The rest of the school day passed like fog.
Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. The kind that made your head ache if you sat too long under them. Class after class bled together — lectures, blackboards, the occasional spark from someone's bonded beast playing beneath a desk. A scaled tail here, a floating eyeball creature there.
But all of it blurred to the edges.
Seojin sat quiet, back straight, hands folded on the desk. Just like always.
Except now… people noticed.
The whispers didn't come in waves. They came in trickles — muttered names, side-eyes, darted glances toward his jacket.
He caught one of the seniors in front of him squinting at his shoulder — the patch barely visible beneath the collar of his uniform. "Obsidian Fang," it read. Black thread on charcoal fabric. Barely noticeable unless you knew what to look for. But in a school like this, people noticed guild colors.
"Isn't he the one who—?"
"Didn't he fail his summon, like, four times?"
"I thought he was cursed?"
"Then where'd he get a contract?"
No one asked him directly. That would've required actually facing him.
Seojin stared out the window. Trees shook gently. A bird skated across the rooftop. Somewhere, someone's beast screeched during third period.
He didn't say a word.
By sixth period, even the teachers were acting strange.
He caught Instructor Baek peeking at him during a lecture about dual bonding types and combat compatibility. The man actually paused mid-sentence, stared directly at Seojin's jacket for a second too long, then blinked and went on like nothing happened.
Seojin didn't even flinch.
Just kept writing.
Inside, his thoughts churned.
That wasn't me this morning.
He remembered Minjae's hand reaching out. That fake concern on his face. The laughter around them. And then—black.
Not unconscious. Just… sidelined.
Like watching from behind a foggy window.
That wasn't my voice. That wasn't my anger. That wasn't even my body.
It was him, but not him.
Fenrir, he thought, not without a chill. You really meant it when you said you hated the dark, huh?
The final bell rang like a starting gun.
Everyone flooded out. Some shouted. Some rode their beast companions like bikes, gliding past the gates on lizardback or summoned flame wheels.
Seojin waited until the worst of the crowd thinned. Then he stepped out the doors.
He reached into his interface and popped the storage command.
In the shimmer of blue light, Fenrir emerged.
He stretched like a cat, long and slow, his midnight-furred body unfolding to full length — still small enough to pass for an exotic dog, but with a presence that made the air feel colder.
He yawned, showing sharp white teeth, and trotted up beside Seojin like nothing had happened.
"You owe me," Fenrir said, voice inside Seojin's head. "That place was boring."
"I got you out," Seojin replied under his breath. "You'll live."
They started walking toward the street, foot traffic still dense around the school walls. Then—
"Whoa!" a voice called out. "So it's true. You got bonded after all, huh?"
Seojin paused mid-step.
He knew that voice.
Yuna Seo.
She came jogging up behind him, uniform a little rumpled, hoodie half-zipped over it. Her ponytail was crooked, her shoes mismatched, and her grin was wide.
"I heard some idiots say you wrecked Minjae this morning," she said, hands on her hips. "Didn't believe it. But damn. That's a good-looking coat."
Seojin gave her a smile, not wide, not big, but real. "Hey, Yuna."
She bent down and ruffled Fenrir's fur without asking.
The beast growled.
Yuna didn't blink. She growled back, even deeper. It sounded more like a throat-clearing than an actual threat.
Fenrir's growl faded. He blinked at her, then gave Seojin a long look. "She's strange. I like her."
"Of course you do," Seojin said. "She's insane."
Yuna shrugged, pulling a whistle from her hoodie pocket like it was nothing.
She blew into it — not a sharp shriek, but a low, near-silent hum that barely passed Seojin's ears.
The wind shifted.
A curl of warmth lifted behind them, brushing Seojin's neck.
Then, a crack of air. Light shimmered overhead.
And descending in a sweep of ember-lit feathers came a young phoenix — no bigger than a hawk, but glowing like a fragment of the sun. She circled them once, left streaks of light across the sky, then landed delicately on Yuna's shoulder.
Seojin's eyes widened. "You brought her to school?"
"She hates being cooped up," Yuna said casually, reaching up to ruffle the back of the bird's neck. "Besides, it's not like anyone can stop her."
The phoenix gave a soft chirp — like a proud little trill — then turned, hopped once, and landed on Seojin's shoulder instead.
He flinched slightly, then grinned. "Hey, Pyra."
"Seems she still loves you." Yuna laughed
"Of course she does. She used to fly into my window when you lived next door," he said. "We shared snacks."
"That's probably why she's so fat," Yuna muttered, but she didn't stop smiling.
Pyra leaned against Seojin's cheek, warm and flickering like a campfire. Across from them, Fenrir sat frozen, ears twitching, watching the phoenix like a hunter studying a rival alpha.
The two beasts didn't move. Didn't blink.
They simply watched each other.
Pyra's feathers glowed brighter.
Fenrir narrowed his eyes. A faint snort of frost left his nostrils.
"…So that's happening," Seojin said under his breath.
Yuna smirked. "Let them figure it out. It builds character."
Then, she turned to him, voice casual. "So. You're in a guild. You like it?"
He blinked, surprised by the sudden shift. "Yeah. It's small, but… it's good."
"Cool," she said. "I'm joining."
Seojin coughed. "Wait—what?"
"I'm joining your guild," Yuna repeated, like it was obvious. "You're the only guy in this school I trust. That's all I need."
"That's—" Seojin paused. "You're serious?"
She jabbed a thumb at her chest. "You think I'd let you have all the fun without me?"
Seojin opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then gave up entirely. "Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you."
By the time they arrived at the Obsidian Fang headquarters, the sky had shifted from gold to a pale violet wash.
The old stone-front building Seojin remembered was now flanked by two half-loaded moving trucks, their back doors yawning open. Boxes were stacked on the pavement, and a man in a tank top was trying to haul a massive desk through the entrance sideways while swearing under his breath.
"Is that…?" Yuna tilted her head.
"Yeah," Seojin muttered. "I think we're moving."
"Damn. Hope they didn't lose my spot already."
Inside the chaos, standing on a cracked stairwell and waving her arms like a conductor directing a wrecking crew, was Mirae.
Her guildmaster coat was tied around her waist, and her curls were frizzing out in every direction. She had a headset on — turned off — and a clipboard in one hand that she clearly hadn't looked at in hours.
"Lift it, not drag it!" she barked. "You're scraping the runes, Jin! And Jae, for god's sake, that's not a dolly, that's my chair!"
She turned, then spotted Seojin.
Her eyes lit up like firecrackers.
"Look who came crawling back to the den," she said, grinning. "And—" she stopped, eyes shifting to Yuna. "Who's this little stray?"
Seojin stepped forward. "This is Yuna. She's got a phoenix."
Mirae's brow arched. "...You serious?"
Yuna nodded, and without being prompted, Pyra took flight — spiraling up, flaring her ember-lit wings wide as she passed the trucks, then swooped down and landed atop one of the moving crates like a crowned queen.
The light from her feathers lit up the entire driveway.
Mirae let out a slow whistle. "Well, damn. You're making me look like a real guild now."
Yuna grinned. "Please take care of me now, guildmaster."
Mirae snapped her fingers and pointed at Seojin. "So. I take it she's yours?"
"I guess," he said. "She kind of recruited herself."
Mirae tilted her head, glanced back toward the open trucks, then down at the two of them. She tossed her clipboard behind her shoulder, it clattered uselessly on the pavement.
"Alright," she said, brushing her hands. "New plans. You two just bumped us into legitimate territory."
She gestured toward the chaos. "We're moving up. New base of operations. Bigger compound. Better training fields. Even a damn laundry room."
Then she clapped a hand on Seojin's shoulder. "All thanks to your miracle payment, jacket-boy."
He blinked. "Wait, that's where—?"
She raised a finger. "Shhh. Don't ruin the story. I told them it was from an anonymous donor with killer taste."
Then she turned back toward the others and shouted: "Hey! Load the weapons cases next! You drop one of my blades, and you'll be coughing up screws till spring!"
She turned back, cleared her throat. "Now, I just need to turn you into a money maker—" she caught herself. "Ahem. Student. A real student."
She looked between him and Yuna. "Or students. Plural."
Yuna gave a mock salute. "Glad to be here, ma'am."
Pyra screeched in agreement from above.
Fenrir growled faintly, not in irritation, but challenge.
Seojin looked down at the jacket on his shoulders. At the patch on his arm.
OBSIDIAN FANG. FIGHT WITH TEETH.
From nothing.
To this.