03.

At some point, Mark’s hand slipped from her arm to her hand, making Yesol feel a new kind of warmth that started from the tingle in her fingertips and made its way down to her toes. He didn’t look back at her as it guided her with him, and all she can do was stare at his back, admiring the way his shoulders stretched and his hair fell along the curve of his neck.

She knew it might have been sinful for her to think about how much of a man he looked like when he was her student, but she just couldn’t help herself. 

He wasn’t just her student.

That in itself was heart-wrenching for her.

It seemed like they walked a pretty far distance before the trees finally began to scatter apart, slowly opening up into a clearing. “I didn’t even know the forest went this far out.” She joked, glancing anxiously around at all of the trees.

Any sane person would have been nervous to have someone she just met lead her into the woods, but she figured she was already past insanity. Besides, she had never trusted anyone more in her life.

At the other end of the clearing sat a grayish-blue house, three stories high with a rather traditional style. It was simple, she noted, with no outdoor decor and plain white curtains dressing the windows. A porch wrapped around the entire width of the house on the second floor. Although it wasn’t extravagant, it was still very pleasing to the eyes. Something about it felt serene and comfortable.

“Where exactly are we?” She could no longer keep her questions back and they all began to pour out of her, her curiosity taking control of her actions. “Why is there a house like this in the woods?”

Mark continued to slowly lead her toward the house, letting go of her hand once they cleared the tree line and the worry of her getting lost was gone. If he had been startled by her sudden questions, he did not show it just yet. “It’s my house.”

“Why do you live in the woods?” She frowned when his touch disappeared, but ignored the cold that set over the surface of her skin. She did not want to think about how much such a simple touch affected her. “Do you live alone?”

“No.”

“What exact-” The words caught in , her unfinished question coming out as a yelp when he suddenly stopped and turned to her, too fast for her to react and causing her to bump into his chest and making her stumble a bit. His hand came up briefly to steady her before he drew it away once more. She blushed and she stepped away quickly, her gaze moving to her feet in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. But, hold off on the questions, please? I’m going to explain some things, but I can’t do it all at once. It’ll be easier for both of us if you don’t ask it all at the same time.”

Yesol looked up at him and gave him a firm nod, grinning a little guiltily. “Got it.”

Mark chuckled at her response, finding it very cute and endearing. For someone who was older than him, she didn’t seem to act like it. Though, she didn’t quite seem to enjoy that fact either. He didn’t say anything else as he turned around and continue toward the house, hearing her steps faintly behind him, trying her best to keep up.

When they reach the house, nerves started to flutter in her stomach at the prospect of learning at least a fraction of the truth about Mark. She knew he was nervous too, with the way he took a deep breath before opening the front door, holding it for her to pass through first before following suit. “No one overwhelm her, she doesn’t know anything yet.” 

She furrowed her brows when he spoke, frowning as she looked around the empty room. No one was anywhere to be seen, and there wasn’t even a sound to be heard. At the thought that maybe Mark was slightly delusional, she bit her lip and took in her surroundings. The inside of the house was just as plain as the outside, save for a bit of clutter on the table in the living room, to the right of the foyer they stood in. To the left was a door she could just peek inside enough of to see a kitchen, and beyond on that, a hallway to which the whereabouts were unknown, though she imagined it must have a pantry of some sort. And before her sat a large staircase, the old age of it clear from the faded red stain on the wooden steps. Her eyes followed the length of each step until she reached the top, her breath catching in when she met the eyes of perhaps one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen. 

His expression was serious, intimidating even, despite his captivating features. His hair was slicked back lazily behind his ears, silver with just a hint of lavender when the light hit it at a certain angle. His jawline was as sharp as his eyes, his lips thin yet full at the same time. He was like a character straight out of a graphic novel.

To say she was in awe would have been a massive understatement.

Perhaps out of jealousy or perhaps to bring her back to reality, Mark coughed next to her, gaining her attention and she blushed, snapping her head away from the beautiful man. She could hear the snickers from the boy beside her, enjoying her embarrassment. She wanted so badly to glare at him if it weren’t for her feeling too humiliated at getting lost by such a stunning stranger.

"They'll stay out until I tell them. It's okay."

Yesol returned her eyes to the silver-haired man to find him walking down the stairs, his surprisingly deep voice a startling contrast to his soft features. When he reached them he gave her warm smile and a slight bow of the head, to which she returned hesitantly, unable to look away once again. It was almost sinful how transfixed he managed to make her feel. She reckoned it must have happened a lot to him.

The blond next to her had to clear his throat again, earning a chuckle from the mystery man. "This is Taeyong. And Taeyong, this is..."

His voice trailed off as he gave Yesol an odd expression, one that she was able to read quite easily. He wasn't sure what to call her, given her status over him. So she took it upon herself to make her own introduction. "Yesol."

Taeyong smiled at her once more before turning to Mark to get straight to the point. "What exactly does she know so far?"

Mark was about to tell him that she didn't know anything as of yet, but Yesol cut him off, stepping in and catching him a little off guard.

"I know that fate somehow has something to do with this."

Her words made Mark's heart warm quite a bit, a proud and pleased feeling in his chest. It was cheesy, but he liked it very much.

Even Taeyong was pleasantly surprised by her answer. "Yes, fate has a very big role in all of this."

"What do you mean by that, though?" She found herself asking. Her strong curiosity was driving her mad for answers, even more so now that she was actually going to receive some.

"I can explain a lot of things to you, Yesol, but I feel Mark should do most of that. You are his mate after all."

"Mate?" The word made something settle in the bottom of her stomach, gears already turning and clicking into place in her head. "I've heard of that before..."

"You have?" Mark's eyebrows furrowed as he moved to stand beside Taeyong to face her better.

She nodded her eyes meeting his dark ones as she remembered. "My Grandmother used to tell me stories when I was younger. She told me everyone has a mate, whether they know it or not, even if they never meet them."

Taeyong nodded, following along with her words closely. "Right, and did she explain to you what a mate is?"

Yesol paused, her heart rate feeling as though it doubled when she held Mark's anxious gaze with her own. She knew exactly what it meant, and it scared her immensely to admit it. But, she knew deep down it wasn't something she could deny, either.

"Soulmates."

I'm soulmates with a student who's at least three years younger than me, if not four and I've lost my mind. She thought to herself, too far gone at this point.

She wanted to take a step back already, but it was already too late.

"I'm your mate."

It wasn't a question, but Mark nodded anyway, taking a step closer to her and grabbing her hand in his, those warm tingles began crawling over the surface of her skin again. "And I'm yours."

As much as his words made her feel things she wondered if were humanly possible, she just couldn’t stop the nagging that had played in her mind from the moment everything started. “How old are you?”

Mark looked taken aback by her question, the fear of it weighing down on him since day one as well. He knew it would become a problem, it was foolish to think otherwise. And there was nothing he could do to change his age. He could only hope that Yesol wouldn’t be too put off by it, or would at least come to terms with it eventually. 

“I turned eighteen last August.”

Three years, then. Almost exactly.

Yesol bit her lip, nodding while glancing away from Mark for a moment to think.

“I really hope him being younger doesn’t make you re