~Chapter 2 – I'm Meant Only for You~

            Nervousness doesn't even begin to cover what was making Minhyuk feel so jittery as he waited for Hyungwon to arrive. The way his chest kept squeezing and tugging in need for Hyungwon's presence since the day the vampire left his sights didn't help one bit either but he's learning to live with it until Hyungwon gets comfortable with the idea. It's not everyday that you meet the person that's supposed to be your mate for the rest of your life. Of all the ways that Minhyuk imagined finding out who his mate was one day, he most certainly didn't expect it to be someone of a different species and for them to not experience the same bond he felt.

            But Minhyuk trusts what his instincts tell him. If Hyungwon is meant for him and vice versa then he'll rely on his optimism and let things work out how they're supposed to.

            When Hyungwon does show up a half hour later to the mall food court, Minhyuk greets him with much enthusiasm. The werewolf takes note of the way his chest relaxes from all it's pent up tension the moment Hyungwon is in his sights again. The vampire, however, cringes slightly at how loud Minhyuk was being but gives the other a small smile in turn.

            Minhyuk opens his mouth again to ask if there's anything specific Hyungwon wanted to do on their date but the words get swallowed when Hyungwon takes a seat across from him. The vampire looks at him with a rather indifferent expression as if he was only stating facts, "I did a bit of research on the imprinting thing… And it seems Shownu was right, although there are rare occurrences of werewolves and vampires dating, there are none that have been imprinted on like our situation. I think there may be a mistake somewhere."

            Minhyuk's ears droop instantly and his tail automatically stops wagging from excitement. He didn't think Hyungwon would bring this up without even giving the date a try first.

            A flash of guilt crosses Hyungwon's features at the visual downturn in Minhyuk's peppy mood.

            "You don't believe in love at first sight?" Minhyuk frowns.

            "Does such a thing even exist?" counters Hyungwon cynically.

            "Imprinting is similar to it, so I'd say yes."

            Hyungwon stares at Minhyuk with skepticism, "You don't love me. And I don't love you either."

            "I never said I love you," states Minhyuk bluntly, "And I’m very aware of the fact that you don't love me either."

            "But you just asked-"

            "I asked if you believed in it. I wasn't confessing to you," Minhyuk fixes Hyungwon with a serious look, "Haven't you heard? Attraction is easy, but genuine affection, feelings… that takes time."

            Hyungwon crinkles his brows, not understanding where Minhyuk was going with this. "So this date is what?"

            There were a few reactions that Hyungwon was expecting from Minhyuk but having the werewolf suddenly blush was definitely not one of them. Minhyuk looks down at the table to avoid Hyungwon's stare, "I was excited for it… I thought you were okay with at least giving it a shot. But then-" Minhyuk looks up to give Hyungwon a half-hearted glare, "-you just sat down and said you think this was all a mistake."

            "You can't blame me for that," replies Hyungwon stiffly, "I came for an errand and left with a werewolf trying to claim me for forever. I didn't think you'd like this situation either, wouldn't you want your mate to be a werewolf?"

            "I'm okay with you as my mate, even though you're a vampire," answers Minhyuk honestly, then a thought suddenly occurs to him, making his ears and tail stand on end. He gasps, "Oh my gawd. Are you already taken!? Or is there already someone!?"

            "No!" denies Hyungwon louder than necessary, he flushes in embarrassment as he sinks a little lower in his seat before continuing, "I would have said so last time if I was."

            Minhyuk relaxes with a relieved sigh before diving in again with another personal question, "So, did you have your heart broken before? Is this why you're so reluctant to even try?"

            "No!" denies Hyungwon once again, "I may be a vampire but do I look like I live in some drama filled world!? Why are you so okay with this? Don't you find it strange that you alone have imprinted on a vampire?"

            "Honestly you do look like the dramatic type. And…what else is there to do but accept it?" wonders Minhyuk earnestly, "Werewolves wait their whole lives for the day they imprint. I was lucky enough to experience it, no matter how strange it is."

            Hyungwon stares, puzzled at the werewolf's reply until the realization dawns on him and he sees what Minhyuk was really getting at, "You… want this to work."

            A shy grin lights up Minhyuk's face as his eyes crinkle cutely, "Too obvious?" When Hyungwon continues to stare blankly without any response, Minhyuk quickly adds on sincerely, "I'm not forcing you. You have every right to walk away of course. Being forced won't bring about any real feelings, I may feel the bond but you don't so it's your own decision."

            "And what about the repercussions?" questions Hyungwon warily.

            "I was hoping we could still be friends even if you didn't want to take things any further than that," answers Minhyuk quietly despite the ache in his chest acting up in protest to his words, "We could work something out or maybe I could go see a specialist about this and they can give me suppressants or something."

            Although he's no expert on this stuff, the way Minhyuk talked about the suppressants gave Hyungwon the impression that those would do more harm than help. Without another word, Hyungwon stands from his seat and pushes his chair in causing Minhyuk to look up at him with restrained disappointment and a weary smile.

            Hyungwon raises a brow at the sad puppy look, "Are we going on a date or what?"

            Minhyuk's eyes widen in surprise, his ears perking up in alertness, "You're not leaving?"

            "Why would I do that?" Hyungwon scowls, "I agreed to a date and you said that's all you needed right?"

            Quickly realizing that this, for whatever reason, was just Hyungwon's way of giving him a chance, Minhyuk scrambles up out of his seat and quickly joins the other with evident surprise in his wide eyes, "Yeah."

            Hyungwon huffs in exasperation but matches his pace with Minhyuk's as they make their way out of the food court, "Let's go. I'm sure you already had something in mind?"

            "Not exactly I was kind of hoping we could just get to know each other through window shopping and random talking," answers Minhyuk with a sheepish chuckle.

            "That was your big convincing one time date idea?" criticized Hyungwon. For all the confidence Minhyuk exuded in his answer for one date, he thought the werewolf would at the very least have some sort of organized plan.

            Minhyuk sniffed, slightly offended that Hyungwon shot down his idea so quickly. He then opts for his plan B, "Well what do you want to do then?"

            The both of them stand in the middle of the mall staring at one another with blank expressions as Hyungwon wracked his brain for something to do with the werewolf. He came up with nothing. "You suggested the date so go with what you want to do."

            "You don't have any better ideas do you?"

            "Shut up. It's because we don't know anything about each other."

            Minhyuk nods in understanding before moving in front of Hyungwon and offering his hand to the vampire, who only looks at it with confusion. "I'm Lee Minhyuk. A werewolf, status rank omega. I dislike cucumbers, sad movies, and being bored. I really like comics, watching anime, sweets, and video games. I'm good with electronics and hunting but terrible at being quiet. I'm loyal to those I deem important to me and I'm probably a sappy romantic because I hope that you can learn to like me even if it's just a little bit. Anything else you want to know feel free to ask~"

            Hyungwon reaches forwards to shake Minhyuk's hand, feeling utterly ridiculous but finding it amusing in it's own way. He laughs lightly, "You know, you'd be terrible at interviews."

            "Wha-" Minhyuk makes another offended look but Hyungwon cuts him off.

            "I'm Chae Hyungwon. A vampire, we don't have any status ranks aside from Millennials that trace back to eons which I'm not a part of whatsoever. I dislike nagging, pretentiousness, and not a fan of horror movies. I really like sleeping, dancing, and poetry. I'm good at writing but I've been told I'm terrible at cooking. I'm picky with the people I choose to associate with so I don't have many close friends but it seems that circle may be expanding. Anything else, well, you can ask and I'll see if I feel like answering."

            Minhyuk's eyes shine with a happy brightness that was unmistakable, he was ecstatic that Hyungwon was actually going along with it. From Minhyuk's first impressions it seemed that Hyungwon would only do things at his own pace but it seems the vampire had no problems with being laid back either. "Let's enjoy today."

            Hyungwon hums in agreement.

            It was something, a beginnings to their long endeavors but for better or worse it was still something.

…

            It doesn’t stop after one date though, of course not. But Hyungwon had a feeling that was in Minhyuk's plans all along. Although Hyungwon can't say he felt conned into agreeing to meeting up for a second, third, or fourth date because he did so willingly. Despite being so odd, Hyungwon did find Minhyuk to have a certain charm to him and it was hard to really find anyone as genuine as Minhyuk was, plus he had to admit he was curious as to where this would lead them too.

            Today they agreed to grab ice cream while Minhyuk showed Hyungwon the werewolves' hunting grounds. The place was an enormous gated forest of sorts which spanned for miles that the werewolves were able to use whenever they had the urge to shift or go hunting. 

            "Isn't it dangerous to tread on werewolf territory if you're not part of the pack?" questions Hyungwon as they stand outside the gated area to finish their treats before heading in. It wasn't that he didn't trust Minhyuk to a varying degree after getting to know him for the last few days but if something were to happen because Hyungwon was there, he doubts Minhyuk would really be able to handle it given the other's small build and rank.

            "It is if you're not accompanied by a werewolf. The hunting grounds don't really become hunting grounds until you go much further in. I'm only showing you the outskirts," Minhyuk replies in between his ice cream , "The scents around the outskirts are always mixed up and everywhere so no one will get all territorial if they pick up on your vampire smell around there."

            "Remind me again why I agreed to another date?" mutters Hyungwon under his breath before he takes a bite out of his popsicle.

            Minhyuk's furry ears twitch and he looks up at Hyungwon from where he's crouched on the floor with a lopsided grin, "Because I'm just that irresistible."

            Hyungwon snorts in protest choosing not to fan Minhyuk's ego further. He finishes his ice cream with another two bites and hands the trash to Minhyuk who finishes his own on the way to throwing the trash away. When Minhyuk returns to Hyungwon's side, he pulls the key to the gate from his pocket and unlocks it pushing it open just enough for Hyungwon and himself to go through before securing it again.

            "Why are you so insistent in showing me the hunting grounds though?" When Minhyuk first suggested it to Hyungwon, the vampire wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea but Minhyuk had been rather persistent and the werewolf was usually more than willing to do whatever Hyungwon wanted so it peaked Hyungwon's interest enough to agree.

            "So you can become familiar with it," answers Minhyuk easily, "I want to show you where I spend most of my time and there's a secret surprise I have in store at the beginning of the coming month, the rest of the pack will be coming too."

            "On a full moon?" questions Hyungwon intuitively as he continues trekking after Minhyuk.

            Minhyuk stops abruptly and turns back with surprise, "You're aware of when the full moons are?"

            Hyungwon quickly looks away from Minhyuk, slightly flustered as he admits, "I may have looked it up recently."

            The surprise on Minhyuk's face slips into a wide smile, "I see, so you're taking an interest in me?"

            "Don't get ahead of yourself. False hopes are worse than unrequited feelings," states Hyungwon bluntly.

            Minhyuk pouts and brings up his hand while squeezing his thumb and forefinger together so that there is only a tiny space left between them, "But there has to be something there even if it's super tiny. You wouldn't have agreed to another date if there wasn't right?"

            "You're cute… and I don't mind spending time with you," answers Hyungwon truthfully and then adding on more seriously, "Plus the whole, you're going to be in some serious health complications if I leave you alone isn't exactly a comforting thought."

            "So you're still on attraction," Minhyuk nods reassuringly, "I can work with that. The health thing though, I told you not to put too much of your concern on it. It's not your fault."

            "It's not yours either. So we can agree to disagree." Hyungwon points towards the path they were taking before Minhyuk abruptly came to a halt, "Are we continuing this date or are we just going to stare at the forest in the distance?"

            "Fine, fine, we're going," Minhyuk picks up his pace again as he leads Hyungwon down the path. They crunch across fallen leaves, push aside bushes and branches, and climb over fallen logs until they finally get to the clearing with a wide clear spring in the center. Minhyuk excitedly grabs Hyungwon's hand and pulls the unsuspecting vampire with him in his run towards the water.

            The werewolf only stops running when they reach the left side of the spring's edge where large boulders are piled up so that it provided an overview of the entire area should anyone climb to the top of it. Minhyuk's ears are perked up with attention and his tail is wagging so excitedly that it was constantly tapping lightly against Hyungwon's leg.

            "I wanted to show you this spot first," exclaims Minhyuk, he reaches up and runs his hand over one of the boulders bringing Hyungwon's attention to it. "I carved our names into it with my claws when I was in wolf form."

            Hyungwon steps closer to inspect the boulder and sees the jagged Hangeul scratched into the rough surface of the boulder. There's even a little heart next to his name which makes him chuckle, if this was another one of Minhyuk's wooing attempts to win Hyungwon over the werewolf should consider it a success. "It's a lot neater than I would think possible for an actual wolf to carve without opposable thumbs. What is it for?"

            Minhyuk hurries to answer, happy that Hyungwon seems to appreciate his efforts. "When I bring you here again on the night of the full moon there will be more wolves than just my pack although they may not be in sight at first. I carved our names on it so that it was visible that I claimed the spot for us, more names will pop up as the full moon comes closer. Usually they just mark the ground with a paw print but I figured this would be easier for you to differentiate than wondering who's paw prints belong to who. If you accidentally lose track of me or need to find me I'll be waiting for you here where our names are."

            "I'll be sure to look for it if I'm lost," Hyungwon smiles and taps the little heart carving, "Although don't blame me if I take more than an hour to find this spot again my sense of direction isn't very good."

            "I'll always wait for you." The words hang there with more weight that Minhyuk probably intended to put in it. The werewolf blushes slightly at his eagerness to win over Hyungwon's affections. "I mean-"

            "Why do you think I'm the one for you?" Hyungwon asks suddenly, his undivided attention entirely on Minhyuk now as the werewolf held on to his tail to prevent it from nervously wagging.

            "I don’t think. Wait, that came out stupid," Minhyuk frowns in his choice of words before turning his head up to face Hyungwon, "What I mean is, I just know you're the one. The ache in my chest has finally dulled after being with you all day, my instincts, everything is hardwired towards you. It might not be love, not yet, but it means something. I've accepted it and I'll just keep trying to convince you of that too."

            Hyungwon is quiet as he takes in Minhyuk's words, "And if it blows up in your face? If we're not meant for a happily ever after forever?"

            "We'll deal with that if it ever comes to it. Our lifespan crosses centuries, we have all the time in the world," Minhyuk grins, "Even if a fight lasts for a century, I think my instincts will always take me back to you."

            A scoff slips past Hyungwon's lips, "Stupid."

            "Maybe so," Minhyuk shrugs and another smile makes it's way to his face, his voice sounding utterly carefree, "But you're still willing to at least give this a try right? How about another date?"

            Hyungwon knows Minhyuk is still giving him a choice. There were no strings attached or any guilt tripping involved despite Minhyuk being the one to lose more out of their predicament, the werewolf was being entirely selfless. Hyungwon doesn't understand the reasons for it but he doesn't hesitate in agreeing to meeting up again.