Fallen Lightbringers' Return

"Hey, Dojin, here!" Kim Jyejin said and waved her hands. She had left her hair untied, with only a flower pin stuck in it. For the first time, he saw her not with a school uniform, but casual clothes: A navy-blue hoodie, black leggings, and sports shoes. It had a different vibe, but suited Jyejin nonetheless. The other students seemed to agree, as they occasionally stole glances at her in either more or envy.

Lee Dojin looked around, making sure he was at the right spot (they were supposed to meet above Dongdaemun station, right next to the SKT Mobile Center), then faced Jyejin again. "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, a great day to you too." She walked forward and greeted him. "What's with the long face? You need to poop?"

Lee Dojin tilted his head. First to the left, then right. "What are you doing here," he could only ask again.

"Why are you this rude," Kim Jyejin said with exasperation and puffed her cheeks. "I was bored."

"Is that so," he muttered. Well, it wasn't like she would be in the way or something. He only decided to join the excursion on a whim, so it didn't matter. No, having some company might be fun. "But certainly, you are bored very often."

"Right? I think so too." She nodded. "Korea is just too quiet. I wish I was born in some messy place like America instead."

"They'd cry hearing you. Don't believe everything the news says. It's not that bad overseas." Lee Dojin placed his hand on her head and walked forward. He wanted to see who else was present today. "Also, who knows, things might get a lot more interesting soon. Don't regret your words then."

Kim Jyejin grabbed his hand. At first, she was dissatisfied, but surprise soon encumbered it, and her eyebrows raised in shock. When had his hands become so big? She turned around and saw his back. The boy she used to protect appeared so tall, though she never had noticed. It was like he had become a different person. .. though that wasn't possible, right? She shook these stupid thoughts away. "Come on, it's not like you've been there. How would you know?"

He gave her a quick glance and smiled slightly. "You'd be amazed," he muttered in passing. Within the crowd, a familiar person immediately caught his eye. "Hey, isn't that guy in our class," he asked and pointed at a boy with a cast. The boy saw him too, his eyes shaking lightly, and he quickly hid in the masses while gnashing his teeth.

Kim Jyejin clicked her tongue. Her expression turned frosty. "You mean Oh Sanbaek that piece of shit?" her voice turned low. "I don't know why he's here either, and I don't really care to find out."

Lee Dojin nodded. He understood. He had read the old Dojin's diary after all. Apart from him, maybe Jyejin—as the protector and childhood friend—held the most hatred for that guy. "Yes, but don't you think it's weird with what people he is hanging around?" He pointed at the general vicinity. As if by fate, there was, of course, Il Chunghoo, rubbing his head and generally looking confused. The world was indeed small; The two people not supposed to be liked gathered together like tiger moths to the light. It wasn't only those two; Their group was full of people, but he did not recognize anyone else.

He scrutinized the other students. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, except for the girl with a messy bun, nibbling on her thumb, appearing nervous. But Lee Dojin thought it had nothing to do with him. He did realize something though. "She's late." Baek Ji-ah was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was another teacher, a male one wearing a tracksuit, standing in the middle and checking the attendance list in his hand. The man rubbed his head with the back of the pencil while continuing to read various names out. Upon closer inspection, he recognized him as the teacher at the black-suited men incident.

The teacher approached him. "You're Lee Dojin, right?"

"That's correct."

"I've heard good things about you," he said and smiled. "I've already gotten the news. You're here from another class, doing this as an extracurricular activity, I see. That's good. My name's Dong Jowoon. I hope we get along." His eyes fell on the smiling Kim Jyejin. He read the names on the board. "And who are you?"

"Kim Jyejin, Seungsengnim. I'm also here for extracurricular activities."

"I see, we have quite a lot of these today. I wish my students were this diligent." Dong Jowoon noted her name down. "Well, it looks like everyone is here, we just have to wait for Ji-ah, I mean, Baek Seungsengnim now."

It didn't take long for her to arrive—though she was still late. She jogged out of the subway station, out of breath and her hair unkempt. "Sorry I'm late, I overslept!" She brushed the strands from her face. Ji-ah was wearing a white dress, with a large sun hat and a black jacket. It was probably to hide against the sun, as she had pale skin from her illness, but Do Jowoon had to gulp once, witnessing her beauty.

Ji-ah was equally surprised, seeing him, but not for the same reasons. "Why are you here," she asked him. "And where's Han Seungsengnim?"

"Ah, I forgot to tell you, Han Seungsengim had some personal matters to attend, so I've come to replace him," Dong Jowoon puffed his chest out. "There weren't any other teachers that volunteered, so I stuck my head out for you. Let's work hard."

Ji-ah squinted her eyes. "You? Aren't your subjects English and PE?"

"Yes, so?" Jowoon smiled and prepared to. One could see his giddiness to be here."

"I majored in Physics and Math," Ji-ah said bluntly. "We are going to a museum based on history." In the first place, she could only join in this excursion since she was their homeroom teacher. Otherwise, there was no way for her to be part of a museum.

"It's fine, it's fine," Dong Jowoon brushed her off. "We'll just let the students do their thing. Our job is to simply watch over them." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go."

Ji-ah's face scrunched together, but she quickly composed herself. She pinched that man's hand and said, "You walk in the back, I'll look out at the front since I know the road. Take care that no student trails off."

He retracted his hand in pain. "Oh, uh yes," Dong Jowoon replied in a daze. Before he knew it, he stood at the end, alone, and very much not with Ji-ah as he hoped.

Kim Jyejin glanced at Ji-ah and said, "The way you rejected him was cool as hell." She laughed. "Like a role-image for all women."

"Not at all, you are exaggerating." Ji-ah lightly shook her head and smiled. "But sometimes, you have to stand up for what you think is right, woman or not."

"I agree," Jyejin replied. "That dude seemed rather sketchy anyways. Who touches a lady like that out of the blue? Maybe it's just my gut feeling, but he was up to no good."

"Careful, he's still a teacher," Baek Ji-ah reprimanded her with a soft voice.

"One teacher can't keep himself in check while the other one arrives late," Lee Dojin suddenly commented, "It looks like our education system has gone down the drains."

Ji-ah stopped walking, she turned around with a stiff smile. "Now, I wonder who you might mean?"

"I don't think you do, Ji-ah Seungsengnim." He reiterated the last few words as if he meant it sarcastically.

"You know, how can you expect me to sleep well after what you did to me yesterday?"

Kim Jyejin's ears perked up to the extremes, as she heard Ji-ah talk. A glint appeared in her irises. "Oho. Care to explain?" In the first place, ever since the two of them left yesterday, she hadn't seen them again. She was left in the dust with Heeson, waiting in the cold. One of the reasons she was here had been to find out what happened.

"Uh. . ." She thought about everything that happened yesterday. From meeting the system, gaining supernatural powers, to finding peace with her past. It wasn't something she could just say. "Maybe another time." She waved her hand. "It's a bit complicated."

"Complicated, huh? Interesting. So like a secret."

Lee Dojin slapped the back of her head. She uttered an ouch and fell forward. "Get that stuff out of your head. It's not what you think it is."

"Sure, sure." She rubbed the back of her head and sulked. "All these years I've been with you and now you leave me for someone else huh? I didn't know you were such a bad boy, Dojin."

".. . it really isn't like that," he muttered with a sigh.

While the three of them held a lighthearted conversation, Oh Sanbaek stood in the far back quietly observing him. He stood with other guys, but it was still oddly quiet, almost eerie, as if they had something sinister planned.

He licked his teeth, and lifted his fingers in a gun shape, pointing at Dojin. "You bastard. Today, you are going down." A silent cackle escaped his lips.