“Evelyn, is everything okay? Why did you leave school early yesterday?”

“Yes, we were worried since you left without saying anything,” Kate added.

Evelyn looked at them apologetically, averting her gaze as she responded.

“I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly, girls. My brother called, and they told me my little brother was very sick. I got worried and rushed home.”

“Oh, I see. Is your brother okay now?”

“Yes, he’s fine now. He just had a fever.”

“Oh, thank goodness! I’m glad he’s doing better,” Alice said with relief.

While the girls were talking, Evelyn suddenly noticed Jane. As usual, she was surrounded by her sycophants. Ever since Evelyn stood up to her, no one let Jane bully them anymore, but she still acted unpleasant toward everyone. Seeing Jane stirred anger within Evelyn. After all, she still suspected Jane of sending those men after her in the woods. Everything—the capture of Lucian, the men discovering their secrets—seemed to trace back to her. But without proof, there was nothing Evelyn could do. She decided it was time to find some evidence.

A short while later, Jane began walking away from her group of girls. Noticing this, Evelyn quickly told Alice and Kate she was going to the restroom, then followed Jane. Jane headed toward the school’s back garden, a quiet area with few students. After looking around to ensure no one was nearby, Jane took out her phone and made a call. Evelyn kept her distance, watching silently.

After a few minutes of waiting, it seemed no one answered Jane’s call. Frustrated, Jane angrily hung up.

“Those useless fools! They took my money but didn’t do their job. And now they won’t even answer my calls!”

Evelyn couldn’t hear everything from where she was standing, but she observed Jane closely. When Jane started heading back toward the school, Evelyn quickly returned to her friends, pretending nothing had happened.

Throughout the rest of the lessons, Evelyn kept a watchful eye on Jane, determined to uncover some evidence. When school ended, she saw Jane get into a car that had come to pick her up. Evelyn, on the other hand, stayed behind, waiting for Shin. While she was lost in thought, she suddenly felt a light tap on her shoulder. Assuming it was Shin, Evelyn quickly turned around.

“You’re here alrea—”

But instead of Shin, she found Daniel standing there. Startled, Evelyn instinctively stepped back.

“…Oh, Daniel, it’s you.”

Daniel smiled faintly. He had quietly approached her, intending to surprise her, but hadn’t expected such a reaction. Now he regretted doing it.

“Yes, it’s me. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Were you waiting for someone?”

“Yes, I’m waiting for my brother.”

“Oh, you mean Mr. Marcus?”

“…Well… actually…”

“It seems like he hasn’t arrived yet. How about we go and buy you a camera while you wait?”

“Huh? Oh, right! I still haven’t gotten myself a camera!”

“There’s a shop near the school that sells cameras. What do you say? I can help you pick the best one for you.”

“…I…”

Evelyn hesitated. Shin had told her not to leave the school until he arrived, for her safety. The matter with those men still wasn’t resolved, and she didn’t want Daniel to get hurt again because of her. She knew she should decline, but she couldn’t think of a good excuse. At the same time, looking at Daniel, she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by saying no.

As she pondered, Evelyn realized a few minutes had already passed. Embarrassed, she raised her head and saw Daniel still smiling patiently, waiting for her answer. Taking a deep breath, Evelyn forced a smile.

“All right, let’s go.”

Daniel led Evelyn to the nearby shop.

“They might not have a wide variety of cameras here, but these are perfect for beginners,” he said.

After looking around for a while, they finally chose a camera that suited Evelyn.

“So, do you like it?”

“Yes, I love it! I can’t wait to start taking pictures with it.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll teach you how to use it tomorrow.”

“That’d be great! Thank you, Daniel.”

“No problem. Looks like your brother still isn’t here, though.”

Just then, Evelyn’s phone buzzed with a message. She checked it and saw it was from Shin. The message was brief: “I’m waiting by the wall in the back.”

Evelyn glanced discreetly at the back wall but couldn’t sense Shin’s energy.

“Evelyn, is something wrong?” Daniel asked.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. My brother is here. He’s waiting for me downstairs, so I should go.”

“All right then. Say hi to Mr. Marcus for me. Goodbye.”

“Of course. Goodbye.”

Once Daniel was far enough away, Shin stepped out from behind the wall and approached Evelyn.

“How long were you waiting?” she asked.

“Since you left the school building. When I saw that boy approach you, I decided to wait. Is he a friend of yours?”

“Ah, yes, he’s a friend. We’re in the same club. I joined the photography club.”

“Yes, I know. Serena mentioned it to me. Let’s go.”

It was already evening, and everyone, including Marcus, was finally home. While Serena was preparing dinner, Marcus was trying to help Evelyn with her homework—or at least attempting to. After a few minutes of pondering over a question Evelyn couldn’t solve, he finally came up with a solution.

"I know what we should do."

"Really? What’s the plan?"

"After dinner, we’ll ask Serena for the answer."

"..."

"What? If I were good at school stuff, I wouldn’t have dropped out of high school, right? This is Serena’s expertise."

At that moment, the twins ran into the living room with their toys, their voices full of excitement.

"Let’s play a game!"

"No, kids, Evelyn is studying right now. Don’t distract her."

"Then you play with us, Marcus!"

Marcus smiled nervously. He knew that if he said yes, he wouldn’t be able to get away from them for the next three hours.

"Uh... well... Where’s Shin?"

"Shin went into Lucian’s room."

Serena entered the living room, holding plates, and spoke as she walked in.

Meanwhile, Shin was sitting at the edge of Lucian’s bed, patiently waiting for him to poke his head out from under the blanket. Shin was well aware that Lucian was awake.

Finally, Lucian lifted his head slightly from under the blanket.

"Do you want to talk?"

Shin asked gently, his tone calm and kind. Lucian, however, shook his head in refusal. Shin sighed softly, moving closer to gently pat Lucian’s head.

"You can’t stay hidden under that blanket forever."

Lucian didn’t respond. A moment of silence passed between them before Shin broke it.

"I know why you don’t want to leave your room. I told you not to use your powers on normal people, didn’t I? Forget about that."

"What?"

Lucian asked in a surprised tone. He hadn’t expected Shin to say something like this.

"It’s because of those bullies at school, isn’t it? That’s why you don’t want to go back. And that’s also why you’ve been hiding in your room, avoiding talking to us. In short, you’re running away. How long do you think this will continue? Sooner or later, you’ll have to face reality."

"...But..."

Lucian clutched the blanket tightly, clearly on the verge of tears. Shin calmly grabbed the blanket and began pulling it away from Lucian.

"!?"

Lucian watched Shin in shock. Shin, however, remained calm as he moved the blanket aside.

"See? This blanket can’t protect you. The moment someone pulls it away, it’s gone. If neither I nor anyone from the family is with you, the only one who can protect you is yourself."

"But I can’t do that!"

"You’re right. You can’t do it right now. But I’ll teach you how. I’ll teach you how to defend yourself from normal people without them realizing your powers."

"...I..."

"Come on, let’s go to the living room for now. Dinner’s ready."

Shin extended his hand toward Lucian. After some hesitation, Lucian finally took his hand, and they left the room together.

The moment they entered the living room, everyone turned to look at them. Marcus glanced at Lucian.

"You finally decided to leave your room. We were getting worried about you."

Serena smiled warmly as she spoke.

"Welcome back, Lucian. Come on, dinner’s ready."

Lucian shyly walked toward the dining table.

After dinner, Evelyn approached Shin. She felt she needed to tell him her suspicions.

"Shin, I need to tell you something. Those men were after us because of me."

Shin glanced at Evelyn from the corner of his eye.

"If you’re talking about what happened in the forest, then no, it wasn’t your fault."

"How do you know about that incident?"

"Serena told me."

 

Evelyn took a deep breath and continued.

"What I mean is, there’s this girl at school I don’t get along with, and I suspect she’s the one who sent those men into the forest after me."

"That doesn’t matter right now."

"What do you mean it doesn’t—"

"It doesn’t matter, this doesn’t matter! Do you really think we’re that stupid? Do you think we can just act like none of this happened just because you say so?!"

Marcus suddenly exploded, his anger clear in his eyes. Everyone turned to look at them, startled by Marcus’s outburst. Shin stared at Marcus but said nothing. Sensing the tension, Serena quickly stepped in.

"Calm down, Marcus! Don’t yell in front of the kids! I’m sure Shin has his reasons."

"Oh, really? Then how about he shares them with us, huh?"

"Kids, go to your rooms. It’s late, time for bed."

Shin suddenly spoke, instructing everyone to leave. His voice was calm, as usual, but there was a slight change in his tone that made everyone even more uneasy. No one wanted to leave Marcus and Shin alone in the living room, especially with the atmosphere so tense. Understanding their hesitation, Shin stood up and started walking toward his room.

"We’ll discuss this more calmly tomorrow, Marcus."

He said this before closing his door behind him. Serena sighed and began taking the kids to bed. Marcus, meanwhile, felt regretful for losing his temper and ruining the peace in the house.

Shin waited silently in his room for a while. Once he was sure everyone had fallen asleep, he opened his shadow portal and stepped inside. The portal transported him to a forest. After walking a bit further, he arrived in front of a warehouse. Armed men were stationed around it, and more were pouring out from inside. It was clear they were hiding something in there.

Shin took a deep breath and began walking toward the warehouse. With every step he took, shadows and darkness started to envelop the area. The men inside the warehouse noticed something was wrong. As they looked around, they saw someone approaching through the trees.

They began to draw their weapons, but the surrounding shadows suddenly started moving and swirling in the air. Shin’s blood-red eyes gleamed as his body glided through the darkness, heading straight for the men.