You plopped down on the seat across from Sooman, directly facing a grumpy Sehun who had his chin resting on the palm of his hand, his elbow propped on the table. Sooman heaved a sigh before opening a drawer and taking out a green folder that had your name written on it.

 

He handed it to you and said, “All your academic loads are there. It’s not yet final since you have to choose for your day classes.”

 

Your eyes scanned everything in fifteen seconds. You gawked at your very hectic schedule. You didn’t like it one bit.

 

FRESHMAN COURSES:

Day classes:

Arts (Dancing, Singing, Theater, Painting, Culinary, Music) Clubs (Sports, Performing Arts, Publication) Gymnastics Homeroom Language (Chinese, English, Korean) Mathematics (Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Calculus) Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Social Sciences) World History

Night classes:

Vampirology Genealogy History Training

 

NAME:  PARK SUNMI/LU SHANMEI

YEAR:    1-A

HOMEROOM TEACHER:   WU YIFAN

CLASS SCHEDULE: MONDAY-FRIDAY

7:30AM-9:00AM               GYMNASTICS                    

9:00AM-10:00AM             MATHEMATICS                

10:00AM-11:00AM          WORLD HISTORY

11:00AM-12:00NN           LANGUAGE       

12:00NN-1:00PM              LUNCH BREAK

1:00PM-2:00PM                SCIENCE

2:00PM-3:30PM                ARTS

3:30PM-5:00PM                CLUB ACTIVITIES

5:00PM-6:00PM                HOMEROOM

7:00PM-8:00PM                DINNER TIME

8:00PM-8:30PM                VAMPIROLOGY

8:30PM-9:30PM                GENEALOGY

9:30PM-10:30PM             HISTORY

10:30PM-12:30MN          TRAINING

 

“Oh my god, Sooman! Aren’t you going to let me rest?!” you exclaimed.

 

Sehun’s lashes batted to look at you with an amused expression, his lips quirking up into a smirk. “Chanyeol’s was just as worse.”

 

You ignored him and continued to rattle on, “This is impossible for me, Soo—“ Sooman cleared his throat. You knitted your brows in confusion. Then, it hit you. “I-I’m sorry, Sonsaengnim. It’s just…This kind of academic requirement is overwhelming.”

 

Sooman gave you a gentle look and an understanding smile. “Sunmi, don’t forget that you’re a vampire. It’s only natural for you to be nocturnal.”

 

“No!” you protested. “Didn’t you say so yourself? I’m under a curse! I’m dominantly human right now. How do you expect me to turn into a creature like Chanyeol?!”

 

Sooman had to admit: he was a little taken aback when he heard Chanyeol’s name. There was nothing better he could think of to say to you. The reality of the vampires’ existence was already starting to take its toll on you.

 

Altogether, questions popped up in his head. He was also starting to worry how things would go for you if you agreed to push through this plan for the sake of your own safety—not that you really had an inkling what was going on his mind. There were still several things you needed to learn. For a moment, Sooman couldn’t think straight. His mind was whirling in uncertainty and confusion, weighing the pros and cons of the situation and the gravity and the consequences of the actions to be taken.

 

Instead, he just sighed and brought his hands up to his head and began to massage his temples, hoping he could release some of tension slowly building up. When it wasn’t working, he glanced at Sehun anxiously, trying to gauge the other boy’s reaction, which still remained as cold as stone. But Sooman could not be deceived. He could see from Sehun’s eyes that the boy was torn between kicking you out and keeping you with them.

 

Sooman glanced back at you, and your eyes met. Suddenly, he looked too old and tired. He seemed to be having a really hard time with this too. Your heart cringed in guilt.

 

“Why are they after me? What do I have that they want?” Your voice came out husky. Sooman and Sehun stared at you in silence, your words aggravating the already tense atmosphere in Sooman’s small office.

 

Then, memories flashed in the eye of your mind. Your friends, your family, your studies, your dream. You lived a simple life in America. Why did it have to be so complicated now?

 

“I-I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do this,” you finally said. “I think I have to move somewhere else. I’ll just live a normal human being like I always have and forget that I have even met you, guys.”

 

“Don’t be so rash, Sunmi,” Sooman said carefully. In reality, his mind was in a serious buzz after having had to listen to what you just said. Every word you let out posed too much heaviness on him. You were his responsibility. “This is for your own protection. Please listen to me. I know it’s hard, but please listen to me.”

 

You nodded.

 

“You are precious to us. Don’t you want to discover who you really are so you could develop your abilities into something…great? Useful? Don’t you want to become one of us? Be with Chanyeol? Don’t you want to know about your brother and fight alongside him? Don’t you—“

 

“Brother?” you asked bewilderedly. What was Sooman talking about now? Was this some form of bait in order to keep you tied to this place?

 

Sehun’s head shot up as well. Sooman’s mouth was left hanged open as he realized what just came out of his mouth. Oops, slip of the tongue! He just revealed something that must be kept a secret until it was the right time for everyone to know how important she was for…Luhan.

 

“This is really hard, isn’t it?” Sooman’s question was actually directed at Sehun, but Sehun did not give any response. Sooman cracked a dry laugh. “Look, this isn’t really the right time for me to tell you everything. You have a brother in this school. But I can’t tell you yet who he is. He’s requested me to never tell you. He said that you should be the one to remember him. What he was for you—that’s the most important thing you need to remember and to know. I won’t give you any more details. But if this is enough to make you stay, please, Sunmi, I allow you to take your time. Your family is here. You’re a vampire. You’re a Lu, for goodness’ sake! I promise you, we’ll protect you from those who want to harm you. So stay.”

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