If you're familiar with me, you know that this is a re-write of a previous story. If you've previously read Noblesse (my awful fic that I apparently never bothered coming up with an original name for...), you may want to read the latest update on that story. It provides several important notices about this story.
If you have not read my previous story, then by all means, continue on! You don't need to know anything about the previous version to enjoy this one. I started writing the previous version many, many years ago. There are countless plotholes (some because I made the logic in my head, but never bothered writing it out, others because I didn't feel like coming up with a reason for an event) and a boring Mary Sue. It was time to re-write if I ever wanted to continue writing.
I intend on keeping the previous version posted because I know what it's like to want to go back and re-read a scene or simply re-read a story. I don't want to take that option away from the people that followed that story.
I should probably premise this with a confession. I'm homeless.
It's a strange thing to confess, really. How does one casually bring up such a thing, anyway? Just like that, I guess. Just say it. I mean, how else should I mention it? There's no point in beating around the bush, really.
Ahem. Anyway. I'm homeless. It's pretty great, really. I have all the freedom in the world. I don't have to worry about any curfews or something happening to my house due to natural disasters. Or bills! No bills! How exciting is that?
The weather sucks, not gonna lie. But my box does a pretty grand job at keeping me out of the worst of it. Sure, I have to replace it pretty frequently, but it's like getting a brand new home all over again. How exciting!
Besides, let's be honest here. These boxes aren't some five-star luxury boxes. It's no sweat off my back to have to replace these things regularly. Cardboard boxes are quite easy to find, too.
Really, homelessness is pretty exciting. It really keeps you on your toes!
...
Yeah, it's pretty awful. It doesn't help that, when you encounter danger, you don't really have a safe place to run to. You know, somewhere you can lock yourself inside and keep a, oh I don't know, kidnapper out.
Go ahead and take a seat, I'm going to tell a story about being homeless.
I'm kidding.
It's about my kidnapping.
How exciting.
~...~
"How dare you be tardy when I'm on guard duty…" Pedro's deep voice resonated, voice dripping with annoyance.
Each of us sitting before Pedro squirmed uncomfortably under his intense stare. Of the seven of us students here, I recognized only two; Yuna, a female in my class, and Shinwoo, a male, also in my class. I sat awkwardly beside Shinwoo, bowing my head shamefully.
I hadn't meant to be late to class! I woke up later than normal and only just got here a few moments ago.
I tensed when Pedro suddenly stopped pacing before Shinwoo. With the sound of a thwack, I looked up to see Pedro had hit Shinwoo on top of his head with a wooden stick. "Han Shinwoo. You're late again."
Shinwoo rubbed at the back of his head, grinning and laughing lightly. The others to his right laughed at him. He groaned at their laughter.
"Now, everyone will run five laps for being late!" Pedro announced loudly. Everyone complained and begged for Pedro to let us off easier. I merely stood back, ready to start running. Running five laps wasn't that bad. Pedro had been known to inflict worse punishment upon late students, after all.
I watched silently as Pedro eyed Shinwoo, who stared at Yuna. I'd noticed long ago that he liked Yuna, who seemed completely oblivious. Suddenly Pedro grinned awkwardly. I stepped back at the awkwardness of it. "If Shinwoo runs seven laps, everyone else can run just three."
"What?!" Shinwoo howled, stepping back. In unison, the remaining five students glanced at Shinwoo, who shrank back. Everyone stared in silence. The five stared at Shinwoo until he caved. "Well… I'll run, I guess…" Shinwoo sighed with a small smile.
"Thank you, Shinwoo!" Everyone cheered, delighted. I parted from the group and started on my three laps.
I noticed pretty quickly that Shinwoo was a faster runner than I ever would have thought. By the time I had finished one lap, he was nearly complete with his third. In my defense, I wasn't very active of a person, considering my lifestyle. By the time I finished my third lap, the others had long since finished and headed off to class and I hunched over, panting for breath.
"This is… pathetic." I huffed between breaths. "I really should consider running in my free time from now on." It would do me some good. Behind me, I heard a gasping Shinwoo approaching, finishing up on his sixth lap. He was mumbling to himself incoherently.
I stood in my spot for a few minutes, catching my breath before walking over to where Pedro stood to get my belongings and head to class. To my surprise, Pedro was standing before someone, talking to them. As I drew closer, I could hear Pedro talking.
"I didn't realize you were tardy, too. You're way too confident." Pedro paused. "Wait, I haven't seen you before." Pedro walked around the person. I stopped when I looked at who he was talking to. It was a male, for starters. He was tall and… whoa.
This tall man had to be the very definition of handsome. He had beautiful black hair that reached to his shoulders and dark brown-red eyes, verging mostly on the side of red. The way he stood struck me as elegant and I felt almost inferior standing this close to him, which couldn't have been any less than ten feet away. Looking away from him before he could think to look at me, I leaned down and grabbed my bag from Pedro's feet. I brushed it off lightly and stood.
When I stood back up, Shinwoo was beside me, panting heavily. "I'm done running." He managed to gasp out. Pedro and I both looked at him. Shinwoo looked up and saw the black-haired boy. "Oh. You're…" Did Shinwoo know him?
"Someone you know?" Pedro asked, pointing at the boy.
"No. I met him just a while ago…" Shinwoo scratched lightly at his eye as he stared at Pedro. I took a glance over at the black-haired boy to see him staring blankly at me. I startled back, surprised that he was looking at me. Shinwoo and Pedro continued talking to each other beside me as the boy and I stared at each other. What was with this boy?
He made me feel so… odd. Almost as though I expected him to command me to do something. Was it his posture?
"Is he a transfer student? There's no way a face like that wouldn't be known around our school!" Shinwoo's outburst caught my attention and I finally peeled my eyes from the boy. I blinked at Shinwoo as he and Pedro had this odd… almost father-and-son connection.
"Yeah. It seems you're right." Pedro spoke, giving a light nod. Pedro pointed at the boy. "You, did you transfer here today?" The boy said nothing. And still nothing. Then he gave a faint nod. Shinwoo and Pedro grinned at each other. "It would have been better if you said so from the beginning!" Pedro grinned at the boy. Then the smiled faltered.
I glanced back at the boy. He seemed completely… unfazed by his situation yet completely out of place. What on earth was he doing here?
"So, where did you come from?" Pedro asked suddenly. I was curious myself, so I watched the boy, waiting for an answer. That didn't come. "So, you're not planning on saying anything?" The boy nodded. "You won't speak, but you nodded your head. You learned that somewhere, right? If someone asks you something, you need to respond!" Pedro announced loudly, his voice booming with authority. I stepped away from him a little.
To my surprise, the boy spoke. His voice was soft, but certain. It held this authoritative clarity that sent a shiver down my spine. But the language he spoke was entirely unfamiliar. I didn't recognize it in the slightest. Somehow this made me want to hear him speak even more.
Pedro and Shinwoo exchanged a glance. "He… says he's from far away…" Pedro stammered. He understood the boy?
"Oh!" Shinwoo's voice sang with admiration and interest. "So he's from far away…"
"Mhm. It seems he's from overseas." Pedro continued to talk with the boy and asking a few questions. As it turns out, he's a foreigner, which was obvious. Then Pedro compared his and Shinwoo's height, teasing Shinwoo. The two bickered at each other and I sighed. They were always like this.
I cleared my throat, thinking now may be a good time to speak. "Teacher, don't you think we should take him to Principal Lee?" Pedro turned and looked down at me.
"Hm… I suppose you're right. Han Shinwoo!" Pedro turned and glared down at Shinwoo. "Take responsibility and take him to Principal Lee."
"What?" Shinwoo's eyes widened and Pedro turned and stalked off. "Teacher, how can you just leave?" Pedro ignored Shinwoo and continued walking away. Shinwoo turned to the boy. He snickered with annoyance. "Hey, you, let's go."
"I could take him, Shinwoo. I have to see Principal Lee, anyway." I suggested, smiling lightly up at Shinwoo.
"As much as I'd love to leave it to you, I wouldn't dare refuse a direct order from Pedro. He's scary enough as is." Shinwoo smirked in embarrassment. I chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, he can be. Then we can go together." I glanced at the black-haired foreigner and gestured for him to follow. He obliged easily. We headed off toward Principal Lee's office, me walking beside Shinwoo and the black-haired boy behind us.
"What's your name? I knew it once, but I'm really bad with names." Shinwoo asked suddenly. It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me.
"Oh, my name's Doe-Han. Don't worry. I don't expect everyone to remember my name. I don't talk much, anyway." I waved off his embarrassed smile easily. "It's hard not to know yours, as you make people laugh. I can always remember the name of someone who makes me smile." I smiled up at Shinwoo as my short, brown hair blew in my face. I glared at it halfheartedly and pinned it behind my ears.
Shinwoo grinned down at me, clearly taking pride in his ability to make people laugh. If he didn't realize that it was often at his expense, I wasn't going to tell him. He didn't seem like the type to be fazed by it, anyway. "You're in my class, aren't you?" He asked.
"Yep. I sit in the back." I said with a nod.
"Why don't you ever talk?" He asked. "I mean, if you spoke more often, you might have friends."
"Ouch." I winced at his statement.
"No! I didn't mean it like that!" Shinwoo realized his mistake and raised his hands in panic, trying to correct his mistake. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to find words to fix his mistake.
"No, you're right. Maybe I would have friends if I made an effort." I shrugged. "Oh, well. It's not like it's that bad."
Shinwoo sighed at his words. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it like that, Doe-Han." Shinwoo perked suddenly and raised a finger in the air. "I know! Why don't you sit with me at lunch today?" I eyed Shinwoo wearily. I was appreciative of the offer, yes, but with just Shinwoo there? That sounded kind of awkward. Well, it might be better to have one awkward person rather than a group of awkward people, right?
I thought for a moment, placing a hand on my chin for dramatic flair.
"You really need to think about it?!" Shinwoo asked incredulously.
"I'm teasing, I'm teasing!" I raised my hands and laughed at Shinwoo. "Sure, I'll join you. It can't be that bad. Thank you for the offer." I smiled warmly up at him.
At last, we arrived at Principal Lee's office. Shinwoo knocked. "Come in." Principal Lee's voice sounded from the other side. Shinwoo opened the door and stood in the doorway. "Oh, Shinwoo. For what reason did you come here today? Some kind of trouble again?" Principal Lee teased. Shinwoo shut the door behind him and walked in, asking the foreigner and I to wait out here, as was customary.
I turned to the foreigner. He looked at me when he noticed I turned to him. He merely stared. "So, you can understand me, right?" He nodded. "But you can't speak my language?" I asked again. He shook his head. "How strange… I'd ask why, but you can't very well answer me, now can you?" I was surprised to see a small smirk grace his features before he shook his head.
I thought for a moment. "Well, since Principal Lee is likely to be talking with Shinwoo for a few, would you mind too badly if I asked you a few questions? Yes or no questions, of course." He shook his head. "Excellent! Hm… Can you possibly tell me your name? Wait, that isn't technically a yes or no question..."
"Cadis Etrama Di Raizel." The boy spoke.
"What… kind of name is that? And I thought my name was odd… What country is that from?" I pondered aloud. "Well, all things considered, it's a beautiful name. Um… Would you mind if I called you Raizel?" Considering the only words I remembered him saying of his name were Cadis and Raizel, I was hoping he wouldn't mind if I called him Raizel.
"You may call me what you like." Raizel spoke.
"What! You do speak Korean!" I huffed at Raizel, who smirked ever-so-slightly.
"I am learning." He confirmed with a slight nod. Beside us, the door to Principal Lee's room opened. I stepped to the side, being in the direct movement of the door and watched as Shinwoo stepped out.
"Try going in. I'll be going now." Shinwoo nodded to Raizel. He then looked at me. "You coming to class?"
"I have to talk to Principal Lee first. I shouldn't be too long." I stated, letting Shinwoo know it was alright for him to head to class without me. "I may let him know he can go first so I can get out of class for a while longer." I grinned, pointing at Raizel. "But, go. You gotta get to class!" I pressed my hands against Shinwoo's back and pushed him off toward class. "I'll see you in a bit!"
Shinwoo departed with a few words and ran off toward class. I turned to Raizel and smiled lightly. "Would you like to go first? I wouldn't mind delaying class a while longer." Raizel merely nodded and walked in. I shut the door behind him and allowed him to talk in private with Principal Lee.
I stood out in the hallway leaning against the wall beside the door daydreaming in silence for about fifteen minutes before I heard the door beside me open. I turned my head to see Raizel staring at me.
"Ah. Is he ready to see me?" I smiled up at him as I moved from the wall and stood before him. He nodded and opened the door wider, allowing me entry. When I walked in, I was surprised to hear Raizel shut the door behind me and follow behind me. He walked off to my left and sat at the arrangement of chairs and couches surrounding a table. He sat down silently and merely stared off at the wall before him. I blinked then slowly turned my head to Principal Lee's desk, seeing him smiling expectantly at me. "Right… Well, you asked to see me, Principal Lee?" I smiled lightly and approached his desk.
"Ms. Vetter. Yes, I wanted to see you about something that has concerned me." Principal Lee took off his glasses, showing the importance of this conversation. Oh god, what did he find out about me? Did he find out my living circumstances?
"Y-yes?" I stammered accidentally. "What is it?"
"I wanted to discuss your notable absences here lately. It has come to my attention that you have missed more than a handful of classes. Why is this?" Principal Lee made direct eye contact with me, waiting for an answer.
"Um… I…" My heart leapt as I searched frantically for a lie that would be acceptable. "W-well, you see, there's this, uh… situation at home. My, um, parents…" I trailed off slowly, staring absently at Principal Lee's desk. I couldn't bring myself to talk about my parents. It was still much too soon. I couldn't even make up a lie about them yet.
I had to wonder, how did no one know about my parent's deaths? Aren't murders generally talked about and spread around quickly and largely? Why did no one know about their deaths but my family?
It made me furious that the only assumption I could come up with was that some family member didn't want it spread around. The thought of that was infuriating.
It was heartbreaking. Knowing I could talk to no one about this one problem- the biggest problem of my life- was really hard.
"Ms. Han?" Principal Lee's voice broke me of my trance.
"Ah! I'm sorry. I can't talk about it." I hung my head slightly when I realized my eyes had watered. I rubbed quickly at them, erasing them from existence.
Upon seeing my reaction, Principal Lee softened and changed the immediate subject. "Alright, Ms. Vetter, seeing as your grades are nearly flawless, I think I can excuse your absences. However, if you can manage it, try not to miss so much class in the future."
I sighed, feeling a small weight lift from my shoulders. I nodded with a small smile. "I'll do my best."
"Ms. Doe-Han, would you mind if I contacted you directly if you miss class? I don't know your situation at home, but as your Principal, I am worried." Principal Lee asked suddenly. I looked up at him, confused.
"I don't… actually have a phone." I admitted.
Principal Lee was surprised by this. "Alright, how about your home phone? Is that a good number to call?"
"Um… Our home phone was cancelled." I rubbed the back of my head. "And neither of my parents have phones." I continued slowly, hesitantly. "And I don't have money to get a phone." I finished, my voice quiet.
By the time I finished, Principal Lee was staring wide-eyed at me, astonished. "H-how do you keep in contact with your friends?" He asked, appalled.
"I don't actually have any friends." I continued to rub at the back of my head awkwardly. I wasn't necessarily ashamed of having no friends, but I certainly wasn't proud, either. I smiled lightly.
"You…" Principal Lee sat back in his chair and stared at me, exasperated. I merely continued smiling.
"Life seems almost easier without friends, you know?" I lowered my arm to my side. I once had a friend, a particular friend who dealt in many illegal matters. I'm sure you at least questioned it, right? My being almost twenty and in high school? Yeah, it's probably not that strange, really, seeing as I'm only a year behind where I should be, but still, it is unusual. I would have graduated last year had… events not interrupted my studies.
"Ms. Vetter, I would like to speak with you more in depth on your situation at home, but I'm afraid I don't have the time right this moment. Neither do you; you should get to class. I would like you to come see me before you go home today, if you wouldn't mind?" Principal Lee inquired after a moment.
"Not at all. Just remind me by sending in a note or something during the final hour of the day or something. Elsewise I'll forget. Or- hold on, actually…" I reached to my side and into the bag I carried with me. I felt around blindly until I felt a small, long, round object and pulled it out. Using the pen, I brought up the back of my hand and wrote a small note, reminding myself to see Principal Lee after classes. I put the cap back on the marker and smiled at the note. "There. Now I shouldn't forget! I'll see you in a few hours, Principal Lee!"
"Have a good day, Ms. Vetter." Principal Lee smiled up at me, waving lightly. I turned at stalked out of the room. Before leaving, I waved at Raizel who still sat, staring at the wall before him.
"Bye, Raizel. I'll see you later!" I smiled over at him, to which he glanced over at me and gave a light nod, waving back.
Sitting in math class was, as usual, a drag. The class hadn't even started yet; that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I had nothing to do to kill time. I opted to simply sketch random things in my sketchbook. I wasn't a great drawer, but I was decent enough that I got some compliments here and there.
A few minutes before class started, the teacher was called into the hallway by Principal Lee. The two discussed something for a few minutes before the teacher walked back in with a familiar, handsome face. Raizel.
The room was immediately filled with various 'ooh's' and 'aah's' from both the females and a few males. After a moment of silence from the teacher, and a definite look of annoyance, he cleared his throat. "Now, now. Attention." The room quieted down after a brief moment. "I'm sure you've all figured it out, but this student will be in this class from today."
The moment the teacher finished speaking, the classroom erupted in squeals, which startled both me and Shinwoo. I didn't expect it, so I jumped. Shinwoo was sleeping, and definitely didn't expect it. He lurched upright in his desk and looked around frantically. He recognized Raizel.
"Everyone, be quiet." The room was quiet again, upon the teacher's demands. It's nice to know he can gain control of the class easily. It's probably the fearful respect he holds. "He was born and raised overseas and this is his first time in Korea. Because of this, there's a lot he doesn't know about our culture. I want everyone to help him learn." He paused briefly. "His name is…" Teacher trailed off, looking over to Raizel. Did he really not learn Raizel's name?
Raizel spoke, saying something in that foreign language of his. Again, I couldn't understand it, but it was absolutely beautiful.
Even the rest of my peers were amazed. The class looked to the teacher, hoping for an explanation. I wondered if what he had said was his name, pronounced in his language. The teacher froze, uncertain as to what to say. So did he not know Raizel's language? Or was he just not too familiar with it? Kind of like how I was with English; I knew a bit, but not a whole lot.
"Cadis Etrama Di Raizel." Raizel spoke, repeating his name in Korean. This time, I took to writing down how his name sounded so I could remember it. "According to this country's pronunciation, that is my name." His name wasn't so strange the second time around. I looked down at how I wrote his name, hoping it was correct.
Suddenly, Shinwoo stood, his chair screeching back against the floor. "What?! You can speak Korean?!"
"That's true… So you can speak Korean." The teacher stated.
"I cannot speak it well." Raizel stated. It sounded so formal and out of place. I knew he was learning, but he did seem to know a lot more than he let on initially.
"Your name is quite long. Which is the first name and which is the last?" The teacher asked.
"All of it is the first and last name."
"Is that really a thing?" I asked quietly, speaking to myself. "That's pretty neat."
"Is there such a thing?" The teacher asked, practically repeating me. "Well, what should we call you? Do we have to say your whole name?" That sounded like a pretty rude question from my standpoint. I don't think the teacher intended it to be rude, but it came off that way.
"Just call me however you like." Raizel stated, repeating what he told me earlier. I smiled lightly, glad he wasn't just saying it because he hadn't wanted to repeat his name. He really didn't seem to mind what we called him.
"Teacher!" Shinwoo shouted, startling me once again. I looked over to him to see him standing once more, this time with a clenched fist in the air above him.
"What?" The teacher asked, sounded disgusted. The two had such an odd relationship.
"It was so natural, we forgot something…" Shinwoo started. What was he talking about?
"What?"
"That guy is speaking to you as an equal." The room went dead silent. And it remained silent as Teacher looked over at Raizel, silently contemplating his attitude.
"Teacher!" Shinwoo resumed the previous position with his fist in the air. "That guy lived in a different country, so he probably doesn't know better." Surprisingly, Shinwoo looked serious. "It's a mistake that can be easily made by anyone who isn't familiar with our culture."
He continued. "Considering that… please resolve it with five seconds of an arm bar hold filled with your love." And the seriousness faded. I could tell he meant what he was saying, but for that to be the reason… I sighed audibly.
"Shinwoo." Teacher said short and quick.
"Yes?"
"You take it for him." Shinwoo sat back in his chair promptly and quietly. Teacher turned to Raizel. "In Korea, you use formal language out of respect. You use it in various other situations, too. There's no time to explain fully, but you also use it with those older than you."
Raizel glanced over to the teacher and stared. Clearly he didn't understand something here.
"Let's talk more about this later. Class has started, so anyone who has questions for the transfer student can ask later. Sit in the empty seat behind Shinwoo." A moment of silence lead me to believe Raizel didn't know who Shinwoo was. "It's the stupid guy from earlier." And Raizel was moving.
"Well, that's certainly one way to put it, I suppose." I murmured.
Raizel sat down behind Shinwoo and stared ahead silently. I turned to the front and listened as the lecture began. It was just another, almost normal lecture, were it not for the girls all staring at Raizel for nearly the entire hour.