You know the myth that werewolves can smell emotion? One hundred percent true. Science likes to put labels on it, like pheromones or hormones, or epideictic. It’s close enough, but to my understanding, humans haven’t honed in on everything related to the sense of smell. For the basics of werewolves, emotion is a piece of cake.

For instance, it is really easy to smell tension in the air, even if a person is trying to show there is nothing wrong. We know there is something wrong. Anyone can fake his or her outer appearance. They can’t escape from what I can smell. I’m at an advantage.

Since running into Sehun outside of Uncle Ko’s shop, I was forced into making a new meeting schedule for the projects, one that I had to follow. I was not so nicely pulled out of Mythological Creatures and was handed a new list, with dates, times, and places. He must have really needed to ace the project. He left before I could tell him about the ones I couldn’t make, being all the times he wanted to meet after the sun already went down. Instead, I was practically forced to go to the first one.

Somehow he had managed to make all of the times fit my schedule perfectly. None of the times conflicted with either of our classes. He knew the Chem lab was my last class, and we were supposed to meet at this coffee shop in the center of the town. I was lenient about the meeting place, but it wasn’t like I could tell him I didn’t want to go there. He also wouldn’t listen if I told him. I reluctantly went with a mindset that the project would be over if both of us cooperated enough.

There are many things that smell too strong. Certain perfumes, as I have said before, I’m not too fond of going to the funeral home due to the vast amounts of incense, and lastly, coffee shops.

The idea of the shop was actually kind of cute. It was actually an old house turned coffee shop, where the upstairs was turned into a lounging area. The grass out in front was turned into a patio of sorts, as was the backyard. I was supposed to meet Sehun at the front patio, and I was planning on meeting just Sehun, but it seemed like he had other plans. The table was for three.

Not that I was looking forward to spending time with him in the first place, but now I was going to be at the mercy of watching him be all googley-eyed with his girlfriend. At the round table was Sehun and Sera sitting uncomfortably close to each other. I almost stopped and turned around, but Sera saw me first.

“Hi, In Hye!” She smiled and waved like the nice perfect person she was. Sera was one of those people who couldn’t be mean to anyone if she tried. Sehun seemed kind of ticked that his girlfriend called out to me like she did, but he motioned for me to join them.

What the hell is she doing here? We’re supposed to be working on a project. He’s practically making me be the most awkward third-wheel in the world. I grumped all the way to the table, slouching down on the metal seat across from them, when a gross scent entered my nose. This time, I was having an incredibly hard time distinguishing if it was real or fake, and I was resisting the urge to puke.

“I ordered coffee for you!” Sera pushed a tall cup toward me, still with the smile. She seemed like Sehun’s type to me, petite, perfectly pale, long and dark hair, cat-like eyes. All the basis standards of beauty embodied Kwon Sera. “It’s a vanilla latte.”

…And that’s precisely why I wanted to puke. My eyes probably twitched because both of them gave me funny looks. I pushed the coffee cup away with careful fingers. “I’m allergic to vanilla.”

It wasn’t false, I actually am allergic to vanilla. I’ll save the panicked discovery of my twelve-year-old self blowing up like a balloon for another time. It’s quite ironic, though I have an actual excuse for avoiding the substance altogether. She clasped her hand over . “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know-“

Maybe it was just because of the coffee shop. Vanilla is a normal coffee thing right? This is why I avoid places like this; it throws of my sense of smell so much. “It’s fine. I don’t drink coffee much, either.”

Sera giggled, wrapping her arm around Sehun’s. “Wow, you’re just like Sehun. He hates coffee, all he drinks is bubble tea.”

Then why the hell did we meet at a coffee shop? If he doesn’t like coffee and I don’t like coffee, I don’t see the point of staying here. I would have much preferred a bubble tea shop to this place. It reeked of basic college kids.

Sehun shifted, rolling his eyes. Our Mythological Creatures textbook was already on the table. Well, his was at least. “Let’s just get it started…” Sehun griped, viciously flipping through the pages of the book.

I pulled out my own book and looked for the chapter about werewolves. Honestly speaking, I haven’t read the chapters on the creatures that were real. It pissed me off sometimes, the things humans come up with, being that most of it was false. All we were doing today was picking a focus to work with.

“Professor Yun said we had to pick something specific.” Sehun repeated the instructions. Jokester-name-calling Oh Sehun had gone off and died. Now it was studious and hard working Oh Sehun sitting in front of me. He was probably just putting on his best behavior for his girlfriend, whom he looked at several times when she wasn’t aware. “I was thinking origin.”

I rolled my eyes. “Every single European country has their own interpretation of the origin of werewolves. Unless you want the paper to be a million pages long, pick something else.”

He sent daggers towards me, continuing to flip through his book to find something else. I would have thought he had an idea already, since he was so keen on this topic. He read through a few lines and said something else.

“Lycanthropy?” It almost sounded like he was asking for my permission for the topic, despite the fact that he forced it on me to begin with.

“That literally means the study of werewolves. Do you seriously not pay attention in class?”

Neck veins were starting to show up on his gloriously long neck. Wait, no In Hye stop it. Then again, it’s not my fault that he didn’t know anything. He grumbled to himself again, resulting in Sera gently patting his arm with affection, leaning her head on his broad shoulders. Damn, why does she have to be here?

This time, I tried suggesting a focus. "What about existence?" 

He scoffed. Like yours were any better. "Werewolves don't exist. End of story." 

I started knawing on the inside of my cheek once again. It was a really bad habit of mine, but it was my coping mechanism. Because I needed a coping mechanism when Sehun would say stuff like that. It was worth a shot. This time it was my turn to grumble. A slight headache was forming from an overwhelming smell coming from the coffee that was supposed to be mine. I pushed it away a little bit further but the putrid stink only seemed to intensify. 

There aren't really many things that interest me about my own kind, considering one, they are mostly wrong, and two, I know everything there is to know. As long as he doesn't choose-

"Mating, then. Werewolves have mates, that seems to be in a lot of the readings." That didn't seem like he was asking for permission. That was him telling me what our project was going to be once again. 

Of course, of course! Damn it. I literally hate everything. My mind raced with as many curse words I could think of, directing them all to the one who thought putting me into this situation was funny. Fate was making my life miserable. I had no reason to go against the topic either. 

"Fine..." 

"In Hye, are you ok? You look kind of pale..." Sera looked over at me with uneasy eyes. Yeah, your dumb coffee is making me sick. 

"I'm fine, Sera." I brushed it off by clearing my throat, and pulling out my laptop to get started. After about an hour we did as much research as we could about the mating process, but it seemed like it was going absolutely no where. For once, the internet was useless to the college student. 

"Folklore books would be easier than this." I told Sehun, completely giving up on the power of the internet. I'm failing as a college student if I have to turn to books, that is sad...

"What do we have so far?" Sehun rubbed his eyes, then ran the same hand through his fluffy hair. 

I opened the document that had the notes of the project so far, but out of irritation I started tapping my laptop. "Werewolves have mates." 

"Ugh..." He groaned, shutting his laptop with force. He banged his head down on the metal table with a loud clunk, to which Sera proceeded to rub his back. "What time does the library close?" 

I looked down at my watch. "An hour ago..." I took my eyes off my watch to look up at the sky, barely starting to show tints of orange and pink. The sun was setting, it wasn't like I had much time left anyways. I can't let a project like this get me in trouble. 

The project wasn't what was going to get me in trouble, that was for sure. I picked up their scents earlier on, but I didn't know it was one of their hang out places. It's not like it didn't suit them, but since I rarely go downtown, running into them was rare. And I honestly had no idea what they did with their actual lives. 

I think they might have been surprised to see me to, but that surprise turned quickly into a glare. "Crap..." I muttered as they made their way over to our table in a huff. Sera didn't seem to notice, more distraught about something wrong with her nail. On the other hand, there was a slightly different look in Sehun's eyes when they came over.

"What?" I hissed, staring at two of my brother's friends, who were now glowering. Of the 7 of them, I could easily list those who made themselves seem over protective. Standing in front of me were the top two: Sungjong, of course, and Sungyeol, who was acting alpha when Sunggyu was struggling. 

Without saying anything, Sungyeol took my arm and dragged me off, my strained neck looked over at Sungjong gathering my things, eyes hovering over my opened computer. Sera and Sehun looked confused, but I figured they wouldn't do anything. 

"Sungyeol, let go of me!" I struggled with his strong grip on my arm, but keeping in mind that he was a good foot taller than me, my resistance was kept to a minimum. I was dragged off, but only to the front of the shop and down the street a little bit. "What the hell, Yeol?" 

Sungjong wasn't too far behind us, with my bag slung over his shoulder, and a hand plugging his nose. "God, what's with the hormones? You stink."

At that moment, I happened to give him my best poker face I could. "Gee, thanks, Sungjong."

He folded his arms, and Sungyeol finally let go of my throbbing arm to stand next to Sungjong with the same protective expression. "I'm being serious, In Hye. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Since when can I not get coffee?" I stood my ground, completely unphased by their words. It wasn't like them to drag me off like this. 

"He meant with those two kids. Plus you hate coffee." Sungyeol reminded me. 

"I have a school project in Mythological Creatures." I used the most vague answer I could, but was fully prepared for a blown out interrogation. 

"Is that why you had a page open about werewolf mates?" Sungjong was letting anger enter his tone, which was always dangerous with him. Because he was so young, his emotions weren't fully in his control, which meant he wasn't fully in control of himself yet. 

I nodded, but it only prodded the grilling. "And the hormones? What about those, hmm?" Sungyeol put a hand over his young shoulder, a silent plead to calm down. 

"Uh-"

"You can't be serious? Him? Is it him?" 

Blood was rushing to my face. If I had known I had to bluntly confirm that I had found my mate to my brother's pack members, I would have skipped living this day. "Maybe..."

"What do you mean maybe? You either know...or you know." If that was supposed to be funny, it was far from it. Sungjong was only getting me irritated, and technically I'm the one who hasn't learned anything yet. 

"Well, it's not like you guys have taught me about this stuff!" I flailed my arms up in the air, hopelessly. I don't need to hear this from these two. "Why'd you guys pull me off like that?"

"Your brother wants to see you. Man, Woohyun is going to be pissed when we tell him." Sungyeol ran a hand through his hair, messily falling back into place. 

"Like hell are you going to tell him. If anything it's a family issue. Besides, when is he not pissed at me? Am I in trouble?" 

"You'll see when you get home." I had never been so anxious to go home before that day, let's just say that...I'm not about to tell my brother I found my mate.

Had to finish this chapter so I could go watch NigaHiga videos like a nerd >.> hope u like more sehun/in hye interaction kthxbai!