Disclaimer: Noblesse isn't mine.


Awaken (Part 9: Yuna)

Caution signs and orange cones dotted the edge of the room and warned her of a danger she couldn't see. A pile of steel bars that was half covered by a flimsy tarp was next to it, but what awaited her beyond that was a mystery. Darkness veiled everything, and the longer she stared into it, the deeper it became. She could hear someone or something moving through the shadows, but she couldn't bring herself to call out to it, to let it know that she was awake.

The floor was freezing where her skin touched the concrete, and she pulled her legs under her so that she was kneeling on her knees. Her arms wrapped around her stomach, shivering from fear more than the cold. Footsteps echoed from the walls, making the approach of the intruder difficult to place, but she had the feeling that it knew exactly where to find her.

"Here." Shinwoo held out her backpack with one hand, dangling it from his fingers by the straps. "If we're late, they'll make us buy the snacks."

The construction site disappeared, and she was in the school hallway once again. She looked over. He was expecting an answer, but she wasn't sure what he had said. Yuna took her backpack from his hand. "You're the one that forgot it."

"Sure, blame me." His lips curved back into his usual charismatic smile.

She must have been right. Yuna released a slow breath of gratitude. He hadn't caught on to her distraction. "Come on. We should leave before we have to buy the snacks."

"I just said that." The grin spread, and Shinwoo laughed as he lead her down the hallway. His voice sobered when they came to their classroom, and he stopped in the doorway without drawing attention to himself.

Pedro hunched over his desk as he checked the students' papers against his answer sheet. He dropped his pen onto the desktop with a deep sigh and leaned back into his chair with his hands behind his head. The motion seemed more exhausted than relieved, and he stared up at the ceiling. "That makes everyone except…"

Shinwoo left the doorway without saying goodbye. Neither of them felt like joking around right now, and he waited until the school gates were far behind him before he finally brought up what was on his mind. "I know we shouldn't go to see them tonight, but I…"

"I'm worried about Seira, too." Yuna slid her thumbs under the straps of her backpack and squeezed the material between her fingers as she walked. "After the way she just left during the middle of class, I thought something may have happened to Rai. We still haven't heard anything about him."

"I meant about Ajussi having a heart attack."

"Oh… that."

"I thought you'd be more worried about him than anyone else since you…" Shinwoo looked down at the ground rather than meet her eyes. He was walking on the white line between the blue and orange pavement, and if anyone else had been on the sidewalk, he would have carelessly bumped into them by now. "Ah, never mind. You said he'd be fine. That's why you lied to Tao hyung, right? Ajussi doesn't like people worrying about him."

"Yeah, that's it." She watched the buildings pass her by. The convenience store where they usually bought the snacks lay to the right, and she quickly ducked into it rather than risk him continuing the topic. "We might as well go ahead and buy something. Otherwise, Suyi will insist on paying again even though we're the last ones there."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Shinwoo grabbed an orange container from the refrigerated section and pretended to read the back. "I realize that she has the money for it, but she pays every single time. I feel a little guilty about it. Don't tell the others I said that."

"How could I?" A fragile smile held her lips. "You're keeping a secret for me."

"Yeah." His tone fell flat, and he handed her the container. "Here, you like this kind, don't you?"

"You remembered?" Yuna took the juice. It felt cool against her skin.

"Hey." The voice came from behind her with an unnerving fierceness.

"Yes?" The sound was barely a whisper, and Yuna turned around with wide eyes.

The man stood above her like a tower with shoulders twice as broad as any man she knew except Pedro, but for what the teacher matched him in width, the man more than made up for in height. He said nothing further, but his eyes locked with hers. Something about his gaze wouldn't let her look away although her vision began to fade to black. Her fingers loosened around the bag as her body started to go limp, and the juice crashed to the ground.

"I got it." Shinwoo dropped to one knee and snatched the container from the floor. "You're lucky that it didn't break."

"I-I.. I saw…" Yuna looked around anxiously. They were alone. The man was gone. Her hand flew to her head, and she squeezed her eyes shut. He had been there. She had seen him so clearly. His frame. His eyes. He seemed so real. She couldn't have imagined-

"Headache?" Concern filled the question, and his fingers pressed against her forearm with a touch so hesitant that it didn't feel like him. Shinwoo was never cautious about anything. He breathed self-confidence.

Yuna shook his hand off and clung her arm defensively against her chest. Was that his real reaction or had she imagined? She searched his face for a sign of the truth. He looked so uncertain as he stood there with his hand still in the air. Her reaction must have surprised him, but his countenance softened with understanding. A streak of blood trailed down his face, curving along his jaw line until it finally dripped from his chin.

"Shinwoo, you're…" She took a step backward as his hand finally fell to his side, and she shook her head in disbelief. The blood wasn't real. It wasn't really there. "Shinwoo, I'm…" Her back hit the shelving unit behind her, and she dashed forward, passing him and throwing herself into the door. It swung open wildly, dumping her out onto the sidewalk.

"Hey, wait!" Shinwoo called after her, easily matching her strides, and grabbed her wrist tightly. He slowed his pace, forcing her to a walk. "Why are you running?"

She tried to pull herself free, but he didn't release her this time. Yuna stopped struggling. She couldn't beat him in strength. Instead, she stared down at her shoes and gave the only defense she had. "You're shoplifting."

He let go at once and looked at the juice in his hand then back at the store. The clerk nervously paced behind the counter, panicking and unsure of what to do. "I have to go pay for this. Don't leave, okay?"

"Okay."

"No, promise me." A sense of gravity overwhelmed his demeanor. "You won't leave?"

"I won't."

"Okay." He gave her one last glance then ran inside the store.

Yuna clung to the straps of her backpack. Her hands trembled, and she had to remind herself that the blood wasn't real. It was nothing more than a daydream. In illusion. But even as she reassured herself, her doubts echoed the words. It felt too familiar. It wasn't that something was suddenly added. No, it had always been there. Even forgotten memories have existed once. It wasn't as if she had lacked them before. Rather, she had never been able to access them until now.

"Here." Shinwoo held out his hand sheepishly and uncurled his fingers to reveal a bottle of pain reliever in his palm. "I thought you might need this."

"Thanks." Yuna twisted the lid off and took two tablets from the bottle. He pulled a drink from his bag and gave that to her as well. He was trying so hard to protect her even from something like this. The way he was right now, this was real. "Shinwoo, about earlier… I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He shoved his hands in his pocket and waited for her to take the medicine before he continued walking toward the principal's house. "Just… don't hide it, okay? Not from me."

"Okay."

"I mean that. It's okay to tell me. I won't tell anyone."

"Shinwoo," Yuna glanced over at him timidly, "what do you think Ajussi did before he worked at the school?"

"I don't know. Probably something guard related. Maybe military? He seems really well trained. Why bring it up?"

"I'm just starting to wonder."


A/N: Scenes and quotes from Noblesse chapter 28. All credit goes to the creators. I used the English translation version from EGScans.