Yuna's POV
I thought maybe I'd dreamt the whole thing. The cloaked prince. The glowing eyes. The whole "I am cursed and require shelter" drama.
But no.
When I woke up the next morning, he was still there. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at the ceiling like it owed him money.
"Morning," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
He turned to me slowly, like a haunted doll. "This ceiling is thin. I can hear the footsteps of the people above us. They walk in circles."
"Welcome to dorm life," I said, already regretting letting him stay. "You want toast?"
He frowned. "What is 'toast'?"
I pointed to the toaster. "It's just…warm bread."
He approached the toaster like it was a demon. "This box hums. I sense dark energy."
"It hums because it's plugged in," I said, trying not to laugh. "Electricity. Technology. You'll get used to it."
He narrowed his eyes. "I do not trust it."
He then tried to draw a glowing sigil on the toaster, and I had to slap his hand away.
"Okay, new rule," I said, putting both hands on my hips. "No casting spells on appliances. Especially not the toaster. That thing cost me 200 dollars."
Rikuya's POV
Everything here glows.
The box with a moving screen. The flat silver thing that hums when you open it. The blinking device that she calls a "wifi router." Even her toothbrush blinks.
This world is made of light and noise.
And yet… she acts like none of it is strange.
Yuna moves around the room in a sleepy daze, pouring hot water over dry noodles and humming to herself. She's soft. Small. Mortal. But she's not afraid of me. Not even when my curse flickers and shadows curl around my hands.
Last night, I expected her to cast me out. Or run.
But she gave me a hoodie.
And told me, "You can crash on the floor, but you snore and I swear I'll smother you with my pillow."
So i slept on the floor.
Now, I stand before the window, watching the outside world. Strange machines zoom by. People shout into tiny glowing boxes. Someone is singing through the wall. Loudly. Badly.
"What is this place?" I ask quietly.
She sips her noodles. "College."
I turn to her. "Is it always this noisy?"
Yuna nods. "And we haven't even gotten to midterms yet."
Later that day…
I try to help her fold laundry. I accidentally set one of her socks on fire. She says it's fine, it wasn't her favorite pair.
When she shows me a phone and calls it "a magic mirror for dumb videos," I believe her.
And when she laughs—really laughs—my curse flickers strangely, like it doesn't know what to do.