Taemin rushes down the stairs so excited for the day. Running down, he bumps into Minho.

“Taemin-ah, what are you doing out of bed?”

“I thought I was well enough to go to school today,” he says, with a wide smile on his bright face.

“Well, let’s see,” Minho says, leading the maknae over to Key. “Kibum! Wake up!” he raps on the door multiple times.

“Who’s banging on the doors at this time?” Jonghyun asks, walking out of his room, annoyed and with a bit of bedhead.

“Taemin wants to know if he’s well enough to go to school today and Key’s the only one who can tell.”

The dino rolls his eyes and goes over to Key’s door. “Yah! Key! Wake up!” and bangs on the door, threatening to break it in two.

“You don’t have to do that. I can just stay for another day,” Taemin says, stopping his hyung. He starts to turn back and walk towards his room when the blonde vampire pokes his head out.

“What? What is it? I’m losing my beauty sleep,” Key says, ruffling his hair slightly. “Oh, Taemin-ah, you’re out of your room. Ready to go to school?”

Taemin nods, a smile on his face. “Can I go?”

“Just remember to keep safe,” the umma of the group says, still sleepily leaning against the doorframe.

Somehow the younger vampire finds a way to fit a wider smile on his face and happily runs down the stairs again. “Annyeong~.”

“Well, I’ll be heading to school, then,” Minho says, hiking his backpack higher onto his shoulder.

“Bye~” Jonghyun waves as he starts to walk back to his room.

“Yah! You have to go to school, too!” Key says, following him, wagging his finger angrily at the lazy dino.

Minho merely chuckles and follows down the stairs, the speeding vampire miles ahead of him.

As soon as he’s far away enough from the mansion to avoid being seen, Taemin flashes over to Vera’s room. “Vera-” he starts to announce his presence with a cupped mouth until he notices she’s still sleeping. Laughing to himself about his failure, he walks over to the side of her bed. “Vera~, vera~, wake up~” he whispers, now, smiling as he gets closer and closer to her face. “Vera~ open your eyes, please~,” he lightly chuckles and starts to straighten up, but stops when he sees her stirring in her sleep.

Feeling his warm breath tickling her neck, Vera turns away from him, still desperately clinging onto the last seconds of sleep she could fit in without being late to school. She pulls the covers over her head and curls into a ball.

Or so she thought. ;)

Taemin’s mouth falls open as he notices this and quickly pulls the covers back down.

Obviously not asleep, the human angrily snatches it and pulls it back up.

The vampire laughs to himself about her cute actions. Slowly, he pulls the covers back down and leans in, stopping only a few inches away from her face. “Vera!”

Immediately, she opens her eyes and reaches up to push him aside, until she realizes who it is. “Oh gosh, Taemin?” she starts, immediately going to English. “You’re back?”

“Yes,” he says, also in English, his accent prevalent.

She smiles at his English and starts to sit up when she remembers something. “Wait, so you’re all healed up now?”

He nods. “Yup.”

“Can I see?” she asks, with an innocent curiosity that causes him to blush.

He starts to answer, but she ignores his comment. She quickly reaches out and pulls his shirt up, silently admiring his lightly tanned abs, and is surprised to see no scar whatsoever. “Wow, no scar,” she says, smoothing out the shirt as she puts it down.

“Nope,” he smiles, showing his teeth.

“So what happened? How’d you get hurt?” she asks as she wraps her arms around her legs.

“...I got into a small fight. That’s all,” he says, looking over her head.

What Key said to her from before flashes in her mind, but she merely nods. “Do you know what the heck he goes through for you? How many times he’s gotten injured making sure that you’re safe?” “Wait for me to get ready?” Vera asks, standing up from her bed.

He nods and takes her seat as she grabs her uniform from her closet and walks into the bathroom.

When she comes back out minutes later, Taemin smiles happily at her, looking like a puppy with his wide brown eyes. She laughs and stops to grab her backpack, when their hands brush as he hands it to her. “Thanks,” she says, looking in the other direction as she slings the backpack over her shoulder, cold goosebumps rising up her arm.

The two start to walk down the stairs, when Taemin starts to walk closer to her, even draping an arm around her. “Taemin, gwenchanna?” she asks, pretending to be nonchalant about his skinship.

“Of course,” he says, as they cross the last step.

“Then why...?”

“Because I missed you,” he tells a half-truth, hoping she doesn’t know the whole truth.

Vera nods, but stiffens when they walk towards the front door. Her mind replays the scene she saw that morning, weeks ago. The blood stained cherry wood floor, the dent in the door, also splattered with blood. It was obvious a fight to the death had happened.

The arm casually draped over her shoulder tightens its grip as Taemin visualizes the same scene, but from a different perspective. Recalling the whole event that transpired, he feels again the sword sliding effortless through his marble skin, breaking through the bones, attaching his self to the door. As his blood splashes onto the sword and spills down the front of his shirt, the only thing the vampire can think of is Vera. While his body crumples in on itself over the unbearable pain when the vampire hunter swiftly yanks out the sword, wiping it clean of his blood, images of Vera play in his mind, coming in the form of black-and-white pictures. His feet walk him outside the house, but feel like cement blocks, stopping him suddenly.

“Taemin?” Vera waves her hand in front of his face, hoping to bring him out of his daydream.

“Hmm?” he asks, snapping out of it, and fitting a smile on his face.

“I’m not sure if you can answer this, but...”

“-You’re not that negative, Vera,” he says, abruptly, a reassuring smile on his face.

“-What’s wrong with my family?” she asks, waiting for his answer.

His mouth opens in attempt to reply, but the second he realizes and considers the question, his lips quiver. “W-why are you asking?” he asks, feeling everything at once: sad, confused, slightly relieved, angry, worried, and indifferent. Taking her emotions into account, he tries not to let it come out so badly, but fails.

“Nevermind,” she says, speeding away from him. “Forget I said anything.”

Taemin sighs, realizing he’s hurt her feelings, and runs after her, placing his hand on her shoulder when he finally reaches her. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, why do you ask?”

“Key kinda told me,” she says, unsure of whether to rat the blonde vampire out. When she looks up to see Taemin’s sour expression, she adds “He didn’t answer my question either.”

“Good,” he says, simply.

“Why can’t you tell me? Is it really that bad?”

“I just can’t, ok?”

“I’m just curious,” she says, glaring at him.

He stops them when they’re only a few feet away from the school gates. “If you love me, you’ll just drop it, ok?”

Vera opens to protest, but is cut off.

“I’ll tell you later, ok?” he leans in to kiss her forehead. “See you in class,” and he walks off without her.

“I guess?” Vera says to herself, pulling her backpack up higher, as she walks into the school, bumping into someone. “Mianhaeyo,” she says, with a small bow of the head.

“You should watch where you’re going, human,” Changmi says, saying “human” with malice. She skips to meet with Taemin the second she sees him. “Taemin-oppa!”

Taemin just walks past her into the school, other things on his mind.

“Aigoo, what did the dumb human do this time?” the vampire mutters, shaking her head as she follows him.

“Oh hey Minho,” Vera says, smiling when she notices the tall vampire.

“Vera! Where’s Taemin? I thought he would’ve came to see you earlier,” he says, walking beside her.

“He went ahead, so we’ll just see each other in class,” she shrugs, not trying to make a big deal of it.

Minho nods. “Well, I’ll be leaving first. See you in gym.”

“Mm,” she nods, and watches him walk away with long strides.

Taemin rushes off to a secluded area of the school and checks his pockets. Do I still have it with me? After searching for what seemed like an eternity, he finally finds the packet of blood he got from the infirmary earlier in the year. (A/N: Refer to Ch.3) Holding it up to the light, he’s happy to find out it’s still safe to consume. Too impatient to tear open the plastic packet, the vampire sinks his fangs into it and thirstily drinks the contents. Refreshed, he sighs and wipes his mouth and face clean of the blood, starting towards class. Just as the bell rings, Taemin is seated behind Vera, ready for class. “Hi Vera~”

“Hi,” she says, without trying to look at him. Before he can distract her further, she organizes her things on her desk, and starts to take notes.

“I’m sorry~” he whines, noticing her annoyance with him for blowing her off. “I was just really-”

“If you’re so sorry,” Vera slams her pencil down and turns to face him, her hair swishing behind her shoulder to show off her neck. “Why can’t you just tell me what so-” she lowers her voice when she notices Baek sunsaengnim glaring at her “-wrong with my family?”

“I just-” he feels thirst wash over him again as he struggles to not stare at her irresistibly long neck. “-can’t, ok?” he gulps.

Noticing this, Vera catches his wavering eye contact and looks onto him, forcing him to look her in the eyes. “And why not? Does it have to do with you?”

“...”

Sighing irritatedly, she completely turns to face him, crossing her legs “I’ll look myself if you don’t tell me,” and starts to turn back forward.

“No. I don’t want you to get hurt,” he says, grabbing her arm.

Vera slits her eyes at him, her body filling with burning anger. Like rapid fire, words fall out over . “What do you mean you don’t want me to get hurt? Aren’t you the one who was just on bedrest for an entire month? And what makes you think I’d get hurt? I can take care of myself. I don’t need-”

“Vera-ssi, either get out of my class or pay attention,” Baek sunsaengnim says, folding his arms over his chest, as he glares over his glasses at her.

She starts to get her stuff ready and storm out, but is forced back into her seat when Taemin pulls her down. “Stay. Please,” he requests with pleading, almost puppy-dog like, eyes.

In a huff, the annoyed girl sits back down and settles herself back into class mode, folding her hands on top of the desk.

With a slight smirk, the teacher straightens up. “Can I return to my teaching, Ms. Vera?” he asks, the last part in English.

Fighting off the urge to glare the man down, she nods. “Yes.”

He flashes her another smirk and finally turns back to the front after a few agonizing minutes.

Soon enough, the bell rings. As Vera gathers her things, a few fangirls students in the back, comment about her behavior in class as they walk towards their next one. “Talk about trouble in paradise. She’s dating Taemin oppa and yet she has the nerve to be rude to him,” one of them, the shorter of the two, rolls her eyes.

“No. Talk about cocky. Talking during Korean class even though she’s the one who needs the most help. Did you hear she’s falling behind in her classes, even though it’s only the second month of school? I heard the only way they promoted her to the next class is because SHINee somehow convinced them. Probably so that she and Taemin could continue to be in the same classes together,” the other says, stealing a glance at Vera, who’s pretending not to hear them.

“Ugh. What does he even see in her?” the shorter one shakes her head, side to side.

The second they walk far from the vicinity, Vera takes the opportunity to glare at them, but blinks to stop the tears that were threatening to form in her eyes. “See you,” she says, putting her backpack on.

“Wait. Let me walk you to class,” he says, trying to sound convincing.

Annoyed, she looks at him. “Why?” Her very question sparks rebellion.

Ignoring her annoyance, he offers his hand to her. “Please?”

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she puts her hand in his. “Do you even know where you’re going?” she asks, as he starts to walk her. “You didn’t get your schedule. Nor do you know mine.”

“Shh,” he says, silencing her with a teasing smile. “I know where I’m going.”

“Oh do you now?”

He just laughs silently and stops in front of a seemingly random class. “This is your class, isn’t it?”

Fishing through her backpack, for her schedule, she incredulously starts with “No it’s not. What are you-” Stupefied, she looks to see that it is, in fact, her class. “How did you...wait...what?”

Taemin chuckles victoriously at her surprised face. “See you later?”

“I mean, guess?” she replies, not letting on her defeat.

He quickly hugs her and then dashes off to his class.

“I’ll never understand that guy,” she says, shaking her head as she walks into the class.