Noctura

fourteen

minho

I STARE at the man in front of me, a confused look on my face. He stares back at me, his dark eyes intense. I can't really tell who he is by his face because of the mask, but I recognize the white hair. I saw him outside the grocery store.

He takes a step backward.

"I saw the smoke," I say quickly. "Was that you?"

Hesitantly, he nods.

"Who are you?" I repeat. "What are you doing here? What was that smoke for?"

He glances around before training his eyes on me. "You don't know who I am yet. But you will soon."

Before I can say another word, he turns around and sprints away.

"Wait!" I call.

He doesn't turn back, though.

Who was that guy?

I shake my head and start heading home, taking my grocery bags with me. Jinwoo will be happy that I'm bringing food home. He seems to think that eating this food will solve his hunger, but I know deep down he's not solving anything. He's avoiding a problem.

Jinwoo is a Noctura. He doesn't smell human. He doesn't entirely smell Noctura, but sometimes different people have different scents. There's no way he could have beaten another Noctura in that arena as a human. Maybe if I just got him to change his eyes and look in the mirror...

He probably already knows deep down that he's a Noctura. He just won't admit it.

But why?

It's got to do with the memory loss. Somehow, he hit his head so hard that he forgot altogether that he was a Noctura.

What else would explain it?

It doesn't take me too long to get home. I open the door and walk into my house, quickly bringing the grocery bags over to the counter.

Jinwoo stands up from the couch, giving me a worried look.

"What?" I ask immediately. "What's wrong?"

"The news," he says, pointing to the TV.

I look at the headline.

ATTACK ON THE AAN BUILDING—COULD THIS BE A NEW TERRORIST GROUP?

"Terrorist..." I trail off as the scenery of the news changes and I see the AAN building, white smoke rising up about it.

"That guy!" I exclaim.

Jinwoo gives me a confused look.

"I saw this guy today, when I was at the grocery store," I explain. "He looked at me kinda funny and after I left the store, I was heading back home and I saw him again, in an alleyway. I walked up to him and asked him who he was and if he had something to do with the smoke at the AAN building. He told me he did."

"You met the guy who did that?"

I nod. "He said I don't know him, but I will soon. Whatever that means. He wouldn't say anything else, though."

Jinwoo sits back down on the couch and doesn't say anything.

"Are you doing alright?" I ask him.

"Yeah," he answers quietly.

I unpack the groceries and Jinwoo stays seated on the couch, watching the TV.

"Do you want me to make you something?" I ask Jinwoo. It's not because it'll help him, it's because I don't know what else to offer him.