Archive of Our Own

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. 

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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.

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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?