"This mission... where am I even supposed to start?" Shawn grumbled to himself, the sound of his voice echoing off the high, dusty ceilings. "No clues. No names. Just... nothing."
Since he had nothing to do over the weekend, he had decided to tackle the mansion's grime. If he was going to live in an abandoned building, he might as well make it look less like a ghost story. He moved the mop rhythmically across the foyer, the scent of lemon cleaner battling the smell of old wood.
"Why won't they just tell me everything? Or anything?" he muttered, leaning into the mop. He was used to being the Student President—the man with the plan—and being left in the dark was driving him restless.
After finishing the floors, Shawn moved to the windows, humming a light tune to pass the time. He reached for a heavy velvet curtain and pulled it back, throwing open the window to let in the morning air.
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
A man was standing right outside on the veranda. They froze, staring at each other in an awkward silence that stretched for a long minute until the stranger broke it with a shy, gentle smile.
"Whoa!" Shawn finally reacted, clutching his chest as his heart hammered against his ribs. "You scared the life out of me!"
"Ah... hello," the man said softly.
"Well, hello to you too," Shawn panted, trying to regain his composure. "Yes? Do you need something?"
The man looked like he had stepped out of a period drama—elegant, polished, with a clean, calm aura that made him look like a modern-day prince. "The Principal told me to come here," he explained, gesturing to the luggage at his feet.
Shawn's eyes widened. "Don't tell me... you have the Deity Mark too?"
The man blinked, his expression turning sheepish. "Huh? Oh. Well... yes."
"For real?" Shawn's fear vanished, replaced by instant excitement. "I can find them this easily? Seriously? Come in, come in!"
A few minutes later, they were sitting together on one of the mansion's velvet couches. Shawn noticed the man was watching him with a strange, admiring look in his eyes.
"Why... why are you looking at me like that?" Shawn asked, shifting uncomfortably and moving an inch away.
"Oh," the man said, not looking away. "It's just because you're very handsome."
The air in the room turned even more awkward. Shawn let out a forced, nervous laugh. "Eh, haha... yeah, right. I'm Shawn, by the way."
"I know. The Student President, right?"
"That's me. And you're... Rohan?"
Rohan looked surprised. "You know me?"
"Of course! You're famous in the Academy," Shawn said, relaxing a bit. "They call you 'Prince Rohan.' I just didn't think I'd actually meet you like this."
"I didn't know people called me that," Rohan laughed softly, the sound awkward but sweet.
"So, what should we—" Shawn started, but he stopped mid-sentence.
The back of Rohan's neck had begun to pulse with a faint, ethereal glow. Under the collar of his shirt, a symbol was shimmering into life.
"There it is," Shawn whispered, leaning in. "Your mark."
"Yeah," Rohan murmured.
Shawn reached out, curiously touching the skin near the symbol. "Did you feel it? Did you have a headache or see any weird memories flash by?"
Rohan looked at him blankly. "Memory flash? No. What do you mean?"
"That's weird," Shawn frowned, pulling his hand back. "When I first came in here, my head felt like it was going to split open. I saw things... like we were already here, once. If you didn't see anything, I wonder what the symbols actually mean."
Rohan didn't answer. He just watched Shawn with a look that was almost nostalgic.
"Anyway," Shawn said, shaking off the confusion. "We'll find out soon enough. You should pick a room upstairs and get some rest. We can talk more later."
Later that afternoon, Shawn headed into the mansion's study. To his surprise, the room wasn't nearly as dusty as the rest of the house. It felt used, as if someone had been there recently.
On the center desk, a large map of the country was glued to the surface. Shawn sat down, humming to himself as he traced the lines of the provinces. He found the location of his home village and measured the distance to the academy. Then, he noticed something strange.
Two points on the map were glowing—right where the Academy sat. But as he looked closer, he saw three other faint, pulsing lights in different corners of the country.
"Ro! Ro, come here!" Shawn shouted, naturally slipping into a nickname as if they'd been friends for years.
Rohan hurried into the room. "What is it?"
"Look at this," Shawn pointed to the map. "These lights... I think this is where the others are."
Rohan leaned over the desk, his face close to Shawn's. "But there are only five points. The Principal said there are six of us, right?"
"I don't know," Shawn admitted, his brow furrowed. "But it's a lead. The nearest one is here... on the East side."
"A big city in the East," Rohan mused. "I've heard the conditions there aren't great lately. It's a bit dangerous."
Shawn looked at Rohan, his eyes bright with a new sense of purpose. "Should we go? Should we find him?"
Rohan smiled, a genuine, warm expression. "Let's do it. Let's go there first."
A week later, the two of them were settled into the plush seats of an eastbound train. Shawn was busy checking their itinerary while Rohan stared out the window at the passing scenery.
"I wonder how we'll even know who we're looking for once we get there," Shawn said, leaning back.
"Let's just worry about that when we arrive," Rohan replied calmly.
"Yeah, you're right." Shawn reached into his bag and pulled out a box. "Here, you want a donut?"
Rohan turned, and for a second, his eyes sparkled with such intense emotion that Shawn froze. He looked like he was on the verge of tears just because of a piece of fried dough.
"What?" Shawn laughed, trying to break the tension. "It's just a donut. Are you seriously going to cry?"
Rohan took a bite, chewing slowly. "Nothing. I just remembered something. You're really still the same."
"What do you mean by that?" Shawn asked. He reached over, naturally wiping a bit of stray cream from the corner of Rohan's mouth.
Rohan didn't flinch. He just kept eating. "Nothing."
"Make sure you drink some water, too," Shawn added, handing him a bottle.
"This... treating me so sweetly," Rohan said softly. "We only met six days ago."
"Haha! Well, you feel like a little brother to me now," Shawn teased.
"We're the same age," Rohan countered.
"Still! I'm a month older, so I'm the big brother. Besides, I don't know why, but I just feel close to you already."
Rohan looked back out the window, a secret, triumphant smile playing on his lips. He didn't mind being called the "little brother"—not if it meant Shawn was finally opening his heart to him again.