U-Kiss - Take Me Away

--

Somebody take me away, 
'cuz I can't take this pain.
U-Kiss - Take Me Away

--

When Joohyo was out of earshot, Soohyun closed the door and turned to his brothers.

"How long are we going to keep it from her?" Eli asked.

"As long as we can." Soohyun sighed. "as long as we can."

"You do know that she will find out everything someday. And when that time comes.." Hoon spoke quietly.

"We will just have to prevent her from finding out then." The eldest said calmly. "and-"

"If it fails, we will have to send her back to Earth and wipe off those memories." Kiseop finished.

Dongho stared at them as though they were three-head monsters. He was no longer bratty in times like this. "B-But you do know the risk of that! If you accidentally remove some memories important to her.. Or if.. If she remembers everything and turn crazy?"

"No matter what, just.. try to hide it from her. She must not know that we are Vampires and we need her to break the deadly curse." Soohyun said. "Go fix yourself up for dinner." He ordered.

::

"Miss Joohyo, do you like the room?" The servant accompanying her asked. "If you have anything you are unsatisfied with, please do not hesitate to inform me, we will do our best to make you feel welcomed."

"Oh no, everything is perfect, thank you." She smiled and took in the room. A princess bed was set in the middle of the spacious room, two doors leading to a bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe were just a few steps away. A nightstand made of rosewood was just beside the bed. The decorations were simple, yet elegant.

"Miss Joohyo-"

"Just address me as Joohyo, drop the formalities."

"I'm afraid I can't speak banmal. The Princes will be angry with me. Miss Joohyo, they are already waiting for you in the dining hall, do you want to go over now?" When she nodded, the two of them headed out and walked past many different corridors. It amazed her that there were portraits hung on the walls. She stopped abruptly as she caught sight of one specific painting. "This is..." She trailed off as the woman in the framed painting seemed to be able to see through everything with those soulful eyes of hers.

"She is the Princes' mother." He spoke softly. "We have to go now, they hate waiting."

After many twists and turns, they finally arrived at the dining hall. Soohyun stood up and pulled out a chair for her like a gentleman.

"Thank you." Set in front of her was a silver plate, with a slab of meat on it. She looked around and realised that none of them were eating. Instead, they were drinking from champagne flutes. The liquid was blood red and she deemed it as red wine. She left her food untouched and stared blankly at AJ, who was sitting across her.

"What's the matter? Eat." He gestured to her food.

She bit her lip, "aren't you all going to eat too?"

"No. So you should eat it before it turns cold." Eli said.

The thick awkwardness hung in the air during dinner. No one breathed a word after that. Joohyo was unaccustomed to the heavy utensils as she was never allowed at the table, and all she had for her meals were bread and butter, hence she never had the chance to use the knife, fork and spoon.

"I'll cut it for you." Hoon finally offered to help her when he saw the girl struggling and helpless. Within a few seconds, the meat was sliced thinly into equal pieces.

"T-Thank you."

--

"You should rest. You had a long day." Soohyun said after dinner. "Gin here will bring you back." At his command, the servant from earlier on reappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Miss Joohyo, this way please."

That night, Joohyo had the sweetest dream she ever had in 19 years.

--

She woke up the next morning before the sun rose. It was her internal alarm clock. When she was living with her stepmother, she had to wake up at 4 in the morning to prepare breakfast, do the housechores, sweep the cinders, etc. She practically lived like a slave.

Unable to go back to sleep, she got out of her comfortable bed and headed outside. She kept thinking of that portrait of U-Kiss' mother. She tried to retrace the steps but she ended up at the front of a door. Hesitantly, she pushed the door open. The room was painted a light blue and a bed of the same shade was positioned against the wall. A figure was curled up on the bed and she slowly made her way over.

Suddenly, the figure jolted up and flipped her on the bed so she was now pinned under him. "Umm, AJ?"

"Yes. I'm glad you know my name." He smirked and she shuddered at his husky tone.

"Can you.. let go of me?" She squirmed and tried to get free.

"No. You need to know something about me. I have never allowed my preys to go free and unharmed." 

The door flung open and light flooded the room. Soohyun stormed in and pulled AJ off. "What did I say about your behavior, Jaeseop?" He hissed. "Kevin heard her thoughts and woke up. If we didn't reach here in time, would you have-"

"Yes." He his bottom lip. "I would have. But since you all are in the way, then I guess not. Maybe someday when I get the chance." He chuckled, then left the room.

"Are you okay? Did he do anything to you? I apologise on the behalf on him, Joohyo." Soohyun came over and inspected you from head to toe. "Your wrists are red. That-"

"It's alright, I'm fine. You don't need to, it is not your fault, neither is it his. I walked into his room, it is my fault." She reassured him. "Do you have an ice pack?" Soohyun looked at Hoon and a bag of ice rested on his palm. "T-Thank you." Words seemed to fail her whenever she faced Hoon. She could not comprehend why she was so awkward with him.

Hoon merely nodded as a sign of 'You are welcome'.

The rest of U-Kiss piled out of the room, leaving you alone. Soohyun had reminded her to shout for help {in her mind} if she came across AJ again.