Chapter Text
Hansol was not ready. Actually that was an understatement. Hansol was unprepared, both physically and mentally, to say the least.
He had spent the past month of his vacation doing the bare minimum. Relaxing, chasing balls, eating ice cream, playing video games, binge watching the entirety of The Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead of preparing himself for the emotional and personal revolution, University would bring him.
And now here he was, in front of Pledis University for Magical Creatures, completely unprepared to what was waiting for him. Not because this would be the end of the world for him, but being prepared for big changes like this, was always nice.
His mother had countless of times told him, to do a mental note of to where the dorms were, or at least the principal's office, in case he got lost. But did he do that? No, he didn’t even spare the school a single thought, throughout the whole of his vacation.
Finally being freed, from the seemingly never ending prison, that was his High School, he just wanted to relax and not think about what was to come. The future always scared Hansol a tiny bit, he didn’t really know what he wanted to do later on, maybe something with animals or business, but as his father had told him, he’ll figure it out someday.
But now, as he was standing right in the middle of the situation, his parents and little sister, his home, out of sight, he couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed. His parents and sister had left after the principal, who, he had learnt, was part ogre, had held his welcoming speech to the new students and wished everyone a good school year. Hansol had snorted at the last statement.
His mother had told him to be good, while scratching his head, something she had always done when he was younger, while his father gave a nod of contempt, as he patted his back. Sofia, his younger sister, had hugged him tight around his waist, and mischievously whispered, that she bet he would call home within the first three days due to homesickness. He had tousled her hair and growled at her in response. And then they had left, just like that, and Hansol was left to fend for himself.
The University was huge, of course it was. Half of the earth's population, if not more, were considered to be that of another race than human, often referred to as Magicus, or Magicals. So it was of no surprise to Hansol, that the hallways seemed endless and the common rooms could fit approximately an entire dragon, if not two.
As Hansol stood in one of the common rooms, surrounded by countless of other people trying to find their way around, he couldn’t help but think that the term, Magicus, had always been funny to him. Sure, some were born as witches and wizards, even telepaths and the likes. Creatures who seemed human like, with no real visible evidence that they were not human. But most of these Magicus were vampires, angels, mermaids, devils, elves and as himself, werewolves. He had also always found it funny that humans and magicus were separated when it came to school, but outside of school they were to mingle as they pleased. That would probably always be one of the things that would never make perfect sense to Hansol. The differences were almost always noticeable from human to magicus. Vampires would have sharp fangs, pale skin, and would be inhumanly pretty. Some vampires were even born with an extra enhanced ability. All vampires were faster and stronger than humans, but some vampires would just be a notch more than others. Mermaids were often rather clumsy when they were in their human form, as they would have trouble using their legs. Mermaids’ tails would transform into legs as soon as they were on land, and would regain their tail when submerged in water. Mermaids had the ability to control water. And scales would cover up their arms, and other parts of their body. Angels had white wings and halos, and were illuminated by a faint light, making them glow. They also had the ability to control wind. Devils had horns and a tail, could control fire, and would often be characterized as rather mischievous. Elves would have pointy ears and soft delicate features, their hearing would be extraordinary, and they had the ability to talk to animals, and understand the nature. Druids could control plants and had the power to heal small wounds. The list went on.
One of the few, who were actually quite hard to differ from human to magicus, that wasn’t a witch, wizard or telepath, was the werewolf. A werewolf had no specific traits, when in their human form, that indicated they weren’t human. The fact that they could transform into a giant wolf, wasn’t really visible, and Hansol was quite content with that. Werewolves didn’t transform every full moon, they could transform at their own will, and their senses was enhanced, like a wolf's. And even though Hansol was just like the rest of the people currently surrounding him, he couldn’t help the feeling, he had felt countless of times before, of not belonging.
As Hansol stood, mouth agape, amidst the bustling crowd of new students who, as he, tried to relocate their dorms and classrooms, a friendly, yet mature, voice called out from behind him: ”Are you lost kid?”
Upon turning around, Hansol was met with a pair of deep dark brown, almost black, eyes, which belonged to a man with a well structured face, a slightly flat nose and red lips. All in all a very handsome man. Hansol must have been staring, because the man in front of him quirked a dark eyebrow, that matched his jet black hair, at him in question.
”Um, yes” Hansol managed to say in confusion.
The man smiled a warm smile at him and held out a hand for Hansol to take.
”I’m Choi Seungcheol, fourth year, werewolf, nice to meet you” He said, his eyes never leaving Hansol’s.
Hansol slowly took Seungcheol’s hand and said: ”Chwe Vernon Hansol, first year, werewolf, it’s nice to meet you too” with a beaming smile that mirrored the elders.
”Aha, I had a feeling we were the same, you know, species wise” Seungcheol clarified in the end of his sentence, as he led go of Hansol’s hand.
Hansol tilted his head slightly to the left in wonder, Seungcheol took this as a question and he continued: ”You didn’t really reek of death and blood as some vampires do, and nature didn’t seem to be your forte, and well you kind off smelled a little like dog, not wet dog, just dog”
Hansol’s face lit up into a warm smile that showed off his teeth, as he laughed a little at Seungcheol's statement.
”Anyway” Seungcheol cleared his throat, ”Do you need help finding your dorm?” He asked looking down at Hansol.
Hansol nodded slightly and said: ”If you’re not too busy, then yes, I’m completely lost, and there are so many new smells, it’s all kind of overwhelming”
Hansol didn’t know why he was sharing all that with a complete stranger, maybe it was the fact that they were the same species, or that the elder seemed to give off a glow and feeling of a fatherly figure, as he stood tall and broad shouldered in front of Hansol.
”I completely understand you, being a werewolf is hard when you enter a new place with a lot of people, the smells sometimes just becomes too much” Seungcheol said as he nodded slightly in wonder and agreement.
”So what’s your room number, I’ll take you there” he said hurriedly to Hansol, who started fumbling with the key in his pocket, he had been handed at the entrance, by the nice elf secretary.
”Uuuuhm, 216” Hansol said as he squinted at the almost worn out number on the small metal plate.
”Great, that’s relatively close by, follow me” Seungcheol said as he started walking in whatever direction was the right. Hansol hauled his suitcase behind him, and made a mental note of paying attention to his surroundings and certain smells.
~~~~~~
Seungcheol started by leading Hansol out of the common room he had been situated in. The hallway they walked into was long, and filled with paintings, of old as well as young people. Hansol made them out to be historical characters. He recognised a few, there was a painting of Lee Seokmin, a great wizard, who had lived around 200 years ago.
He was known for his extraordinary skills with magic, and as the girls in Hansol’s high school classes had said, his good looks. The story of Lee Seokmin was actually quite weird. He had suddenly disappeared one day, to never be seen again. He of course would be dead by now, but Hansol had always found the story rather fascinating.
As he trailed behind Seungcheol, who walked quite fast, if Hansol had to say so himself, he realised that the school was furnished rather funnily.
The walls would be white in one part, and a moss green in another. The floor would shift from tiles to wood, and even the decorations would be shift from modern to antique. It was a mix of old and new, and it added quite the charm to the school.
Hansol continued to look at the paintings on the walls, even their frames shifted between old and new style, in the hope that he would spot another one he would be able to remember. None of the faces he saw seemed familiar to his young eyes, but one painting, nonetheless, caught his vision.
He stopped in his tracks, and walked over to a portrait of a young boy, probably around the same age as Hansol, and stared in awe. Hansol quickly estimated the boy to be a vampire, he could see it on the pale skin, which made his caramel brown hair look almost golden, and the perfectly structured face. He felt like he had seen the boy before, and there was something about the painting, that spoke to Hansol. Whether it was the seemingly dead look in the boys deep golden caramel brown eyes, or his slightly chubby cheeks, that despite the look in his eyes, gave him a more friendly demeanor. Hansol couldn’t really tell, he just knew that he was captivated.
”Cute right?” Seungcheol said from Hansol’s side. Hansol looked surprised at Seungcheol. At some point he must have moved to Hansol’s side, while he was in his entranced haze.
”Uhm, well, I guess?” Hansol managed to stutter out without stumbling to much on his words.
Seungcheol smiled that warm fatherly smile again, as he looked at Hansol, with a slight shimmer in his eyes. Hansol looked to the old wooden floor, then to the portrait of the young boy again, while Seungcheol continued to stare at him. It was like he was waiting for something, so Hansol uncertainly asked: ”Who is, uhm, was he?” Hansol corrected himself.
This made Seungcheol turn his head to look at the painting as well. He took a deep breath before saying: ”Seung Baek-young, The Prince of rebellion, I’m sure you have heard of him” Seungcheol looked to Hansol, and Hansol met his gaze as he nodded. Hansol had heard about him briefly in high school, they had just grazed the topic of vampire history, but he was sure that everybody knew who Seung Baek-young was, just not what he looked like.
”Or else, you will, this school is big on Magicus history, and he did, after all, play a very important part in that. So you’ll learn more about him soon enough. Now let’s get going” Seungcheol explained as he turned on his heel to continue down the hallway. Hansol followed close behind him, as he cast a last glance over his shoulder, at the portrait of the young vampire.
~~~~~~
”Here we are” Seungcheol exclaimed as he stopped in front of a dark brown, almost red, wooden door, with a handle made of brass.
After they had left the painting of Seung Baek-young, Seungcheol had led Hansol down another hallway, which was decorated in brighter colors, in contrast to the one they had just been in, which was illuminated by darkness, and more artistic paintings clad the walls. After that it was just to the right and Hansol was met with a corridor of doors.
He proceeded to fish the old key out of his pocket, and unlocked the door.
Hansol didn’t know what he had expected. The room wasn’t anything extraordinary. The dark blue curtains were pulled, and two beds were placed in each side of the white room, with two writing desks set up in the middle under the windows.
”Looks like your roommate hasn’t arrived yet” Seungcheol stated upon seeing the two empty beds.
Hansol nodded in agreement as he went further into the room, he spotted a door on the left, and concluded it to be the bathroom.
”Well since he isn’t here yet, you get to pick bed first” Seungcheol continued with a sing song voice from the door.
Hansol proceeded to nod as he threw his bags on the bed to the left. Now what. He didn’t feel like unpacking just yet, and he definitely didn’t want to be left alone at the moment. But asking Seungcheol, a guy he had just met, to stay with him, seemed rather selfish, and just a tad bit weird.
As if on cue Seungcheol spoke up: ”I’m about to meet up with some of my friends, if you want, you are very welcome to join us”
Hansol turned around to look at the elder with sparkling eyes, and after 3 seconds of thinking, he nodded his head yes, and followed Seungcheol out the door.
~~~~~~
Seungcheol led Hansol down to a little cafe, not far from campus. As they entered, they were both met with the strong intense smell of freshly brewed coffee and all kind of baked goods.
”Cheollie~ over here” a voice called out, from the back of the cafe.
Seungcheol turned his attention to the voice, and waved back at a rather tall boy, he then turned to Hansol who was giving him a funny look.
”Don’t mention it” Seungcheol warned, and Hansol threw his hands up in mock surrender as he snickered to himself.
Seungcheol led the way to the back of the cafe, where four boys were occupying a booth.
Upon arriving Seungcheol, to Hansol’s surprise, pulled Hansol up to his side and said: ”Guys, this is Hansol, he’s a first year, werewolf, just like me, so be nice to him” looking down on his seated friends who all looked at Hansol with different smiles and interest.
Seungcheol took a seat besides a rather small boy with reddish hair, and small red horns sticking out from both sides of his head. Hansol contemplated for a second if he was a first year as well, but quickly dismissed the thought, as Seungcheol pulled him down next to him.
The man sitting across from him, was rather pale, had dark brown hair and was quite handsome, Hansol noted. He stretched his hand towards Hansol, and with a warm smile, that showed off his fangs, and said: ”Hi, I’m Wen Junhui, but people call me Jun, so just call me Jun” flashing a smirk to Hansol at the end of his sentence.
Hansol took Jun’s hand and said: ”Chwe Vernon Hansol, people call me Hansol, but Vernon is fine too” after saying this he received a interested look from Seungcheol, but he didn’t get to speak up, as the tall guy, who had called them over said: ”Hello~ I’m Mingyu, I’m in second year, it’s nice to meet you” in an enthusiastic voice as he reached his hand towards Hansol. Hansol took Mingyu’s hand and shook it firmly. He immediately noticed that part of Mingyu’s neck and arms were covered in dark blue scales, which stood in good contrast to his light blue hair and dark skin. Hansol concluded that Mingyu was a merman.
Mingyu proceeded to look at the man who sat beside him. When the man didn’t react, Mingyu nudged him with an elbow,. The man looked annoyed up from his book, a pair of round spectacles adorned his face, as he glared at Mingyu, who gestured towards Hansol. The man with glasses looked to Hansol, and his facial features relaxed as he took Hansol’s hand in his and said shortly: ”Jeon Wonwoo, third year, druid” Hansol nodded in return as he now noticed the dark green and brown branches and leaves that was intertwined in Wonwoo’s hair and around his glasses. Wonwoo returned to his book after letting go of Hansol’s hand, and Hansol turned to the last new face at the table. The guy Seungcheol was sitting besides.
The smaller male gave Hansol an unamused stare as he took his hand and silently said: ”Lee Jihoon, but most people call me Woozi, you decide for yourself. I’m a third year like Wonwoo and Jun, and as you might have guessed, a devil” he finished gesturing to the small red horns on his head, and the long, thin tail wagging back and forth behind him. Hansol again nodded in response as he leant back into the soft cushion of the chair he was seated on.
”So Hansol, tell us, are you excited?” Jun spoke up with an interested look in his dark brown eyes, as he rested his elbows on the table, almost knocking over Mingyu’s coffee, which he hurriedly saved.
”I guess” Hansol shrugged ”I just have to get used to everything being so big” he said, giving a quite unsure smile.
”Don’t worry about it kiddo, just stick with us, then nothing can go wrong” Mingyu reassured, this earned him a cough and snort from Wonwoo’s side, who was still fixated on his book.
Seungcheol leant over to Hansol and said: ”Mingyu’s right, everything's gonna be fine, you just have to get used to it, and I’m sure you’ll make a lot of friends faster than you think you will” as he gave Hansol’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Hansol nodded gratefully, this time with a more certain smile.
Seungcheol and Hansol, ordered some coffee, and the conversation started flowing from then on. The boys were talking about everything they had been doing in their vacation. Hansol came with small inputs from time to time, but mostly stuck with listening to the elders’ frantic, but still quiet shouting, as he sipped at his iced americano. Hansol didn’t even notice, but he had been sitting in the cafe for almost two hours, and he still had to unpack and meet his roommate.
”Not to be a party pooper or anything, but I need to unpack my stuff and other things, so I think I’ll head back to the dorms” Hansol stated as the others were silent, which he had found, was a rare occurrence.
”Of course, can you find your way back?” Seungcheol asked, with that ever so warm smile Hansol was already growing used to. Hansol nodded his head yes, as he stood up and bid the others farewell with a wave.
~~~~~~
Hansol only took one wrong turn on his way back, which was quite an accomplishment if he had to say so himself. Despite being a werewolf with an exceptional smelling sense and whatnot, Hansol sucked at directions. It was almost embarrassing, but he often got confused by smells and places that looked alike. His mother reassured him that it was normal, and nothing to be ashamed of.
As he stood in front of the old brown door that led to his room again, he started to miss the feeling of his home, maybe Sofia had been right, and he would call within a day or two bawling his eyes out, saying he wanted to go home.
No, Hansol thought to himself, he was a grown up now, more or less. This was the first time he had to spend so long away from home, and maybe if he had been better prepared he wouldn’t be standing here now, contemplating whether or not to unlock the door, but he knew that he had to do it at some point.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want a roommate, he was just slightly intimidated by the thought of having to share so many things with another person. He always shared things with Sofia, but that was different, she was his sister. He just had to get used to it all, as Seungcheol had said, then he wouldn’t even notice the time ticking by.
After a deep breath, Hansol finally turned the key and entered the room. This time, instead of the empty room, he was greeted with a young looking boy with caramel brown hair, standing with his back turned to the door, at the bed on the right.
He turned around at the sound of Hansol entering the room, and Hansol was taken aback as he met the boy’s deep golden caramel brown eyes. His face was well structured, and his cheeks were slightly chubby. And he bore an odd resemblance to Seung Baek-young, but something was off, he didn’t look exactly like him. Hansol still couldn’t help but stare.
The boys’ curios eyes, quickly turned into those of disgust as he crinkled his nose, and stared at Hansol.
They stood like that for a bit, with the boy staring at Hansol and Hansol staring at him. The boy was the first to speak up.
”You have got to be kidding me” He said, clearly gesturing at Hansol, who just stood with a bewildered face as he continued to stare at the boy.
”A werewolf, I have to room with a werewolf, of all creatures out there?” He continued speaking to the room.
And it finally made sense to Hansol. The other boy was a vampire, he should have known from the pale skin, and it was only now that Hansol noticed the blood bag, with a pink straw, the boy held in his hand.
Hansol coughed and stepped up to the boy, here goes nothing, he thought as he extended his hand towards him and said in his nicest, calmest voice possible, despite the nerves building up in the back of his mind: ”I’m Chwe Vernon Hansol, it’s nice to meet you”
The boy looked skeptically at Hansol with raised eyebrows, then to his hand, as he took a long, a really long, sip from the pink straw that connected his mouth to the blood bag. All the while making an exaggerated slurping sound that filled the silence in the room.
He finally stopped and took Hansol’s hand in his and said: ”Seungkwan, Boo Seungkwan, pleasure’s all mine” with the straightest smile Hansol had ever seen.
Now, Hansol had never been called stupid, nor a genius. But he definitely didn’t have to be a genius, to know that this was gonna be one hell of a roommate.