∞ 7 ∞
Paradise in a Secret“Good morning!” Howon brightly greeted her as he saw her opening the house door.
Ever since the day she had invited him into her house, he had waited for Eunhye outside her house every school day. He walked her to school, he walked her home, he stuck to her like gum, and he never stopped chatting.
It had already been a whole month since she’d transferred, and man did she hate Howon with a burning passion. Eunhye would wonder why Howon never gave up – was it because he liked her, or did his friend dare him to annoy her?
“There you go again, getting lost in your thoughts. What’s so interesting to think about when you have me to talk to?” Howon gently tapped his knuckles on her head as he noticed the faraway look in her eyes.
“Stop bothering me!” Eunhye sniffled and blinked a few times, feeling stuffy and slightly dizzy. She smacked his hand away in annoyance. “Can’t you just leave me alone for once?
“Why?” He questioned as they arrived at the school.
Eunhye rolled her eyes at him and walked faster, but she suddenly tripped over something. It was fish wire, purposely set up by someone.
She instantly fell, scraping her knees and hands as she landed with a thump on the ground. She heard snickering as she saw two students run into the school building. Maybe she had been wrong when she thought that people wouldn’t approach her because of Howon.
Howon’s first reaction was to help her up, but he quickly let go after Eunhye could stand by herself. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. “Let’s go inside and clean up your injuries.”
Eunhye confusedly looked at Howon, wondering why he wasn’t protectively wrapping an arm around her, or holding her arm, or doing anything that required skinship. Usually he would be as touchy as he could, but he was currently distancing himself as if she was a sensor-activated bomb.
Shrugging it off, she decided that it was for the better; she wasn’t feeling that great, and she didn’t want to pass any germs to Howon.
Howon sighed as he leaned back in his chair, having no interest in what his teacher was droning on about. He had learned everything hundreds of times already; Howon knew just about everything, and could literally replace Albert Einstein.
Glancing over at Eunhye, he noticed how her head was bowed behind her textbook. He smiled at her attempt to take a secret nap in class, but since she sat in the front row, there was no way that she would slip past unnoticed.
He leaned over and gently shook her by the shoulder, hoping that it would wake her up. It seemed like his action drew attention towards her, as the students surrounding her began pointing and snickering.
“What is all this commotion about?” Their teacher spun around and instantly spotted Howon trying to wake up Eunhye. She cringed and mentally prepared herself before she dragged her nails across the chalkboard, knowing that it would always make everyone pay attention and be fully aware.
Eunhye woke up to a room full of giggling students, an annoyed teacher glaring at her, and a worried Howon whose hand was still on her shoulder. She blinked, her eyes still heavy while she felt as if she was in a freezer.
“Teacher, I think Eunhye’s sick.” Howon glanced back and gave everyone a cold stare, as if daring them to continue laughing.
“Well, she should’ve taken her medicine before coming to school! It’s only been a month and she’s already sleeping in class!”
“I’m sorry-” Eunhye slurred out.
“No, you’re not apologizing for being sick.” Howon pulled her out of her seat and easily left the classroom, since the door was right beside her desk. “I’ll take her to the infirmary.”
“Since our class has already been interrupted, I might as well make my announcement right now.” The teacher sighed as she put down the piece of chalk. Everyone began murmuring to each other in curiosity, which caused her to put her hand against the chalkboard. “Settle down, kids.”
Everyone instantly shut up and sat forward in their seats, eager to hear the announcement.
“Next week has been called for miraculously nice weather, and since you are all about to go become house turtles and study day and night, we have decided to take you all on a two nights and three days outing trip.” The teacher said and picked up a stack of forms on her desk. “We will be going on this trip with our neighboring school, J.Tune. Please make sure to get your parents to sign the consent forms over the weekend, and remember to bring them back.”
The thoughts of exams completely flew out the window as the students cheered loudly, causing a ruckus that even Howon and Eunhye heard despite them being at the other end of the hallway.
“This is the second time you've visited the infirmary today.” Howon chuckled as he folded the cold towel and placed it against Eunhye’s forehead. He smiled while watching Eunhye drift in and out of sleep, grateful for the fact that there was a curtain to give them privacy.
Spontaneously, Howon gripped the edge of the bed. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes. Even though he tried his best to hold himself back, he could feel his canine teeth swelling and growing sharper. He was even scared to breathe in fear of losing his sanity.
Deep breaths didn’t do any good for him, and he began questioning if it was related to what Junhyung had ‘warned’ him about. Sure, he felt like ripping out Eunhye’s throat at the moment, but Junhyung only warned him whenever it was something important. Not having self-control was definitely a personal problem and not a life hazard.
“Did I get you sick too?” Eunhye croaked slightly.
“No.” Howon stammered and turned away from her.
“You don’t look that well, though.” She glanced at his knuckles, which had turned white from clutching onto the bed too tightly. “Are you in pain somewhere?”
“No.” He stood up and rushed to get out of the room, his hands slightly trembling as he pulled the curtain aside. “I… I have some thing to take care of, so make sure you take care of yourself and get home safely, alright?”
Howon's been weird for the whole day. Eunhye watched Howon leaving the infirmary quickly as if he was fleeing from danger.
Edited: 130821
Author's Note: I got braces today. I ate one meal and it's as if I mixed my braces into a pot of seaweed soup. I am not prepared to live the life of a person with braces... Hoya I hate you and your perfect teeth. On a side note, I also hate Hoya for having teeth that made me write a fic in which he's a blood er.
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