Chapter Two
A Scrapbook Full Of Short Stories
My aunt's words never left my mind, making me dizzy as I lay in my bed, staring into darkness. Everything was silent,
as if no one was here. I no longer felt my skin burning, which was a relief. I rolled onto my stomach, resting my
chin on my pillow. I thought of Jinyoung and his cold appearance; his attitude. I was still amazed by his good looks,
which made everything even worse. Isn't it a sin to look that good? I thought of him on his motorbike, his ripped denim
jacket blowing in the breeze, smirking at all the girls as they swooned. I shook my head.
How do I know he would do that? Who am I to judge, anyway?
I suddenly wondered if the other boys; his brothers, so I'd heard, were like him.
Are they the kind of boys who don't care what anyone says? Do they sleep in class, too? I was awoken by my bedroom
light suddenly being switched on. I looked around my room but I was alone. "You're not alone, sunshine." A voice
murmured in my ear. I gasped and whipped my head around to find a young girl dressed in black standing by my bedside.
"Don't be alarmed, I'm not here to hurt you." She sat on my bed, looking at me and tilting her head. She tucked her shoulder
length black hair behind her ear and held out her perfectly manicured hand for me to shake.
I hesitantly took her hand, feeling warmth spread over my whole arm. "Sorry," she whispered.
I shook my hand, feeling the burning sensation pass. What kind of young girl wears crop tops with lace sleeves and short
shorts and randomly invades people's bedrooms? "Choi Jinri." the girl smiled, showing her pearly white teeth. "I'm sure
you don't know me, Soeun, so I will fill you in. You know Jinyoung, correct?" I nodded. "He has six brothers. I'm dating one of them."
"Jinri-ssi?" I called out. "How do you know my name?" I asked cautiously.
She laughed. "Jinyoung. I can read him like a book." I narrowed my eyes, more confused than
before she answered my question. I sat upright, crossing my legs.
"Jinri-ssi? What are his brothers like?" Jinri wetted her lips and stood up.
"I'll take you to meet them tomorrow. Goodnight sunshine!" She waved. I watched after her in surprise as she jumped
out of the window. I peeked out the window, but she had seemingly vanished into thin air. Strange.
I woke up feeling uneasy. Today's the day I'm going to meet Jinyoung's brothers, but I'm not even that close to Jinyoung.
Speaking of Jinyoung, what does he want me to thank him for?
The answers? Well, I suppose I should, seeing as he didn't make fun of me.
I tied my hair up, since today I had sports and I didn't want to be blinded by my own hair. I decided to jog to school so
I would be warmed up for today. I ate my breakfast quickly and told my mother that I was jogging to school. "Stay safe!
Remember, if any strangers come up to you asking if you need a ride, say no. Especially if they're alone or look mysterious."
She packed my sister's sandwiches and gave me a small wave. It was nice to go alone for once. I felt trusted.
Trusted not to get into trouble. The wind slapped across my cheeks as I jogged steadily, waving at a few of my friends as
I went past them. I was enjoying the solitude when I heard the sound of motorbikes nearby. "Soeun-ssi, do you need a ride?"
a slightly husky voice asked. I turned to look at him. "We meet again." he smirked.
"Jinyoung-ssi?" He nodded. "Umm well..." I hesitated. What if he's dodgy?
"I'm not dodgy, Soeun." I widened my eyes in shock, covering my mouth.
"We'll I guess you're not a stranger since we've already met." Then I thought of Seyeon.
I shook my head. "Thank you for the offer but I need to warm up. Maybe another time?" Jinyoung stared at me in amazement.
Not used to being rejected, are you? "No, I'm not. Thanks for rejecting me." I scoffed at him and carried on jogging.
I reached school a few minutes after Jinyoung and his brothers. I avoided his stare and looked for my friends.
I pushed through the crowds, earning me disgusted looks from all of the popular students.
"Soeun!!" I heard someone call out excitedly. Before I could reply, I was attacked in a big hug.
Juhyun cupped my face in her hands. "You became prettier since I last saw you!" She gushed.
I laughed to myself. "You saw me yesterday, don't be so dramatic."
Narae slapped the back of Juhyun's head playfully, causing Juhyun to pout at her.
I linked arms with Boa and began asking her about how her family was doing. "Oh you know. Same old, same old. My grandma
sat on her glasses and broke them, then wouldn't stop complaining the whole night that her bottom was sore." She sniggered.
"Soeun-ah! It's him!" Juhyun gasped and pointed at Jinyoung. The girls crowded around me.
Boa squealed. "He's staring at you! Go and say hello!" She whispered excitedly.
Bohyung pushed me towards him. I shook my head, backing away from him. "Let's just go to class before we're late,
yeah?" I suggested. I looked back to see if Jinyoung was there but he was already gone. I sighed sadly.
The six of us piled into art class, Boa and Juhyun whispering about Jinyoung. Unfortunately, I always sat separate to them,
but I was hoping since my original seating partner switched classes, one of them would be sat next to me. I was about
to wave to whoever sat themselves down on the chair next to me, but I was met with Jinyoung's good looking face.
His stupid good looking face. I remained speechless as I worked silently. Jinyoung didn't start his work, but just watched
me. A piece of paper slid over to me. What are you drawing? I looked down at my work, seeing the facial features start to
take shape. "It's Venus, you know, the goddess of love?" Jinyoung turned away from me and started on his own drawing,
his elegant hands moulding a shape with his pencil. I watched on in awe as he drew a perfectly smooth jaw line.
The person he was drawing had plump, but not chubby cheeks and small lips. Jinyoung turned to face me, narrowing his eyes.
“It’s rude to stare.” He mumbled. I apologised quickly and continued to draw. Occasionally our elbows would brush past
each other’s and I’d feel warmth spread over my entire arm. I ignored the heat and continued to draw the face, drawing out
her flowing hair. Class had almost finished when Jinyoung next spoke. “Soeun-ssi,” his voice was quiet.
I hummed in response, not lifting my eyes from my hands. “Did Jinri visit you last night?”
I still didn’t lift my eyes. “Yes, she did.” I answered; my head spinning with nerves.
Jinyoung lifted my chin gently, his thumb dangerously close to my lips.
“Don’t go.” I didn’t respond. “Don’t meet them. Just forget about it.”
I opened my mouth to speak. “But it’d be rude to just turn her down since I asked.”
Jinyoung stepped closer to me, his breath fanning over my face. “Don’t. Go.” He ordered rougher.
I didn’t go. I knew Jinyoung was watching me to make sure, so I decided to have some time to myself. I normally spent
time after school with my friends, but today I was distracted, and I feared that they’d tease me for it. I swung my legs, holding
onto the swing’s rope. I didn’t trust the old swings enough to actually swing on them, so I just sat there thinking to myself.
My thoughts were interrupted when another girl sat in the swing next to me. Her hair was a fiery orange, and I couldn’t help
but stare. She was beautiful, and reminded me very much of my picture of Venus.
The girl looked over at me, staring at me now. I hesitantly looked back at her. She smiled.
She was a little older than Jinri, and I presumed she was in the year above me.
“Meng Jia, nice to meet you.” I bowed my head to her. “What are you doing over here? Don’t you know how upset
Jinri is that you’ve abandoned her? Come with me.” She reached for my hand.
I shook my head, pulling my hand away. “Jinyoung told me-” Jia rolled her eyes.
She took my hand and dragged me along after her. “Who cares what that idiot says?”
Jia stopped in front of a group of five boys, one of them being Jinyoung. Jinyoung narrowed his eyes at us. Jia folded her arms,
and a red haired boy came up to her, slinging his arm around her waist. The boy had a jaw line to die for and a simple but
handsome look to him. I felt Jinyoung’s piercing glare, so I turned away. “Park flaming Jinyoung. You’d better have a good reason
for telling Soeun not to come.” Jinyoung was unfazed by the girl scolding him. I spotted Jinri and smiled at her. Jinri smiled back
and walked over to me, holding another boy’s hand. The boy had a cute little face and light blonde hair. He smiled and waved
at me. Jinri blushed, keeping her head down. “Welcome, Soeun noona. I’m Kunpimook.” I bowed politely to him, earning a
laugh from Jinri. “You’re Thai, right?” I asked. He nodded, pleased with himself. “How old are you?”
“Me and Yugyeom are both sixteen. We go to the middle school not far away from here.” Kunpimook pointed out another boy
with dark brown hair. He looked older than Kunpimook, but I had already heard that Yugyeom was the youngest from gossip.
Yugyeom bowed and so did the cute petite girl next to him. “Ryu Sera.” She introduced in a quiet voice that I found adorable.
Jia slapped the red haired boy in the chest. The boy looked at me. “Oh, I’m Mark Tuan.” He said, uninterested.
A girl with long, wavy brown hair stepped forwardly. She put her hand on her hip and looked at me from head to toe.
“Not bad, Jinyoungie.” She commented. “I’m Kim Yujin.”
A boy who also had blonde hair stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t mind her. I’m Im Jaebum by the way.” He bowed at me and grinned.
A couple stood nearby holding hands and acting lovey dovey. The girl looked over at me and smiled.
“Ahh Soeun-ah, you’re so pretty! I’m envious.” I raised my eyebrow.
She’s envious? Her hair hung in a casual ponytail, and her bangs framed her face. Her doe eyes stood out from the simple
eyeliner she had on. “My name is Kwon Yuri. We will be good friends, I know it.”
The boy beside her shuffled shyly. “I’m Youngjae.” I stared over at Jinyoung, who was sat on his own.
He looked angry; probably since he told me not to come. I cautiously sat by him.
I daren’t move any closer because I felt uneasy around him. “I told you not to come, Soeun.”
I folded my arms over my chest, watching the others. “Well it wasn’t my idea to come along. Jia dragged me over here.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “You know what Jinyoung? If you really don’t want me here, then I will go. It’s no good being
somewhere I’m not wanted.” I turned away from him and left him sitting by himself. I was furious. How could he blame me
for coming when I didn’t want to? Which made me curious; why didn’t he want me to be there? Is it my fault?
Jinyoung’s P.O.V
I sat there in silence, Soeun’s words swirling around. I felt heavy hearted. She’s right, I can’t blame her. She got
dragged here. Maybe it’s not so bad if she meets my brothers. That way, we may become closer too. But I also have our
secret to protect. I mentally slapped myself for upsetting her. Worst comes to worst, she is protected. From me.
I could hear her thoughts from here, and it certainly wasn’t helping one bit. The reason I didn’t want her to meet my brothers is…
me and my brothers are dangerous.
Scratch that. Me, my brothers and their girlfriends are all dangerous.
Why are we so dangerous? Because we’re half-demons, sons and daughters of demons.
But me and my brothers are the most dangerous of all, because we’re the sons of the devil himself.
I learned of my powers when I reached by eleventh birthday. Each half-demon inherits some powers from their demon parent
and developed some of their own. All demons and half-demons could read others’ minds, although some learned to block
unnecessary thoughts out better than others. I had the power to block out people’s voices. Everyone within the block field
wouldn’t hear the person’s voice while everyone else does. That’s what I used when Seyeon was talking badly about Soeun.
I can also create other block fields, such as a shield. That comes in handy whenever I get into fights and the other person is
armed. That way, I can’t be harmed. However, I have been taught never to use it in a fight against a human.
There is another power I developed. It’s not a typical half-demon power to have; in fact, it’s one of the rarest.
I can heal people using just my mind. It sounds more like an angel’s power than a half-demon’s.
Soeun’s P.O.V
My phone rang again. It was about the fifteenth time, and though I knew Jia would be unhappy about it the next time I
saw her, I really didn’t care. For the past few days, I had made it my personal mission to avoid Jinyoung. He doesn’t want to
tell me why he wanted me to stay away? Fine. Jia and the others began to notice as I blocked out his words.
Eventually he stopped trying and ignored me too. Even though it was one of the most childish things to do, the two of us
were stubborn about it. I was only when I had a nightmare that things finally started to unravel.
It was Saturday. Last night, Jinri had invited me to a party where Jinyoung and his brothers were invited.
I had originally refused, but seeing Sera’s adorable pout made me melt.
Who doesn’t melt under aegyo? Probably Jinyoung. I’m not sure anything can make him melt.
I had been too focused on stuffing myself with food to drink much alcohol, but I had noticed Jinyoung stumbling over his feet
as he tried to pry a bottle of soju from the bartender. That was the night I met Jinyoung’s other brother. He was pleasant.
He wasn’t the jolliest, or the most charismatic person I had ever met, but from what I had heard, he had been away a lot
recently and he was regularly in a bad mood. His girlfriend was much brighter. She listened to everything I said and
whenever I got upset about something, she’d feed me another rice cake and make a joke about it. When I told her about
Jinyoung’s bad moods, she sighed and fed me another rice cake. My cheeks had looked like a chipmunk’s.
“Stop avoiding him, it’ll only make it worse. See him over there? He’s drinking heavily. In fact, he’s drinking so heavily he
might start speaking in whale language any moment now, so please make up with him, okay? He doesn’t drink like that over
nothing, so you should count yourself lucky. He never drank over any of his exes like that.”
I paused, my cheeks about to explode. “He has exes?” I asked, barely pronouncing the words.
“Yes he does. Five of them. People say they’re the luckiest five women on the planet. He’s a good catch, if you know
what I mean!” she winked at me playfully. A smile worked its way onto my face.
Now, it was Saturday morning and almost everyone else was still sleeping off their hangovers.
I, on the other hand, was still shaking from a terrifying nightmare I had. I sat on my bed, shivering. The lamp had been on
all night, since that was the only way I could relax at all. Yuri and Hala, Jackson’s girlfriend, were sprawled out across
he floor, still sleeping. After a while, they groaned, rubbing their eyes. I sniffled and Yuri lifted her head.
“Soeun-ah? Why is the light on? Are you crying? Yah, what’s wrong?” she cooed like a mother.
I sat in between the two, closing my eyes. An image of my nightmare cropped up, making me grab onto the nearest person,
which happened to be Yuri. I shivered, sweating. Yuri looked at Hala. “Hala, go and fetch Jinyoung for me please. Jaebum too.”
A few minutes later, Hala was back, Jinyoung and Jaebum behind her.
Jinyoung ran over to me, sitting next to me. “What’s wrong?” he asked in panic.
Yuri shrugged and shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know what was wrong.
The image cropped up again, and this time I hid my face in Jinyoung’s shirt.
Jinyoung hesitantly pulled me into his lap and my hair comfortingly.
“J-Jinyoung. I dreamt of him again,” my voice was shaky. Jinyoung’s eyebrows creased in pain.
“Who? Who did you dream of? Tell me Soeun.” I looked at him and he gasped.
“The devil,” he whispered. “I think it’s time I told you the truth now Soeun.”
I was not prepared for what Jinyoung had to tell me next.
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