Fallen Lightbringers' Return

Lee Dojin walked home, his hair dripping due to the rain. The storm had diminished by now, but so had the day, and it had turned even chillier as he returned to his house. His mother, who had had just arrived from her job, saw her son sneezing while wiping away the water.

"Oh my, where did you go?" She held her mouth and approached him. Her eyes were filled with worries (if he caught a cold), but curiosity was even stronger.

He didn't answer. Instead, he smiled wryly and replied, "I'll tell you when I don't feel like a popsicle." He took off his wet shirt and quickly jumped into the shower.

His mother looked at the bathroom. "Kids these days are really mysterious," she said to herself. Lee Dojin had left his stuff outside, and when she took a glance inside his wet bag—instead of the typical books—she only found moist sand. She tilted her head. "Yep, really mysterious."

Meanwhile, Lee Dojin let the warm water wash over him. He never felt this comfortable before. There wasn't anything better than taking a long, steaming shower, while in the safety of windproof walls and a hard ceiling. When he thought back about how he lived in a cave by the time he died, this situation was akin to heaven.

He slid his hair back. It was growing fast, and if he wished to, he could turn it into a small ponytail already. What he wanted though was hair long enough to cover his back, which would take a long time. His body, through the intense workout every day, developed rapidly. What used to be skin and bones, had turned into toned muscles, though as of yet, they were only faint, barely visible underneath a thin shirt. Still, it showed progress.

Lee Dojin washed rinsed off the shampoo, then dried himself with a towel, while another one he loosely wrapped around his waist. His hair was still dripping, but this time, it had a pleasant smell to it.

As he walked out, he saw his mother throw his shirt in the washing machine. The bag, she put in the hallway, letting it drip dry. She didn't quiz him about school. One of her mottos in life was that a person was responsible for their own actions, after all. Whatever he did, she only hoped he wasn't getting hurt. "Did you have anything to eat?"

Lee Dojin shook his head. Well, in reality, he had eaten three times, snacks not included, but that didn't mean he was full. "Not yet."

His mother proudly puffed her chest out. "I see, let me make you some then," she said with a beaming smile and put on an apron. It was pink, with a heart in the middle. A design that felt out of place with her cold facade. "It's been a while since we've had homemade dinner after all."

Lee Dojin's eyebrows raised upward. "Are you sure?" A hint of worry appeared on his face.

"What's with your expression?" Lee Seunhee reciprocated the look. "Wait, you aren't suspicious of my cooking skills, right?"

He was unsure of how to answer. In fact, she had guessed right on the mark. It may have come as a surprise, but Xh'Endrada, the Concubine of All Things Parallel, was not known for her talents in cuisine. "Rather, do you know what a stove is?" He asked with genuine surprise.

"Wow, now you are really making me mad," she pouted. "Fine then, if you don't want to eat, I won't force you, but don't come back crying when you are hungry." She cocked her head back, her hair flung with it.

"I was only joking. It's quite the contrary, I cannot wait to try." He waved his hands in a jesting manner.

His mother smiled, satisfied by the answer. "Take a seat then, it won't take long."

"No, rather, the longer you take the better."

...

It was an hour before nightfall, the sun had just started to recede. Ji-ah stared out her window in a daze. On her cheeks, there were faint red lines—proof of her tears. Though now she didn't feel sad anymore. No, it was more a feeling of relief that was quickly drowned in great embarrassment. She tucked her head into her lap and screamed into it.

"Damn it, I can't believe I said all that!" She tussled her hair. "There must have been something seriously wrong with me!"

Her voice remained muffled in her thighs, but she still heard herself loud and clear. Shouting made her feel a little better, but whenever the thought of her crying on a student's chest resurfaced, she'd think about the most painful way to leave for the afterlife.

A call interrupted her self-reflection. She saw the caller and promptly answered. "Yes, Baek Ji-ah here, how may I help you Seungsengnim?" She tried her best to answer with a business voice, as it was her supervisor that had called her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting you," he spoke. In the background, she heard few kids laughing happily. Must have been his children. "You remember that excursion in a few days?"

"Yes, the one one to that old museum in Hoegi." She nodded. Specifically, it was in two days, on a Saturday. She couldn't have forgotten. It was her who had organized it with her students after all. Though she was unsure if she could make it. The problem was that she had never told the school about her illness, as she had been scared they might reject her over this. "What's with it?"

Baek Ji-ah heard the man tear a sheet of paper and crumpled it into a ball. A long sigh escaped his mouth, and Ji-ah felt the annoyance he felt. "Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude of me. I assure you it doesn't have anything to do with you." He laughed dryly. "See, the problem's with the director. You know that there's been some.. . turmoil going around at the school lately. He says until everything has died down, we are to only focus on things necessary for the lessons?"

"What, but then what about the excursion?" She cried out. Naturally, she cared about her students, and if that made them safer, she could only oblige. However, she had planned on quitting her job as a teacher, but she also did not want to leave any problems. Ending her term prematurely would lead to many complications for the new teacher, including the excursion, thus she wanted to finish it early.

"Maybe in a month," he guessed, "I'm sorry for that. But hey, it shouldn't take that long until things return to normalcy. Just hold out until then."

"I see." Ji-ah's shoulders slumped down. "Yes, in a month it is then." Though she wasn't sure if she was still there by then.

"Wait actually, there something that might help," her supervisor suddenly said. "You know that Dojin guy right? He hasn't been coming to school lately and his grades have been slipping. His homeroom teacher used to let it slide, but he has gotten more and more audacious as time went on." He paused, but Ji-ah already dreaded his next words. "He seems attached to you. Maybe it is because you are both young. Why don't you take him with you and have a good talk? I'm sure not even the director will have anything to say against that." A distant voice then shouted for his name. "Oops, I'll have to hang up, my wife is nagging me. Let me know your answer tomorrow morning yes?" As he said so, a long beep appeared on the other side; The call had disconnected.

Ji-ah placed her phone on the table. For a long time, she remained in a daze. She kneaded her temples and grumbled, "Why do these things keep happening to me?" She thought about the hassle of having to meet that student again, and her headache grew. Strangely enough, she wasn't mad. Maybe because it distracted her from all the negative thoughts she currently bore.

In the distance, right before the sun hid behind the horizon, a rainbow appeared—the aftermath of the rain.

...

In a warehouse at night, a boy wearing all black and with box-cut hair walked out. His name was Il Chunghoo. He glanced both sides as if fearing someone followed him. Sweat dripped down his face as he thought back to the person he had met just a second ago.

He breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he didn't have to see these people often. "Those people from Sivilla High are really on a different level." He shuddered. "Especially that one guy. What was his name again? Yawoon or something."

Another boy walked up to him. His one arm was in a cast, while his face remained frightened. "You sure about all this?" He bit his lips. "There were also those strange men in black looking for us the other day. It all seems a bit more than something mere high-school boy should get involved in."

"Hyung, if you aren't up for it, then maybe it's best if you leave now." He then smirked. "But you don't want to be a coward right?"

The word seemed to trigger the boy in a cast. He gnashed his teeth. "Fine then, we'll have it your way. I don't care what it will cost. It's in two days right?"

"Yes correct, uh," he paused, "what was your name again?"

"Dude we go to the same school," the boy replied in exasperation. "It's Oh Sanbaek."