The kiss is gentle at first, just simple movements of the lips. I don’t pull away as Daehyun is responding to me. One hand cups my cheeks while the other is still beside me to keep him propped up. I breathe through my nose and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me.

  He pushes me down against the bed, never letting our lips part and hovers over me. I gasp as his hand trails down my collarbone to my stomach and back up again. He takes this opportunity and slips his tongue between my lips. I fight back, pushing his tongue away, but he’s persistent.

  We pull away for a moment to gulp for air, only to continue our kiss. I can’t think straight and only focus on Daehyun’s touch. His hand moves past my belly button. A moan slips from my mouth, making me return to my normal self.

  Wait. This is not what I want.

  I push him off, my heart still quickening in my chest. This is not how I want things to play out. I don’t even know if he actually feels the same way. What if he’s only doing it because of the mood and because of me coming at him like that?

  Daehyun sees the look in my eyes and retreats.

  I sit up as he turns to leave and grab his arm. “Wait.” I have something to say. He can’t just leave like that without a word!

  He waits.

  I open my mouth, but all I get is a croak. Why is it so hard just to say those three simple words? They’re my true feelings, aren’t they? I’ve been feeling this way about him for so long. Taking a deep breath, I make another attempt. “Daehyun,” I call softly. I bite my lip. “I like you.”

  I feel him stiffen under my grip. Part of me is not prepared to hear what he has to say next, but there’s no turning back. He forgave me when he found out I was a vampire slayer, but what about this? Will he return these feelings?

  He looks over his shoulder. A shadow casts over his eyes from his bangs and the candlelight. “I-I don’t know what I feel right now.”

  My heart shatters at this. I let him go.

  “I’m sorry. I-I need some time to think about this.” With that, he leaves my room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

  Pins and needles strike me. My emotions burst out through tears. I fall back on my bed and curl up in a ball, sobbing. Why did I do that? Why couldn’t I just hold myself back and not do anything? But also, why did he even kiss me back? He could easily push me away, but that’s not what he did. He messed with my emotions, and I let him.

  I hold myself tighter. No matter how many times I fall in love, I’m always left alone. Seeing his handkerchief still at my bedside table, I take it and carress the rose emblem. It's obvious where this is coming from, but why? I take it close to my face and sniff, smelling the familar comforting scent of peppermint. I close my eyes and feel the tears streaming. I'm such an idot. Why did I do that?

  The whole Night, I stayed in my room and even fell asleep in the middle of crying. Waking up that same Night, I didn’t feel like moving from my bed. In fact, I wrap myself even further as I hear Zelo entering my room and pulling my curtains. He tugs on my blankets. “Youngjae, Young Master is waiting in the dining room. You need to eat dinner.”

  I groan and bury my face in my pillow. “I don’t want to see him,” I say through my pillow.

  “What?”

  I raise my head, my eyes still slightly closed. There’s dried tears crumbling on my eyelashes, so I rub them off. “I said, I don’t want to see him.”

  “Did something happen when we got back? You can tell me.” Zelo sits next to me.

  “I’m fine.” I roll over so my back faces him. I don’t want him to know that I basically got rejected. Not only that, my body really does feel sore from earlier.

  “Youngjae.”

  “I said I’m fine!” I bring the covers over my head. I’m pathetic aren’t I? I’m getting mad just by Zelo being concerned for me. It’s just, I don’t want to talk about it, not when Daehyun’s words are still fresh in my mind. How does he not know how he feels when he kissed me like that? Surely, he has some kind of feelings for me. Right?

  Zelo’s presence is still there as the bed still sinks where he is. “You told him, didn’t you?”

  I didn’t respond.

  “Did he… reject you?”

  I throw the covers off my face and glare at him. “I don’t want to talk about it. I shouldn’t even have done anything to him. I should’ve just let him take care of me and just be done with it. I’m such an idiot.” I groan and return to my previous position.

  “Youngjae,” his voice is soft, “You know, you’re the bravest person I have ever met since I came to the Dome. You weren’t afraid of standing up to Daehyun the first time you met him while others would cower. You went to him when he tried to push everyone away. You protected him from his father. You even went inside that burning building to find Jongup. It’s only in your nature to continue being brave.” He lays a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Daehyun is much different. He acts strong, but I know you noticed that deep down he’s weak. His father abused him and before you came along, the one person who kept him sane disappeared. He just needs time.”

  Zelo is right, but that doesn’t mean what Daehyun said didn’t hurt. It hurt. A lot. I should’ve just waited or not confess at all. But even if I didn’t confess, I’m sure the truth will come out sometime. My mind is still jumbled and I don’t know how to react.

  Zelo sigh and stands. “I’ll tell Daehyun that you will be eating in your room tonight. I will come back and bring the food up.”

  The sound of the door closing reminds me of how alone I am in this room. Again, I find myself clutching the handkerchief. I curl up in a ball and let my mind wander. As long as I’m thinking about something other than Jung Daehyun, I know I will feel better. However, the more I think about something else, I am constantly reminded of him as he’s always curious about the outside world. I think of the ocean, I see his glistening eyes. I think of the flowers, I see his plumped lips. Anything I think of, he’s always there.

  Zelo knocks and enters my room. I don’t stir and hear him set the tray on my bedside table. “Young Master says it’s fine that you eat here. But after you’re done, he would like to see you in his room.”

  Why does he want to do that? Wasn’t it clear what he was thinking earlier? Just talking to him will make me feel even worse. I nod anyways. “Okay.”

  Zelo leaves.

  I get up and see that L cooked up something good again. My stomach grumbles, reminding me that I haven’t eaten anything since the start of the Night. Without another wait, I dig in.

  In the middle of my little feast, I slow down. If I finish soon, that means I have to see Daehyun. Well, I can just not go, but I will have to confront him anyways. After all, we live in the same building. Can I just turn back time and redo that whole scenario? Yeah, that’ll be great.

  I finish the rest of the food and place the tray back where Zelo left it. I guess I can bring that down tomorrow. Maybe I should wait a little bit longer before going to Daehyun. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I’m just not ready to go to him just yet. Can Zelo come back so we can talk? At least time will go by faster if he does.

  I pace my room, scratching my chin. Just what does he want to talk about? Is he going to rub it in my face that he knew all along and was just messing with me by kissing me back? No. He’s not that type of person. Sure, there will be some teasing remarks, but he will never go that far. It’s best if I don’t think about it too much.

  I walk to the window and press my hands on the glass. Puffing out a huge breath of warm air, I cause a cloud and trace stars. Who knew that huge balls of gas could make something so wonderful in the night sky. Well, the ones I’m looking at are fake, but outside, they continue to twinkle with their light reaching billions and billions of distances away. It makes me wonder if this is how I feel about Daehyun. He shines brightly in my eyes, but is unreachable.

  I guess it’s time.

  Making my way to Daehyun’s room, I keep thinking about turning back. I really don’t want to see him, not after what happened. Just imagining it makes me all flustered. I have to go. I have to see him or else I’ll never leave my room.

  I knock on his door and wait. There’s nothing coming from the other side, and normally I will step inside. This time, I stand there. This is my last chance. Turn back or face him. Mustering up all my courage, I get inside his room to see him reading a book.

  “Zelo told me you wanted to talk to me.”

  Daehyun doesn’t reply.

  Why isn’t he saying anything? Do I need to speak again?

  “I’m sorry,” not only do these words come from my mouth, but from Daehyun, too.

  We’re silent again.

  Well, this is awkward.

  Suddenly, I find myself chuckling. Soon, my chuckling turns to full laughter. What is with this situation?

  Daehyun follows up and we find ourselves smiling while holding our stomach. I groan as my body aches from the mishaps earlier.

  “I’m sorry,” Daehyun says once again. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  I rub my arm, flinching as I hit a sore spot. “I mean, I did suddenly come onto you without your consent.”

  He chews on his lip and sets the book down. “I just wasn’t expecting it to happen. I-” He chokes on his words, “I don’t understand the concept of love. That’s why I asked you tell me about Luca. I wanted to understand what kind of feelings one gets where they’re next to someone they love. I even read books, but it never made sense to me. Based on what they say, I love my uncle, I love Zelo, I love books, and I love everything that I do. But when it comes to you, I didn’t know what I felt.”

  My heart skips a beat.

  Daehyun shifts in his bed and plays with his fingers. “When I first saw you, I knew I wanted you as my Doll, but then, when meeting you for the first time, I just couldn’t get my mind away from you. When you accepted my offer, I was ecstatic. I wanted to show you everything I had to offer, but I didn’t because I was afraid of what you will see. I had a reputation I needed to keep.” He pauses. “When you’re with Zelo, sometimes I get this bitter feeling, but I brush it off because when you’re with him, you shine like the sun. It’s as if a part of your old world was given to you, something I’m not able to give. I wanted to see that smile all the time, but sometimes when you’re with me you frown. I try to change myself that way you will not frown often.”

  I want to tell him that my life is slowly changing because of him, but I resist.

  “When I saw you wearing the suit my uncle had, you reminded me so much of him. It made me think that maybe the reason why I felt this way was because of that. You were my replacement for my lost uncle. I know that’s not the case now. Every time you offered your blood to me, I’m always tempted to do so, but when I do, some other feelings come. They make me want you more than just needing your blood. I resist it every time.”

  My mind is getting fuzzy again. So even he has his own inner conflicts.

  “Then when you kissed me, everything that I thought I knew was thrown out the window. I had always thought you wanted to get out of here. I even thought you hated me at one point. I guess that’s not the case.” There is longing in his gaze and it causes goosebumps all along my skin.

  I take a step forward. “Daehyun.”

  “Based on my experience with you, does that mean I’m slowly falling in love with you?”

  I freeze. How am I supposed to answer that? I’m lost for words. What can I say?

  He stands and takes my hand.

  I close my eyes. Is he going to kiss me?

  Soft, plump lips press against my forehead.

  I open my eyes to see Daehyun’s chin right at my face. A smile comes across my face. Does that mean he accepts me?

  As pulls away and we simply stand there, holding each other’s hands. I don’t want to do anything. I don’t mind standing here with Daehyun, not saying a word. There’s just something comforting about being there with him.

  He breathes in. “If only I had met you earlier, maybe my life would’ve been a lot different.”

  I squeeze his hands. “Either way, we will still be in this situation.”

  Daehyun chuckles. He leads me to his bed and stops. “If you want, you can sleep here tonight.”

  I smirk. “Didn’t I say I will never sleep next to you?”

  He shrugs and lets go of my hand. “Whatever you say.” He crawls into bed and settles in.

  I stare at him. For now, I won’t let him win. Leaning over, I plant a kiss on his forehead and whisper, “Goodnight, Daehyun.”

  Daehyun pouts, but accepts the defeat. “Goodnight, Youngjae.”

  At those words, I head towards the door, glancing at the book on his bedside table. Seeing this book, I am reminded about his uncle’s journal and what its contents hold. If I remind him so much of his uncle, then what was he like, and why would he abandon Daehyun just like that? Just what was so important for him to leave? I know all the answers lie in that journal.

Author's Note:

  Wow. This was a short chapter. I am so sorry for making this shorter than usual. However, to make up for this short chapter, the chapter after the next update will be super long! I can promise you that! Like always:

With Love,

LokiCraze123