Win No Matter What

CHAPTER 9 - SECRET MESSAGE

You feel the weight of Nam Joon's announcement to the rest of the group and decide you should leave so they can have a discussion in private. You indicate to Ho Seok that you are going to go when Jung Kook calls out, "Rumi, you're not leaving are you? You haven't even eaten. Here, have a kimbap."

"I'm not really that hungry, I came because Ho Seok insisted, but I feel like I'm interrupting an important private conversation, so I should go," you explain.

"Yes, you should," Yoongi concurs coldly.

"Yoongi hyung! No, Rumi, you're not interrupting anything, is she Nam Joon hyung?" Jung Kook asks, tilting his head to indicate that you should stay. Clearly Nam Joon is the leader of the gang, because even Yoongi doesn't say anything when Nam Joon replies, "Yes, please Rumi, stay with us and eat."

They all eat lunch quietly due to the slightly uncomfortable atmosphere except for Jung Kook, Jin, Ho Seok and Tae Hyung who are giving their food their due attention. They talk excitedly about the last episode of Hwarang while the others seem to be lost in their own thoughts. Thankful when the bell rings, they all exchange quick farewells and go their separate ways. You don't have any more lessons for the day so you decide to go for a wander around the building. You explore the Busan wing which is similar to the Daegu one except there is a definite air of exuberance about it. The gold frames around paintings seem to glow more than the ones in the Daegu wing. There are more gold-tinted statues of cherubs in the hallway and you're sure you can hear faint music in the background. Who on earth designed this wing? Dionysus? You're not sure that you like this overstated decor.

You head into the main wing, Seoul, and make your way to the staffroom where you know is an impressive staff library and archive of old scripts. When you go in, you check that the staffroom is empty, which it is. The library is at the back of the room and you walk toward what appears to be a dead end. Entry to the library is not straightforward and the security surrounding it made you curious. It took some research, but you think you worked out how to get inside. Of course, you didn't ask anyone at the Academy about it in case it roused suspicion, but all you wanted to do was satisfy your curiosity. You tap the school crest (found on the right-hand wall) with your wand whilst muttering the school's motto in an ancient tongue rarely used now. Surprisingly, it works first time and the wall in front of you disappears. You walk in cautiously and the wall appears again behind you, closing you off from the staffroom. The room suddenly becomes so brightly lit that you momentarily shield your eyes. Once your eyes have adjusted to your surroundings, you see endless rows of bookshelves. You walk through the aisle directly in front of you, gazing at the books on your left and right, amazed at the vastness of literature around you. You are tempted to run your hands along the spines of the books but resist; it was risky enough just coming into this sacred library. You're not really looking for anything as you just wanted to see what the secrecy was about, so you decide to leave quickly before you get caught. You do a u-turn on the spot and are about to walk back when a charred piece of paper floats down in front of you. You look up to see, but you can't see where it came from. You pick the paper up which contains a short scripture in a language that you're unfamiliar with. Not knowing what to do with it, or where to put it back, you quickly pocket it and leave the same way you came in. Thankfully the staffroom is still empty. 

The school day is almost coming to a close and you go back to your room before teachers start arriving. You've had enough drama for one day and don't have the energy to speak to anyone else today.