First Day of School
“Donggeon hyung… how did you spend your school days?”
“Huh?”
It was a quiet morning, sunlight warm and gentle, inside a nearly empty café.
Two men sat at one of the tables—me and Donggeon. Our situations were similar, and neither of us had much going on during the day, so we’d decided to meet up for a little while and talk.
Naturally, the conversation turned to the otherworlders’ integration into society.
“I just… I keep wondering what might be happening at school right about now. I kept to myself pretty quietly back then, so I can’t really picture it…”
“Hmm. I spent most of my time doing sports, so I’m not great at guessing either…”
“Is that so?”
“Still, I think I can say one thing for sure.”
“?”
I tilted my head. Donggeon leisurely raised his coffee cup to his lips. His throat moved as he swallowed; he set the cup down again and spoke amid the soft murmur of other patrons’ conversations.
“They’re going to be insanely popular.”
“Whoa, dragons really are cool, huh?!”
“That tail’s so pretty! It’s a demon tail, but the tip’s, like, heart-shaped? Wait, does that mean…?”
“Beastkin are adorable…. I bet they’re super soft and fluffy.”
“Their clothes are surprisingly normal, though?”
“Maybe the country or wherever handed them out?”
“I wanna see them in school uniforms….”
“What do you do about the tails? Don’t they get caught in your pants?”
“How long do elves actually live?!”
“I-I saw a harpy once before! Are harpies and beastkin different races?”
“Your skin’s a little pale—are you okay…?”
“Isn’t that a vampire?”
“You think so?”
“Do vampires really live only on blood?”
“Um, excuse me—”
I felt like I was drowning in the flood of questions that had suddenly erupted.
“Ugh…”
The quiet atmosphere from moments ago had flipped completely; the students in the class were firing questions left and right. Watching them, I instinctively took a step or two backward.
The energy was intense.
They were sparkling with curiosity as they asked, but… there were just so many of them that it was honestly noisy.
“Umm, th-this is… a lot…?”
Everyone else seemed to feel the same way; one by one they began edging back as well. The kid right beside me was shrinking into herself, yet still watching the students with eyes full of curiosity.
This one… was an elf.
I could see the long ears. Whether she was a high elf or not was hard to tell just from looking.
“Hey, quiet down! Quiet!!”
A little late, the teacher barked at the students. A gust of shouting swept through the classroom, and silence settled over it once more.
“Whew. Sorry about that. …It’s the first time any of them have seen otherworlders, so they got a bit worked up.”
“Eh, whatever. It happens.”
A boy answered the teacher’s careful words with a playful tone. Solid build, nice skin. Nothing especially striking about him except for the thin black tail dancing behind his back.
An incubus, then.
A male incubus—and a pretty lively one, by the looks of it.
“Having fun, getting excited! Isn’t that the best? Young people are supposed to play!”
“Oooh…”
He even used his hands, speaking as if he were putting on a play, and a small wave of admiration rose from the front. While the teacher wore a complicated expression, the boy continued.
“I’m an incubus—Tanya! Nice to meet you. Anyone with questions, raise your hand?”
At that bold invitation the students glanced at one another. After a moment of hesitation, one girl raised her hand.
“Um, so…”
“Yeah?”
“…Do incubuses really live by, uh… absorbing vital energy?”
“Hmm~.”
He drew the sound out clearly, resting his chin on his hand. Then he smiled and answered.
“Wanna try it yourself?”
“W-wait! Questions later!”
The teacher hurriedly cut him off in a panic. The incubus who had introduced himself as Tanya stepped back with a disappointed look, and the girl who had asked the question lowered her hand, face flushed red.
“Let’s save the questions for later and, uh, start with self-introductions?”
The teacher shot a glance our way. Unfortunately, the person standing right next to him was none other than Tanya.
“Shall I go again?”
“…No, never mind. You next to him, go first.”
The teacher’s voice already sounded tired. Amid a few chuckles from the students, the kid beside Tanya slowly stepped forward.
“Demonkin, Iziana. Nice to meet you.”
She was a demon of the same red-skinned kind as Sherry. A girl, though her build was ordinary compared to Sherry’s petite frame. Like all demonkin she had two horns on her forehead… but for some reason one of them was broken off halfway.
I’d heard they weren’t as hard as people thought and sometimes snapped; maybe that was what had happened to her.
“Your skin’s so pretty!”
“Nice to meet you, Iziana!”
“Kinda feels like a foreign transfer student.”
“Looking forward to it~.”
Receiving the same enthusiastic welcome, Iziana nodded with a slightly dazed expression. She stepped back, and the rest of the introductions continued one after another.
“I’m Pete, a vampire. Nice to meet you.”
A pale-skinned male vampire—Pete.
“Succubus Ella! Hiii~.”
A succubus named Ella, wearing clothes that left various places just a little exposed.
“Dragonkin, Luca.”
Dark blue scales, large wings and a tail—dragonkin Luca.
“Um, uh…. …Half-elf, Phil.”
And the elf who had been standing next to me—Phil.
So she was a half-elf. Elven subspecies were hard to tell apart by appearance alone; I hadn’t noticed.
Every time someone finished introducing themselves, cheers and compliments followed. In that enthusiastic yet slightly tense atmosphere, my turn finally came.
I pulled back my hood and opened my mouth.
“B-beastkin Cecilia. Nice to meet you.”
The fact that my tongue didn’t completely tangle halfway through felt like a minor miracle.
My introduction was the last, and an even louder cheer erupted. At the volume of it, some of us—including me—flinched and shrank back, some happily covered their ears, and others simply watched with indifference.
Only after the teacher had called “Quiet, quiet!” several times did the room settle back to normal.
“…I’m extra tired today.”
“Hang in there, Teach!”
“Thanks for the empty encouragement…”
Tanya the incubus gave the teacher’s shoulder a friendly clap. Looking even more exhausted, the teacher continued.
“…I’m Hwang Unseok. Looking forward to working with you.”
“Meteor?”
“Who the hell is Meteor.”
At the muttered remark Hwang Unseok reacted, and laughter spread among the students. The atmosphere seemed… friendly? For the moment, at least.
“Before I assign you seats… one thing.”
He glanced our way, then turned his gaze back to the students.
“No talking to these kids until the end of this break.”
“““What?!”””
“Come on, Teach, that’s not fair!”
“If I say it’s fine you’ll swarm them the second I leave the room. They need time to adjust too…. Hold out at least until first period’s over.”
“““Aww…”””
“Meteor’s so petty!”
“Face down on the desk, you.”
Laughter rose again, and the warm atmosphere returned. I was still a little flustered by how unfamiliar it all felt; the teacher looked at us and said,
“They’re not bad kids for the most part… so I hope you’ll get along with them.”
We each nodded, still a bit dazed. Satisfied, the teacher continued.
“All right, I’ll assign seats. Tanya, over there.”
“Yes~.”
“And, uh, Iziana? That right?”
“Yes.”
“You go over there.”
“Yes.”
“Next… ugh, I should’ve memorized the names beforehand.”
“I’m Pete.”
“Right, Pete. That way…”
One by one we moved to our assigned seats and sat down. Mine happened to be by the window.
I perched there awkwardly. The girl in front of me spoke in a small voice.
“…Looking forward to getting to know you♪”
“Y-yeah.”
An atmosphere different from what I’d imagined, people different from what I’d imagined. It was confusing, but not unpleasant. I glanced at the clock.
Class would start soon.
I sat quietly in my seat and waited for time to pass.
“She should be in class right about now…”
The muttered words echoed through the empty room.
Had it always been this quiet when I was alone?
I’d been living on my own for years already—why did the silence feel so uncomfortable today of all days?
“…Hmm.”
Well, the reason was obvious enough.
Living with Cecilia had already become familiar in such a short time.
Even when we were together there were plenty of wordless stretches. I liked books, and so did she. When each of us was reading, the conversation naturally faded.
But that kind of quiet and this emptiness… were different.
Very different.
The soft, unhurried sound of breathing. The rustle of a blanket against skin when she shifted. The turn of a page. The occasional soft “Mm…” that slipped out.
The presence of someone who wasn’t me.
I was gradually realizing just how large that presence had been.
“Still, she’ll be back soon enough.”
I’d heard the first day was a half-day. It should be wrapping up any minute now, so a phone call would probably come first.
I wondered what kind of expression she’d be wearing.
Personally I hoped she’d made a friend or two on the first day and would come home looking happy.
Realistically, though, she was more likely to look scared or tense… or maybe just deeply relieved the moment she stepped through the door.
Either way, I planned to welcome her warmly.
I was waiting like that when the door suddenly burst open.
“Eunhyuk~…”
Cecilia trudged inside.
Before I could even wonder what had happened to the phone call, my attention locked onto her expression… or rather, her whole appearance.
“S-save me…”
…She looked so exhausted she might collapse on the spot.