When chaos wears a smile and healing is louder than battle.
"Jin… wake up. WAKE. UP."
BONK!
Jin fell out of bed, wrapped in blankets like a cursed dumpling.
> "Bo Lang! You're gonna send me to the spirit world one day!"
Bo stood over him, smug as always. His short hair was fluffed up like a hedgehog, and he was holding… a sparkly flyer?
> "Look! Love quest! Assigned by the Academy!"
Jin rubbed his eyes.
> "No way. The Academy doesn't do love quests."
> "It's disguised as a team trust-building task. Same thing."
The Task:
"Group H: Emotional Sync Mission"
Target: Resolve emotional tension in any student within 48 hours.
Bonus points if resolved through non-combat methods.
Team:
Jin "Why me?" Hoshin
Bo Lang "Let's do it for the drama"
Shen Yooha "...Don't involve me."
Xie Luan "You'll all fail without me."
Bo Lang clapped his hands.
> "Our target is a first-year—name: Yi Yiran. Quiet. Sits alone. Rumor says she talks to ghosts."
Jin blinked. "And you thought it was a good idea to pick her?!"
Yooha was already walking ahead, eyes narrowed. "She smells like hidden power."
Xie shrugged, sipping juice. "Or trauma."
[Later at the training field…]
They find Yi Yiran, sitting near the cherry lanterns. She whispers softly to the wind.
> Bo: "So. Yiran. Do you wanna talk about your feelings?"
Yiran: "Only if you stop wearing glitter on your face."
Bo, offended, clutched his imaginary pearls. "It's shimmer. For confidence!"
But then...
Yiran turned toward Jin.
> "You have the scent of a blade that's seen sorrow… you're searching for someone."
Jin froze.
> "What did you just say?"
Yiran blinked. Her eyes briefly shimmered violet.
> "Your father hides behind laughter too."
The group stood silent. Even Bo didn't speak.
Yooha stepped forward, protective now.
> "What do you know about Jin's father?"
But Yi Yiran shook her head. "Not yet. Come find me… when the moon bleeds."
End of Episode 16( continue)