Himchan didn’t look at Neris at all the next day at school and – though she wasn’t upset at that – Neris felt a little guilty blowing him off the way she did. The sudden change in his demeanor wasn’t lost on either Yongguk or Taemi, both of whom were casting Neris confused glances every now and then. Apparently Himchan hadn’t told his Alpha the latest development, meaning Yongguk was still under the assumption that Himchan was still trying to convince the both of them he could date Neris without any negative repercussion.

Neris knew Yongguk would go to Himchan for an explanation, and Neris was counting the seconds until Taemi hounded her for one.

“Okay, spill,” Taemi folded her arms as the girls changed for P.E. class.

Their school had no locker rooms, and so the boys were chased away to the bathrooms while the girls used the classroom to change, blocking off the windows for privacy.

“About?” Neris questioned innocently.

“You know exactly what this is about.” Taemi rolled her eyes. “You and Himchan. He’s done a total 180 and has been giving you to cold shoulder the whole day. What happened between you two?”

Neris shrugged. “I told him to give up because I’m not going to date him.”

“You said that?” Taemi was flabbergasted. “You actually said that?”

“Neris!” A voice shouted, and all eyes turned to the door of the classroom.

A female student in a different class in their year was standing there, flanked by her friends. All wore equally pissed off expressions. They stormed up to Neris and the leader gave a sharp slap across Neris’ face.

“How dare you think you can seduce our Himchan,” the girl spat venomously. “Why would someone like him want a filthy American hanging on him?”

“What the did you say to me?” Neris demanded, her eyes blazing with anger as she stepped towards the girl, who had enough sense to recognize Neris was a bigger threat than originally assumed.

“I…I,” the girl stammered, her bravado lost momentarily before she found it again. “I said that Himchan deserves better than trash like you.”

“Why you little – ” Neris’ defensive tirade was cut off by Taemi, who grabbed her wrist.

“Seonghye, back off,” Taemi spat at the girl. “Stop being so insecure about yourself that you have to attack other people.”

Without letting the other girl respond, Taemi pulled Neris out of the classroom and towards the girl’s bathroom. After checking the stalls to make sure no one was there to overhear, Taemi turned to Neris with her arms crossed and an expectant look on her face.

“Okay, spill.” Taemi demanded.

Neris’ anger dissipated instantly, replaced by confusion. “…about?”

“I saw claws. Your claws.” Taemi clarified, her voice quiet but determined. “Now, do you want to explain why you randomly sprouted claws in the middle of class?”

. .

These were the words running through Neris’ mind as Taemi revealed she now had suspicions about Neris’ humanity.

“Um, I have really great nail beds?” Neris tried. “My nails just grow super fast, that’s all.”

“Nice try,” Taemi shook her head, not buying it for a second. “Now what’s the real reason? Are you a vampire? Werewolf? Some other kind of shapeshifter?”

Neris sighed, defeated. There was no possible way she would be getting out of this.

“Wanna skip school?” She asked.

|||

Taemi looked at her friend slack-jawed, silent after Neris had given her the abbreviated version of her kind, as well as a few necessary others. True to her word, Neris had left out the fact that their classmates were also of a supernatural origin.

“That…is…awesome!” Taemi explained, bouncing slightly on Neris’ bed. “I knew this stuff was real!”

It was Neris’ turn to be speechless, and she looked at her friend with a stunned expression.

“What, just because I’m a top student doesn’t mean I can’t believe in the supernatural.” Taemi acknowledged. “So, vampires; you never said it they’re real or not.”

“Not anymore,” Neris gave a slight snort. “They’ve been hunted into extinction. You see, every creature has its weakness. For werewolves, it’s wolfsbane. For sirens, it’s henbane, and for vampires, it was frankincense. Catholic churches used frankincense as incense in the thuribles, so vampires couldn’t enter the church during mass – or, really, at any other time since it was usually always burning somewhere in the cathedrals – which is why the legend of vampires being repelled by Christian iconography came about. When the medieval inquisition began, vampires were the first to be wiped out.”

“Wow…I mean, that kind of because almost every girl has fantasized about falling in love with a vampire, but hey…at least there’s werewolves.” Taemi remarked. “Hold on…does Himchan know what you are?”

The question caught Neris off guard. “What?”

“Well, you’re a siren.” Taemi reasoned. “If he knows, then maybe he’s acting all weird because he’s afraid he only likes you cause of the whole ‘supernatural iness’ and stuff.”

“Trust me, that’s not why he’s acting weird.” Neris shook her head.

“Then what is it?”

Neris hedged for a moment. “It’s…not really my place to say.”

Taemi narrowed her eyes at her friend, “You’re hiding something from me.”

“I am,” Neris chuckled. “But, like I said, it’s not my place to say anything. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if all the secrets of Bonghwa Eondeog’s supernatural underbelly are revealed to you. You’re ridiculously perceptive.”

Taemi grinned brightly, “It’s part of my charm.”

|||

Neris and Taemi walked side by side towards the school building the next day. The two girls had spent the night solidifying their friendship, and Neris was glad to have the girl as a confidante.

The wolf pack passed them, and while the rest gave their greetings to the two girls, Himchan deliberately ignored them. Or, rather, ignored one in particular. As they passed the girls, Taemi gave a loud puff of air.

“Okay, this is ridiculous.” She broke away from her even stride with Neris and jogged up to the group of boys. “Hey, Himchan!”

Neris’ eyes widened as the pack stopped and turned to face Taemi, each of the boys wearing identical expressions of surprise and curiosity.

“I know you like Neris,” Taemi spoke clearly, her eyes locked on Himchan’s. “And she likes you too, she’s just afraid to admit it.”

“Taemi!” Neris shrieked, rushing up to the girl and attempting to pull her away. “What the hell are you doing?”

“And you!” Taemi rounded on her friend, shocking Neris with her frustrated tone. “As smart as you are, you’re really dumb. You’re letting fear of something rule your life, and you’re going to end up really unhappy if you keep going on like that. Just because you think something bad is going to happen doesn’t mean it actually will. You and Himchan like each other. Stop being stupid and just friggin’ date already.”

With a loud huff, Taemi spun on the ball of her feet and stalked off, muttering under her breath about how stupid her friends were. Those left in her wake stood speechless, wide-eyed and slack-jawed even though Taemi’s rant was short.

“Wow, that noona is pretty cool,” Junhong approved as they stared at Taemi’s retreating figure.

“How much does she know?” Yongguk questioned Neris accusingly.

“She only knows about me,” Neris replied, clicking her tongue. “You have no faith in me, do you?”

Neris began to walk away, intending to catch up to Taemi, but she was stopped by a firm grip on her arm. She looked behind her to see the alpha holding her back.

“You two need to talk,” he indicated, his eyes going between Neris and Himchan. “And don’t think about coming in until you have.”

“I skipped class yesterday; I can’t very well start the day off doing the same,” Neris countered.

“Then I guess you better make it fast,” Yongguk gave a small smirk as he led the group into the school.

Neris sighed as she and Himchan were left behind, needlessly adjusting her backpack to get rid of the awkwardness that surrounded the pair.

“Well, he’s definitely an Alpha, I’ll give him that,” Neris muttered.

“This isn’t going to change anything is it?” Himchan questioned. “No matter what I do, not even if Taemi tells you to stop, you’re not going to let go of the belief that your love life is cursed.”

“I’m sorry,” Neris admitted. “For what I said in the woods, implying you only wanted me for an heir or whatever. I was frustrated and I wanted to push you away, but I went about it wrongly.”

“I can’t say it’s alright or that I understand, but thanks for apologizing.” Himchan still wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to change my mind…” Neris began, hesitating slightly before continuing. “…but I'll do what you asked. I’ll give you a chance to prove me wrong.”

Neris resumed her trek to school, her pace a bit faster than usual to escape any embarrassment that might follow. Himchan couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his lips. With a quick jog, he caught up to Neris in mere seconds.

“So, where are you going to take me for our first date?” He wondered, nudging her gently with his elbow.

“Me?” Neris scoffed. “You’re the one who’s supposed to be wooing me, remember?”

“Yes, but you hurt my feelings. You have to make it up to me.”

“Hurt your feelings,” she repeated with an eye roll. “You certainly seem to have bounced back quickly.”

Himchan shrugged, a wide grin on his face. “What can I say? I enjoy winning.”

“You haven’t won yet, you know.”

“Yet being the operative word.”