Luhan’s eyes trailed onto the door. Sehun just came home, and not alone. He brought someone else behind him. Someone who looked so familiar to him. Jung Hana. Luhan’s eyes widened.

“Why is she here?” He asked bluntly, totally forgetting about the book he was reading. His focus was on Hana, whose eyes darted to him, and she snickered silently. Sehun and Luhan were practically the same to her, good-looking but blunt to the point that they were rude.

Sehun threw his jacket to the couch and stared at Luhan, “Why are you here? I thought I already told you off?” Hana was surprised at Sehun’s rudeness towards Luhan. They seemed close, but somehow, Sehun gave Luhan the cold shoulder. Hana looked at Luhan’s reaction. She expected Luhan to actually scold Sehun, but that never happened. Luhan just stared at the two of them.

“I have information you’d want to hear,” Luhan stated. Sometimes, Sehun thought of Luhan as a spy more than a hunter. As the Fallen, Luhan didn’t have friends. The only way to retrieve information was through interrogation.

“You sit here, and don’t go anywhere,” Sehun said. He sounded demanding, and there was something in his voice that posed threat. Hana wanted to ask what happened. But instead she kept quiet and let the two men talked.

“Why do you bring the human girl here?” Luhan hissed, “Sehun, are you crazy? She can be a threat to both of us! If your brother knows that you bring a girl home, he would do the same thing he did…” Sehun growled, “You don’t need to remind me, Luhan!”

Even though Luhan was older, Sehun was much more powerful. His eyes darted to Hana, who looked around the spacious room curiously. Sehun looked back at Luhan, his eyes flashed dangerously. Soon, he sighed and his calm façade returned. Luhan raised one eyebrow at him questioningly.

“This girl has been Marked, Luhan,” Sehun said. “She is an easy target for the Forsaken before she becomes one, herself.”

“I don’t see why that would make any difference for you, Sehun. Forsaken or not, she is meant to be killed if she is Marked. We can’t let her lose her humanity,” Luhan stared into Sehun’s eyes, and the two glanced again at Hana. She looked at them curiously, trying to figure out what they were talking about. She found it hard to address the two strangers because she didn’t know their names yet.

“You don’t understand, Luhan,” Sehun stated. “She is not just Marked, she is chosen.” Luhan’s eyes widened, and he leaned in closer while Sehun backed away. He’d like his own breathing space to be left uninterrupted. “What do you mean by ‘chosen’, Sehun?”

Hana looked at Luhan, who suddenly walked in the speed of lightning and stopped in front of her. His eyes were menacing, and he spoke harshly, “Where’s your Mark?”

“Luhan, stop it,” Sehun stood behind Luhan, and Hana finally knew his name, Luhan. The doe-eyed male that looked younger than his real age. He didn’t look so friendly when he talked to her, though. It was as if he regarded her as someone lower than him.

“Where is your Mark?” Luhan repeated, now grabbing Hana’s hand. Hana stepped back, but Luhan pulled her back with such force that she almost fell down. Luhan kept her in her spot, and Hana hissed at the stinging pain on her wrist, “You’re hurting me, let go!”

“Luhan!” Sehun warned him, but the older one didn’t listen.

“What is he talking about?” Hana tried to prey away from Luhan, but that didn’t work. So instead, she looked at the man behind Luhan who brought her here. She expected him to take responsibility. But Sehun didn’t react. He stood behind Luhan like a statue.

“I will ask you for the last time! Tell me where your Mark is, or I will rip off your clothes!” Luhan threatened, and Hana paled down. What the hell was wrong with these guys? Were they rapists? Why were they talking about the Mark she didn’t even understand?

“It’s on her waist,” Sehun replied for her, again, almost too calm for her liking. She almost cursed at him, but held herself in. “Now let her go, Luhan. Poor girl’s hurting because of your grip.” Luhan immediately let go. “Are you sure she’s not lying?”

“This human doesn’t even understand a thing, and she said ‘inked’,” Sehun specifically quoted the last part. “It isn’t properly developed yet, but it’s growing faster than I thought it would be.”

Hana didn’t understand a bit about what they were talking about. She stood there, angry and confused. Luhan sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead and walked away, and Hana finally breathed out in relief. She was too shocked to be able to breathe normally.

“Your brother will soon know about her,” Luhan remarked, and Sehun suddenly let out an ironic scoff, “No, Luhan, I doubt it. I think he already knows. He knows everything about everyone.” Luhan glanced at him, then grabbed onto his silver robe, just like the one Sehun was wearing a few days ago, “I will go now. I have to do something about this.”

Sehun watched as Luhan walked out of the door a few minutes later. Hana and Sehun were the only ones left in the room.

Sehun’s living room was spacious, and decorated in a very traditional way. The walls were dark brown, and he kept a fireplace in the center of the room, where the flames always lit up, except for summer. The couch was made of the finest quality. This was a perfect getaway Hana had always imagined. But how could she even think of it when she was being dragged in by some stranger she didn’t know of?

“Who are you guys?” Hana whispered, “Please tell me the truth. You are dragging me here and your friend suddenly questioned me about some strange Mark I don’t even know of! You have to tell me something!”

Sehun’s eyes flickered from Hana to the flame, and the girl couldn’t help but feel the sadness in his gaze. He plopped down onto the couch, looking more tired than ever. He wasn’t physically tired, because his body would always regenerate itself. He was just mentally exhausted. Hana sat down next to him, trying to be careful.

“Shoot away, then,” Sehun breathed out.

“What’s your name?” Hana asked curiously. This had been on her mind for a while now. Sehun stared at her incredulously. They had met several times and she still didn’t know his name. “Sehun. You can call me that.”

Sehun.

“And what are you?” Rude, but necessary.

Sehun didn’t seem insulted. He had been asked this a thousand times.

“I’m a Fallen,” Sehun answered truthfully. If this girl was going to get involved with the Shadow world, might as well know everything. When he saw Hana raised her eyebrows in confusion, he continued, “Fallens are once Shadow creatures. We revolve in a different way.”

“What’s ‘Shadow creatures’?”

“Creatures from fairytales books, but the bad ones. They are vampires, werewolves, elves, faeries, witches, and many others,” Sehun explained slowly so that Hana could understand. “There’s also the Forsakens. They are made of shadow creatures’ blood. They hunt humans.”

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘made of shadow creatures’ blood’?” Hana interrupted him, still confused. “Wouldn’t vampires turn human into vampires? Or is that not possible?”

“You see, vampires’ blood-and other shadow creatures’ blood-are toxins to human. Once it enters your system, it will develop into something else. If you are strong enough to survive the process, you will become a vampire. If your body can’t stand against the toxins, you will become the Forsaken,” Sehun replied. Hana nodded, slowly getting the hang of this whole ordeal.

“So there are three of you; Shadow creatures, Forsaken and the Fallen,” Hana simplified everything and recited it for him. He added on, “And the last one is you, human species. You have no idea whatsoever with the whole vampires and hunters world. Human are living in their own safe haven, because we exist. The Fallen takes care of everything.”

“And why am I here?” Hana finally asked. Sehun stared straight into her eyes, but she didn’t waver.

“You are here because you are Marked. The process of Marking will either turn you to a shadow creature, or a Forsaken,” Sehun said, still using the calm, monotone way of talking, like nothing bothered him at all. “You have to be Marked twice to complete the transformation.”

Hana trembled a bit. “And if I am not Marked twice?”

Sehun didn’t need to answer. He knew she knew the answer. She would be the Forsaken. Forever lusting for human’s meat and blood, forever damned. “The thing is… you have to be Marked by the same person who Marked you first.”

“I don’t know,” Hana’s voice became hoarse, “I don’t know who did it to me. The Mark just appears all of a sudden.”

“Think again.”

“I really don’t know. My friend told me about this ‘tattoo’ on my back and that’s when I noticed it,” Hana told Sehun honestly. He could see how distraught she became at the mention of the Forsaken. She must be scared right now. But fear wouldn’t bring you anywhere.

“That’ll be a bit troublesome,” Sehun lowered his dark, husky tone, “For one, I’d suggest you to stay here, because I can wa…” Hana firmly shook her head and cut him off, “No.”

“You’re safer here,” Sehun tried to reason, “If you are Marked, your scent intensified. Not only the Forsaken will go after you, even vampires and the other Shadow creatures will want your blood.”

“No, I want to go home. I can’t stay with you,” Hana insisted, and when she gathered enough courage, she looked at him in the eye and told him, “I’m sorry, but I don’t trust you.”

“Even after everything you’ve been through?” Sehun raised one eyebrow. Hana didn’t answer, but her eyes were serious. “God, woman, you are one stubborn person! You.must.stay.here. It’s for your own good! Nobody will rescue you if you go home and continue acting like nothing’s wrong.”

“I’m going home,” Hana replied coldly, her handbag hanging onto her hands loosely, “Thank you for saving my life. I appreciate it. But I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

Sehun was utterly stunned. He watched her leave his house confidently. Even after the threats he told her, Hana was still hell-bent on going home. He laughed out loud in irony. Next time he wouldn’t be there to save her. Maybe the other Fallens would, but he wouldn’t.

Never had Sehun felt so frustrated with a girl.

He scratched his hair and slammed the front door. Hana had gone. She wouldn’t be alive for long. Her scent was getting stronger and stronger. Sehun grunted and picked up his phone.

“Luhan, the girl just got away.”

A/N: In case you don't notice, I changed the description a little, just to avoid misunderstandings that Sehun will surely be the one to get the girl in the end. Thanks!