[CONTENTID1]Choice: Warm up by the fireplace.[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Not wanting to possibly get on Shownu’s bad side, Haera figured she’d take Minhyuk’s offer instead. She smiled at the man in front of her as he waited for her decision.

“I think getting warm by the fireplace seems like a nice idea,” she nodded with a slight tilt of her head.

“Perfect!” Minhyuk beamed. “Here, grab my arm and we’ll head to the drawing room slowly.”

Haera followed Minhyuk to the white double doors that were on the right side of the stairs facing the entrance of the castle. Once they entered the drawing room, he promptly led Haera to sit on the beige-colored couch that faced two smaller beige chairs and a fireplace. Haera took the opportunity to scan the room as Minhyuk went to ignite flames by the fireplace.

Above the fireplace mantle was a picture of all seven of them standing. It was much like a family picture except in this particular portrait, they all wore black with nearly blank facial expressions. On each side of the fireplace were tall, semi translucent glass doors that led to the outside with long beige curtains drawn to the sides. Each corner propped little light fixtures screwed into the walls. On her left, the same styled doors and curtains spread in the entirety of the wall. However, it was blocked by a baby grand piano with a little lamp on top of it. A small rounded table with a brown finish was placed on the opposite corner as a beautiful flower arrangement sat on top of it. Two huge double door cabinets with two little drawers at the bottom stood at the back wall. Each cabinet was marked with intricate gold plate designs that matched the uniqueness of the modernized room.

“Ah,” Minhyuk plopped on the couch beside her. “I actually planned to ride out the rest of the night here. I didn’t know I’d get to spend it with someone else.”

“Are you guys not going to partake in Halloween activities?”

“About that,” the excitement in his eyes dimmed. “We usually play games around the castle, but this year, we’re sticking to just wearing costumes. A lot has happened this year, you see, and not everyone is on board with the festivities.”

“Oh,” she sadly replied. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“They’re not my stories to tell,” he sighed, “but we respect everyone’s personal feelings as much as possible.”

A moment of silence filled the room after his statement. The crackling of the wood created by the fireplace was the only noise one could hear aside from the barely audible pitter patter of the rain outside. As the two eyed the animated flames in front of them, a long sigh escaped the woman’s lips.

Minhyuk turned his head towards her just in time to see her draw circles on her cheeks. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I was thinking,” she stifled a laugh. “This is one unexpected way to spend Halloween night, isn’t it? I mean with a sprained ankle,” she pointed to her bandaged leg then to Minhyuk, “knowing that vampires and other mythical creatures actually exist, and lastly, waiting out the night with a stranger.”

“Oh dear,” Minhyuk gave a lopsided grin. “I know, it’s boring, right?”

“Oh, no, no,” she vehemently shook her head. “It’s quite the opposite, actually. I mean, now that I know you guys exist, it makes me want to actually learn more about what else is out there. I’m one curious cat so once I find an interesting mystery that needs to be uncovered, I take it upon myself to learn more and hopefully find an answer.”

Minhyuk’s grin grew, showing his pearly white canines. “We stan an intellectual.” Then he followed with a hum, “But I’m afraid, that’s not really an option.”

“Why not?”

“Because once you leave this place, whether you learn anything or not, we’ll have to—”

He was cut mid-sentence by another voice. “So the visitor wants to learn more about us? Then let her.”

The both of them whipped their heads towards the door to see who uttered the suggestion. A light brown haired man with striking facial features stood by the doorway. He had electric green eyes and similar to Minhyuk, had two marks on the left side of his face right under his eye. He also wore a vampire ensemble like the others; however, his clothes looked soaked.  

“Changkyun?” Minhyuk raised a brow. “Done scouting outside?”

“Yeah,” he brushed his hair back with his left hand which revealed his forehead as the drenched strands stuck to his head. “The rain’s relentless tonight. Anyway,” Changkyun smirked at the female. “Feel free to tell her anything,” he confidently nodded to Minhyuk with a knowing glance. 

Minhyuk closed his eyes and shook his head once. His face immediately changed to a disapproving stare. He knew what Changkyun was hinting. In fact, even he knew what would happen before Haera could be free again to walk amongst her kind. It was always like this, yet a part of him didn’t like getting too immersed or involved with humans to that extent.

“Really?” Haera looked back at Minhyuk with childish excitement. Her dark brown eyes looked determined and lively as they reflected under the burning flames. “You’d do that for me?”

Minhyuk sighed, a small smile gracing his lips. “I mean why not? Telling scary stories is part of the Halloween tradition, right?”

As he got the attention of the female beside him, Minhyuk started a story about one of his encounters in the past. However, not before darting a quick menacing glare at the drenched man who left the room with a smirk.

Instead of divulging events that revealed what life was like on the other side, Minhyuk resorted to telling stories about how the guys in MX castle celebrated Halloween.

“Hear this,” he animatedly scooted closer to her as if he was revealing a secret that only the two of them were to know. “The tough guy that just left?”

“Changkyun?” She drew closer to him as well, eyes growing wide in anticipation. 

“Yeah. He may seem all tough on the outside, but you can get a good scare out of him if you time it at the right moment.”

“Huh,” Haera chortled. “I wouldn’t peg him as the easily scared type, not even if it’s a greatly executed plan.”

“I’m not sure if he knows this,” a gleeful glint sparkled in his eyes. He gave her a playful wink as he held his index finger right on his lips, “but we actually have a bet amongst the six of us on who can get Changkyun to scream first during Halloween. It’s our running tradition.”

A smile curved up her lips as well. “And how long has this tradition been going on?”

“Oh, since about,” he tilted his head in thought but managed to easily reply, “five years ago?”

“And he still hasn’t caught on?” She added skeptically as she hugged a cushion closer to her chest. “I mean, it’s been years. Even I’d find that suspicious if it keeps happening to me.”

Minhyuk shrugged. “Perhaps he’s already known from the get-go. We vampires tend to be perceptive when it comes to things like these. Though he does suffer from hubris. I mean,  the man can be so prideful that he doesn’t want to admit that we got him. Instead, he repays us with other pranks of his own in the following days.” A particular memory waltzed through his brain which made him chuckle. “Like that one time Changkyun replaced the hot water with ice cold liquid when it was Hyungwon’s turn to shower after the latter won the bet against him.”

“Wow, you guys can get extreme with your pranks.”

“It’s the perk of being physically stronger than normal humans. Although we can feel pain, it’s lik