The Tōji holiday (Dongji for Jin) was longer than the little vampire had hoped it might be. A full week home meant a full week of tip-toeing around Abeoji, hiding in his room, and not seeing much of anyone, particularly his friends. Moon-ssi, for what it was worth, had become a staple in Jin’s life almost like breathing oxygen. He woke up and Moon-ssi was there; he had a rough day, and Moon-ssi made him laugh; he was hungry? Moon-ssi was always ready for a snack no matter what time of day or night. The little yangban that had once surprised Jin at every turn and caused a tremendous spike in his suspicions had since entrenched himself so deeply in the vampire’s life that Jin found it difficult to do— or want to do, anything alone anymore. There weren’t many secrets Jin kept from him either. They were like two dried jujubes at the bottom of a rice sack.

The day the holiday ended however, Jin found himself back on Mahoutokoro grounds praying to every spirit above that he wouldn’t run into Moon-ssi. His face was a little swollen and his side ached, but the secret he held under his tongue was burning its way through every last prejudice Jin had ever heard about vampires and beings, and emblazoning itself into his soul like a hot iron brand. There was no way he could ever share with Moon-ssi what had happened over the break. Or how he felt about it.

The grounds were covered in a blanket of snow. Jin selected a quiet little corner in the cold near an old, unused hanok in the hopes that he might blend into the frigid landscape and remain anonymous at least for the remainder of the day before bed. He’d skipped the return banquet knowing full well he would have been easy to spot and now could only hope that he might be successful in avoiding Moon-ssi until he could forget about what happened or find a way to force it aside. Until then— he couldn’t risk facing the happy little quidditch player. Jin didn’t trust himself to keep such a tremendous problem to himself.

He summoned a low table and settled himself around it, casting a heating spell on the ground and arranging a clay dish with a small blue flame inside. Then Jin pulled out his textbooks and began to re-read the homework he’d already finished. It would be dark soon. Perhaps then he could escape to bed early and avoid not only Moon-ssi but all the other third years as well.

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