Secrets of Ateliyen

can you feel it

Ricky believed his life was considerably mundane. He was raised by two adoptive parents who loved and cared for him in one of those historical neighbourhoods that seemed to only exist in Korean dramas. They treated him as their own and ensured he remained connected to his Chinese heritage. So, imagine his surprise when they presented him with a well-kept note, which he had never seen before, and told him that he needed to attend a school for the supernatural.

To his knowledge, he wasn't supernatural. No offence to supernaturals; they seemed like great people. Beings? They seemed great. But why would this random letter, from whom he expected was his birth mother, specifically say to send him to Ateliyen University? If he's not mistaken, his birth mother abandoned him on his adoptive parents' doorstep and didn't have the gall to do it herself. Who did she think she was, demanding which school he should attend? To make things worse, why were his parents considering following her words? What if she's the principal of this peculiar school, and she waited eighteen years to murder him on the school grounds as some sacrificial virginal lamb?

One day, he's in a screaming fest with his mother, and less than two weeks later, he's on a one-way flight to Jeju to get checked in before the beginning of the school year at Ateliyen.

Ateliyen was somehow what he expected it to be, yet much more. It's what you'd think a school for supernaturals would be. Enormous and almost overwhelming buildings, students from all walks of life and teachers who have seen and heard of everything there is to know about the supernatural world.

As he walked into the grand foyer during his self-aided tour, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a pair of teenagers roughly his age push each other nearly too aggressively. They growl, low and guttural, snarling at the other's face, which was when Ricky instinctively took a step back, closer to the centre of the foyer and further away from the field. What made him scream in fear and embarrassingly jump into the arms of a random man behind him was when the two seemingly normal teenagers stepped back, gave each other identical smirks and leapt into the air, transforming into wolves in front of his eyes.

"Woah there, no need to be scared they're just roughhousing. What? Never seen werewolves before?" The man with his hands securely wrapped around Ricky's waist whispered in his ear. Somehow, this flicked a switch in the blonde's mind. His knees almost immediately gave out under him, causing the stranger to tighten his hold, and his eyelashes fluttered to the beat of his heart, which was concerningly quickly.

"Actually no, I haven't thanks for the heads up though..." He pushed away and turned around to make eye contact with his 'hero'. It felt like time stopped, and the only people left in the world were each other. Gyuvin's large, originally brown eyes flashed a dark crimson red while Ricky's flashed bright sky blue. A heavy, almost angelic aura blanketed the room and all the students who were privileged enough to witness. The older man's face contorted in confusion. Why did he feel like this? Like his entire body was aflame, the sole thing cooling it down was the presence of this random supernatural who gaped at him with bewildered eyes.

"Mate," was the singular word that left his lips in what felt like hours to pair. Ricky quirked his head to the side. Of course, these beings have soulmates. He had read too many fictional books about supernaturals to not know this.

The entire school population seemed to be looking at the pair. Hell, even the werewolves had paused their sparring to see what was the cause of so much commotion. Gyuvin quickly assessed the situation and wrapped his fingers around the shorter's wrist to drag him towards his dorm room.

Ricky let out a small yelp when the door slammed behind him. He was in the Darkworlders' dorm. From the outside, it was nothing like every other building on the school's compound. Large, ancient gargoyles circled the top floor designated for those with any percentage of Royal blood. The walls were white, just like the other buildings, but the heavy black marble pillars framing the front doors set it apart from the rest. To a regular person like Ricky, it felt as if someone had turned the heater straight up, and beads of sweat pooled on his forehead practically immediately upon arrival. The overwhelming scent of the two had the air in the room feeling so thick they could cut it with a dull knife.