The platform was quiet.
Unnaturally quiet. The only sounds were the clamor of the Korean Yokai Academy students piling off the train, the rumble of suitcase wheels, and the crackle of goblin fires. The Night Parade Academy students standing in a line at the end of the platform didn't move an inch.
Lee Ha-eun walked forward, meeting their stares head-on.
*Why are they staring so much?*
Red crackled on Lee Ha-eun's shoulder.
"Don't you think the kids over there look kind of scary?"
"Be quiet."
"No, seriously. Look at the winged kid in the back. They've been watching us this whole time."
Lee Ha-eun didn't look up. Instead, she glanced at Kang Iseo. Kang Iseo was already marching energetically toward the end of the platform. *Where did she get all that optimism?*
One student stepped forward from the end of the platform.
She was a girl with red hair, pointed ears peeking out slightly above them, and a student council armband over her uniform. When their eyes met, she dipped her head politely.
"Welcome to Night Parade Academy." She spoke Korean. Her polite speech was a little awkward, but clear. "I'm Akane, the student council vice president. I'm in charge of exchanges."
The grim reaper teacher stepped forward to return her greeting. While the teachers from both academies shook hands, Lee Ha-eun quietly surveyed the Night Parade Academy students.
They were a diverse bunch. A boy standing with his wings folded, a girl with snow-white hair, and a student with something resembling a shell on their back. They seemed similar to the students at Korean Yokai Academy, yet the atmosphere was different. More orderly. Quieter.
"Is that winged kid a tengu?" Blue whispered.
"Probably."
"If they fought our goblin fires, who would win?"
"We're not going to fight."
They walked to the academy.
Kyoto's alleys were narrow and quiet. They overlapped with the streets where humans came and went, but the yokai could see a separate path protected by a barrier. A road lined with red torii. As Lee Ha-eun walked between them, she felt strange.
It didn't feel unfamiliar.
Even though it was her first time there, it felt like somewhere she'd walked through once in a dream.
"That's strange," Lee Ha-eun murmured.
"What is?" Kang Iseo asked beside her.
"This place. It's my first time here, but it doesn't feel unfamiliar."
Kang Iseo thought for a moment before answering. "My dad said something like that. Other yokai can sense land where yokai have lived for a long time. Because the energy is similar."
"Am I really a yokai?"
"Half of you is."
Lee Ha-eun didn't reply. Cherry blossoms drifted between the torii. They were in bloom even though it wasn't April. It was strange, but near a yokai academy, maybe strange things weren't so strange.
Up ahead, Akane stopped and turned around.
"We've arrived."
Night Parade Academy was larger than she'd expected.
Traditional wooden buildings stretched across the campus. Cherry blossoms drifted over the tiled roofs, and paper lanterns hung in rows along the walkways. If Korean Yokai Academy felt like modern buildings blended with yokai elements, this place was traditional from beginning to end.
"Wow." Yellow gazed around in awe. "It's really Japan."
"Of course it's Japan," Red said.
"No, I mean it really feels like Japan."
Lee Ha-eun looked toward the inner campus. Students were watching them. She could hear them whispering. She couldn't understand the Japanese, but she understood what their stares meant.
*The Korean yokai are here.*
Just then, she heard someone approach from beside her.
"You came from Korea?"
She turned around to find the winged boy she'd seen on the platform earlier. He stood with his arms crossed, looking down at them. He was tall. His wings were folded against his back, but he still had an imposing presence.
"Yeah," Lee Ha-eun answered.
"This is the academy that caught the boundary beast during the Seal War, right?"
Lee Ha-eun paused. "You know about that?"
"The rumors reached all the way here." The boy's expression made it impossible to tell whether he was mocking them or giving them credit. "I'm Sora. I'm a tengu."
"Lee Ha-eun."
"You use sealing?"
"Yeah."
Sora looked Lee Ha-eun up and down for a moment. Then he turned around and walked away without another word.
"What's with him?" Red crackled.
"I don't know," Lee Ha-eun said.
"Wasn't that rude?"
"I'm not sure yet."
Their lodging was in an annex on the academy grounds.
After receiving their room assignments, they unpacked. It was a tatami room. Lee Ha-eun set down her backpack and opened the window. She could see down over the campus. Cherry blossoms were falling.
"Lee Ha-eun." Kang Iseo knocked on the door and came in. "They said there's a welcome event tonight. Akane told me."
"Do we have to go?"
"Of course we do. It's an international exchange trip."
Lee Ha-eun looked out the window. At one side of the campus stood a building that looked like an old shrine. Unlike the other buildings, its doors were tightly shut. Warding rope had been strung around it.
"What's that building?" Lee Ha-eun asked.
Kang Iseo looked out the window. "I don't know. Want me to ask?"
"No," Lee Ha-eun said. "I was just curious."
She closed the window. But the moment it shut, wind blew from the direction of the shrine. Cherry blossoms scattered through the air. And within that wind, Lee Ha-eun sensed something strange.
Something was trying to wake up.
*Not yet. But soon.*