Your university library was one of your favorites because of two reasons- because of the beautiful atmosphere, the tall bookshelves groaning under the weight of dozens of hundreds documents. The whole library was dressed in warm colors, rich wood and red drapes and comfortable chairs and sofas. Large desks were in the middle, surrounded by the bookshelves where you could use your laptop if you needed, but you decided never to take electronics when you have so many beautiful and antique books surrounding you. You often found yourself strolling through the library, inspecting the large shelves and deciding what you should read, instead of doing schoolwork.

And that’s when you met the second reason why you favorite the old library to internet.

There, swallowed in the silence and serenity of the books, you met a man. He wasn’t tall or muscular by any means- he was just slightly taller than you, which was nice and firmly toned, no bulging muscles that would be intimidating. It was just the perfect height where you still had to tilt your head back, but it wasn’t as bad to give your neck a cramp. He wasn’t the type to spend his free time in the gym, but the bulges of his muscles as he reached for a book or brought over a fairly heavy ladder told you he was fit enough.

His hair was a warm brown color- bangs covering his forehead and almost resting on the glasses he wore most of the time. He had pretty lips, the type that made you want to kiss, and when someone came up to him to ask him a question, you learned two things-

One, he had adorable dimples.

Two, his name was Yixing, and he worked there.

These two facts increased your visits to the university library by a lot. When you didn’t have to do anything else, you’d just go there and sign yourself in and indulge yourself in loads and loads of books and maybe slightly ogle your favorite librarian.

You couldn’t help to smile back when he gave you his beautiful dimpled grin when he passed you and it made butterflies flutter about in your tummy excitedly. The more you saw him, the more you had the urge to talk to him. But you needed to have an excuse; you told yourself with a nod of resolution. There’s no way you could go up to him just like that and ask him for something. You were very clumsy in this, so the most probable result of you walking up to him ask asking his number instead of thinking something cleverer.

And so you waited. You waited patiently, thinking of the best thing to say not to sound too professional or too clingy.

A few days later with your mind filled with Yixing, you finally found a good enough excuse to talk to him and after looking for him for about ten minutes or so, you found him organizing some books.

“Um…excuse me?”  You called out to him a bit uncertainly and Yixing’s head shot up in surprise.

“Oh, hello!” he smiled his beautiful smile and you almost cooed.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt-…”

“No, it’s quite okay! It’s boring work anyways.” he smiled, putting the book he was holding away. You smiled back at him with a smile.

“Oh, alright, well…I was hoping you’d help me…I’m looking for a book.”

You’re in a library, ___. Shocker that you’re looking for a book.

You scoffed at yourself but you continued either way.

“It’s a book about Japanese mythology…I know it should be here, but I can’t find it…” you finished lamely with a chuckle, but Yixing shook his head.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It took me months to remember where everything is.” he reassured you with that dimpled smile that you loved so much as he guided you though the bookshelves.

“Oh, really?  How long have you been working here? Because…I-I’ve been going here pretty often but I saw you here just recently…” you mumbled off, unsure if you saying that  you’ve noticed him before didn’t make you sound like a creep, but it did quite the opposite as Yixing beamed, looking at you with surprised eyes.

“Really? You noticed me before?” you smiled back at him, nodding vigorously.

“Of course. You’re one of the nicest assistants here.” you told him and Yixing laughed, his dimpled smile leaving you a bit starstruck.

“Thank you…what’s your name?”

“___.”

“Ah, ___. I’m Yixing.” he stopped completely to reach for your hand, shaking it.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” you replied, smiling. His grip on your hand wasn’t too strong, it was gentle, as if he was afraid he’d hurt you if he squeezed a little harder.

“To answer your question-“ he chuckled, a sound completely innocent as he returned to searching for your book.

“I’ve been working here since last summer. I wanted it to be just a summer gig so I wouldn’t get too bored and then I started liking it. I like to help people, and in this library, there’s always someone who needs help.”

“You said it…” you laughed.

“I wish more of your colleagues were like you…” Yixing looked at you and the stare he gave you made you blush.

“S-some are very unhelpful, I mean.”

“They are, aren’t they? I tried to keep away from them because they send out such bad vibes…sometimes.” you both laughed at your dodging responses.

“I mean, they are nice to me, yes, but sometimes they have a bad day and they take it out on the visitors…here we are!” his cheerful call snapped you back into reality and when you looked around, you saw the bookshelves were filled with Japanese lore.

“What was the book you’re looking for?” Yixing’s dimpled smile had you mutely handing the piece of paper over to him, where the title was scribbled on with hasty handwriting.

“Ah, it should be…hmmm….” he pouted as he thumbed through the books.

“Ah!” his victorious cry made you smile and you took the tome from him with a grateful nod.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you, Yixing…I don’t think I would be able to find it on my own.”

“You’re welcome, ___.” he smiled and it fueled you just enough to feel a little confident.

“I feel…like I should at least bring you some coffee…you’re here until the end of the day, right?” Yixing stared at you strangely for a moment. For that one moment, your heart seemed to stop because oh my god, what did you do?!

“Actually…” Yixing turned to look at the clock, chuckling.

“I was supposed to be off work 10 minutes ago.” Mortification swallowed you whole, and you almost whined in desperation.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry…” Yixing immediately had this shocked look on his face as he shook it vigorously.

“No, no, it’s okay!  I’m glad to help! Actually…since I’m getting off work now…” you were sure your mind was playing tricks on you, because did he seriously blush?

“Maybe we could go grab a cup of coffee now?” his uncertain question had your body relaxing. And a horde of butterflies unraveled in your tummy.

“I would love to, Yixing.”

-

And that’s how your quick summer romance with Yixing started. He was exactly the same outside the library like he was at work- so adorably gallant, caring and overall a good person- you had no idea a human could be like this- you had your suspicions that Yixing was an angel. You often found yourself searching for his halo or some kind of wings on his back.

He was very good to you- paid for every snack, every dinner. Pulled out your chair when you sat down, walked you back home and picked you up at night time.

His kisses were gentle, gallant as well- basically farewell kisses with his hands resting gently on your waist. Little but passionate kisses while you were hidden in the library when he was working, the good kind that made you breathless and blushing.

Yixing was by far the best thing that happened to you this summer.

-

The library was relatively near your house, if you dared to go through the small but thick forest that was right behind your yard. If you went through it, you were at the library in about five minutes and if you wanted to take the longer route, it would take you twenty.

It wasn’t unusual for you to lose track of time when you were with Yixing, and the same happened tonight.

You promised your parents you would be home for dinner and when you finally caught yourself, the sun was already going down and it was nearing six.

“Oh!” you squeaked, jumping from your seat. Yixing looked at you, slightly alarmed.

“I promised my parents I’ll be home for dinner.” you explained yourself and Yixing cooed in understanding, nodding.

“When are you getting off work?”

“Ii~n…two hours.” Yixing checked the watch on his wrist and you nodded, standing on the tips of your toes to peck his cheek. Yixing’s arms wound around you and they held you close as he stared into your eyes with that pretty affectionate look that always made you tingle.

“Be careful when you go home, okay?” you smiled, nodded.

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Text me when you get home, alright?” you chuckled, cupping his cheek.

“I will, I promise.” Yixing smiled in retaliation, patting your playfully.

“Alright. Off you go, before you get in trouble.” you giggled, nodding and lifting on your toes one last time to peck his lips. But quickly, because you saw his coworkers watching.

“Enjoy work.” Yixing nodded.

“I will. Say hello to your parents for me.”

“Will do. Bye~” Yixing waved at you, smiling as he watched you leave.

The air outside was crisp, but pleasant. It would be a nice and peaceful walk from the library back home.

The forest was quiet. Eerily so, it wasn’t normal to not hear some birds chirping or an occasional deer prancing along the small walked out path. You did start feeling uneasy when you heard leaves and little branches crack under someone following you. You turned around when the sounds became louder…and your heart stopped beating for a second. Because in front of you stood a brown bear, teeming and furious, ready to pounce right at you.

A scream ripped through your throat and you scrambled to run. A roar shook the forest and the bear charged.

It took him only a few seconds to reach you. The first swipe had your breath leaving you in a painful scream, as the sheer force of the hit knocked you on the ground. You tried scrambling away, but it did you no good. The only thing you could do is look at the bear in shock as it reared on its back legs, ready to injure you one last time…when a quick shadow had the bear thrown to the side. It was too fast to be natural, and when the shadow slowed to your level, you realized with shock it was a human being- The man lifted the bear above his head and with a feral growl he threw it against a nearby tree, which groaned under the sudden awesome weight of the animal.

The thing disappeared and suddenly appeared behind the bear, eyes blood red.

Blood in your veins ran cold.

Because the face with blood red angry orbs…and long, dangerous fangs…was scarily familiar.

“…Xing?” the eyes turned to look at you.

“___. Oh god…”

“X-…Xing…”

“I’m so sorry, ___...”