Morning broke over the academy like a soft sigh, but nothing about the day felt peaceful.
Students whispered in clusters. Guards patrolled edges of the courtyard. Masters exchanged low, serious conversations behind closed doors. The feast last night had become a ghost—almost unbelievable in the harsh light of morning.
Hana stood alone beneath a magnolia tree, watching petals drift quietly to the ground. She had not slept. Every time she closed her eyes, the Hunter's mask appeared behind her eyelids. And beneath it—
Found you, Ghost.
The message on the wall had burned itself into her mind.
Footsteps approached. She didn't turn. She already knew who it was.
"You're up early," Woojin said softly.
"Couldn't sleep."
"I guessed." He stepped beside her, hands clasped behind his back. "I spoke with Master Seong."
Hana stiffened. "Woojin—"
"Don't worry. I didn't tell him about the Sect. I just asked him what the academy plans to do."
"And?"
"They think it was a prank."
Hana nearly laughed. "A prank written in blood?"
"Apparently guards found no footprints. No witnesses. No signs of intrusion." Woojin paused. "It looks like someone wanted only you to understand the message."
Hana's heart tightened. "Yes. They always communicate that way. One message. One meaning. One target."
Woojin studied her profile. "Then they're playing with you."
"They're warning me," she corrected. "Hunters don't 'play.'"
Woojin's brows drew together. "Then we need to find out how they got past the guards."
Hana nodded. "That's why I'm going to the wall again."
"I'm coming with you."
She opened her mouth to argue.
He raised an eyebrow. "Don't bother."
She sighed. "Fine."
They walked together along the stone path, keeping their steps silent despite the morning bustle around them. Students bowed politely at Woojin—"The Scholar of the North," they sometimes called him—but his focus never left Hana.
At the eastern wall, guards had already cleaned the blood message, but the stain remained like a bruise across the stone.
Hana knelt beside it.
Woojin stood lookout while she examined the ground, fingers brushing lightly over the dirt.
"Anything?" he asked.
"Yes," she murmured. "Look at the soil here. Someone disturbed it."
Woojin crouched. "Footprints?"
"No." She traced the ground with two fingers. "This is where someone landed."
"Landed?" Woojin echoed. "From where?"
She pointed upward.
The top of the wall.
Woojin stared. "They jumped down from there? Without noise?"
"They're trained for it."
He exhaled slowly, trying to imagine it. "So the Hunter entered from the outside… scaled the outer forest wall… jumped in… left a message… and left again?"
"Yes."
"Impossible for normal people."
"Exactly."
Woojin fell silent.
Hana stood and brushed dirt from her palms.
"They're testing me," she said. "They want to see if I'm alert. If I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
Hana's throat tightened. "For the next person they'll send. Hunters don't capture. They eliminate. If they wanted me dead last night, I would be."
Woojin stared at her, dread creeping into his expression. "Then why didn't he attack properly?"
"Because someone else wants the honor."
Her voice lowered.
"The Sect leader."
Woojin paled. "You mean the one you escaped from?"
"Yes."
"And he's the one after you?"
"Him… and anyone loyal to him."
Woojin swallowed. "Then we need more than walls and guards. We need allies."
Hana shook her head. "No. Bringing others in will put them at risk. This fight is between me and the Sect."
Woojin stepped close enough that she could see the golden flecks in his eyes. "You are not facing them alone."
Her breath caught.
Before she could reply, a sharp voice pierced the air.
"Woojin! Hana!"
Mira sprinted toward them, panting, waving a small folded note. "You need to see this—now!"
Hana and Woojin tensed.
Mira thrust the paper into Hana's hands. "This was pinned to your dorm door."
Hana unfolded it.
Woojin leaned in.
Inside, a single short phrase written in elegant ink strokes:
"Tonight. Midnight. Alone."
Woojin's pulse visibly jumped. "Absolutely not—"
But Hana wasn't looking at the words anymore.
She was staring at the ink.
Deep red.
It wasn't blood.
It was a rare dye. One the Sect used only for internal communication.
"Where?" she asked.
Mira swallowed. "The abandoned storage hall. Behind the bamboo grove."
Woojin grabbed Hana's arm. "You are not going alone."
"I have to."
"No," he snapped. "That's what they want—to isolate you."
"And if I bring you, they'll consider you a target."
"I already am."
Hana froze.
Woojin stared at her with stubborn defiance. "They came here. They threatened you. They threw a blade at me. I am already in this. And I'm not leaving you to walk into a trap alone."
He stepped closer.
"Look at me and tell me you want me to stay behind."
Hana opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Her voice wouldn't obey.
Her chest felt too tight.
Woojin's gaze softened. "You don't have to protect me from the truth."
She looked away, whispering, "I don't want you hurt."
"And I don't want you dead."
Mira shifted anxiously. "Guys… we need a plan."
Hana closed her eyes for a moment, forcing her thoughts into order.
"I'll go," she said. "But I won't go inside alone."
Woojin nodded fiercely. "Good."
"You'll stay out of sight. Watching the perimeter. If anything feels wrong—"
"I intervene."
Hana shook her head sharply. "Only if necessary."
"That sounds like always."
Despite everything, she almost smiled. "Woojin."
He exhaled. "Fine. But I'm not leaving."
Mira looked between them. "I'll… keep watch from a distance too. Someone needs to warn if guards show up."
Hana's gaze softened. "Thank you, Mira."
Mira swallowed. "Don't thank me yet. Just come back alive."
Hana folded the note once more and tucked it into her sleeve.
"Midnight," she whispered.
Woojin nodded. "We'll be ready."
But as Hana turned to leave, she felt it—the faintest prickle at the back of her neck.
Someone was watching them.
Hidden.
Silent.
Close.
Her breath froze.
She scanned the treeline.
A single flicker of movement. A shadow slipping behind a bamboo stalk.
Gone the next instant.
Hana's heart hammered.
Woojin saw her expression. "What is it?"
Hana's voice was barely audible.
"They're already here."