hydra | svt

CHAPTER FORTY.

wonwoo

the new school week breathes a new sense of calm into me as i slide my shoes on and readjust the straps of my backpack. my phone lights up with another message from mingyu to the groupchat, to which the newest addition to our group likes and replies.

[joshuahong951230:] have a good kind-of first day gyu!

after a lot of thought and a long discussion with his parents, mingyu had made arrangements to enrol at mansae high; the new kims must be highly efficient as it took barely a day for him to begin moving into his aunt's home and apply to his new school. this week, he'd be in for three days as a "trial", something he had gone into great deal about in the groupchat. luckily, he had minghao in most of his classes and already had intentions to join the drama club, so he wasn't too worried.

(as soon as the girls had caught wind of his transfer, it became the gossip of the week and suddenly applications for the drama club tripled in number.)

as for joshua: he'd known for a while now that the fortune telling life wasn't for him, though his interests still greatly resided in tarot and astrology. instead, jun had put forward a good word for him at orbit cafe (after getting heavily chewed out by his senior manager for the stunt he pulled on sunday) and joshua was quickly accepted as another addition to the team; he showed skill when it came to making coffee that even i was taken aback by.

i arrive at my grey-concrete prison with a few minutes to spare before homeroom. hansol briefly texted us last night to update us on his current situation, reassuring us that it's simply a fever and he'll be back before the end of the week.

i allow myself the luxury of a daydream before the bell rings, slumping into my seat with my eyes trained on the mottled wooden desk. as i trace a finger over a tasteful swear word that'd been carved into it by the previous owner, the feeling of pure energy that i'd felt this morning runs through my mind: not only has my body fully recovered from the battle with hermes, i can tell something's happened to my magic store - it feels like it's increased, like i'm so close to having my power back again. and despite having a number of members to look for still, i already feel more powerful than before. this fact both scared and excited me.

i'd have to talk to the others about it later.

"good morning everyone!"

a man who isn't our usual homeroom teacher, strides into the room with a flask of hot coffee lodged into his hand and a beaming smile; he looks far too young to be a high school teacher, with an unruly red bed hair brushing over hazel, almost golden, eyes framed by yellow and grey striped glasses. despite his unkempt, boyish features, he's well-dressed in a white shirt with navy slacks that match his navy tie. he chooses to lean against the desk instead of sitting behind it, his coffee still glued to his hand.

"i'll be filling in for mr. park, who's had to take an emergency day off." his voice is as bright as the rest of him, with a tinge of playfulness behind it. "you may address me as mr. choi! before we get started with attendance, i have an exciting announcement!"

uh oh, these were never good. the rustling and murmuring around me settles as he grips our full attention with one simple word.

"how many of you are in the photography, art, drama or biology club?"

a few shy hands appear in the air, yet i'm torn - technically i'm not an official member of any of those clubs, i just have affiliations.

but i might as well be, with all the time i spend there. i keep quiet for now.

"excellent! you guys have been given the chance to visit none other than jeju island next week for a project!"

groans of jealousy flit about the room and i can't help but feel a similar feeling bubbling in my stomach. mr. choi signals for quiet.