“You know what, I’ve been thinking in what you said yesterday.”

Ahyoung closed the car’s door and looked at Sanghyuk with a confused expression. The whole ride to school was in complete silence, even when Ahyoung tried to make some conversation, the boy just seemed to be too immersed in his thoughts so she just let him be. Now that he was saying that out of nowhere, Ahyoung was confused and intrigued by it.

“And what was that?” She asked adjusting her backpack.

Sanghyuk looked at her with a serious expression.

“The fact that I can’t always be by your side, there’ll be times where we’ll have to be apart and you can’t always depend on me. That had me overthinking the whole night and I came to the conclusion that you were right.”

The girl remained silent, it was quite a surprise for her since, by what she knows about Sanghyuk, he’s the kind of person who’d stick to the rules and assignments despite anything. For him to actually agree with what she said was strange.

“And that means?” She encouraged him to keep talking.

“That means that we’ll change the dynamic, I won’t be around you all the time and you’ll be free to move around as you please.” He made a pause. “However, that doesn’t mean I won’t do my job, I’ll be near you enough to protect you and I’ll only interfere if I notice that you’ll do something potentially dangerous or stupid.”

Ahyoung wasn’t pleased with the last remark Sanghyuk made but she knew she couldn’t do anything against it, after all, she has indeed done some really stupid things. She was about to thank him when she recalled some words her father said to her once.

>> “Sanghyuk isn’t supposed to leave your side, what is he thinking? I’ll have to scold him when you come back home.” “Sanghyuk has to attend my orders over yours. I’ll need to remind him of that.”

“But my father…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him.” Sanghyuk said with a serious tone.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, let me take care of that for you.”

Sanghyuk denied with his head before talking.

“Don’t Ahyoung, if you do that you’ll only get in another argument with him. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to him, I trust he’ll understand why I’m doing this.”

Ahyoung wasn’t convinced of that but by the determined gaze Sanghyuk was giving her, she was left without options, so she just sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to then look at him again.

“Alright, I’ll leave this matter to you, but if you need my help with anything or if he does something to you, you need to immediately tell me, okay?” She said in the most serious way she could pull.

Sanghyuk seemed to take her words seriously when he firmly nodded and gave her a light smile. After that, they walked to their classroom.

During their walk, Ahyoung thought about her mysterious and unique friend, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t intrigued by him. She still didn’t know anything about him, neither of his past or thoughts and beliefs. It was as if Sanghyuk only existed to protect her, however, when he showed things like the light smiles she had only see him direct to her, it made her remember that Sanghyuk was a person with his own emotions and thoughts as well. But for some reason, he refused to open up, and not only with her. By what she had seen, Sanghyuk wasn’t particularly close with anyone, the only friend of him she has met was Ren, though she still wasn’t quite sure those two were really best friends.

She hoped for him to express himself more, at least with her. She knew that was quite too much to ask, especially if Sanghyuk was like that because of his personality, but she couldn’t help to feel that the boy wasn’t like that, she was sure that Sanghyuk chose to be like that for some reason. The question was, what made him adopt such a personality?

But Ahyoung wasn’t intending to force him to speak, she trusted her friend would open up to her when he was ready, and when that time came, she’d be there to listen to him.

They reached the classroom and went to their seats. Classes were calm, nothing like what happened the previous day. Ahyoung learned that she shouldn’t ask things in a lightly way, especially if it concerned matters like laws and rules.

The bell that announced the end of the first period rang, letting them know it was already lunch time. Sanghyuk stretched on his seat and groaned a bit. Ahyoung smiled to that sight, she knew how much Sanghyuk hated classes, she could bet he preferred to be training or just daydreaming rather than be there, and she couldn’t judge him, she was also like that back in the human world.

“I need to talk some matters with Ren.” Sanghyuk suddenly told her. “Would you like to come with me?”

“I’ll pass.” Ahyoung answered almost immediately with a fake smile.

Sanghyuk chuckled and stood up from his seat, then looked at her again.

“He’s actually not that bad.”

“Even you don’t believe those words.” Ahyoung said with a smirk.

Sanghyuk snorted with a smile, looking away.

“You’re right, he’s a pain actually.”

Ahyoung laughed softly. It wasn’t that she wasn’t curious about Ren, in fact, the boy was quite interesting, but she still couldn’t get over the feeling of mistrust she held towards him after their first encounter.

“Well then, I’ll get going, try not to die while I’m gone, or your father will kill me.” Sanghyuk .

“That’s quite a tempting sight, what would you do against my father?” Ahyoung mischievously said.

“Shut up, miss heiress.” Sanghyuk mocked her with a forced bow.

“Sanghyuk!” Ahyoung screamed at him standing up.

Sanghyuk ran outside of the classroom in the middle of laughter and Ahyoung couldn’t do anything else but snort with a big smile and put her hands on her waist. She still couldn’t get used to how childish Sanghyuk can be sometimes.

“Ahyoung.”

She turned around to face the owner of the voice and smiled when she saw Hongbin.

“Oh hi.” She answered.

“Is everything okay?” Hongbin asked with a worried expression and then looking in the direction Sanghyuk went away.

“Oh that.” Ahyoung said with a chuckle after getting what Hongbin was worried about. “Don’t worry, we get along like that, everything’s fine.”

“I understand.” Hongbin answered visibly relieved still looking away from her.

Ahyoung couldn’t help but to smile at him because of how cute he was.

He’s really kind.

Hongbin looked at her again and Ahyoung made sure to compose her expression before that.

“Actually I wanted to ask, if you don’t have something to do, would you like to have lunch with me?”

That’s such a great chance to get to know him better and also test him. Ahyoung thought about it for some seconds.

“Sure!” She finally answered.

Hongbin smiled at her and Ahyoung did as well, she stared at him for a second more than she should, she still couldn’t get over his cute dimples, she needed to be aware to not be enchanted by them so she made a mental note to not look at them during their conversation, or at least, try not to look at them.

Both went out of the classroom, Ahyoung could sense some curious stares over them but nothing as wild as when Jonghyun and Tiffany appeared together, so she was relieved of that.

“Where do you want to go?” Ahyoung asked him.

“The cafeteria is fine, well, that if you’re not against it.” Hongbin answered looking at her.

“I don’t mind it, but, you actually eat there? By what Sanghyuk said I thought none of the High Status went there.”

“Well, you’re a High Status and go there.” Hongbin pointed out with a smile.

“Touché.” Ahyoung just answered and averted her gaze.

When they reached the cafeteria, some of the people gathered there actually had their attention over the two and Ahyoung was able to hear some gossip here and there, but she actually didn’t care about it and Hongbin seemed like he didn’t care either so she just decided to not mind them.

After they got something to eat, they went to an empty table and started to talk.

“So, you created kind the commotion yesterday huh?” Hongbin nonchalantly said.

Ahyoung looked at him but Hongbin was now looking down at his food. She narrowed her eyes, studying his expression. She was aware that the topic of conversation wasn’t the best one and she could make a mistake again but at the same time it was the perfect chance to test him and his beliefs.

“I guess so.” She answered also looking down at her food. “Though I still don’t get a lot of things, I guess it’s better to not ask about them.”

“Maybe you’re right. After all, people are afraid about the unknown, they’ll do whatever it takes to not allow something like that to happen.”

Ahyoung frowned, it was almost the same answer her uncle gave her. She looked at Hongbin again and was faced with his calm expression also looking at her, she couldn’t find any glimpse of deceit or falsehood.

“Are you also afraid of it?” Ahyoung straightforwardly asked with a serious tone.

“No.” Hongbin firmly answered. “To be honest I also don’t get what’s so wrong about it, I don’t think we’re actually that different to provoke some kind of tragedy or something because of it. But I guess there’s nothing much to do, after all, the leaders are the ones to decide.”

Hongbin talked with such confidence and calmness that Ahyoung was sure he was being sincere, his eyes didn’t reflect hidden intentions and his body language neither. She just needed to make sure of one more thing.

“You’re quite different from Jonghyun.” She answered and looked down to her food, though she still was able to see his expression.

“Am I supposed to be like him?” Hongbin calmly asked.

Weird, I expected him to react angrily.

“Well, it’s said that demons are kind of narrow minded about stuff like that.”

“I’m not surprised you have that impression, evenmore if you have already met Jonghyun, but I must make clear that I actually don’t share any of his beliefs. As I previously told you, I don’t care about status or race.”

“I can see it.” Ahyoung answered while nodding.

Hongbin smiled to her. After that they ate their food and chatted about trivial matters, after they were finished eating, Hongbin was the one to speak.

“What about doing this more often?”

Ahyoung looked at him, he was giving her that dimple smile and she swore he could kill anyone with that smile.

“That sounds good.” She answered also with a smile.

She was now sure that Hongbin was genuine and he didn’t have hidden intentions, it was a relief to know a demon who was actually nice and gentle. She believed they would become friends in a short period of time.

“Great, I have the feeling we’ll become really good friends.”

“I feel so too.” Ahyoung sincerely answered.          

The lunch came to an end, Hongbin and Ahyoung went back to the classroom and went to their respective seats.

Ahyoung happily sat down and turned to see Sanghyuk in order to tell him about her time with Hongbin, but her hype faded when she saw the look in his eyes. Sanghyuk wasn’t really paying attention to his surroundings and had a concerned expression.

“Sanghyuk?” She cautiously asked.

Sanghyuk seemed to snap out of his thoughts and looked at her surprised for a second, though in the next moment he put on his well-known stoic expression.

“You’re here.”

“Are you okay?”

“Perfectly fine, why do you ask?”

If she hadn’t seen his expression just some seconds before, she would have believed he was genuinely fine. Ahyoung didn’t know how Sanghyuk managed to hide his emotions so perfectly.

“Something seems to be bothering you, did something happened with Ren?” Ahyoung asked a bit concerned.

“Nothing you should worry about.” Sanghyuk answered looking away.

Ahyoung snorted and looked away.

“It’s the same.” She whispered.

“What do you mean the same?” Sanghyuk asked still not looking at her.

“The same answer you gave me last time, you always tell me not to worry, but how can I not worry when you’re looking like this?” She explained returning her gaze to him.

Sanghyuk finally looked at her and he was able to see the concern in her eyes.

“I didn’t expect you to worry that much about me.” He sincerely said.

“What?” Ahyoung asked in disbelief. “Sanghyuk, you’re my protector and my friend, how can I not worry about you?”

Sanghyuk relaxed his expression and showed her a little smile.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean you to feel like I leave you aside.” He sincerely apologized. “I do have something in my mind but it’s just some family affairs, that’s why I said it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Can I help you with something?”

Sanghyuk denied with his head.

“I can deal with it, don’t worry. Thanks for your concern.”

Ahyoung smiled at him and ruffled his hair. She expected him to be annoyed because of it but he actually chuckled while trying to get her hand off him. Ahyoung was aware that Sanghyuk would be able to immediately get rid of her if he wanted, so seeing him actually playing along with her in such a relaxed manner, warmed her heart. She took her hand off him before speaking again.

“You don’t have to carry all the burdens alone, remember you have me, I’m here for anything you need.” Ahyoung said in the most sincere way she could, she needed to make sure Sanghyuk would know he wasn’t alone.

“Thank you Ahyoung.” The boy answered visibly relaxed.

The teacher of the class came inside and the second period started. At the end of the day, Ahyoung and Sanghyuk went out of the classroom together, they were planning to go straight to the car when a voice stopped them.

“Ahyoung!”

The girl turned around just in time to see Sojin’s face before she pulled her into en embrace.

“Hi Sojin.” She answered a bit surprised, then her gaze landed on Taekwoon who was behind Sojin. “Hello Taekwoon.”

Taekwoon nodded to her with a little smile, Sojin then broke the embrace and looked at her with a mischievous look.

“Tell me everything about it.”

“What are you talking about?” Ahyoung asked with a chuckle while adjusting her backpack that almost fell down after Sojin’s effusiveness.

“Your lunch date with Hongbin.” Sojin answered lifting an eyebrow.

“Come on girl, it wasn’t a date, we just had lunch together.”

The four of them started to walk in direction to the parking lot. Sanghyuk and Taekwoon behind Ahyoung and Sojin respectively.

“But tell me, do you like him?” Sojin kept teasing the poor girl.

“How can I like him? I just have talked with him two times.” Ahyoung answered in disbelief.

“Well, you know, things like destiny and soulmates exist.”

“Those things don’t exist Sojin, stop with the fairytales.” Ahyoung chuckled.

“They do exist!” Sojin stopped and put a hand over her chest in a dramatic way, as if she’d been wronged. “Taekwoon and me are the clear example of that, aren’t we?” She looked at Taekwoon for an answer.

“I guess you can say so.” Taekwoon agreed showing Sojin a warm smile.

Ahyoung’s mouth almost dropped to the floor when she heard Taekwoon agreeing with what Sojin said. If someone had told her that he had agreed to such a thing she wouldn’t have believed it.

“You actually have never told me the story of you two.” Ahyoung said to Sojin, who turned to look at her again. “Tell me about it and then I’ll judge if you’re really destined soulmates.”

Sojin showed her a wide smile and was about to tell her something when her eyes looked at something behind Ahyoung that made her expression change to a serious one. Ahyoung frowned and turned around to the direction Sojin was looking.

She was able to see a girl of short black hair and a guy with purple ash hair talking, though the talk didn’t seem to be a friendly one. Ahyoung kept looking at the short haired girl until she remembered her.

“Minah?” She asked in confusion.

Taekwoon took a step towards them but Sojin put a hand over his chest, stopping his pace.

“Don’t.” Sojin seriously said.

“Sojin, I can’t leave Minah with him just like that.” Taekwoon reasoned with her.

“There’s no need for you to go, look there.” Sojin explained.

Everyone turned to see Minah and the other guy and noticed a third party arrived. He was a tall guy with short black hair. The two guys talked briefly and the black haired took Minah from there, leaving the purple haired one standing there alone.

“Baekho.” Taekwoon said.

The guy who was holding Minah’s hand looked at him and went to the group. Once there, Ahyoung was able to see his red eyes and knew he was also a vampire, she then looked at Minah who kept her gaze low and didn’t dare to see any of them, finally, her gaze directed to their interlaced hands.

They must be a couple. She thought.

“Is everything okay?” Sojin asked him.

Ahyoung looked at Baekho, the guy sighed in frustration and looked at Minah, he was worried about her.

“Yes.” He finally answered. “Just the usual, you know Hakyeon keeps pestering Minah.”

To say she was confused was the least, Ahyoung truly didn’t understand what was going on, the only thing she knew was the names of Baekho and Hakyeon.

“You know you can come to us if you need anything.” Taekwoon told them.

“Thanks, but you know this is a complicated matter, since Hakyeon isn’t a vampire, it’s not like you can do much with an assassin.” Baekho answered.

“An assassin is causing trouble to you?” Ahyoung asked.

Everyone turned to see her and Taekwoon spoke before that question could be answered.

“Maybe it’s not the best timing but let me introduce you. This is Baekho, a Mid Status vampire and my best friend. And Baekho, this is Ahyoung, the heiress of the assassins.”

Baekho widened his eyes and made a light bow to her.

“My apologies miss Ahyoung, Minah told me she knew you but I didn’t know who you were.”

“Don’t worry about that and please just call me Ahyoung, I’m not comfortable with all those honorifics and stuff.” Ahyoung quickly said.

“But…” Baekho doubted and looked at Taekwoon who just nodded at him. “Alright, Ahyoung.”

The girl nodded and smiled.

“So, about what I asked…” Ahyoung took the topic back.

“It’s not something you should waste your time in Ahyoung, it’s just some misunderstanding between the three of us.” Baekho kindly explained.

Ahyoung noticed that Baekho was a really calm guy and seemed to be a nice person, however, she was still worried about the fact that Minah hadn’t spoken nor looked up at all since they arrived.

“Well if that’s the case then I hope you can solve the issue. If you need something you can come to me.” Ahyoung said to him in a serious way.

“Thank you, I’ll keep it in mind.” Baekho answered with a little bow.

Even when Ahyoung didn’t like all the bowing stuff, she knew it was just Baekho’s way to show his gratitude, so she just let him do it. Baekho then started to talk about some stuff with Sojin and Taekwoon. Ahyoung then turned to look at Sanghyuk and both nodded, they announced to them they were going first, everyone bid them farewell except for Minah. Ahyoung frowned and didn’t take her eyes off her until she and Sanghyuk were gone.

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