A knock came on the door. The knock was soft and gentle like the knocker was afraid to break the door by simply touching it. Or maybe it was due to the night wind making the sound not so audible that it imitates delicacy. But be that the case , an agressive pound on the door versus this one, despite the condition of the atmosphere it's very much easy to tell the two of them apart.

The knock came once more and before the third followed it, the door was thrown open, but instead of the visitor, a huge gush of very chill air instead invaded.

As customary, nights here tend to very cold and tonight was no exception.. the wind was not blowing that agressively but it did exist. It was enough to give a child a cough but not to make them that bedridden. Plus it seemed once again that the fact that the school is located on a pool of water added to how cold it gets especially at this time. And the greater it gets into the night, the more colder it gets.

The visitor's ponytail occasionally oscillated before hanging momentarily, in the air. The hair was collected to a bundle with a red ribbon that has a name exquisitely embroidered in white, at one of the ends. That is pretty innocent sight but what's makes it a little striking is the sewstress who made it. Herim can bizarrely enough sew, embroid or anything that involves needlework. His skills are very neat to the tip almost like he has been doing it from a very young energy, probably when his peers learned how to catch butterflies, he learnt how to thatch a thread .He could probably draw a map of the whole cultivation ground with just a needle and thread. So because of this most of his clothes are embroidered and it's never the same pattern. More often it's representation of something neat and beautiful like a bird, butterfly, or coral .The fact that Herim has a vivid imagination just shows how broad of a scope his artworks can reach.

However at this moment he has not yet embroidered the uniform because he might get in trouble but then again it's only a matter of time before he just decides to take matters into his own hands and decorate the cloth and when asked he would just say that it lacked excitement and life.

Syin looked at Herim who was carrying a small basket. He knitted his brow a little because he partly can't understand why his visitor would cross the night to come all the way to his quarters. Even if one has the best of winter clothes, it's no excuse to go into the cold night like this. With that being the case Herim is not even dressed for the weather nor is he immune to coldness

Feeling the scrutiny ,Herim half smiled . His smile was not as wide as on everyday or when he is with other people. For those who always see Herim gleeful like a bird over fine harvest, they would be quite confused by Herim s expression at this moment. But then again for Syin it's not a new thing

Herim looked like he was being forced to smile,like the circumstances where pressuring him to be upset but he on the other hand is inclined to trace a smile onto his face that he had to fetch from a far away place and on its journey to his face, it seemed like it was losing its enema.. He looked like he had just been given a horrible earful but because the individual he is looking at has done nothing to him then he must act like he is just fine. It was a terrible way to pretend but the fact that he is potentially cloaking pain with a smile,that makes him very strong.

Anyway that smile hit a nerve in Syin because he knows its meaning. He knows that Herim would usually be talking ear to ear when he visits him but today like some days he has that experission on his face and honestly no matter how many times that Syin sees it, he doesn't not think he will get used to seeing this side of Herim, the not happy side of Herim. It actually is really disappointing when a bubbly beaux has their bubble bursted for no reason. It's their personality to always be so optimistic and to just brush off thier optimism like it's a sign of madness is trully an unfair thing. And Herim has the worst of that.

Herim held out the basket to Syin , breaking him from his glare . Instead of accepting it, Syin moved out the way signalling that Herim can go in.

Without a moment to waste ,Herim stepped into the house and he headed for Syin s bedroom.

Herim has been here a lot of times before because he had long taken an interest on the three wolves

Well actually at first he got intrigued by Joln because Joln was always studying at the library and he would be reading about different kinds of herbs used for demon cultivation.The way he was so passionate and good at it impressed Herim so much so that he started to trail around Joln a lot . With time he wound up meeting Valian and Syin.

He always knew about the popular prince of the alphas and that his ability to reach really high levels of concentration when cultivating but he never really actually took the time to investigate about that nor had he had the chance to witness it. So he just brushed it off

Anyway he persisted on following Joln and Joln would constantly tell him to stop following everywhere, he would tell him to go be with his friends, which Herim keeps saying they exist but they are apparently not as 'awesome and great 'as Joln.

Of course Joln got really annoyed by this as he likes personal space a lot so he would keep saying mean comments to Herim with the hope of getting rid of him. However his plan backfired because Herim kept saying he doesn't really care but who knows for sure truthful that could be . Herim follows Joln like a tail while Joln thinks of him as a seriously cringe-worthy stain that just won't go away. That fact that Herim is so attached to Joln and to have Joln say those things ,it's really questionable how far Herim actually disregards those comments.

As time progressed, Herim started to play a little distant to Joln because despite how much perseverance and gutsy he might be, it's pretty difficult to keep trying to hang out with someone when they clearly would rather have him not exist.

As that happened , obviously Joln couldn't be happier. He couldn't care less if Herim dropped out of school because like everyone, all he wants is to just be alone and by alone he means be with anyone that is not Herim.

And so Herim started to wonder about like a lost child. He was not saying anything about how he feels about the behavior that Joln portrays towards him. To be honest they had known each other for five-six months but Joln is acting so hostile too him. That can only mean that Joln has really hated him from the get go. But then again who among his peers doesn't act like that towards him

This has really gnawed a huge piece of him to the core. All he ever wanted was to have someone by his side but then it seems like everyone just doesn't want that. They don't want to be related anyway with Herim like he is bad luck in the making

Despite his attempt to make friends with anyone at school but they all act like this towards him. He had thought Joln would be different because he likes medicine and he might be a doctor and doctors tend to be nice to their patients. But then again it's all scripted and why would a doctor be mean to someone who comes to them in ill health.

Eventually he gave up in trying to make comrades and just decided to live each day as it comes. He will act all happy but then at night the emptyness of his room and soul will keep him.

Everyday, everyone is always tossing him to someone or some place else. 'go to your friends' ,'go and study' ,' go and clean ' . They always want him to go somewhere else. And he is trying to get used to that but the only thing he is getting used to is the fact that no one wants him around.

That being said, only one thing made Herim have the willingness to come here despite it being so bone-chilling .

Of all the wolves here, the incredibly introverted alpha prince of the werewolves was the only one who has not asked him to leave.

Being around him feels like walking on needles, one wrong move could be really lethal. Herim keeps assessing what it is that he should not do to avoid pushing Syin over the edge. But then again Herim has been through that path before ,it's only a matter of time before Syin changes or rather gets brainwashed by the same thing that brainwashes everyone here. There will be a point whereby the thing that he never used to complain about are suddenly the reasons for detesting Herim.

But until then , Herim will enjoy seeing Syin every night and during the day he will avoid him so that they don't gossip about the royale and push him to hate Herim or for Syin to get fed up by Herim

Herim kneeled down near Syin's study table and he started to unfold the contents of the basket that he had brought with him.

Syin stood by the door and just looked at Herim who was removing the contents of his basket. His mind was already racing.

Herim took out some bowls and a pair of chopsticks and he took out a bottle of water , then he placed it on the table.

He was really careful for someone who is just unpacking a late night meal. And the only reason a child minded individual such as himself would be that careful is because his mind is miles away from this realm.

Indeed Syin is his father's son. As a king it's important to always put the needs of the kingdom first and that ability to be selfeless ends up brewing some sort of sympathy or vise versa. The point is that the ability to deduce what one needs or how they feel from the way they subconsciously act becomes second nature. And that second nature has been passed down to Syin.

Which also adds to why he is capable of telling how Herim feels right now from the get-go without ever asking Herim. To tell the truth, that ability is not difficult and it's common but then again it takes a good eye to be able to see beneath a very bright smile such as Herim and to actually see that what lies underneath is not that great at all.

"Is this book really that interesting?", Herim asked Syin. He has seen this book for the past three consecutive days and all the time it seems like Syin is always reading in a random manner, that could only be that he is reading the book.

" It's useful", he answered him nonchalantly while breaking from his thoughts.

This is the book he was given by Adrian. During physical training here ,Syin tends to use equipment that resemble swords like wooden sticks. And if he is really into swords , he can use them to cultivate. So should that happen it's best if he has a little bit of a background in swordsmanship and its use in cultivation

Syin went over to the side of his table and he proceed to sit down in his original position.

His concentration was not on anything else except wanting to have Herim tall to him about all his sorrows but that was somehow challenging . Reason being conversation starting has never been his strength and it won't suddenly start now. If only he had paid attention when his father was lecturing him on socializing skills.

Anyway he is next to him he could definitely feel Herim 's intergrity bending and twisting. And with every knot,it was another ounce of gulit poured onto Syin because although Syin doesn't look like he notices, when he sees someone seriously in pain, he becomes gravelly inclined to reach over and ask them to lay their head on his shoulder and if need be to cry out all things that they are trying to hide from the world. And right now he would want nothing more for Herim

Herim was keeping his head burried and the gauntyness was unmistakable. His eyes were really sunken and his skin was a little bit paler than Adrian which is alarming because Herim has the most rosy cheeks. His face is like a flower. When cold , it closes up and almost like it dries up. When warm it blossoms more gorgeously than a rose. However the warmth and coldness is not with regards to temperature of the sky but rather of his soul. And though Syin doesn't know it, he is the only one who knows of the seasons of Herim 's soul