Dark Academia

Chapter 10: Mingyu's enemy

I guess I barely need introducing. Kim Mingyu, 23, first heir of the Topaz dynasty, studying Biology at St Hybe's College – that's what my parents have taught me to say whenever I'm asked. But I feel that doesn't say it all. It doesn't say how, when I don't have to be an heir, I'm just a goofy guy with a weird taste for field mice. But I rarely get to be him. Most of the time, I'm just trying to cope with all my responsibilities and to meet expectations.

I know I have to get a PhD spot at all costs. I can't imagine what my parents would do if I failed – probably disown me or quickly marry me off to some rich girl from the family. Strangely enough, I have escaped an arranged marriage until now. Perhaps they haven't found the perfect match yet. My cousin Seonghwa didn't have the same fate – he and Jeonghan have been promised since birth, betrothed since this summer. I like to think my parents are waiting for me to fall in love with a suitable partner – but maybe I'm just being delusional. It's very likely that they don't care about the when of my partner, but care very much about the when of their grandchildren. Any dynasty must ensure to have heirs, after all.

I slightly look sideways at the other heir. First, I feel that strong wave of emotions I always get when I see him – hatred, contempt. Second, I pause to think about how similar he is to me, in the end. He's just the picture perfect of an heir – handsome and mysterious, and probably very unhappy. He's most likely engaged (or soon to be) and his life is all sorted out – a PhD, children, and perhaps a mansion in the countryside when he gets old.

That's a life I can imagine because that's probably the life I'll get. So better enjoy the life I can have before it's no longer mine. And that mostly means hanging out with my friends, and going to salsa classes. Bump into girls in coffee shops and hope to fall in love. But how can I fall in love when I know none of the people I pick will be allowed to stay? And if I can't love, the only thing I can do is hate, with all my soul. Pick Jeon Wonwoo and decide he's the enemy, the reason why I hate this life, and myself.

So I glare at him every chance I get. I mess with him and his friends. I try and beat him to every single thing. I borrow all the library books he needs to write his PhD proposal on Penelope or whoever she is. Then I find out he borrowed all the library books I need to write my PhD proposal on field mice. It's ridiculous, but at the same time it canalises my anxiety about that PhD I'm not even sure I want to start, and my anger for everything else that happens around me.

He stares back at me from where he stands, and I decide to ignore him and focus on my target. I bend my bow and let the arrow fly. I score a mediocre 6. I try to focus a bit more, and score a 9, twice. I look to my left at Jeon Wonwoo who was watching me with a silly smirk. Honestly, I don't even know why he does archery – the boy is practically blind, even with his glasses on. But still, he lets three arrows fly in a row. Twice, he hits the inner golds, and once the outer blue. Then he looks back at me and waits.

I grit my teeth. I hate how the competition is not only on my side. He wants to see me fail. It would be easier if he ignored me altogether, but the man won't leave me alone. The damn smirks, the contemptuous looks. I concentrate and manage to get a 9 with the next arrow. He strikes a 9 as well, right after me. He makes it look like it's child's play. I suddenly wonder if he's only doing archery because his parents want him to, like me, or if he's doing it for fun. It's hard to tell. But he's good.

I hit the inner red next. He gets a steady 9. Only one arrow left. I close my eyes for a minute. We're in a tie. I have to win this. Just to show him what I'm made of. And show him he can't humiliate me. When I open my eyes again, I fix the bull's eye and let the arrow fly. 10 points. I breathe out and turn to Jeon Wonwoo with a big, bright smile. He can't beat me. And he doesn't. He strikes a 7.

But when he looks at me again, he doesn't look disappointed. Or angry. Or even humiliated. He has a pure smile, a laughing smile. One I've rarely seen on him. As though he's happy. As though he's not laughing at me, but with me. I feel lost, and I watch him, baffled, as he walks to the two targets and gets the arrows out, one by one. I don't understand. It's like the world has just paused and started spinning the other way around. Since when does he smile to me?

Jeon Wonwoo gets back, and hands me my six arrows. "Well done, Kim. Not too bad for a Topaz." And I could almost swear he winked at me. And now I no longer know if he hates me or if he's trying to flirt with me. I'm not too sure which Wonwoo I like best. I say nothing, so he leaves the archery field. I watch his back as he disappears from sight. I think I liked it best when he hated me.

"Was that Jeon Wonwoo?" a voice says near me.

Yunho is practicing today as well. His parents have transferred him from the rowing team to archery. I don't think it's his thing – he misses the water and having teammates – but he's remarkably good with his hands. Within only a few months, he can already strike the blue rings, which took me at least a year.

"Mmh," I answer. The rule is that we don't talk about Jeon Wonwoo and he knows it. I have a million things to say about Jeon Wonwoo right now – how good he actually is at archery, how annoyingly pretty his laughing smile is, how sweet his voice can be when it's not filled with hatred, how I don't really mind the glasses – but I stick to the rule, and I don't talk about Jeon Wonwoo.

I'm not sure when something changed in him, but it did. And I'm starting to think something changed in me too. We've been shooting poisoned arrows at each other all our lives, but for the first time, he shot a different kind of arrow. One that says he's not like other heirs. That, maybe, he's a bit like me.