~CHAPTER 8~

"Old Man"

"Where am I?" I looked side to side and all I found was darkness. "Kris! Kai! Suho-oppa!" I ran towards a nowhere direction. It felt cold and I was barefooted.

Suddenly, I heard evil laughs of different people. It was surrounding me. I covered my ears. "Stop!" I screamed. "Stop! Stop!"

"You can't stop us..." A guy with a scorpio marked cloak approached me but I couldn't see his face.

"I'm going to hunt you down and kill you." A guy with the phoenix marked cloak whispered to my ears. Then, suddenly  I felt a blade on my neck. He slit it. 

"No!" I screamed.

I found myself on a room. I was sweating and breathless. I touched my neck. "god."

I sat up and observed the room. "This is Suho-oppa's room." I felt relieved that all of it was a dream. I glanced at my sides and I saw them. Suho-oppa was sleeping on Kai's bed while Kai was on a futon in the middle of our beds. I turned to my right side and I saw a couch facing the glass door. It was bright outside because of Seoul lights.

"It's night already."  I cupped my face while I looked at what’s in front of me; a plain wall.

"I can’t believe that I am the maiden. Maybe they were only joking when they said that. But..." I looked at the couch on my side. "I think he's not the type to lie." I spoke softly.

*I feel like it is a big and heavy responsibility. I don't know how to handle situations like this.* I ruffled my hair. *Where are mom and dad when I needed them the most?* 

I stood up and tiptoed towards the glass door.

I silently sat on the side of the window and I looked outside.

“Seoul is beautiful.” I said softly while I was touching the cold window. "If this is the world I'm going to protect, then I guess it will be alright." I turned around and noticed that Kris was sleeping peacefully.

I approached him and silently looked at his face. "You're troublesome." I softly whispered. *But thanks for standing up for me.*

*Even though you’re arrogant, disgusting and you have a birthmark of a dragon “nightingale”, you’re still the sophisticated, cool and handsome guy who I like..a lot* I touched his hair and went back to Suho-oppa’s bed. It was a beautiful night.

Kris’ POV

I felt Hana woke up. I slightly peeped on her and saw that she was “somewhat” uneasy. She stood up and looked outside the window door. She smiled at the scenery. Then, she sat down beside the couch and started to observe me. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"You're troublesome." My insides twitched when she said that. *Don't you dare call me troublesome when you're the one who's troublesome.*

She touched my hair and I heard her foot steps towards the bed.

I opened my eyes and gazed at the glass door. Then,  I smiled.

The next day was the last day of the school break. It was Sunday.

Hana woke up early to prepare their breakfast but to her surprise, Suho was already in the kitchen.

“Suho-oppa, you know how to cook?” I asked.

“Come, see for your eyes.” Suho did some cooking trick like high-speed cutting vegetable technique, and sauté meat. He created a masterpiece. “Voila!”

“Wow! This is my first time to see a guy cook! Amazing, Suho-oppa!” I exclaimed.

“What’s the entire ruckus about?” Kris went out while rubbing his left eye and beside him was Kai.

*Gosh, even if he has bed hair, he still looks stunning!* I screamed out in my mind.

“Yah, I can read your mind, Careless girl.” Kris smirked.

“Hmm?!” I made a worried face. *Oh no.*

“Just kidding! Geez, you’re so gullible.” He let out a laugh.

Let him be. Besides, it’s my first time to see him smile. Aish.. that angelic face. I couldn’t resist his smile. I began to smile myself.

It’s now the four of us; sitting on the dining area and eating together. This was the picture I wanted when I hear the word “family”.

“It’s our last day today. Today is the end of our vacation.” Kai pointed his chopsticks at me.

“Omo! It means we’ll be together for the rest of our day tomorrow! Yeah!” I clapped my hands. Kai and I were excited.

“We’ll be freshmen tomorrow. We’ll be freshmen tomorrow..” Kai happily moved his hands in a horizontal circle.

“Yah, Kai. Stop acting like that. You’ve gone into high school almost a gazillion times.” Kris emphasized on the word gazillion.

“Gazillion?! Yah, really.... how old are you guys?” I was curious when I heard Kris said “gazillion.”

“I don’t know. I’m not good with numbers. But what I’m sure of is that I became an immortal when I was 17 years old and that was like a thousand years ago.” Kai continued on smiling and eating at it.

“Omo! Did you just say thousand years ago?! Then that means?!” My eyes widen when I looked at Kris. *Did I just liked an old man?* I raised my brow.

“Yah, Careless girl. Don’t make your face like that, it is already complicated as it is.” Kris made fun of me again. Suho-oppa and Kai let out a laugh when they heard this.

“Yah, old man!” I shouted.

“Oh no, he called Kris-hyung OLD MAN.” Suho-oppa seems having fun with the scene.

Kris stood up. “Aish... this Complicated-faced Careless Lad. Don’t you know how to respect your elders? Do you want me to teach you, young lad?” He drew his face near to mine and stared at me as if he was going to swallow my whole face.

“Don’t call me with those old-fashioned words of yours, Kris. And lad? That’s like-almost a MILLENIUM years ago!” I put emphasis on the word millennium.

“Aish, this lad.” Kris flicked my forehead and gah, it was painful.

“Oww! Omo! Not my forehead!” I stood up and ran outside. But before I go I shouted. “Yah, Kris! I’ll grind you if you left a mark on it!”

Kris’ POV

Nobody can call me “old man.” Nobody. EVER. Not even Juwi.

“She said she’s gonna grind you like a cow meat!!!” Kai seemed having fun. And he even added the cow thing.

“There’s no cow meat in her sentence.” I whacked his head.

Suho just continued on eating and drinking his hot milk.

Kris smiled evilly as he sat down. “Kids now days.”                              

“Who’s acting like a kid now?” Suho sighed as he drank his hot milk.

“Pfft!” Kai laughed out loud.

“Mwoh?”  I scrunched my nose.

Hana’s POV

I ran to my apartment and approached the mirror. I lifted my bangs and what I saw didn’t make me feel happy.

“Kris! I’ll grind you like a cow meat!!!” I shouted for him to hear.

Meanwhile, in Suho’s apartment...

“Ahahaha, didn’t I hear the word COW MEAT, Kris-hyung?” Kai busted in laughter.

“Yah!....Whatever. She can’t do anything to me-” Kris turned around and to his surprise Hana was already there.

“You old man!” Hana flicked Kris’ forehead. “Never mess with me!”

“Oww!!!” Kris howled.