The path through the barren courtyard was lit by faint streetlights, which came to life as Lupin stepped under them, but went dark when Hajun did the same.
He watched those flames flicker ahead of him, then looked to the man with the wolf mask, who was cast under the ghastly light.
It washed out all colour, leaving him paler than a corpse. Hajun would have asked if he'd seen a ghost, but it was just as likely that this Lupin guy was a ghost himself.
Should I run?
No. I can't. Whatever he is, he's fast.
…
Then would he die?
Hajun stopped, staring down at his hand as he bared his claws. It was painful, excruciatingly so. But his torn skin and fingers seemed to heal fast enough for it to be bearable.
It would be manageable to use them.
"Is something the matter?" A silver mask turned to face him, every feature behind it being nondescript.
"Ah, no. I was just…seeing the sights."
"It's night? What sights are there to see?"
"Plenty." Hajun smiled, glancing towards the buildings that encircled the courtyard. This wasn't a government building, nor was it a commercial area. He knew that well enough.
"Ashford University is a beautiful place."
"It— is…" The wolf's eyes narrowed, the ears of his mask flinching. It was a strange thing, the masks, even stranger that they moved according to emotion. But this way, he could read a face that was otherwise unreadable.
Lupin was startled. Which meant Hajun was right.
This was the eastern branch campus of the University of Ashford. Except there was something evidently wrong here, because the campus was meant to be full of stuck up students, not masked cultists.
"Mn." Hajun nodded, watching the light above him go out as Lupin walked on ahead.
[ Haha..! I can feel the bloodlust on you! You want to kill him, or is it a vampire's thirst? Ah I was always a bite first ask questions later type of ■■■–]
"Shut your trap." Hajun slammed his clawed fist against the streetlamp, using the pain as a way to punish the damn demon.
He wished it would hurt it more than it hurt him, but that wasn't the case.
It hurt like hell.
He shook the pain off, then smiled at the startled wolf man.
"There was a mosquito. Haha."
"Is that…so? There usually aren't any bugs around here but…I'll ask the Guard to deal with it."
"Thank you, Mr. Lupin!"
The man in question froze, then whirled around. By the time Hajun had blinked, he was already a yard or so ahead of him.
Hajun laughed, finding it funny. He didn't see a point questioning this insanity anymore.
He walked at his own pace, because despite the distance, the watch dog couldn't exactly leave him behind.
Doctors orders, they said.
I have some words for that spider bastard.
Ha…let's save it for later. Get out of here first. That's a good goal. Yeah.
***
Lupin stood in front of the registrar office, holding the door open for the straggler that took his sweet time.
Hajun was experienced in being a professional pest, so he was all too happy to strike a nerve. He peered at the flowers on the way, many of which were ashen and withered. For a full five minutes, he poked at that flower, which had been mummified from the sheer lack of care.
When Lupin cleared his throat, Hajun finally looked over, giving a practiced smile.
"Compliments to the gardener!"
"…Right, I'll pass it on." The wolf mask seemed to glare at him, stuck between befuddlement and pure irritation.
Hajun nodded and finally stepped through the door, which slammed shut behind him with enough force to startle him.
He looked back, and saw that Lupin had left, leaving him here, alone.
"Haa…you're fine…just, keep going." He muttered to himself, his confidence deflating like a bad tire. He could feel his skull throbbing, no doubt concussed, maybe even broken. He wouldn't be surprised if there were pieces of it swimming in his brain juices.
"Alright…so…" He pushed his hands into his pant pockets and wandered around the dark foyer, looking over the various stacks of papers and files scattered about. It was a mess, and was in no way secure.
"Security my ass. Anybody can spy on these morons." He scoffed under his breath, flipping open one of the files. Then he paused, blinking slowly.
"Ugh? Are my eyes broken?" He squinted at the paper, but saw only squiggles, which seemed to move and writhe like worms. He couldn't look at it for too long without feeling nauseous.
"Well, nobody can read in the dark." A voice came from behind him, and he dropped the file, flipping around with a suppressed swear.
"Fu—for sure. Hahaha…" Hajun said awkwardly, leaning away from the woman who was standing too close to him.
"You must be this Jackalope fellow I've heard so much about. Glad to see that you found your way over here eventually." She smiled, then bent to pick up the file, placing it back neatly where it had been, in a mess.
"Ah…that is me, yes. I apologize for the um, tardiness." Hajun just ended up bowing politely, agreeing with the nonsense she spouted. There was a sort of authority to the older woman, whose mask resembled an old palace statue.
A lion, with horns.
He vaguely remembered seeing something like it in a Buxiu history book. The translation from Mandarin to English hadn't been the best, so he'd mostly just looked at the pictures.
"I had some help, with that, haha."
"Well yes, Lupin is a good kid." She hummed, before walking off into the darkness.
Kid? How old is she?
Hajun stood there, stationary until her finger gestured him over. He sat in the provided chair, while she stood behind the table, rummaging through a pile of papers while muttering to herself.
"Where did I put it..?" She huffed, patting down her black and silver dress.
"Oh! There you are!" She exclaimed, proudly slapping a piece of paper on the desk. Hajun looked down at it, then smiled awkwardly. The words were worms, again.
"Oh dear me! I forgot about that! I'm sorry dear." Despite her words, the lion mask moved not one inch. There was no expression there for him to read.
He felt his stomach drop as the words on the page rearranged themselves into letters. In front of him was an employment contract, and the listed terms were ludicrous at best, and wage slavery at worst.
But despite that, he forced a smile.
"Haha…that's alright miss."
"Miss? My! You're a flatterer aren't you!" Her hand went to her mouth as she laughed, with which he laughed along.
He could feel cold sweat drip down his back, but kept going. "It seemed fitting, haha!"
"Well I am somebody's Missus, but I like the sound of that!"
"Oh..! Then should I call you…?" Hajun's hands clenched on his lap as he met her mask's unblinking eyes.
He found himself becoming increasingly uncomfortable as he sat there, in a dark room with the only light source being a ceiling window through which moonlight filtered in. The twin moons reflected on the desk, their light silver now, rather than red.
"Bai Ze." The lion mask seemed to stare him down, as if reading him through his eyes alone. He was unable to look away, even as cold dread filled his gut.
"I'm from a simpler time, we didn't pick nicknames like that little Lupin of ours!" She finally smiled, at which he let out a breath he was holding in.
"Ah…haha." Was all that he managed to say.
"On that topic…what name will you sign the contract under, Park Hajun?"
Hajun froze, then without a word, he stood, and ran.
He didn't get very far.
"Ghk—" He yelped as something stabbed through his shoulder, and pinned him to the nearest wall. From what he could make out, it was a hairpin, the very same one that had been in her hair.
"Ah ah, let's not make a fuss." Bai Ze walked calmly towards him, then grabbed the mask that covered his own face.
"This can't hide a traitor, Mr. Park. Not from my eyes."
"That's…not my name." He grit out, grasping at her wrist. But her hold didn't slip, not by an inch.
"Oh? Than what is, pray tell?"
"…Phan Liem."
She laughed then, the eyes of her mask squinting in disbelief. Hajun winced as his head was pushed back against the wall as she inspected his eyes again.
He felt sick to his stomach.
"That…is someone you knew, a soldier. He is dead. And you as well. Both bodies were never found. But unlike you, he was no traitor. Did you use his name to hide from the law?" She said, finally letting go of him.
When he didn't answer, she simply grabbed the hairpin, and tore it from his shoulder. The pain was intense, but he bit down his scream.
"Think about it dear, isn't it perfect? The chance to work for us, to live a new life in anonymity, and by the Doctor's recommendation no less, it's an honour."
"You…aren't giving me a choice."
"Yes. I am not. You know what happens to traitors, correct?"
Hajun's fangs bit into his lip as he gripped his shoulder, breathing slowly. The taste of blood was disgusting, but it eased his pain, just a little.
"My…it's really healing. No wonder he insisted on this." She chuckled, glancing at his shoulder. He backed away, pressing against the wall as his breathing became laboured.
"He? Ha. Haha. Doctors orders. Right."
"Exactly!" The old hag patted his shoulder, then stepped back.
"So you'll hire me, just like that? Aren't I a liability? Doesn't harbouring me make you traitors too?"
"Oh. Not at all! Traitors are better put to work than dead, don't you think? They can be very loyal."
"Fear isn't loyalty."
She only smiled, then went back to her desk.
"Now sit." She commanded, and he did. What choice did he have?
"Park Hajun, a draft soldier of the tailwind division was presumed dead on October 30th, 1957 due to an enemy ambush. At least, that was the message given to the family. In truth, you were under order of execution for several cases of murder, desertion, and collaboration with the enemy. All of this was five years ago."
As the Bai Ze read out a case file that shouldn't have been possible for her to have, Hajun just sat there, staring at his lap.
This had to be a nightmare, surely.
He was used to nightmares, they were a constant during what little sleep he managed to get through pills; but none had been this exhausting, mentally and physically.
"Were you employed during that time?"
"No."
"I see. Illegal employment…"
"I didn't say that."
"So you lived, and worked under the name Pham Liem, correct?"
Hajun grit his teeth, then nodded slowly.
"Are you currently employed?"
He didn't look at her, because then it'll happen again, that disgusting feeling of someone else rummaging through his memories.
"Please answer the question, Mr. Park. We need to know what loose ends to tie up before we can have you on board." Bai Ze tapped her quill against the ink stone, before hovering the blackened point over the employment contract.
"No. I'm not." He told a half truth, and she crossed out the box related to it.
"Good! That's less work for myself, and our dear Lupin!" She exclaimed.
"We're severely understaffed, you see. Lupin handles quite a bit of the work here, what with his speed!"
"Ah."
Bai Ze clicked her tongue at that, a sound of irritation, discontent, or something else entirely. Hajun didn't know, because he never looked up.
"Young man. Look at me when I'm talking to you." She scolded. It was a familiar thing, those words.
"…Sorry, Mrs. Bai Ze." He looked up slowly, then stared at the wall behind her head. It was one way to avoid looking directly at those dark eyes, even if a bit pathetic.
"That's alright, everyone makes mistakes. Just keep in mind not to repeat them."
"Yes, Mrs. Bai Ze." He bowed his head, but looked back up when she clicked her tongue.
"Now then, we have two positions open to you. One in field work, one in lab work. Both come with the full benefits of housing, daily necessities, health care coverage, and several discounts from partnered services."
"Right…"
"The Doctor recommended lab work for you, he was quite clear you'd do well there. But field work is where we lack personnel, so there's always a position available. It's your choice."
Lab work? Did you mean a lab rat? Because that's why I'm here, right?
Ha.
Haha.
He was going to kill that spider bastard.
Hajun controlled his expression, as much as he could.
"Then I'll choose field work. I've always been more active rather than studious."
"Don't lie to my face, Mr. Park."
Hajun felt his smile waver, but he pressed on.
"I wouldn't be unemployed for so long if I was lying about that."
Bai Ze laughed, and Hajun winced slightly, feeling his bloodied shoulder throb. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to talk back to her, but this was how he coped.
He could be nonchalant. It wasn't so hard.
But he could feel his damn mask betraying him as he glanced at the contract, his eyes darting to the long list of clauses that made those benefits seem like a bandaid on a bullet hole.
"Don't worry about that, it's only a bit of legal jargon."
"Alright." Hajun smiled at her words, as politely as he could manage. He understood it perfectly, every word.
It asked him to sign his life away, and question nothing. If he went against a single line, the consequence would be execution. Plain and simple.
"You're a good kid! Now, sign here." Bai Ze turned the paper to face him, then slid it closer. She had already signed the authorization, a calligraphic iteration of her pseudonym in what looked like Kanji.
But from the Buxiuian origins of her mask, he assumed it was Hanzi characters instead.
He couldn't read either type of writing, so it didn't exactly matter.
Hajun waited for her to hand him the quill, but when he reached out for it, she stabbed his palm with the sharp point.
"Ghk—" He winced, trying to take his hand back, but she held it firmly in place while the quill tip coated in his blood.
Only when it was fully red did she let go, and placed the quill in that same hand.
"It's a blood contract. Don't try to break it now, alright?" She smiled, leaning back in her chair.
Hajun shook, clutching the quill in his hand before laughing, albeit weakly.
"I'm not stupid."
"You do act the part."
He grit his teeth, cursing every god and deity he could think of. Of course, he kept his mouth firmly shut.
"Choose a new name, one that's fitting for your new life here, with us." Bai Ze said.
"Ah, right." Hajun took a breath, steadying his trembling hand and signing his soul away under the moonlight.
The twin moons bore witness to the name signed in blood.
Nong.