*𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕟

-나는 그들의 것, 그들은 내 꺼야-

-areum's pov-

in the limo, it felt like we traveled hours upon hours. i felt waves of anxiety and nausea wash over me with each minute that passed. i was seated next to seungcheol, with vernon across from us and soonyoung on the other side and the others scattered throughout the limo, seokmin and jeonghan were next to each other, myungho and jun were together, whispering to each other, scared expressions on their faces, and wonwoo and mingyu looked ahead, without an expression.

meanwhile, chan and seungkwan looked like they were having a very serious discussion with joshua, but i couldn't hear them. the only thing i could hear was the sound of my breathing and my heart.

i wanted to look outside, see where we were and when we were going to arrive, but since the windows were tinted black it was hopeless.

good for nothing windows, i pouted.

"where is this event taking place," i turned to soonyoung who had a harsh expression on his face, his eyebrows furrowed and he was staring at nothing and everything, spaced out. but when he heard my voice, he came to.

"in an old palace that kai has owned for centuries," he responded, taking my hand in his and kissing the back of it. "everything's going to be okay," he reassured me, trying to ease my anxiety, tracing circles on my hand with his thumb.

"we're here," seungkwan looked away from joshua. a moment after the limo came to a halt. it's almost like he could sense it before it happened.

and then, came another wave of anxiety and nausea.

i could now hear people speaking outside and feel the driver open his door and walk to ours, opening it for us. the place was bustling with noise, people were talking with excitement and joy, i scowled at them, only wanting to curl up in a ball and pray, and wish this wasn't happening.

one by one they stepped outside, each one taking a moment to look at the surrounding area. we were relatively far away from everyone in a more secluded corner.

all of them stepped outside before me, and when i finally scooted to the door, mingyu helped me step out of the car. "thank you," i muttered, finally being able to stand up straight.

i could finally lay eyes on the palace where i was going to meet him. the man that potentially wants to kill me. the palace was beautiful, it was made of white brick and dark roofs that looked like they could touch the sky. the sunlight kissing the tips as it set.

"areum," seungcheol walked towards mingyu and me, "stay by mingyu and wonwoo's side the entire night," he leaned in and whispered to me and i responded with a nod.

"this place is beautiful," i turned my gaze back to mingyu, who had placed his arm around my hand. "it is," i felt wonwoo stand by my other side.

having thirteen handsome vampires surround you does things to you when you know people are staring.

people's gazes fell on us as they walked past, some with a look of surprise, others with a scowl, but mostly, it was shock on their faces.

"let's get this ridiculous night over with," jeonghan spoke from the front of the group and started walking, all of us following his lead.

as we walked into the palace, my breath was taken away at the sight of the inside. the roof had beautiful murals of angels and gods and at the center, there was a huge chandelier hanging; it was ornated with beautiful crystals and lit candles that didn't produce much light. the actual lights were from the ones that were in the ceiling, carefully hidden.

at the center of the hall, surrounded by lots of people, was a huge staircase that broke off into two to the second floor.

the people that were here were familiar, from afar i could see chris surrounded by seven other people, all of them looking slightly shorter than everyone else. at the other side of the hall, i could see the men i met at the bar with jungkook, but there were others with them.

"how many people are invited to this?" i leaned towards mingyu, tightening my holds around his arms to grab his attention. "jongin usually invites about two hundred vampires and many more humans," "i believe that there are about five hundred people here," wonwoo leaned in as well, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"wow, that... a lot," i looked around.

"you look stunning," wonwoo held my hand now, intertwining our fingers, and i felt a rush of heat go to my face. "thank you," i whispered back to him.

people kept coming up to us as we walked around, the rest of them had split off, distracted by conversations, among other things; it was just the three of us now. they kept congratulating wonwoo and mingyu on their new bride, they talked about me, said i was beautiful and must taste delicious for them to make me their bride, but none of them spoke to me.

they spoke of me like i was an object they had come to possess.

it was an unnerving feeling. i could feel my hands beginning to sweat and my mouth became dry at the thought, it felt like they owned me for a while.

is this how these people think of humans?

"areum, ignore what they say. they're just fools that have no respect for others. most of them have a superiority complex or a god complex," wonwoo took a stray hair from my cheek and placed it behind my ear, whispering to me, a chuckle left him at the end.

"are all of them like this?" i questioned.

"honestly, yeah," this time mingyu spoke, "but not everyone. there are a few that have actual morals like us," he said.

"like who?" i raised a brow.

"chris is one of them, along with his brothers, you haven't met them before. then there's jungkook and his brothers, and-" "speaking of jungkook," mingyu interrupted him.

from afar, we could see jungkook. there was a bright smile on his face as he laughed with his brothers, but when he turned his head and saw us, saw me, he came towards us, an even brighter smile.

"areum," he said from across the room, and when he got close to us, he trapped me in a hug, pulled my hands away from wonwoo and mingyu.

"you're so big now!" he spun me around and i laughed as he did. "i missed you so much," i wrapped my hands around his neck. "last time i saw you, you were up to my shoulders," he finally placed me down.

"actually," he looked at me, "you haven't grown that much," he exaggerated.

i was finally reunited with him. over the last four years, i wasn't able to contact him at all; he said that he would sometimes come to visit, but he never did. i don't know if he said it to make me feel better about not seeing him that much or if he really meant it and wasn't able to keep that promise.

i playfully smacked his shoulder, "shut up! i grew three inches since the last time you saw me," i whined at him.

from behind i could feel wonwoo glaring daggers at me, i'm sure he wasn't happy about how friendly i was with jungkook, and i'm sure he's going to scold me afterward. i gulped at the thought.

"jungkook," he spoke from behind, placing a forced smile on his face and his hand going to my shoulder again, extending his hand to jungkook, "wonderful to see you again," he said.

"it's my pleasure," he shook hands with wonwoo, and from my other side, mingyu came forward with a genuine smile, happy to see his dear friend. once, jungkook and wonwoo stopped shaking hands, mingyu pulled him into a hug.

(a/n every time i watch a period drama from london the accent in my head changes every time and so does my writing! i was watching pride and prejudice while writing this😞)

"it's been too long, my friend," he cheered.

"truly has."

they immersed themselves in a conversation, and my attention was drawn to the fact that there were so many people, and more notably that they were mostly staring at us. again, with shock, or disgust, or a harsh scowl on their faces.

and another wave of anxiety and nausea.

we had been here for ten minutes only, and for a few moments, i was happy. i had forgotten what was to happen tonight, who i was going to meet.

i let out a shaky breath, fidgeting with my hands.

"let's get out of here," wonwoo leaned down, taking my hands so that i would stop playing with them. i looked up at him, "where?" i asked, a little hope to find a secluded area.

"i'd like you to meet some friends of mine," a smirk appeared on his face, and as mingyu and jungkook were speaking, too deep in conversation to notice us, we slipped away.

"they're very important people to me," he leaned in, rubbing my shoulder, trying to ease my nervousness of the night.

the entire hall was alive with sound and music, people were dancing in the middle, with joy in their voices.

the sound becoming unbearable to my anxious mind.

we approached a group of men, seven in total, all of them with harsh expressions and cold stares at the people surrounding them.

they all looked so unapproachable to me, they were people i would never try to speak with in any other situation.

"hyung," wonwoo said as we approached them, and all of them turned their heads to us, those expressions melting away into smiles and grins at the younger.

"areum, this is shownu, wonho, minhyuk, jooheon, kihyun, chankyun, and hyungwon. they're my hyungs," he pointed to each one as he said their name, and i bowed to them, and so did they.

it surprised me when they smiled at us, so looked so cold and mean, but it all just washed away. they must truly care for wonwoo, must be very close friends.

"wonwoo, the last time we saw each other was in the 90s," hyungwon came over and placed an arm over the younger's shoulder. "i remember! it was just before you made the foolish decision of becoming a hitman," minhyuk came over and ruffled his hair.

right... i had forgotten, i looked down at my hands again.

there was an uneasy feeling inside of me.

"areum, it's nice to meet you," wonho came towards me and took my hand, kissing the back of it. at that moment, it felt like my presence was finally acknowledged, i was finally seen. i wasn't an object that was spoken about. wonwoo and mingyu had tried to incorporate me into the conversations, but it was no use, they didn't care what i was to say, for i was a human and a woman no less.

but these men, these men that i thought were unapproachable, had finally seen me. spoken to me.

"t-the pleasure is all mine," i stuttered, taken aback at his actions and a smile forming on my lips.

"that smile seems to brighten up the room," kihyun said from behind the other, my face becoming flushed at his compliment. "thank you," i looked the other way. from beside my wonwoo chuckled at my reaction.

"wonwoo," shownu pulled hyungwon away and placed a hand on wonwoo's shoulder, "is it true that you are married to this beautiful woman? all thirteen of you?" he squinted his eyes.

on the drive to the palace, they explained to me that polyamory was a normal thing in the vampire community. multiple men would marry a single woman and vice versa, along with everything in between. it was something i was unfamiliar with. the norm is monogamy, and i had never considered the thought of polyamory, but i didn't dislike it.

"yes, it is," a cheeky smile appeared on his face as he turned back to me. there was a flurry of butterflies that formed in my belly.

what a strange feeling.

"yah! why'd you guys leave me behind?" mingyu suddenly appeared and i jumped at his sudden voice beside me.

"you were so immersed in your conversation, we didn't want to bother," wonwoo remarked. (a/n wonwoo's face: :| )

mingyu shrugged off his comment and looked down at me. "you're so red," he placed his hands on my cheeks, his cold hands cooling me down. "shut up," i whined.

"let's get you some water," he pulled me away from wonwoo as he continued his conversation with his friends, but before we left, he side-glanced mingyu, reminding him that they must keep me safe.

we walked hand in hand to one of the waiters at the side of the hall, many of them lined up against the wall holding trays of various foods and others holding wine bottles that had no wine in them, only blood.

"thank you," he said as he handed me a glass of water.

and as i drank my water, i looked around the hall again for the nth time, seeing the others of our family talking with others or looking around, just as i am.

and again, anxiety and nausea.

reminded of what's to happen.

"for a moment," i said, "i forgot... again." i looked down at my glass, imagining the scene; my dress soaking in my blood and the faceless man looming over me, my blood on his white suit, and i was alone.

the hall was empty and dark, no more music, no more happy voices, laughing out loud, no more people, nothing. i was laying on the ground helplessly bleeding out, and he just watched with a smile, content with his actions.

"what did you say?" mingyu brought me back.

"i forgot what was going to happen tonight, is all," a sad smile appeared on my lips. he looked down at me with an uncertain look on his face.

"areum, you're going to be okay," he leaned down to eye level, his hands, again, on my cheeks. but seeing as though i looked past his eyes, he dragged me to an empty balcony, finally in private.

"stop acting like you're going to die. you are going to be okay. you are going to live past today," he said, "i, and the other, are going to protect you no matter what because we love you and you are the single most important thing to us. we can't afford to lose you," he pleaded with me, his voice as sincere as i've ever heard it.

it almost made me hopeful, but the doubt was still at the back of my mind.

"okay." i held his hand, moved by his words.

and nothing else was spoken, we just looked down at the water in silence. night had finally fallen over everything, the moonlight being the only other light besides the castle itself that was booming with light and noise.

but in this tiny corner, it was quiet. the only sounds were the cicadas and crickets.

it was peaceful, and i was content. nobody was laughing loudly behind us and nobody was trying to speak to us. it was just peaceful.

"i haven't had the chance to say how beautiful you look," he said, "well thank you. you don't look so bad yourself, mingyu," i chuckled, my mood lifted in a few moments.

"i'm sorry this is happening," his voice became serious, "yesterday, we wanted to act as normal as possible, to give you one normal night before everything changed," "what's going to change?"

"after tonight, you've made your debut in our society. people will expect to see you with us on every occasion we must go to. things are going to be different," he looked down at our hands.

"oh- well, that's not so bad. i suppose it is better than spending all day cooped up in my room," i tried to make it better. but, it's not like i had much of a life before this.

"why did you guys go off to this corner?" wonwoo suddenly appeared, just like mingyu had before, and just like before i jumped.

"we needed a moment in private," the younger said.

it's just me and two of my guys. what a great moment.

"hyung!" mingyu yelled at his brother, and i turned my head the slightest bit away from the water to see what he screamed about.

there was blood on the corner of wonwoo's lips. mingyu brought his thumb to wipe it away, proceeding to lick it once it was on his thumb.

what the-

my face flushed again.

i'm just not going to comment.

"sorry. i hadn't realized," he leaned down beside me, and i had to look the other way to hide the redness of my cheeks.

and again, a comfortable silence fell on us.

but that was soon gone when seokmin came from behind us and said, "it's time to gather in the hall."

and so, all of us went inside and we rejoined in a group.

from the bottom of the stairs, i could see the man named jongin at the top.

there was no doubt in my mind that was him.

he had a terrifying presence and the aura of a god.

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