Rednegne ✅

Peal 9

[동주]

"Where else should we look?" I crossed off another town and city on the map. Where in the world did they go? "Do you think they might've..." "Might've what Hwan?" "Fled this world." "They're nowols. They can't even get jobs." "Geonhak is a sneaky fellow. Don't underestimate him." I grunted then rolled my eyes. "And you bagged on me for being 'too harsh' with him." "So what? You want an apology?" "Guys, less fighting, more finding our diplomas." We looked over the map then I noticed a faint glow coming from a certain spot.

"Do you see that?" "See what?" "Right there." "A remote town? Yeah, I see it." I rubbed my eyes then saw it was gone. "Maybe it was the sun's rays." "Let's go check there." They looked at me with surprise. "Why there Ju?" "If we want to catch a nowol, especially those two, we have to think like them." I didn't know if they'd be there, but I needed to figure out what that glow was.

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We had soon arrived and the place looked like Geonhak's hometown, but nicer. "Eh, are we back in his hometown?" "No." I walked on ahead and looked around. Everyone was giving me weird looks. "I don't see either of them..." I decided to ask someone in case they had stopped by. "Excuse me." "Oh, you surprised me. What can I do for you?" I showed her their photos then took note of her brief expression change. "Are you looking for them? I've never seen them though." I felt a bit disheartened at the news. I sank to the ground as I was ready to give up and just take the F.

"Ju!" "Dude, you okay?" "I'm sorry. I thought we'd learn something here. I give up. There's no way we'll find them. I'm heading back and taking the F." I held my side as Keonhee had given it a kick. "Shut up. When did you become Dongju the wimp?" "Excuse me?" "You heard me. Wimp. Pansy. Pussy. Little-" My foot soon collided with his stomach in the blink of an eye. "Keon, you know better than to provoke him." I stared down at Keonhee with a serious look. "I won't hesitate to do it again. So train that mouth of yours better."

I turned and saw the woman had disappeared. "Where did she go?" "Not sure." "Wait, I got this." I placed the appropriate amount of pressure on my wrist then saw her colored waves appear. "Follow me." "Wait, why? Does she know something?" "She does. Now grab Keonhee." I followed the waves and stopped in front of a house. I knocked a few times and hoped she'd answer. She didn't. "Please, miss. If you know anything, could you please tell us? We need to find those boys. They're important." Her door opened and I was soon drenched from head to toe. "As if I'll ever tell you heathens their whereabouts!" She harshly closed the door and locked it.

"Ju..." "Don't touch me." I wiped the droplets off my face as I walked away. Humiliated in front of my friends and on lookers. "Shit just keeps getting worse and worse." I stomped on the ground out of anger then groaned as a few trees had been uprooted and floated in the air. I made a tiny circle in the air then heard the trees land with a loud thud.

I thought back to my conversation with Mr. Lee and balance. "A balance huh..." Balances are basically our counterparts that keep us in check. Everyone had a balance, but not everyone got to meet their balance may it be due to an early death or you just never happened to cross paths. I had often thought about my own balance and who it could be. I looked at my star then frowned as it hadn't increased any since the day Mr. Lee pointed it out. It was safe to say then that neither Keonhee nor Hwanwoong were my balance.

"Ju!" "Ju!" "Huh?" I was suddenly hugged from behind then recognized this warmth. "Keon?" He soon released me as Hwanwoong approached. "That woman who threw water at you gave us a hint. She said they're going to 'find themselves'. Whatever that is." "And just how do one plan to do that?" I looked at them then closed my eyes as I worked with this one clue. "Find themselves. Are they going to try and awaken their powers themselves?" My gears were operating at full force. "I've only seen this face once before. He must really be into this." A light bulb went off in my head. "They're heading someplace that I've only read about in a book." "Proof that you read too much and don't get out enough." I hit Hwanwoong's arm then tried to remember where the book said it was.

"What is this place you're talking about anyway?" "Yeah, maybe we can help. We're just as capable as you." "They're searching for the home of the nowols, Eskepaid." What worries me was what road they took in order to get there. Not that it really mattered as danger lurked on every path they took. "We need to get to them quick." We couldn't couldn't lose our one way tickets to our diplomas.