When Jules reached home, it was just past 7 a.m. Yet, Annabelle, his little sister, was already up and about, fluttering around the house like a butterfly.

The teenager had gotten out of bed as soon as the first light of dawn broke through her window. She then started to run back and forth between the bathroom and her room, which were on different floors, trying various hairstyles and outfits. But she was never satisfied with what she saw in the mirror, feeling like something was off every time.

Thus, it became a never-ending fitting.

The whole house was now a mess of discarded clothes she had labeled as ‘not good enough’. The living room looked like a garbage dump and dresses hung onto the stair railing, and let’s not talk about the accessories littering the floor. It was a landmine.   

Eventually, after turning the house upside down, Annabelle decided on a white dress with deep-blue roses and a jean jacket. However, the moment she heard the front door squeak, she tossed the dress aside and rushed downstairs, forgetting its existence.

A second later, she stood before her brother, almost crashing headfirst into his chest.

Before Jules could even think of opening his mouth and scold her, Annabelle gripped his shirt and asked with stars sparkling in her eyes:

“When are we leaving?”

“…Let me take a shower first, will you?”

Earlier, Jules used a ‘special’ perfume to remove the stench left by the water ghouls, resulting in a sweet smell enveloping him. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but feel as if he still stank of rotten meat and stagnant water.

It wasn’t a very pleasing feeling.

Also, he hadn’t been fully spared by the water ghouls’ blood, though he had managed to avoid most of it at Reyes’s expense. Thankfully, the blood splatter was of a dark color and could be mistaken for mud. If it hadn’t been, his sister would have long freaked out. And probably gave him an earful in passing.

“You better clean up your mess while I shower, or you’re going to have to walk to the amusement park.”

“…Meanie!”

“Yes, yes, I’m mean,” Jules replied in a deadpan tone, escaping his sister’s grip to hide in the bathroom. “And don’t just toss everything in the laundry room! I will check!”

“Tsk.”

Jules pretended not to hear her, knowing that answering back would do more harm than good. Their mother had spoiled his sister rotten, and as a direct result, that brat’s temper tended to flare up easily, especially on her birthday; everything had to go her way on that sacred day. If it didn’t, it was the end of the world.

Sighing, Jules took off his clothes, then entered the shower, telling himself that taking care of a few kids shouldn’t be harder than killing a bunch of monsters. Even though he had no experience dealing with teenagers – his mother usually handled that task –, he was confident enough.

Of course, he could survive a day of babysitting without murdering anyone.

Well. Probably…?

At any rate, as long as he brought them back home in one piece, it was good enough for Jules.

***

“…That’s your brother?” Melody not-so-discreetly asked, bending over to whisper in Annabelle’s ear. “You know, the priest?”

In response, Annabelle nodded furiously, a proud expression on her face. She whispered back:

“I told you that he’s sexy as fuck!”

Jules felt his mouth twitch but decided to pretend to be deaf. He didn’t pay them any heed and focused his attention on the crowd instead, ignoring the shy glances and bashful smiles his sister’s friend threw at him. Anyway, it wasn’t anything unusual; strangers stared at him every day, all day. And the best way to deal with them was to turn a blind eye.

Even amid a crowd, Jules stood out. He was tall with a lean body and long legs, his shoulder broad and his waist slender. His charcoal hair was on the short side, trimmed at the back, while his pale gray eyes seemed out of this world, having a little something that could not be described. As for his face… Well, it was the ethereal kind.

His sister had always loved to brag about how handsome he was, telling the world that her brother looked like a celebrity. Until now, no one had ever contradicted her. 

To be fair, Annabelle was also a beauty, having inherited the same charcoal hair and pale gray eyes as her brother. Once the two were put next to each other, there was no doubt they were siblings. Their demeanors were the only difference; one had a ‘I’m so done with this shit’ kind of expression plastered on his face, while the other always grinned, a mischievous light glinting in her eyes.

“Iris sure is late,” Annabelle pouted, stretching her neck and bouncing about to get a better look. “You weren’t even late, Melo!”

“Haha,” the teenager laughed nervously, scratching her cheek. “I’m sure she’ll arrive soon, so….”

“She’s still late. On. My. Birthday!”

“You do realize that you’re the one who arrived ahead of time?” Jules interrupted, cocking an eyebrow.

This morning, his sister was too excited to stay still, and she insisted on leaving right away after he was done showering. As soon as the water stopped running, she slammed the door open and demanded that he hurried up, not caring whether he was butt-naked or not. He was just too slow!

Jules thus barely had the time to put on his clothes before a certain someone dragged him outside.

When all was said and done, they arrived a lot earlier than the agreed hour. It was pretty surprising that one of Annabelle’s friends was already waiting at the amusement park entrance, yet his sister was still not satisfied.

“Anyway, look at all these people! Did you see that man’s costume earlier? It was so awesome! I swear I thought the wounds were real,” Annabelle chuckled, not-so-subtly changing the topic. “Maybe I should have put more effort into my costume….”

After dressing up, she added only a pair of demon horns on top of her head, hiding the strap with ribbons. The said horns cupped her face in a lovely manner, the jewelry tied on the tips dangling beside her cheeks whenever she moved. Their ivory color also enhanced her charcoal hair, the jaw-length bangs cleverly entangled with the horns. In other words, she was stunning.

“Would you of all people paint scars and wounds all over that delicate little face of yours?” Jules replied matter-of-factly.

At those words, Melody’s eyes seemed to pop out of her eye sockets, but no one paid her any heed. 

“At least I made an effort to dress up, unlike a certain someone!”

“Yes, yes, you did.”

Jules could have reminded her of whom exactly dragged him outside almost butt-naked, but he decided not to. Bickering with his sister never ended well, especially if she did not have the last word. Then it was hell on earth. And right now, he didn’t want to deal with one of her outbursts, not when he didn’t sleep a wink.

His patience was already running thin, and it wasn’t even noon.

Turning a deaf ear to whatever else Annabelle said, Jules leaned against the wall and watched people come and go. There were indeed a lot of passersby wearing interesting costumes, to say the least. It wasn’t surprising, though, considering that the amusement park was giving a discount to anyone wearing a costume today. After all, Halloween was a special day, and they had to celebrate it.

A special day his ass.

The few days before and after Halloween were the busiest days of the year for hunters. During that period, monsters were reckless and grew more powerful as the end of October neared, causing all sorts of trouble. The spiritual energy released by the collision of several realms, which happened every year on October 31, affected all creatures regardless of their species. Some grew weaker, while others seemed to be on steroids. 

All in all, it was a pain in the neck.

On Halloween, supernatural beings and humans alike were at risk of crossing paths without rhyme or reason. The barrier between the ghost, demon, human, and whatever else realm there was was too thin, and it grew even thinner during the evening. Finally, at midnight, it even stopped existing for an instant.

But all of this didn’t matter to Jules. What mattered was that his sister was born on October 31, which meant he had to make time for Annabelle on that day despite the insane amount of work he had to do.

However, between Annabelle’s tantrums and his superiors’ scolding, the choice was easy to make. So he, of course, took a day off and devoted his time to his sister. He didn’t have a death wish just yet.

‘What a day off, though,’ Jules snorted inwardly, his eyes following a woman whose costume was quite spectacular; the plastic worms glued to her cheeks seemed to have gnawed their way out, creating a disturbing sight. 

Honestly, it felt a little odd to stand among a crowd of fake monsters. Jules was used to real ones trying to bite off his head and whatnot, and he couldn’t decide whether the situation was comical or exasperating. These people did not even remember why their ancestors would dress up as monsters on Halloween in the first place.

Before, people thought that if they dressed up as monsters, the monsters wouldn’t realize they were humans. Instead, they would think of them as fellow monsters. It made it easier to survive the night and even meddle with the otherworldly beings without being eaten alive.  

Whether it was true or not, Jules had no idea. But one thing was sure: if monsters were hiding among the crowd, he would notice them right away. Jules had keen senses even among hunters, and a mere costume wasn’t enough to mislead him. He had a feeling that it was the same for supernatural beings, but most knew better than to attack humans indiscriminately.

In any case, the probability of stumbling upon an otherworldly being pretending to be human was close to none. They usually didn’t like large human crowds, or so Jules was told.

“Ha! She’s finally here!” Annabelle giggled, waving her hand to draw her friend’s attention. It snapped Jules out of his thoughts, and he shifted his gaze toward the direction his sister was waving at. “Here! Here!”

Soon, Jules saw a young girl jogging toward them, small plastic horns seemingly glued to her forehead. She wore contact lenses that elongated her pupils into vertical lines, and small plastic fangs pressed against her lower lip. Her long blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail, swaying behind her back.

“Sorry! I wanted to come earlier, but my brother insisted on following me,” Iris laughed, pointing with her thumb to the tall man who was walking behind her. “I told him I’m not a baby anymore, but, y’know?”

“Remind me again: who was it that got lost on her way here?”

“Shut up!” Iris blushed, stepping on her brother’s foot. “You were the one distracting me!”

“Yes, of course, it’s my fault,” the man chuckled in a soft voice, ruffling the girl’s hair. “But where would you be at right now, if I hadn’t told you that you were getting off at the wrong station, huh?”

“…Could you stop humiliating me in front of my friends, please?”

“You wish.”

Iris crossed her arms before her chest, her mouth distorted into a pout.

“So? Whose birthday are we celebrating today?”

“Mine!” Annabelle said excitedly, a broad smile blooming on her face.

“Oh my, what a beautiful young lady! Nice to meet you! I’m Bastien, Iris’s older brother. Unfortunately, I left in a hurry, so I couldn’t prepare a proper birthday gift for you, but if there’s anything you want today, just say the word.”

“I sure will! Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And who might this be?”

“Him? It’s my older brother, Jules.”

“Hm, well, nice to meet you too.”

Bastien extended a hand, but Jules didn’t take it right away, lowering his eyes to stare at it instead. A few more seconds passed before Jules finally broke the awkward atmosphere, stretching a hand to shake the man’s. He then spoke slowly, pronouncing every syllable as if they were burning his tongue:

“Nice to meet you.”

Well, it was just his luck. He ended up meeting the one thing he didn’t want to meet today: a supernatural being pretending to be human. For goodness sake, who the heck told him they didn’t show up around human crowds again?