When Byun Baekhyun knocked at his front door at six am the following morning, Yixing was ready for an integration. He had come to the conclusion that his student had figured out his secret after having spent most of the evening with Chanyeol and his family, he knew how easily Baekhyun clued into his surroundings and with Suho in such a vulnerable situation he half expected the truth to slip out. However, every ounce of anxiousness slipped out of his pores the moment he faced Baekhyun's wide grin.

Instantly he was reassured that the secret he had held so close to his heart for the past couple years had been kept in the dark for now, a breath of relief slipping past his lips as this conclusion settled his raging mind. He fell against the doorframe, his lips curling upwards as Baekhyun's perky aura began to rub off on him. "What makes you so giddy this morning?"

Baekhyun lifted his right arm showing off a small tote bag he usually carried his smaller canvas in whenever he decided to go out on a walk to the park, yet Yixing could gather that the materials within the carrier weren't for painting. He was proven right when Baekhyun opened the bag just wide enough for him to gaze inside, a small white box stared up at him with various designs and doodles filling the entirety of the lid. It looked like an average confession box and yet Baekhyun seemed to have turned it into something unique and valuable to Chanyeol and Chanyeol only.

"I made it after I finished my homework last night, do you think he'll like it?" Baekhyun wondered, casting the box within his bag a nervous glance. "It's filled with those 'open when..' messages, I thought that they would be a good idea to cure some of his insecurities."

"That's actually a really good idea Baekhyun," Yixing chuckled, trying to get eye contact but was unable to so as Baekhyun's eyes focused hard on the ground below them. "he's going to love it!"

"Do you mind if we went to school earlier, so I can put it into his locker? I'm going for the average high school confession, something I never thought I would do." Baekhyun admitted with a shy smile pulling on his lips, his puppy eyes sparkling up at him making Yixing let out a low chuckle.

"Come in and wait for me, I'll make sure that you get to school before them today!"

Yixing watched as the boy practically leaped over his threshold, the hold on his tote bag tightening for just a moment. Baekhyun rushed over to the couch and threw himself down on the thick cushions, mindful to watch where he placed his feet since wearing his shoes indoors was fine as long as he didn't place them on any of the furniture. He had dealt with the consequences once before, and with Yixing it usually meant that one time was enough to get the point across.

He closed the door behind him and turned to go to his bedroom, keeping in mind to hurry his routine since he had a very impatient boy waiting for him whose insistence of getting to school before his mate would increase the longer they stayed within the four walls of his apartment. Yixing mentally sent his earlier self a 'thank you' for getting his outfit ready for the day, thankfully Baekhyun wouldn't have to worry about staying too long.

Once his bedroom door was closed, Yixing didn't mind using his inhumane speed. He had already had breakfast (his booster shot of blood) and brushed his teeth, he had showered the night before so he wouldn't need to waste time with that. So when he busied himself with changing he didn't allow his mind to run rampant with the useless little things, instead he allowed his mind to relax.

He didn't have to worry about Chanyeol and the rest of the family revealing the secret which meant that in time he would be able to tell Baekhyun about himself, something he was grateful for. Baekhyun had nuzzled his way into his heart, his presence making him feel like a father who was watching his son work up the courage to confess his feelings for a guy who obviously meant a lot to him. Pride filled his chest and stomach, burning a fire in his lungs. There was only one other time when Yixing had felt this happy and hopefully if things turned out well, he would be able to relive some of that original happiness.

Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief as his head pressed against the cool metal of his locker, he had already dropped his gift into Chanyeol's locker. The longer he stood there the more obvious to him that the gift he had spent an hour on, was merely an excuse to get Lay to get him to school quicker and without the need of explanation. Baekhyun wanted to congratulate himself for thinking about every small possibility, giving Lay a reason to bring him sooner.

Turning his head around on the locker Baekhyun slowly brought his hand up to wind around the dial of his lock, releasing a deep breath when the cool metal fell into the palm of his hand. He blinked his eyes open, holding the air in his lungs as he pulled the locker door open. Instantly his fingers found the way to the spine of his history book, he knew that they had already covered the topic at the beginning of the year so it wouldn't look too suspicious that he suddenly wanted to review. Especially when there was a photo of Prince Yi Wu, a member of the Imperial family of Korea.

Baekhyun had seen a plague on the manor when Chanyeol was helping him into the car after such an eventful afternoon, it read that the Wu family resided inside. Now Chanyeol was a Park which was obviously a name given to him so that when his reign as King happened, his people wouldn't get confused with his father or at least the donor who held the Wu name. He knew that it wasn't Suho who carried this name since Nana had admitted to her nickname being a play on her first name, Na Hyejin which he was thankful to receive by the ghost who offered it to him during his powerful mind-storming hour.

He knows that the ghost wouldn't have told him her name had she known what he was going to conclude, and yet for a split moment Baekhyun wished that the picture of Suho staring up at him from his history book wasn't the face belonging to Prince Yi Wu a seemingly human member of the Imperial family. Baekhyun had questions, especially when Nana was born a vampire and didn't seem the type to be a king's concubine. He still had to figure out how Chanyeol's donor fit into the whole ordeal and yet he found himself excited to find out, perhaps he will allow Chanyeol to cover that topic himself. He was running himself dry with the amount of information he was figuring out for himself, so as of now he was going to allow his mate to have some things to reveal to him.

Baekhyun smiled and closed the book, pushing it right back into place next to his Chinese one. He closed his locker door just in time to see his mate and the grinning couple on his tail walk through the entrance, Baekhyun was able to see his mate's gloomy expression from across the hallway. He allowed himself some time to take in Chanyeol's furrowed brow and pain-struck eyes, his lips unknowingly curling when their gazes met. Chanyeol's expression instantly melted away, his eyes shining and brows relaxing against his forehead. Baekhyun felt his heart-rate pick up against his chest, it was so loud that Baekhyun swore that the entire hallway could hear it.

When Chanyeol was within his reach Baekhyun launched himself into his arms, nuzzling his nose against the skin on his neck. He felt the vampire shiver from his actions, pulling a large grin onto Baekhyun's lips. He pushed himself up onto his tip-toes dragging his nose against the skin until he reached his mate's ear, he gently blew a narrow tunnel of air against it. He let out a quiet giggle as he felt Chanyeol's hands grip his waist tighter, pulling him until Baekhyun was flush against his body.

"I got you a little something," he whispered. "it's not a lot but I made it last night hoping that I could help you out with some of those insecurities-"

"Baek I'm not-"

"You think that I'm going to run for the hills whenever the tides get a little rough," Baekhyun sighed, falling back to his flat feet. His fingers worked to play with the small hairs on the back of his mate's neck. "you made that very clear when you drove me home last night. You looked at me like it was going to be the last time you ever saw me and that terrified me, my feelings for you are too great to put into words Chanyeol but I know that by telling you that everyday it might not be enough for you." Taking his mate by his hand, Baekyun pulled him to his locker. "So I may have done something to reassure you for all the times that I can't."

"Aren't you going to open it!" Kyungsoo shrieked from his place next to Jongin. "I am drowning in curiosity from here!"

Baekhyun smiled when Chanyeol's gaze met his after looking at his brother's boyfriend, his brow was raised in confusion but the widening smile had Baekhyun's excitement bubbling. He watched with bated breath as his mate got to work on his combination, a couple turns here, a couple turns there and finally the door was open. Baekhyun accepted the lock into his hand, wanting Chanyeol to focus completely on his gift. The tote bag was revealed and after a quick glance into the contents, Baekhyun was pulled into a firm lip-lock by his mate who was more than excited to show his gratitude.

"Dude we are in a hallway!" Jongin covered his words with a cough.

They pulled away from each other although reluctantly, Chanyeol having to be dragged backwards by his brother who took him further down the hallway. Baekhyun was left with Kyungsoo who stared at him with those wide owl-like eyes and a dropped jaw.

"What are you up to?"

"Would you kill me if I told you to trust me?" Baekhyun wondered, puckering his lips and balancing on his toes. "I am going to be your brother-in-law eventually so you need to begin to trust me."

"Baekhyun..." Kyungsoo heaved, his eyes searching the ceiling. "we have secrets, it's complicated-"

"You have your dark and gloomy secrets, I have mine." Baekhyun winked, laughing quietly at Kyungsoo's confusion.

"What do you think about Baekhyun?"

Jongin put down the sandwich he had been devouring for the past twenty minutes, trust the younger Prince to want to prolong his feeding time and the food consisting within that time bracket. Kyungsoo honestly didn't know how he had gotten so lucky to have been mated to a guy who cherishes the food he makes, his family back home never gave him the time of day when it came to his dishes so finding two brothers who loved it really pulled on Kyungsoo's heartstrings.

"Honestly?" Kyungsoo nodded his head in retaliation. "I really love him for Chanyeol, he's going to be our family member soon so I have to like him. I'm just thankful that he doesn't have a terrible personality, I just think that he might not be able to handle everything we have to throw at him."

"Yeah see that's what I thought too!" Kyungsoo huffed, falling against the back of his chair with a huff. "But I don't think that's the case, for some weird reason I feel like Baekhyun is already starting to clue in on things. You heard it from Chanyeol yourself, Baekhyun picks up on things that no one else would!"

"He did laugh at that blood joke that I made yesterday." Jongin gasped quite dramatically, a single hit to his shoulder sent him back into the back of his chair with a whine. "Fine I'll stop being sarcastic but for the record, you could just ask him."

"Ask him what?!" Kyungsoo hissed, glaring at the water bottle in the middle of the table. "Oh hey Baekhyun, did you suddenly come to the conclusion that everyone who appeared in your life recently isn't human?!"

"I knew you guys were robots!" Baekhyun's shout almost knocked the both of them from their chairs. "There is no way that three smoking hot guys are willing to become friends or a potential boyfriend with someone as ordinary looking as me."

"Now you're being modest." Chanyeol chuckled nervously, sending a glance around the table. Kyungsoo offered him a small forced smile, that was close.

"You're right, it's not all about looks although I am very jealous of the ones you guys have. Although I guess now I can understand completely since you're robots right?"

"Sure," Jongin laughed, shoving an apple slice into his mouth. "we're robots."

"Great, now does that settle your racing hearts?" Baekhyun wondered looking at Chanyeol and back to Kyungsoo, who bit his lower lip. "You guys may be beautiful robots but you're stuck with me, although I have a question- two questions!"

"Okay," Jongin nodded, leaning forward on the table. "let us hear them."

Kyungsoo could feel the sweat pool in his hands, his eyes falling to Chanyeol who had his eyes trained on Baekhyun. The human took a bite of his sandwich, eyes focused on Jongin's from across the table. He moved forward as he chewed, almost as if he was challenging Kyungsoo's mate in some weird non-verbal confrontation.

"If you guys are robots how do you- you know." Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, eyes shining in the artificial lights. Chanyeol spit out the water he had drawn to his lips, Kyungsoo could feel the small droplets fall onto his cheeks. Usually he would cringe or turn away but he was suffering through his own shock, not only had he nearly outed their secret to Baekhyun but he also has to deal with the fact that Baekhyun is feeding into Jongin's idiocy and asking how the two of them did it since he wasn't entirely sure about robot biology.

"Are you serious right now?" Chanyeol asked through his coughing fit, his eyes wide as he stared at his mate by his side.

"Well if you want to do anything like that with me, I better know how to handle it right?" Baekhyun blinked innocently at Chanyeol, whose dropped jaw had brought even a laugh from Kyungsoo's lips. The Prince sent him a glare from across the table but he merely shrugged his shoulders, feeling brave enough to stick his tongue out at him. He giggled quietly into the palm of his hand when Chanyeol rolled his eyes at him, Kyungsoo barely having time to clue back into the discussion happening next to him.

"It's pretty much the exact same as it is for you humans, but its rougher, ier, hotter-"

"Jongin!" Chanyeol hissed, eyes blazing in fire. Kyungsoo laughed when his mate's head fell against his lap from the harsh kick Chanyeol delivered to his shin.

"Let him explain!" Baekhyun butted in, picking up his sandwich again to take a bite. He looked pleased with himself, even if the small glare he sent to his mate went unnoticed by the person it was directed to. "Every bit of information I get from you guys is limited so I need to know how to make a robot feel good."

"Can we please not talk about this at lunch where anyone else can hear?" Kyungsoo begged, grateful that he had Chanyeol agreeing with him.

"Oh please," Baekhyun hummed. "you guys became the popular kids of the school from the moment you walked in. If people didn't hate me before they sure as well hate me now that I'm best friends with you guys and mated with him."

"You're mates, not mated." Jongin stressed, gesturing out the words with his hands. "Mated means and a claim mark-"

"Jongin!" Chanyeol warned his brother but Kyungsoo watched in horror as Baekhyun turned to look at him, big curious eyes staring at his neck.

"Do you have one?" he asked, eyes still locked on Kyungsoo's neck. The ravenette felt his cheeks heat up at the heat coming from Baekhyun's intense gaze from across the table, his gaze trying to find a mark on his neck to indicate that he and Jongin were mated.

He felt embarrassed, awkward but he knew deep down that if Baekhyun wished to join their family he would have to learn about it sooner or later. So, he gently -although reluctant- pulled at the sleeve of his left arm. He cast a glance in Chanyeol's direction, the Prince watching him move to expose his mark. He blew out a breath of air when he didn't say anything about it, choosing instead to bite his lower lip and close his eyes, bracing himself for the worst.

Kyungsoo could feel his heart pound in his chest, his face having been completely taken by a bright blush. His exposed claiming mark that Jongin had imprinted into the skin on his wrist a couple months after they met brought a bright smile to Baekhyun's lips, his cool fingers gently resting against his wrist gently coaxing it from side to side. Getting a full view of the mark.

"It's a little ugly we know but-"

"Hey," Baekhyun interrupted, shaking his head from side to side. "this is the mark that Jongin gave you in a moment of intimacy right?" Kyungsoo nodded his head, his blush going nowhere. "Then it's not ugly, it's actually quite adorable and the fact that it was made with the rough, dirty and hot is quite admirable-"

"Oh dear God..." Chanyeol muttered, his voice loud enough to be heard by the table. "If this is going to be family meals from now on I-"

"Oh Suho will never let that happen," Baekhyun deadpanned, lifting one of his hands away from Kyungsoo's wrist to place it within his mate's hair. "best to get it all out in the open when we're alone."

Jongin shifted on Kyungsoo's lap, his head peeking over the table to watch as his brother's hair was gently tousled. He caught Baekhyun glancing at him before his eyes trailed down to his mate, a simple grin settling onto his lips.

"Do you have one too?"

Kyungsoo felt his blood run cold, how the hell was he supposed to explain how he had a claiming mark but his mate didn't because of centuries old rules that no one in their generation liked. He drew a breath and looked at Chanyeol knowing how much he was going to hate the following words that were going to come out of his mouth.

"The boys in the family don't get marked, it's one of the traditions."

"Wait so he marked you but you weren't allowed to mark him?" Baekhyun gasped, turning to Jongin, then to Chanyeol and back again.

"I wanted to," Kyungsoo admitted, looking down at his mate who met his gaze. "we both wanted to but then we realised the horror that came with it. When he claimed me his father got really mad about it, he said we had already broken one rule and if we broke another one he would have Jongin's head. He hurt Jongin that afternoon, and sent him back against the fireplace. Almost broke his skull open, thankfully the Park brothers are knuckled headed."

"What rule did you break?"

"You're not supposed to mate one another until after we're already married, it is one of the rules our community has. I couldn't hold myself back that one night and I paid for it the following day." Jongin explained, a pained smile on his face as he pulled himself up from Kyungsoo's lap. "Kyung, sat by my bedside the entire week it took for me to get better."

"That's horrible..." Baekhyun whispered, slipping his fingers between Kyungsoo's. The boy looked over at Chanyeol, hand freezing mid-. "I would have expected that since the both of you were mates he would understand-"

"My donor doesn't understand anything that isn't related to the things he finds interest in, if it doesn't benefit him in any way he won't lend an ear to it." Chanyeol heaved out through a deep breath, his fingers working to find his water bottle. "He also likes to think with his fists, I nearly killed him when I heard what happened to Jongin."

"Were you not there?"

"I was actually out of the country at the time." Chanyeol admitted, offering his mate a small smile.

Chanyeol wasn't there when it happened so he had to rely on Kyungsoo's account of the event in order to find out what happened to his brother and why his donor had suddenly decided to book a flight to China, to simply get out of the country so he wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of his actions. To Chanyeol, he wasn't plagued with the terror that rattled Kyungsoo's mind for the following three weeks after the attack.

It had started off like any other morning, Kyungsoo had woken to his beloved pressing kisses against his neck. They were both bare beneath the sheets, concrete proof that the night's activities weren't a part of his vivid imagination. When he had tried to move his hand up to run his fingers through his mate's hair, Kyungsoo remembered the bitter sting of his wrist. The hiss that escaped his lips had Jongin's immediate attention, the bastard son of the King had pulled him close and peppered loving kisses against his claiming mark. Kyungsoo's entire being lit up in flames, his cheeks no doubt having been heated by the embarrassment.

They took their time getting ready that morning, their lips pulled back into innocent teenage smiles. It wasn't until they arrived at the kitchen to be greeted by the King and Katherine that things started to take a turn for the worst. Kris had thrown a remark at Kyungsoo's presence, the boy unable to remember it now that time had passed. In an effort to save Kyungsoo from his father's venomous words, Jongin had claimed that as a member of the Royal Family Kyungsoo would no longer be allowed to hear such slurs from anyone if they valued their head. Of course Kris dismissed the statement as he figured that Jongin meant his words in future-tense, meaning that Kyungsoo wouldn't be a part of their family until after they had already gotten married.

However, as naïve as he was, Kyungsoo bared his wrist to Katherine excited to show his mother-in-law the claimed mark. Katherine had rejoiced at the sight of the mark, but their excitement had quickly disappeared as Kris shoved his chair out from beneath him. He rushed towards Jongin, grabbing his son by the throat and pushing him against the wall. His eyes were a horrid bright orange colour making Kyungsoo's blood -even now- run cold. He remembers feeling utterly helpless as his mate attempted to breathe but was incapable of doing so since his own father was choking him.

Katherine had tried to get Kris to see reason, perhaps even excuse both of them on their behalf but the King was too far gone in his own rage. He had taken his son completely from the ground, Jongin's face turning bright red in the early morning sunlight.

"You have broken one of our rules," he had said, threatening. "you will not break another."

Kyungsoo can still hear the scream either he or Katherine had let out as they both watched helplessly as Jongin's body was flung across the room, breaking the plaster wall before finally gravity took control and forced Jongin to the ground in the hallway.

"Did he apologise?" Baekhyun whispered, although his face seemed to declare that he already knew the answer.

"Our father doesn't apologise," Jongin laughed, finding the idea of the King apologising quite hilarious. "if he ever does it will be an obvious sign that he doesn't really mean it."

"As far as he is concerned everything he does and says is correct since he is ki- I mean that kind of person." Kyungsoo nervously giggled, pinching the skin on his wrist as punishment for nearly slipping about Kris' position. If this continues he may as well tell Baekhyun every little secret they have been trying desperately to hide from him since they met, he has got to be more careful.

Chanyeol bit his lower lip as he glanced over the console at Baekhyun who was focused on one of his Chinese text-books, apparently Yixing thought that it was a good idea to test them on their coursework the following Monday morning. They both had the entire weekend to study but Baekhyun wanted to look over a couple problems to run through with his mate before they had to separate, Chanyeol was close to fluent but he had to be careful in the presence of the latter or anyone else for that fact. Having a fluent ability in Chinese didn't fit the background story that he had created for himself, so one slip up could make Baekhyun's mind race.

"I was thinking about something that happened yesterday." Baekhyun stated, eyes still set on the book in his hand. Chanyeol felt a lump form in his throat, as far as he can recall none of his family members had spoiled anything that could potentially cause him trouble with the boy. Still, Chanyeol couldn't shake off the nerves that plagued his mind.

"Oh really?" He asked, voice cracking. He had managed to cover it up with an innocent cough, fingers tightening their grip on the wheel. "What are you wondering about?"

"Yesterday while we were on the way out of the city, you guys didn't know exactly which estate you wanted to take me to until you got a message from your Appa." Chanyeol could feel his mate's heated gaze on his cheek, he willed the blush away. "I couldn't help but conclude that your family must have many places that you could call home."

"I wouldn't exactly say that..." Chanyeol muttered beneath his breath, just another thing in the long list of things he would have to explain to Baekhyun eventually. "We have different purposes for each building although we reside permanently in the manor."

"It didn't take a genius to realise that you don't exactly like that place." Baekhyun giggled, turning his attention back to the text-book. Chanyeol let a breath of air release from his lungs, at least now his flaming cheek could have the chance to cool off. "I figured that some of these properties may not be within the country but you must have a place that you like here."

Chanyeol had to hold himself back from letting out a laugh at the sight of a particular building that came to mind when Baekhyun mentioned a property that he likes, here in Korea. He hadn't been there in decades and yet for some reason his entire body sparkled with excitement at the thought of the place. "Yeah actually," he agreed, bobbing his head. "I do have a place that I like here. Why do you ask?"

"Well I was wondering if -since you had to bring me to a place you didn't like- maybe you could bring me somewhere you actually cherish, where you didn't have to worry about your Appa and the words that could have come from his mouth. We haven't had some alone time these past couple days since your brother and Kyungsoo are usually always around or we're in class, I want to spend some time alone with you."

Chanyeol didn't hesitate to turn the car off the road and into the parking lot of some supermarket, when they were parked he turned to look his mate in the eye. The pretty champagne pink blush covering Baekhyun's cheeks pulled at his heartstrings, his entire body tingling at the words his mate spoke.

"Yeah, yes of course! I would love Baekhyun, we can grab some breakfast and make our way there for lunch and I'll have you back home just after dinner. How does that sound?" Chanyeol wondered, practically vibrating in his seat.

"Actually I was hoping that we could spend the weekend there and come back in time for school on Monday," Chanyeol noticed how Baekhyun's gaze had fallen to his lap where his fingers were playing together on top of the text-book, cautiously he rose his own palm and reached out to his mate. His breath halted as he waited for Baekhyun to make the next move, he expected maybe a questioning glance or at least some hestaintion and yet Baekhyun instantly curled their fingers together. Chanyeol felt the weight lift from his shoulders as the breath left him. "I suppose it's a lot to ask for so soon huh?"

"Maybe to someone normal," he shrugged his shoulders, surprisingly not as afraid as he was before. "I'm just surprised that you trust me enough to want to stay alone for two days."

"Well three if you want to leave tonight?" Baekhyun blinked up at him, a nervous smile pulled onto his lips. "It will mean that we won't have to waste tomorrow with travelling, we can do it tonight."

Chanyeol couldn't hold his expression, his jaw dropping at how direct his mate was being. Words blurred together in his mind as he attempted to draw up intelligent sentences, his mind quickly reminded him of Yixing but there was a voice in the back of his mind that claimed that the man wouldn't exactly mind the situation if it was Baekhyun's idea to begin with.

They were both pulled from their moment by Chanyeol's phone ringing from its place in the console, the vampire reaching for it with his free hand. His gaze locked with Baekhyun's as they both viewed the glowing screen, showcasing Yixing's number. Chanyeol swiped the green icon and raised the device to his ear.

"Yixing?"

"Chanyeol I know that you're currently in the process of taking Baekhyun home but please tell me you do not have this on speaker..."

The prince turned his gaze back to his mate who was focusing on the air in the back of the car, there was no evidence that he could hear their phone call so Chanyeol felt comfortable telling Yixing such thing.

"I actually just pulled over so that the both of us can talk before you interrupted-"

"Good," the man sighed, a deep heave. "we have a problem at the apartment."

Chanyeol's blood ran cold, the hand still holding onto Baekhyun's tightened its grip ever so slightly. "Go on..."

"Our building manager Mr. Lee was found dead this afternoon so there are police everywhere. Chanyeol, I found the body, it was right outside Baekhyun's apartment. The body is at least a day old but it wasn't here this morning, which means that it was clearly planted here. By how I have no idea but there is no doubt that its a vampire's doing."

"What makes you say that?" Chanyeol hisses through his teeth, lips curling up in a forced smile when Baekhyun turns back to him.

"Because there is a bite mark on his neck but it doesn't look like the cause of death."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Chanyeol groaned, falling against his seat. His head being cushioned by the head-rest, Baekhyun squeezed his hand in reassurance, a small almost knowing smile on his face.

Chanyeol's breath caught in his throat. Perhaps this was all just a coincidence and Baekhyun didn't have an idea as to what was going on around him, or at least Chanyeol hoped.