The next day at school was rough, but for all the wrong reasons. Yes, only a few hours had passed since I’d encountered my first graveyard where the bodies weren’t buried six feet under. Yes, I was traumatised and occasionally had the urge to dispose of my breakfast through my mouth. Except I didn’t eat breakfast because I wasn’t convinced I’d ever be able to regain my appetite. 

But ironically enough, that’s not what made my day so bad. Last night’s endeavours were , but also unreal. It was like watching a really sick documentary about the holocaust. It was real, but it didn’t feel real. The real kicker to my day was the lack of sleep I had gotten. 

Maybe I hadn’t mentioned it before, but I was not a morning person. School was torture when I got in bed at 10. It was hell when I couldn’t sleep past 2am; and even then it was fitful and restless, though thankfully dreamless. Jun seemed to be as exhausted as I was which on any other day would be concerning, considering he’d gotten over twelve hours of sleep. As it was, I was just grateful for the silence. 

When I pulled up to school, Lisa, being the angel she is, understood immediately that something was wrong and didn’t ask questions. Instead, she talked about mindless things that neither one of us gave a damn about and I was gracefully allowed to look interested while not listening. It did the trick. No one approached us or thought to question any behaviour that might seem strange. 

I went though the motions of my day, every word spoken to me going in one ear and out the other, until fifth period. We had a small break before our last three classes of the day, so I thought I’d take a short, 15 minute power nap at the nurses office. Except that once my head hit the pillow, I didn’t wake up until school was over. 

Now that is were my day really went to . You see, the only reason I was able to get out of bed at the end of the day was because I was physically removed from it. 

“WHAT THE , MINGHAO?!” I screamed from where I collided with the floor. 

“Who the did you enslave this time?” He asked calmly from where he was perched on a chair on the opposite end of the room. 

I was annoyed, maybe mad before. But his comment only swerved to make me angrier. 

“I don’t believe that’s any of your business,” I snapped back. “Where’s Seokmin?” 

“Seokmin won’t be back anytime soon. Its just you and me now,” Minghao said just as calmly as before. He waved his hands around for show and I heard the lock on the door audibly click as it shut. 

Through my sleepy haze I started to feel the first inklings of dread. 

“So,” he drawled, “let’s talk.” 

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Oh but I’ll get you to talk anyways,” he threatened. “You see, every time you make a bond, you take a life. No actually, you take more than that. Because you also destroy their families and the lives of anyone else they ever lay a hand on. 

“Now I’m not sure you’re aware of this, but every time to decide to do the unforgivable and literally enslave someone—in every sense of the word, their body, yes, but even their mind—all your other bonded can feel it. I can feel it. And I can also feel how powerful they are.” 

He smiled then, but it was not a smile I’d seen on him before. I’d seen Minghao smile happily after a successful soccer game. All his teeth would be on display and his eyes would crinkle in a carefree way. I’d seen him smile after finding something funny—he showed no teeth but giggled a little to himself. I’ve even seen the politer s