Himchan was giddy the whole day – something that Taemi relentlessly teased Neris about and even Yongguk threw amused glances at the pair over his shoulders. Neris would have been annoyed were it not for the pact that a part of her, and Neris wasn’t sure what size that part was, enjoyed the occurrence.

Back in Beacon Hills, her time was primarily trying to save other people from dying, trying not to die herself, and stopping whatever being – human or otherwise – from committing more murders. Neris had only once been almost wholly concerned with her love life. Even then that quickly faded and her relationship was a small reprieve from the supernatural goings on and eventually served to cause more stress.

But Bonghwa Eondeog wasn’t like Beacon Hills. There was no Nematon that drew other supernatural creatures to the town. There were no telluric currents converging energy in a singular space that would do the same. It was just a small town that happened to have werewolves and hunters – but even then the two groups never seemed to clash horrifically.

Neris hated to admit it, but she found herself enjoying the quiet life. Sure, she was cursed with a nasty temper and a knee-jerk reaction to take someone’s head off if that temper flared, but there was something to be said for a chance to be calm and – dare she say it? – almost normal.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t realize class was over until Taemi was nudging her with an elbow. She looked to see the rest of the class gathering their things, some heading out of the classroom towards the cafeteria. Neris made a small noise of embarrassment as she closed her books and put them in the storage space under her desk.  Though she could sense it, she stubbornly ignored the grins of her friends.

“What were you thinking about?” Taemi wondered, though her tone suggested the question was rhetorical.

“Oh shut up,” Neris rolled her eyes as she stood up, “it not what you’re thinking.”

As the four walked out into the hallway, Himchan threw an arm around Neris’ shoulder as a wide grin spread across his face.

“Just admit you were thinking about me and be done with it,” Himchan grinned.

“I can’t admit something that isn’t true,” she snorted. “And can you cut it with the skinship? I already got slapped by one of your fangirls just for talking to you; what do you think will happen once your arm is around me?”

She didn’t realize what had slipped past her lips until she felt Himchan’s arm fall off of her. She turned to see him halted in his tracks, Taemi looking at his tightened expression and Yongguk staring at Neris accusingly.

“,” Neris hissed lowly, casting an apologetic look at the alpha.

“Who was it?” Himchan asked lowly.

“It doesn’t matter; I’m fine.” Neris told him firmly, trying to talk him out of whatever wolfy rage he was working himself into. “I can take care of myself and, look, it didn’t even leave a mark.”

“That’s not going to work, Neris.” Yongguk informed her, stepping towards her so he could lower his voice. “He’s sees you as a potential mate and now that you’ve accepted him…”

“…tentatively…”

“Inconsequential. You’ve accepted him and that feeling of his has grown tenfold. He’s becoming territorial and any threat to you makes him act like this.”

Neris heaved a sigh. “Animal instincts,” she muttered, understanding. “And I guess me protesting my autonomy won’t really work against animal instincts, huh?”

“Not a chance.” Yongguk confirmed.

“Neris, answer me,” Himchan growled, now stepping towards the pair. “Tell me who hit you.”

There was no chance of calming Himchan down with just words, that was clear. It would take an action, and Neris didn’t want that action to be the scaring of a loud, over-emotional school girl. An idea formed, but she wasn’t sure if it was a good one. Nevertheless, with the way Himchan’s shoulders were shaking from anger, Neris had to take a shot.

“Are there any teachers nearby?” Neris asked Yongguk, not wanting to get scolded for what she was about to do.

“Why?” He wondered.

“Just check,” she snapped.

“I don’t have to,” he replied. “Look around; the halls are empty. Everyone’s at lunch. Why does it matter?”

Neris ignored him, staring intently at Himchan. “Here goes nothing.”

She stepped forward, taking his face gently in her hands as she pressed her lips against his. Neris heard Yongguk make a choked noise of surprise and Taemi gasp with excitement. Himchan, on the other hand, relaxed mere seconds after the initial shock wore off. He melted into Neris’ lips as he moved his lips against hers, a small noise coming from the back of his throat.

“There’s a teacher coming. He’ll be here in seconds,” Yongguk informed her rapidly.

Neris stepped out of the kiss in the nick of time; the Phys Ed teacher stepped around the corner and caught site of the lollygaggers.

“Hey!” The teacher shouted, “What are you four doing here? Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Yes, sorry sir!” Taemi shouted apologetically. “We’ll be going.”

Yongguk took an unresponsive Himchan by the arm, the beta still staring at Neris with unfocused eyes and a slacked jaw. As the two boys walked down the hallway – or, rather, as Yongguk guided a stunned Himchan – towards the cafeteria, Taemi stepped up to Neris.

“Do you wanna tell me what all that was about?” She asked as the pair followed after the boys.

“Remember when I said there were some stories that weren’t mine to tell?” Neris wondered; Taemi nodded. “Well, this is one of those things.”

|||

Unfortunately, news of the kiss didn’t stay among the four; in fact, by the end of the day it had become the latest hot gossip. Himchan enjoyed it, since it was a constant reminder of what had passed between him and Neris. Neris, on the other hand, wasn’t finding the experience as pleasant.

She was currently cornered by Himchan’s fan club, attempting to keep her temper in check as Taemi ran to get the source of the problem so he could intervene.

“You actually thought you could get away with tainting our poor, defenseless oppa?” One of Seonghye’s minions hissed to Neris.

“Defenseless?” Neris chuckled. “That’s definitely not a word I’d use to describe him.”

“Do you think you’re in a position to be making jokes?” Seonghye sneered.

“Do you think you’re in a position to threaten me? However poor the attempt was.” She cocked her head to the side, shaking it a little. “It just astounds me how delusional you girls are. That ‘oppa’ you’re so zealously protecting doesn’t even need it. He has his own life and not a single one of you are a part of it. You don’t even register as a blip on his radar. You don’t matter.”

Seonghye reared a hand back in preparation for another slap against Neris’ cheek. “Why you little – ”

A hand caught Seonghye’s wrist in a vice-like grip, causing the girl to wince slightly. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Himchan looked to Neris, “Are you okay?”

“I told you I could take care of myself,” Neris reminded him, “but I figured you’d feel better if you took care of this one.”

“Oppa, we were just – ”

“I don’t care what you were ‘just’,” Himchan cut Seongye off. “Let me make one thing very clear: I care about Neris. What I do with that is my business. You have no right to try and interfere with that. And if you dare pull a stunt like this one more time I won’t just be handing you over to the administration for school violence, I’ll be dealing with you personally. Fair warning, the administration’s punishment will be light in comparison. Now get out of here while I’m speaking nicely.”

 Himchan dropped Seonghye’s wrist harshly, his eyes burning and his lips downturned in a scowl as he watched the quickly retreating figures of their schoolmates down the hall.

“You know,” Neris mused as she stepped up to equal footing with Himchan, “I’m not big on the whole territorial ‘man strong, woman weak’ thing, but I have to admit…that was pretty hot.”

Himchan cleared his throat, pink creeping into his cheeks and around his ears. “You know, uh, I don’t see you as weak,” he fumbled over his words, turning towards her though not lifting his eyes to meet hers. “And not because you’re a siren either. We see our mates as equals, in both strength and intelligence – it’s how we choose our best match. If our mates are threatened, even if they can protect themselves, we have a need to step in and protect them.”

“Not your mate completely, but thanks for the thought,” Neris gave him a light punch in the arm, smiling awkwardly.

“That reminds me,” he finally looked Neris in the eye. “Yongguk told me what you said about a wolf’s heart being wild and fickle. He didn’t correct you at the time because he wanted you to stay away from me, but I want you to know that it’s not true. At least, not our kind of wolf. When we choose a mate, we mate for life.”

It was Neris’ turn to clear awkwardly. “Well, let’s hope I don’t play a part in shortening it.”

“Yeah, let’s…” Himchan’s laugh trailed off as Neris’ words sunk in. “Wait, does that mean you’re going to stay by my side for a long time?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Are we going to grow old together, watching our grandchildren playing on our front lawn?” He teased, stepping closer to her with a playful grin splayed across his lips.

“Stop,” Neris walked down the hall, not bothering to hide the small bits of laughter escaping her.

“Admit it Neris; you’re falling for my charm!” He called after her.

“I admit nothing!”

“You half-accepted me; denial’s not an option!”