A Few Days Later

 

A.J.’s Pov 

 

“All I’m saying Henry is that it was very strange,” I said to him looking out of my bedroom window.

“You have got to give me more detail. You said that Krystal’s mom surprised you? How can that be possible? We can hear, not to mention smell a human from a mile away. You haven’t been surprised by anything since a few years after you were turned,” he responded as I continued to look out the window.

“Well, I would say that Krystal has been a big surprise to me. I’m afraid that she might be starting to affect my senses.”

“That’s an understatement,” he chuckled.

“I know, that is a poor choice of words maybe.”

“Where were you when this happened?” he asked.

“In her car. I was driving her home, and got to conversing in her driveway.”

“Conversing,” he said slowly.

“I cannot ever lie to you,” I sighed turning to face where he was on the couch.

“Why do you feel like you need to lie? That is not how we operate with each other. Besides Luna, you are the the most important being to be a part of my existence. We have more shared history than most humans could even fathom.”

“I feel an overwhelming sense of embarrassment about this. That is why it is hard for me to talk about. I may be experienced in a lot of areas, but being in a romantic relationship is not one,” I told him, glancing down at my shoes.

“I am sorry that you feel embarrassed. Hopefully time will lessen your anxiety. The pressing matter at hand I think is if you feel concerned about your senses not being sharp.”

“It is, not unlike most things for me, very conflicting for me. For so long I have wished to be able to drown out the sounds and smells. It took me a decade to hone my skills enough to be around large groups of people. I hear so much that I don’t want to. It took way too long for me to notice Krystal’s mother. Part of keeping someone safe is to know what is going on around them.”

“So you were in the car with Krystal, and she was distracting you?” Henry asked.

“Yes Henry, we were engaged…in an intimate way.”

“What’s going on in here?” Siwon asked barreling through my door. “Are you guys having bro time without me?” he asked pretending to be hurt.

“How many times have I told you to knock,” I said angry.

“You guys never include me in your family chats,” he responded.

“It might be because you are way too crass, and not extremely helpful,” Henry said.

“Give me a chance. I heard the word intimate as I walked in, and we all know I’m the one with the most experience being intimate with women,” Siwon chuckled moving closer to me.

 

He moved at super speed trying to put me in a headlock. I moved to dodge him, and grabbed his arm to twist behind his back. Suddenly another figure was at my door.

 

“A.J.! Siwon stop it right now!” Victoria yelled as we moved away from each other. “If either of you causes anymore structural damage to this house I don’t know what I will do. With just one slip of your anger we could lose a whole wall. Control yourselves, or take it outside.”

“Maybe you should go lie down my love,” Max said appearing next to her instantly.

“Talk to our children will you,” Victoria said patting Max’s shoulder before she left the room.

“What have you done to upset your mother?” he asked looking between Siwon and me.

“We were just discussing A.J.’s life,” Siwon said under his breath.

 

I lunged at Siwon but I felt Henry wrap his arms around me to prevent me from moving.

 

“Boys! A.J. stop this nonsense,” Max reprimanded.

“It wouldn’t have to be like this if Siwon could behave as anything other than a child,” I said staring at him.

“Maybe it is best if you leave Siwon,” dad said to him.

“Ok…ok…I’m sorry A.J. I don’t act like this to hurt you. It’s my personality to joke around with my siblings,” Siwon explained.

“I don’t care to joke about Krystal in any way. She is off limits for your jokes,” I said as Henry finally let me go.

“Is there something you need our advice on?” my dad asked me.

“Uh…I was talking to Henry about something that happened with Krystal.”

“If you want us to go we will,” dad said putting a hand on Siwon’s shoulder.

“I just don’t want to feel like I am talking to a panel of people about something that is kind of embarrassing for me.”

“We are your family. We will not judge you. Right Siwon?” dad asked gripping his shoulder.

“Right,” he agreed while grimacing.

“Why is everyone hanging out in A.J.’s room? Luna asked walking into the room.

“Ugh,” I groaned frustrated. 

“Honey, this is kind of a guy thing,” Henry said to her.

“What?” she said looking at me.

“Well A.J. is an honorary member of the male species,” Siwon added.

“It’s more of a loving a woman thing,” Henry continued.

“And who better to contribute to a conversation about that than a woman herself,” Luna said gesturing to herself.

“Luna you know how much you mean to me. I just feel too uncomfortable talking to you about this,” I said honestly.

“Alright sorry to disturb you all,” Luna said backing out of the room.

“I swear if Yuri comes waltzing in here in the next few minutes,” I said annoyed.

“She’s in our room. One sec,” Siwon said before he disappeared.

 

Three seconds later he was back, standing in the same spot he had left from.

 

“She won’t be bothering us. She is far too engrossed in online shopping at the moment,” he explained.

“Let’s get this over with then,” I said as the three of them all sat down on my couch.

“I think I’ve come to understand that the subject of our discussion is your physical relationship with Krystal,” my dad said.

“Yes, but try not to sound so medical dad,” I answered. “I was telling Henry that Krystal’s mom surprised me and her. I was not able to hear her coming because I was so overwhelmed by Krystal. We were kissing, and I could not hear past a few feet. Her mom did not know about our relationship and seeing us was her introduction to that.”

“Ouch, that is unfortunate,” Siwon responded.

“Yeah. Luckily it worked out with Ms. Jung, and she is ok with me. At least human me dating her daughter. This situation was manageable. But what if there is something dangerous close to us? I will have no idea what is coming. No advanced warning so that I can protect her. Does loving her make me that vulnerable?” I asked.

“Having anyone that you care about in your life makes you vulnerable to what can happen to them,” dad explained.

“I know, but I’ve never been this overwhelmed by worry. Now that I have her, the thought of losing her is paralyzing. I wanted to ask if any of you experienced something similar?” 

“Since Yuri and I are the most recent additions to the family, I think we all know how many beds we broke during the first few years of our marriage,” Siwon said smiling.

“Yes we all know that. That is why we have invested so much money into sound proofing every residence that we move into,” Henry said firmly.

“What I meant is that I understand what it means to be completely lost in your lover. After I met Yuri it felt like years before I could think about anything else before her. But I can’t say that I ever felt scared for our safety because we are both immortal,” Siwon