Although Park’s Wind-Up series saw great popularity upon the first release in early September, critics were quick to note the overall deterioration in quality of the continuing series. The plot grew thin, the characters forced, and indeed by February it seemed as if the tale would grind to a premature halt. Last week, however, Tattler Tabloid Manager Daniel Xu found Park’s Chromebook unattended and quickly took to the task of stealing as much info as possible. After sorting through approximately 15 gigabytes of [EXPLICIT CONTENT] fanfiction, he stumbled upon a recently written Wind-Up story meant to revive the series once more. Why Park kept it in such secrecy we can only guess, but with great respect to him we proudly present the full, unedited version of Wound-Up: High School Years.
The school bell rang. Oh shoot, I’m gonna be late to class! thought Newt, hastily dashing into the schoolyard with one shoe only halfway on. Her face flushed at the thought of stumbling into class tardy once again, facing the snickers of the class and the disapproval of the teacher. Caught in her dismal fantasies, she didn’t even notice the figure in front of her until they were face-to-face, their startled eyes locking together.
Wham!
The dust slowly settled, and suddenly Newt found herself sitting on the chest of a strange-looking, dark-haired boy her age, blinking at her in bemusement. For a split second they were frozen, the situation slowly sinking into them. Newt snapped first. “Heywhatdoyouthinkyouredoing!” she yelled in embarrassment, and viciously slugged the boy in the gut.
“W-what?” The boy stammered, clearly confused. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t see you there-”
“Just stay away from me!” Newt shouted. “Perv!” And she rushed away as quickly as she could, trying to hide her blushing face. That was so humiliating, she thought miserably. He was so good-looking, too, but I’ve never seen him before. Well, I probably won’t ever see him again, so I got off lucky…
The boy watched her heading into the school building. “What a weird girl,” he muttered to himself.
The students were whispering with each other when Newt finally pulled open the classroom door. Apologizing profusely, she noticed their excitement as she pretended to submit to the teacher’s scolding. What was going on?
“I’m not getting through to you at all, am I?” sighed Nate-sensei, pulling off his spectacles wearily. “Always so stubborn and unfocused, Newt. Just because you’re one of the top students in this academy doesn’t mean you can slack off like this.” He shifted his tired gaze to the class. “Alright, everyone, settle down. I’ve got an announcement to make.”
Newt walked to her seat muttering. “As most people have no doubt heard by now,” began Nate-sensei, “we’re getting a new exchange student today. He’s from a different country, but he speaks our language excellently- don’t let his looks surprise you.”
“Is it a girl or boy?” someone called out.
“Why don’t you find out for yourself?” The door opened and a neatly-dressed boy walked in, his gait smart and confident. His dark hair, with a single lock of hair pointing straight up, waved gently back and forth. Having reached the front of the class, he turned to stare at the class with piercing eyes.
“Hello.” His voice was calm, echoing over the hushed crowd before him. “My name is Winder. A pleasure to meet you all.” He bowed gracefully. The class exchanged glances, awed by the handsome personality before them. Except one person.
“Hey, you!” shouted Newt, angrily jumping up. “You’re the guy that bumped into me today!”
The new boy’s eyes flashed with recognition, but he merely nodded in acknowledgement. “I do remember that, fair lady,” he replied, smiling in dignified apology. “I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
What the hell? He sounds completely different from before! “Yeah, um… no problem,” she stammered, feeling her face redden again. His charm and good looks threw Newt off, and she hastily slumped into her chair. This isn’t like me. Why do I feel so shy all of a sudden?
“Well, now that we’ve all said our hellos,” interrupted Nate-sensei, throwing a disapproving look, “let’s get back to work. Continuing from yesterday’s lesson…”
As the day passed, Winder impressed the class with his intelligence and mild demeanor, and for some reason his formality made him wildly popular with girls while sparking some one-sided rivalries with the boys. Newt stayed on the periphery of his presence, but was always close enough to covertly scrutinize him. By the end of the day, she had made up her mind; she would follow him home and figure out who he really was.
The school bell rang and Winder soon was walking out of the school, politely shaking off a posse of adoring fans and exiting the grounds. One girl, however, remained near Winder, and they continued to walk together, chattering amicably. Two minutes later, Newt quietly traced his steps and jogged down the street.
She found them briskly walking down a rather deserted street, looking around as if hoping to be alone. Keeping her head down, Newt slowly closed the distance between her and the two until they were only several yards apart. Winder glanced backwards, and in a panic she dove behind a mailbox and hoped she hadn’t been seen. To her relief, she heard the footsteps continuing down the pavement again after a few seconds.
She looked up just in time to catch them slipping into a side alley. Her curiosity increased. What was he doing here? With her? She suddenly felt a surge of jealousy which she only barely pushed down. It’s… it’s not like I like him or anything, she thought hurriedly. Who cares if they decide to be alone in a dark alleyway? After a brief hesitation, however, she dashed into the alley way to confront him, only to gasp and stumble back.
Winder stood facing away from Newt, breathing heavily and a gleaming sword in his hand. A few yards away from him stood the girl. She looked… different. The sleeves of her school uniform were shredded, and long mechanical claws now protruded from where her hands should be. Her face, too, was disfigured, and sharp teeth could be seen protruding from her mouth as she laughed evilly.
“I suspected you would be coming, Agent Winder,” hissed the malevolent figure delightedly. “You won’t catch me by surprise this time.”
“Cyborg Succubus Girl,” scowled Winder, his grip tightening on his weapon. “I thought I finally destroyed you two years ago.”
“Oh, come now,” sighed the girl, “I liked it so much better when you were pretending to be a formal little brat. Now, die.” And she lunged straight towards him.
Newt blinked, and suddenly Winder was gone, sharp claws grasping at thin air. She looked up, and there he was, almost frozen in midair before falling to earth in a series of slashes. The monster growled and tried to guard herself, but the blade easily cut through her steel claws. Within a minute, she was on the ground, bloody and heaving. As Winder grimly strode up to her, sword raised, she turned her head and caught Newt’s head peeking around the corner.
“It’s a friend of yours, Winder,” she croaked. Winder looked around and his eyes widened as he saw Newt. “What are you doing h-?” he demanded, but his question was cut off as the succubus leaped up. With blazing speed she leaped straight at Newt and shoved her broken hands into Newt’s body.
Blinding pain erupted across her chest, and Newt fell over screaming. A dark energy seemed to be coursing through her blood. Distantly, she heard a male voice yelling, a sudden flash of light, and the pain disappeared as quickly as it had come. Winder was standing over her in concern; the other girl was nowhere to be seen. “You okay?” he asked anxiously.
“I think so,” she said weakly, sitting up. “You’re not an exchange student, are you?”
Winder frowned but nodded. “I’m an assassin for an organization that hunts down and kills rogue monsters. The formal personality is my disguise.”
Newt glanced around. “What was that… thing? What did she do to me?”
“She was a vampire, one that I hunted for years. As a last resort, she tried to take over your body,” said Winder. “If you been alone, she’d have corrupted you already, made you evil. I managed to put a spell on you just in time; it’ll suppress her influence but still give you several of her powers. But to keep the spell going…” He paused. “You’ll have to stay with me for the rest of your life.”
“What?!” screamed Newt.
“It might help if we pretend that we’re boyfriend and girlfriend,” remarked Winder blithely.
Newt fainted.