16: BANDAIDS

With the last inch of willpower that Seulgi had left, she took a deep breath, held it in, took one of Jungkook’s wrists and pulled him determinedly towards the end of the market, hoping there was a toilet of some sort nearby.  And then she spotted something even better, a water fountain on the side of the street.  She quickly pulled Jungkook towards it.

Jungkook was confused at Seulgi’s actions but had let her lead the way.  When he realized she was rinsing his knuckles where the skin had scrapped against the concrete he smiled.

The scent immediately died down, slowly but surely being diluted by the water.  Seulgi sighed a deep breath of relief as she could also feel herself gain back more control.  She no longer felt a magnetic pull towards the source of the blood. 

It was a close call.

Jungkook’s blood was dangerous.  It almost had a voice of its own, enticing her with sweet alluring whispers.  Seulgi felt dizzy with all the adrenaline rushing into her head from all the sudden stress.

“I appreciate your concern Seulgi but I’m not going to die, you didn’t have to be in so much of a rush,” Jungkook commented lightly. 

“I know, it’s just-” Seulgi couldn’t say that it was because of the smell that could potentially mean she might ‘accidentally’ lose her senses and bite him.  “It might be bad if it gets infected by germs.”

Even though it was something that was true, she felt so bad lying to Jungkook.  It wasn’t the first time.  She had always had to lie to her classmates but why did lying to Jungkook made her feel so terrible inside?  There was always a sinking feeling in her stomach every time she had to make something up.  It was the same feeling when they were in P.E and she had pretend to be a horrible player.

She noticed that Jungkook was staring at her amusedly and to avoid the sudden awkwardness she was feeling, she dropped his wrist she had been holding onto and quickly said, “I’ll go buy some bandaids.  You should rest here.”

And without waiting for Jungkook to respond, she fastened her pace down the street.  Seulgi knew the fact that she felt guilty had something to do with how genuine Jungkook was treating her.  He treated like a true human being and equal.  That was normal for most people but for someone like Seulgi who always had to stick to herself to avoid detection and therefore usually become an outcast in her class, it was unusual.  It was strange.  And Seulgi did not know how to react. 

But it was also comforting.  And then there was something Seulgi never knew she would ever be able to feel.  More time to spend with Jungkook so she could understand him more, to learn about the kind of person he was, to become his friend, to become someone he could rely on.  She kept craving for more. 

After quickly asking a stall seller for the location of the closest pharmacy, sh