The first thing Ahyoung noticed was Sanghyuk’s dark circles under his eyes, the boy didn’t say a thing after he greeted her and he clearly was lost in his thoughts during the whole ride to school. It was obvious that something happened but Ahyoung didn’t know how to ask about it, since it seemed like an important matter.

When they reached the school, Sanghyuk sighed heavily after parking the car, keeping his hands over the wheel.

“Did something happen?” Ahyoung finally asked him.

“Yes.” Sanghyuk simply answered.

Ahyoung waited for him to continue speaking, she didn’t want to pressure him. The boy then leaned on the seat, still not looking at Ahyoung.

“I’m afraid we can’t count on Jessica to help us.”

“Oh it’s okay, I also didn’t quite like the idea of her doing that.” Ahyoung answered with a smile.

However, Sanghyuk was still frowning.

“That’s not what it’s bothering you, right?” Sanghyuk didn’t answer. “Why can’t she help us?”

“She went away.” Sanghyuk answered with seriousness.

Ahyoung frowned in confusion and moved in her seat so she could face him directly.

“What do you mean with that?”

“As I said, she went away.” Sanghyuk repeated in the same tone.

“Where to?”

“We don’t know, she just left a letter but didn’t say much.” Sanghyuk explained.

Ahyoung could see how hurt Sanghyuk was, she now understood why the boy looked so sad and thoughtful, she still didn’t know much about how strong the bond between all of them was, but by what she could see now, she could infer it was quite strong and important.

“I’m sorry.” She could only say.

“Don’t worry we can find another way to get to know what Tiffany is plotting.”

“I don’t care about that, what I’m worried about is you and also Jessica.” Ahyoung answered, putting a hand over his shoulder.

Sanghyuk snorted with a little smile and turned to see her.

“Thank you.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Sanghyuk denied with his head and smiled to her.

“I guess we’ll know someday why she decided to go.”

Ahyoung could just nod to him, she didn’t know what else to say.

“Anyway, we should better go now or we’ll be late.” Sanghyuk said a bit more cheered up.

Ahyoung and he went out of the car, there were still some more minutes before the first class started. They were walking towards their classroom and Ahyoung was not only thinking about what Sanghyuk just said to her about Jessica, but also about her own decision and the answer she still had to give Jonghyun. Just by the thought of the demon, her heart raced. She sighed and stopped walking, Sanghyuk noticed it and he also stopped, looking back at her.

“What is it?” He asked with curiosity.

“I need to find Jonghyun.” She said with determination.

Sanghyuk smirked and crossed his arms.

“Well, I don’t think we need to look for him.”

Ahyoung frowned at him in confusion, so Sanghyuk lifted his chin towards something behind her, she turned around and saw Jonghyun along Hyeri walking towards them.

Ahyoung smiled to him and Jonghyun did the same.

“Can we have a talk?” She asked him.

Jonghyun lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head.

“And miss the first class?” He .

“I know you won’t mind.” She answered with a smirk.

“Of course not.”

They then went to the garden where they used to have their encounters; Hyeri and Sanghyuk remained near but gave them space to talk privately.

Once they were just the two of them, Ahyoung started to feel nervous, she was looking down, trying to calm her heart and emotions down before talking. Jonghyun just looked at her with a smile, he knew she was nervous, since he was nervous as well.

“So, what did you want to tell me?” Jonghyun asked her.

Ahyoung finally looked at him and as if it was magic, the moment her eyes locked on his’, all her nervousness went away and the words she wanted to say came back to her mind clearer as ever.

“I’m in love with you.” She firmly said to him.

Jonghyun’s heart skipped a beat when he heard those words, he didn’t expect for her to give him an answer that quickly and with such straightforwardness. He showed her a big smile and was about to become excited when the girl spoke again.

“However” Jonghyun’s smile faded away upon Ahyoung’s serious voice tone. “There are some things we need to clear up before taking this step.”

Jonghyun remained silent and looked at her with seriousness. Ahyoung sighed heavily and kept her eyes on his’.

“What about Tiffany? You’re still betrothed to her. And not only that but, what will it be of us if we start a relationship? I mean, we’re from different races and from the same status, to make it worse, we’re the heirs of our races, no matter how you think about it, it’s a terrible combination.”

Jonghyun sighed, of course he also had thought about all those things, the fact of both being the heirs, being the most difficult thing to deal with.

“I also know it won’t be easy and, to be honest, I haven’t thought about a solution to the fact of us being the heirs. However, I trust that when the time comes we’ll be able to overcome whatever obstacle gets in our way.” Jonghyun said with confidence. “We can think about a solution together.”

Ahyoung was scared and she knew that Jonghyun most probably was as well, that answer, for the time being was enough for her. She nodded to him with a smile. Jonghyun also smiled to her and then talked about the other matter Ahyoung mentioned.

“And about Tiffany, you don’t have to worry about her, I’ll break my engagement with her.”

Ahyoung already expected that answer but she also knew that it wasn’t a decision that could be made that easily.

“You have to carefully think that.” Ahyoung answered in a serious tone.

“What do I have to think?” Jonghyun asked her with a frown.

“An engagement isn’t kids game, it isn’t just a whim of your parents, there has to be a reason why it was decided like that, maybe even more than one reason.”

Jonghyun snorted with a smirk, Ahyoung was right, even when his parents were reluctant to tell him why he had to marry Tiffany, he knew there was something behind that decision.

“I know it’s a serious matter but it doesn’t matter, it’s my decision, marriage also isn’t a simple decision and they can’t impose it to me either. It’s my life we are talking about.”

“Are you sure about this though?” Ahyoung asked, looking to the floor.

“What are you talking about?” Jonghyun asked confused.

“About all of this, what if this ends up being just a game for you like the rest of the girls you’ve dated before? I mean, are you sure that this is what you really want? Doing all of this just because of a whim would be disastrous.”

“What?!” Jonghyun asked her in disbelief.

Ahyoung lifted her head to look at him again, the demon seemed to be angry.

“Is your love for me as simple as a whim?”

Ahyoung was able to notice a glimpse of hurt in his voice, she knew he was saddened by the fact that she asked that, but she had to do it, she had to make sure that Jonghyun was aware of the choices he was making and was sure about what he was doing and what he wanted, for the sake of both of them.

“Of course it isn’t.” She said in a low voice.

“Mine neither.” Jonghyun firmly answered.

“This is a complete madness.” Ahyoung said after a chuckle.

Jonghyun chuckled as well, then took her hands and looked straight at her eyes.

“I’ll fight for you, against anything and anyone.” He firmly said. “I love you, only you.”

Ahyoung was able to feel tears gathering in her eyes, she knew they won’t be able to turn back anymore, they’ve come way too far to stop things.

She took her hands from his’ and put them around his neck, Jonghyun was surprised by her action but before he could say anything, Ahyoung stretched and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Ahyoung could feel how Jonghyun at first froze but after a moment he returned the kiss, he put a hand on her waist and the other on her cheek, deepening the kiss.

Ahyoung could feel all the love Jonghyun was trying to convey in that kiss and she hoped he could feel hers as well. Feeling Jonghyun so close to her gave her immense happiness, he still managed to make her feel at ease and protected, almost as if nothing could happen to them while they were together.

Now that they were so close, the girl was also drowned in his scent, she already knew it but now upon such closeness, she could clearly imprint it in her mind. Just like how she had imprinted how the demon’s touch felt.

Little by little they broke the kiss and opened their eyes, they smiled at each other and Jonghyun kissed her forehead to then embrace her. Since the first time he embraced her, Jonghyun noticed how well their bodies melded together, almost as if they were built for each other, he really liked to have her in her arms and be able to smell her sweet and unique scent that he liked so much.

Jonghyun then remembered he actually hadn’t formally asked Ahyoung to be his girlfriend, so he took that chance to make his question.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Ahyoung smiled fondly and embraced him tighter before giving her answer.

“Of course I want to.”

And like that, the two heirs finally became an official couple.

Sanghyuk and Hyeri were carefully looking at their surroundings, trying to make sure that no one was looking at the couple at the center of the garden, even when the chances of such a thing happening were low, since the classes already started, they couldn’t put their guard down.

“I swear these two are going to make me age earlier because of stress.” Hyeri said with a frown.

“Maybe. That if we don’t get killed before that.” Sanghyuk answered with irony.

Hyeri snorted with a smile.

“Quite ominous words for a guardian.” She pointed out.

“I’m just being realistic here.” The assassin answered still looking at his surroundings. “You should also know it by now, those two aren’t going to have just a simple short relationship, and we know what that actually means.”

Hyeri snorted again with a smirk and crossed her arms.

“Yes, the most probable outcome is that all of us will end up dead.”

“But I’ll try with all my power to change that outcome, I won’t let anyone harm Ahyoung.” Sanghyuk firmly said.

“At least we are in the same posture, maybe we can manage to keep them safe and if things get out of hand, we probably will be able to cover them so they can escape.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He answered with a smirk. “By the way, since when did you start to actually care about Jonghyun? You used to say you did it just because you were assigned as his bodyguard, but it seems to me that isn’t the case anymore.”

Hyeri laughed a bit before answering.

“He has changed, since he started to like Ahyoung and accepted it, he has a complete different attitude, I don’t know how to explain it, but he changed for the best, he even started to take seriously his place as an heir. Don’t know, you could say that now I genuinely respect him as a future leader.”

Sanghyuk nodded in understanding and chuckled, thinking about how similar it was to what he felt towards Ahyoung. He then focused on the couple in front of them again and smirked.

“Maybe we should start making our plans since now.”

“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” Hyeri asked with a chuckle.

“Are you sure?” Sanghyuk asked, finally looking at her with a lifted eyebrow.

Hyeri frowned in confusion and looked towards Jonghyun and Ahyoung who were now kissing. The demon understood what Sanghyuk was trying to say.

“Tch, those two are going way too fast.”

Sanghyuk also chuckled and was about to say something when the edge of his eye caught something, he turned in that direction just in time to see Sunny going away after seeing Ahyoung and Jonghyun.

“And not only them.” He said in a low voice.

“What do you mean?” Hyeri asked with a serious tone.

“Stay here, I’m going to follow Sunny, she saw them.” Sanghyuk briefly explained and went away before Hyeri could answer him.

Sunny was quickly walking towards her classroom, she needed to inform Tiffany of what she just saw, she was sure the demon would be angered by it. The girl chuckled quietly to herself.

Finally things will start to move. She thought amused.

When she reached the classroom, she remained outside and looked through the window, making sure the teacher didn’t saw her. Tiffany then looked towards her and she made signals to her to come outside of the classroom.

After some seconds, Tiffany was outside of the classroom, Sunny then leaded the way to the stairs of the building.

“What is it?” Tiffany asked with an annoyed tone. “It better be important or else-”

“Jonghyun and Ahyoung are now dating.” Sunny said with a bored tone, cutting off Tiffany.

The demon remained silent for some seconds, she then snorted in disbelief and put her hands on her hips.

“Impossible.” She said with rage.

“Do you want the details?” Sunny asked with a smirk.

“Shut up Sunny.”

Sunny just leaned on the wall looking at the demon in front of her, Tiffany’s blood was boiling and the assassin found it amusing, though she wouldn’t say it out loud, even if she wasn’t afraid of the demon, she wasn’t in the mood to fight with her.

“That bastard, what does he think he’s doing?” The demon furiously hissed. “He’s not only humiliating himself but also me.”

Sunny smirked, the day when they’d start with their plans finally arrived, earlier than what she expected, all thanks to those two.

Tiffany sighed heavily and chuckled; Sunny frowned, she thought that the demon may have already become crazy, well, more than she already was; but what she said after that, left her speechless.

“If that’s the game he wants to play, then let him play a while more.”

“What?” Sunny asked approaching Tiffany with a frown.

“You heard me.” Tiffany answered, looking at Sunny with a smirk. “Leave them alone for now.”

Tiffany took a step to go back to the classroom when Sunny spoke again.

“What do you mean with that?! I thought you were eager to take Jonghyun down! This is the best chance, why are you backing off now?!”

Tiffany turned around and grabbed her from the neck, then put her against the wall; both girls stared furiously at each other.

“Since when did you get the courage to speak to me in such manner?” The demon asked threateningly.

“I was never your subordinate, neither I am under your orders, I do what I want, don’t forget that I’m not your servant.” The assassin said in a calm way.

Tiffany smirked and put more pressure on her neck, however, the assassin remained impassible, glaring at her. The demon chuckled and approached her face until they were just centimeters apart.

“Scary, miss assassin.” Tiffany let her go and took two steps behind, smiling. “You’re as crazy as ever, I’m glad I have you on my side.”

Sunny just snorted and crossed her arms.

“But don’t forget, my dear assassin girl.” Tiffany then put her hand against the wall, her arm beside Sunny’s head. “That the one who’s eager to bring down all the powerful families isn’t exactly me.” The demon took a strand of Sunny’s hair. “You need me more than I need you, so don’t forget your place in all of this.”

Tiffany turned around and took some steps towards the classroom.

“We won’t do anything against them for now, so be a good girl and stay put.”

Sunny followed Tiffany with her eyes until the demon went away, she sighed furiously and went away on her own, she wasn’t in the mood to listen to some useless lesson.

Of course Sojin noticed that Tiffany went away with Sunny and it obviously wasn’t a good sign. When the demon came back without Sunny, she found it strange, however when she saw Tiffany’s expression, she realized that something bad happened.

Sojin.

The vampire turned to see Taekwoon who called her, he motioned for her to look towards some seats in front of him, Sojin did it and her eyes landed on Jonghyun’s empty seat. She already knew he was absent, as well as Hyeri; at first she didn’t gave it much thought but then she associated it with Tiffany’s expression and what just happened with Sunny.

Ahyoung…

She looked at Taekwoon again, who just nodded to her, letting her know he was thinking the same thing.

Sojin closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

This girl. She thought with concern.

A/N: Short chapter this week, but with this we start the final arc of this first part! I hope you all have a happy new year ^^

As always, thank you so so much for reading, comments are appreciated ^^ stay safe and have a beautiful day <3