Emma followed Jeongmin into the white-walled, luminescent lit 24-hour pharmacy; Kwangmin held the door behind them. It smelled sterile, like if someone had taken to moping the floor and cleaning the walls with Clorox. Emma resisted the urge to pinch her nose close.

“Noona, what are we looking for?” Jeongmin asked. He caught his reflection on one of the round mirrors hanging from one of the aisle shelves and started fixing his already styled hair, one eyebrow raised, one narrowed.

“Something for muscle pain.”

“Are you in pain?” Jeongmin whirled around, taking her arm in his hands, inspecting the healing puncture wounds. The flesh around them had begun to bruise a nasty purple.

Emma shook her head, gently removing his hands from her arm. “It does ache, but it’s not unbearable. No, I need something for deep bruising.”

“Is it for Donghyun-hyung?” Kwangmin asked.

“Yes.”

She walked down each aisle, scanning the shelves. She’d never been within a pharmacy before, she had no idea so much medicine would be stack up on racks. Humans were fragile, it only made sense to have so much medication in one place.

Nothing in there would help Donghyun heal, but it could definitely ease the pain. Emma had no idea how he could walk around while handling the deep bruising on his right side. She began feeling a little guilty for having healed Hyunseong. Just a little guilty.

“Hey, Jeongmin?”

“Yes, noona?”

Emma took a flat packet, turning it over to read what it was for. “Um…Did Donghyun-ssi turn all of you?”

He raised an eyebrow. “All of us? All of Boyfriend?”

This time, it was Emma’s eyebrows that rose. “Boyfriend? Do you guys really call yourselves that?”

Jeongmin smiled, taking the packet from her and looking it over. “We didn’t choose the name. Our extended pack did. They thought it would be cute. We call them Best Friend’s because calling them Girl Friends would exclude the guys.” He handed the medicine back to her. “That’s for a cold.”

Emma stared at it then looked up at him, still crouched low by the cold medicine. “So, was it Donghyun-ssi that turned everyone?”

His brown eyes remained steady on her. He lowered himself so that their eyes locked. “Noona, Donghyun-hyun did not turn any of us.”

Emma’s jaw dropped. “What? Then who—?”

“Noonim!”

She turned to find Kwangmin at the end of the aisle, his arms full of little white and blue packets. He beamed at her as he trotted up to them.

“What is it, Kwangmin?”

“I asked the pharmacist and he said this is the best treatment for pain.”

Jeongmin found a basic first-aid kit that he soon exchanged for a more extensive one. They grabbed a boxful of bandages, disinfectant, and surgical gloves. The pharmacist gave them a funny look as he rang up their selection.

Emma gave a look that asked “What’s that?” when Jeongmin handed the man his credit card. He winked at her, a sideways smile on his lips. Kwangmin folded his lanky arms on her head, resting his head on them. The intense heat they emanated was almost suffocating. It made the room uncomfortably hot.

“I think he thought we were gangsters,” Kwangmin said.

They were making their way back home. Emma carried the lightest of the bags; the boys had refused to let her carry more. She found it ridiculous, she also possessed inhuman strength, but they’d argued that they were not used to something like that. Something or other about chivalry and being gentlemanly.

“Better gangsters than werewolves,” Jeongmin shoved him playfully.

“Shh!” Emma shot Jeongmin a scolding glance. “As far as anyone is concerned, we’re gangsters. Human gangsters.”

“Noonim, do you even know what gangsters are?”

“No.”

The boys couldn’t walk after that. They doubled over, holding their stomachs, their laughs resonating loudly in the near-empty night.

“Shh,” Emma urged them. Her shushing only made them laugh harder.

She rolled her eyes. Deciding to leave them there, she continued on her own. She did not get very far.

Someone rounded the corner at high speed; they’d been running, so they collided, hard. She lost her balance at the sudden impact. Strong arms latched themselves around her, steading her. She felt herself tilt back at a dangerously low angle. They’d thrown a leg out, stepping forward to balance them both; their knee by her side. Emma felt as if a concrete wall had run into her, slightly dizzying her.

She stared up at Donghyun. His blue eyes were wide; one widened more than the other, so distinct were his mismatched eyes. His chest heaved with labored breathing, nostrils slightly flaring with each inhale and exhale. His arms held her steady in that treacherous position. Emma gripped him by the shoulders, holding herself up as much as she could. Their faces were close. Too close.

Heat exploded in Emma’s chest, climbing up her neck, settling on her cheeks. Donghyun continued to stare at her wide-eyed.

“I—I need to talk to you,” he finally said.

Emma didn’t trust her voice. She nodded.

Jeongmin cleared his throat behind them. Emma had not even noted when they’d stopped laughing.

Donghyun looked over Emma’s head at them. When his eyes returned to her, they were clearer; the sapphire mist in them had dissipated, though not entirely. He pulled himself up, setting her on her feet gently.

Emma couldn’t bear to look at his eyes anymore. Her insides twisted, knotted, and burned. She tried, she really tried, to keep herself from scanning his face. But Donghyun made it impossible.

He had a nose that sat straight on his face, no lumps or bumps to indicate any imperfection—a little too thin. His lips were full, plump; his upper lip just a little fuller, slightly puckered, with a defined Cupid’s bow and a well grooved philtrum. He had high, sharp cheekbones. His skin was pearly, creamy, and smooth. He did not look a day older than twenty-five.

Donghyun’s face was the kind that became most beautiful with minimal expres