Find it.

Hyeon’s consciousness went in and out of sleep. The whispering voice disturbed him, but it was part of his dream. Go back to sleep.

Find it. 

Find it!

That last bellowing one woke him up. His eyes opened, getting used to the bright red moonlight shining through the window. It was foreign not to see silver light. He rolled over on his back, noticing he was still on the couch, wearing the same clothes. The last thing he remembered was reading the contract… with this newfound ability. 

But what happened after that? I feel like I just had a really long dream. 

Hyeon looked at the black, circular clock above the stove. It was 5:32 in the morning. When he read the contract conditions, it was early afternoon around 3:00 P.M. yesterday!

H-how long did I sleep? Over half a day!?

Shocked, he sat up, albeit slowly—the head wound ached. 

It was rare to sleep for a long time without interruptions. Actually, he didn’t remember the last time he slept this long without some fort of strong medication… or being eaten by demons. 

Weird, but I did go through a life-or-death scare. 

After showering, he stood in the kitchen with only a towel, serving Nammi her breakfast. He made a small bowl of fiber-based cereal for himself. Crunching away, Hyeon watched the seconds tick by on the clock, timing reading 5:45 A.M. 

Why am I am bothered by tha—?

PLOP. He dropped the spoon into the half-finished cereal, drops of milk splashing on the table. His stomach just plummeted to the floor.

Son of a!

It was Hyeon’s first day of training today… which had started fifteen minutes earlier. Since passing out unexpectedly yesterday, he didn’t set the alarm. What if his trainer was someone like Imoogi? Would he be aggressive and obnoxious as well? He didn’t even have the chance to practice putting on his uniform yet!

“Shit, shit, shit!”

Going into his bedroom while cursing repeatedly, he slammed open the closet doors and quietly screamed. It was packed with identical butler-styled clothes tailored just for him. The problem was the complicated layers. Hyeon threw a suit on the bed and attempted to dress himself. 

How did the other servants wear theirs? There was also a black necktie and a bow tie. Does it matter which one?

After throwing on the uniform in what he thought could be the correct order, he heard a knock at the door. It was almost six. He frantically checked his progress in the mirror. The overall presentation didn’t feel right and his necktie was not correct. 

There’s nothing I can do about it now.

Hyeon rushed to the door to greet the guest. But while running there—BUMP—he stubbed his toe against the bedroom door frame, tripping over the kitchen bar stool. Fresh cat litter sprinkled the floor, which wasn’t there before he got dressed. 

Nammi!

He finally reached the door, opening it with a loud bang. The person patiently waiting for him was… unique. A fox or a husky, Hyeon didn’t know. Their fluffy tail, pointy ears, and snowy, white were striking. When close enough to see, his eye colors would have anyone asking if he wore contacts—right eye maroon red and the left eye a cold, light blue. Scars collared around his neck, peaking out from the suit. Despite the gleaming fur and heterochromia eyes, their facial expression was the most noticeable. 

While many complained to have been told they had resting-bitch face, this individual had a resting-somber face. 

Is he that disappointed in me?

Still catching his breath from sprinting to the entrance, Hyeon stated, “I am so sorry for not being on time. That’s not me, I promise.” 

They didn’t respond and continued watching him. Trying to avoid making the situation worse, Hyeon extended his hand out of habit to greet him. But like Eli, the servant didn’t return the gesture and stared at the lonely hand emotionlessly. 

As Hyeon lowered his arm, he told himself, This is embarrassing—

Suddenly, the visitor grabbed his hand before he could fully retreat it. They gave a robust and business-styled handshake.

So they can do handshakes. Then Eli was just being an asshole.

“My name is Haruma, Mr. Falken. I am your trainer.”

Hyeon noticed his long canine teeth as he talked. “Please call me Hyeon. It’s nice to mee—”

“You’re late.” The tone was sharp.

“I’m sor—”

Before Hyeon could finish, Haruma turned away to leave the hallway. “Let’s go.”

Hyeon looked down at his uniform, knowing it wasn’t right. And when he looked up, Haruma was already gone. In a rush, he locked the apartment door and ran to catch up. They weaved through the corridors. The halls and rooms were bustling with other servants who had already started work. None of them were Imoogi and Eli, thank goodness. 

He saw wild concoctions of half-human, half-animal assistants—males, females, mammals, reptiles, insects—some with more animal characteristics than others. Blue had turned into a dog with distending teeth and creepy spider eyes. Sani mentioned that the more powerful a demon was, the more human features they possessed. 

Does that mean Blue isn’t strong?

There were sneers beside him. A few were dusting tables, eyeing him up and down. A man with snow leopard spots along his face leaned next to a red-eyed girl. She had wounded bat wings, bone visible underneath the missing skin and matted fur. One of her wings covered the bottom half of their faces so no one could lip-read their conversation.

A conversation where they were laughing at Hyeon.

As he and Haruma passed, the servants stopped their work to study him. He could understand since he was the only one alive… but something wasn’t right. All of them jeered. A smaller male servant with antlers was sweeping the floor, but he didn’t chuckle like the others. Sympathetically, he pointed to his own necktie and then did a thumbs-down sign.

Hyeon finally got it. His outfit was assembled so hastily from earlier that it was completely incorrect, making him a fool.

“Um, Haruma, is my uniform wrong?”

Keeping his eyes ahead, Haruma replied point-blank, “Yes.”

“And, uh, can we should fix it? Now?” he asked desperately.

“No. You were late.”

Ah. 

So this was his punishment. The trainer purposely didn’t say or do anything to improve the obvious mistakes because of his tardiness. How humiliating!

Eventually, the approaching dark atmosphere became all too familiar. They were heading towards the Master’s side of the castle.

“H-Haruma, is this place where I’m starting my training?” His voice shook.

“This entire area is your responsibility.”

What does he mean? That’s too vague!

“What will be my first assignment today?”

Haruma answered as if the answer was obvious. “It’s time to supply Master with your soul energy.”