Harin said. “You’ll curse us.”
“Harin, there’s no such thing as—” Just as Minah opened her mouth, the street lamps shut off.
People screamed.
Somebody bumped into Minah as they hurried off, yelling, “Help! Help!”
Harin pressed close against Subin and grabbed her hand. “You cursed us!” she cried. “The vampire will get us.”
“There aren’t vampires here,” Minah said. Though she had to admit to herself being in darkness unnerved her just as much as anyone else.
“Order!” a voice howled. Minah stretched to see a paladin riding a horse trotting through the street. “It’s just a simple technical error that’s affecting the street lights across the neighborhood. I’ll be fixed soon.”
A father said to his son, “We should just wait until a carriage can come to pick us up. With the paladin here, we’ll be safe.”
Minah could see the people around her sag their shoulders in relief, but she didn’t share the sentiment. “The whole neighborhood is affected? At this rate, no carriages are coming. They’ll avoid this area if they think it’s dangerous.”
Subin gazed up at the black sky. “We’ll walk home,” she said to Harin. “We live not too far from here, and remaining out late isn’t good, even if a paladin is here.”
“I’m alright walking home too,” Jaeyun said.
Subin told him, “You should drop Minah off at her house first. She doesn’t have magic. You do. It’s your responsibility to keep her safe in times like this.”
Jaeyun inhaled sharply. “I really need to get home though. I already stayed out later than I planned.”
“Do it, Jaeyun, or I’ll tell everyone at school you let Minah walk back by herself,” Subin said.
“Fine.” Only once Jaeyun accepted his duty did Subin and Harin depart. They headed farther north while Jaeyun and Minah headed in the opposite direction.
“You’re not usually in such a rush,” Minah commented. It’s strange. Jaeyun is usually the most easy-going of the group.
“I’m just tired,” Jaeyun excused.
“You did cast a bit of magic during training,” Minah said. Then she suddenly felt bad for making Jaeyun hang out with them all afternoon. To make up for it, she offered, “If you’re too tired to walk home after dropping me off, you can just sleep at my house.”
Jaeyun shook his head. “Your mother will be furious if you bring a boy home.”
Minah made a strange face. “She’s not going to know. Even if I told her… She’s traveling in the east again, writing articles. She’s too busy with her journalism career to read the letters I send her. Come on, it’ll be fun sleeping over. I’ll cook you dinner too.”
#
It should’ve taken only thirty minutes for Minah and Jaeyun to cross out of Subin’s neighborhood, but instead they still found themselves enveloped by darkness. Not a single street lamp functioned.
Minah squinted at the street signs, but none of them sounded familiar. The buildings loomed like fingers erupting from the ground to close in on them, and no other people could be seen. They had all gone home and locked their doors. Minah rubbed her eyes, though she didn’t exactly feel cold. She felt just creeped out.
Minah admitted, “I think I got us lost… Things look to different in the dark.” She almost asked Jaeyun to spell up a ball of fire to light things up, but she remembered how exhausted he seemed. “I don’t get it. We’ve been walking in the same direction for like an hour. Why aren’t the street lamps here illuminating either?”
“Could it be the blackout has spread?” Jaeyun said.
“I’ll try knocking on someone’s door. Perhaps they could give us directions, or even shelter for the night if they’re feeling generous,” Minah said and bounded up to a house. She knocked on the door five times. She could see light escaping one of the upstairs windows through the shutter, but nobody came to the door. Either they already fell asleep and had left their light on, or they just couldn’t be bothered.
Minah turned around and headed back to Jaeyun. “Shall we keep moving, or might it be better to turn back? Jaeyun, are you alright?”
Her friend reclined against the dead street lamp and almost tripped over his feet standing up again. “I’m fine. Let’s keep moving. We’ll find a building we recognize eventually.”
“Do you feel ill?” Minah asked.
Jaeyun shook his head and began walking again. “No, I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine. Do you need to sit?” Minah pointed at a bench.
“No. I just need to get home, alright?” His voice came out breathy and strange compared to the friendly, upbeat voice that Minah got used to.
Minah glanced around for anything that could help them—a paladin headquarters, a map that might tell them their location—then she thought she spied shapes moving in an alley. “Hello?” she called out.
The silence lingered. Then she ran to catch up with Jaeyun, who kept a brisk pace and didn’t look back. Minah really wished he’d pause for a little if he felt so unwell, but something seemed off about him today. She didn’t dare suggest resting again to him.
Minah thought she heard something behind her and whirled around. She studied the emptiness for a moment as if something might jump out.
Then suddenly a man grabbed her from behind.
He held a knife to her throat. “Hand me your bag.”
Minah’s heart raced. The blade felt cold against her skin.
Minah burst out laughing. “Is this—is this a mugging? Look man, I’m just as poor as you!” The street lamps all shutting off, the eerie quiet… It all felt too much just like the movie, and it freaked her out even though she didn’t think vampires or other abominations could be found this far north. But this is totally mundane.
The man’s grip became uncertain, and Minah could practically hear him thinking, This girl is psychotic. “Don’t lie,” the man said. “Look at your uniform. You belong to the best school in the city.”
“I’m on a scholarship,” Minah hollered. “And I’m surprised you recognize my uniform, yet you still thought you should rob me.”
Stomping on the man’s foot, Minah forced him to release his grip. The spun and punched him in the side of the head. He staggered, but to his credit he remained conscious.
He stabbed with his knife, but Minah dodged it. She brought her hand back and extended her second and third fingers and jabbed the man’s eyes out. He dropped his knife and touched his face. “Argh!” he groaned.
Minah snickered. She might not have been one of the gifted students, but Minah’s teachers still taught her to fight just in case. “Go home,” she said.
Rather than taking her advice, the mugger swing wildly. Minah didn’t have to try for him to miss—he couldn’t see.
Minah punched again. The man fell and struggled to get to his feet again. “Dude, just give up.” Minah told him.
Something slashed into Minah’s shoulder. “Huh?” She felt blood seeping into her jacket. The man’s knife still laid on the ground at his feet.
Minah turned around and just in time ducked a second man slicing his knife through the air. She lost her balance and fell. “Jaeyun, don’t just stand there! Do something!”
Her friend seemed to snap out of his stupor and flames danced to life in his hands. It burned bright enough to light up their section of the street as if day has come.
The second man immediately set his sights on Jaeyun and dashed at him, knife outstretched. The flames leapt form Jaeyun’s hands, and the man exploded in flames then fell lifeless.
Heat licked at Minah’s face. “Ah!” she cried and scampered back from the corpse on fire.
She’d never seen a man die so quickly, or at all really outside of a hospital. Of course accidents happened during magic training all the time, but Jaeyun had never casted magic to kill, and their athletic uniforms are all enchanted to prevent injuries as much as possible.
Minah stood up and grabbed Jaeyun’s arm. “W-we should go.”
Jaeyun didn’t budge. Minah shook him. “Jaeyun, please. Let’s go.”
The boy tore his attention from the burning man and stared at her. “Jaeyun?” Minah called again. “Jaeyun?”
Jaeyun stood perfectly still. He lips his lips. Then his eyes turned crimson. Just like the vampire in the movie.
#