*𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟠𝟝

before you read the chapter... i discovered this video of dk from a while back and um... i don't know how to feel. it's literally him shirtless... and i don't know how to feel because he's been bias wrecking me a lot recently... AHHHHH.

edit: turns out it was fake... i'm disappointed.

-나는 그들의 것, 그들은 내 꺼야-

the new school was like any other. i was still mostly alone and the classes were about the same. so, not much was different. the other students there were the same as they ever were, they kept to themselves in their groups, never strayed too far from the people they knew.

everything was the same. at the beginning of me entering school again, we were still jumping from hotel to hotel, but eventually, we rented a small account when seungcheol and wonwoo were sure that they wouldn't be able to find us again.

"areum, what was the homework for english?" vernon entered the room i shared with him; the apartment had three bedrooms, vernon and i shared a room, mingyu and seungcheol, and wonwoo had his room. he was still suffering from not getting the blood he needed, he was in pain and bloodthirsty, so he needed his space.

"we needed to summarize the last chapter," i looked down at the desk where my notes were, not sparing him a glance. vernon was taking school very seriously compared to when we were in l.a., in l.a. he wouldn't try to do any of the work, he wouldn't even participate in the class, but for some reason here in london he's trying.

i could feel his tall figure behind me, both of his arms on the desk and me between them. "what is it?" i mumbled, still not looking away from the papers.

he released a sigh, placing his hands on my shoulder, massaging them; then, moving my hair to one side and placing small kisses at the back.

"why are you so tense," he muttered against my skin, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine.

"i'm graduating next month, i have to focus on the end-of-year exams. i'm super behind," i complained, continuing to look at the worksheets in front of me. i tried to shake him off a bit, but he got the message.

i was graduating in june and the end-of-year exams were a few weeks away. the teachers explained to me that i could take them a few days after everyone else so that i had more time to study for them, but with what's been happening this year, i haven't had that much time to study at all.

i want to graduate, so i need to pass.

"okay," he let go of me, "i'll help you study then," he sat down on the bed and i scoffed, a glint of humor in my eyes as i turned to look at him. "when have you ever tried in school?" except now, i arched my brow at him.

"i graduated from harvard the same year we got you," he laid back on the bed. "so, i have tried," he imitated my tone.

i jumped from my chair and ran to him, hovering over his body with the happiest smile i could muster, "really, you aren't kidding?"

"top of my class," he chuckled at my antics.

🌷

for the next few weeks, after school, vernon and i would sit down at the dinner table with open books in front of us, helping me study for my finals.

we would study until midnight together, and i would fall asleep with my head on the books. he always placed a blanket over me, or he would go place me on my bed afterward, always taking care of me.

it was a hectic few weeks, but when finals came around, i was prepared for the worst.

🌷

"how did it go?" vernon placed his arm around me right after i exited the testing hall. "weren't you in there with me?" he arched my brow at him. "no. i didn't open the booklet," he chuckled, "so tell me, how was it?" he asked again.

"it was..." i paused, "fine. i had to skip a few questions but i did them," i leaned into his hold. "were you confident in your answers," "yeah," a smile appeared on my face at the silly face he was making. his facing was leaning close to mine, our foreheads almost touching, arching a brow and a teasing smile on his face.

"what's with that face?" a breathy laugh left my lips. "just teasing you," he brought his lips to mine, kissing me with passion in front of everyone in the school.

the other students here stayed away from me, not because i was different but because i entered the school very late, i didn't know anyone, like always, but at least i had vernon here.

"c'mon, we have to celebrate," he beamed, taking my hand and dragging me along, running through the halls like lovesick fools, giggling and laughing like there was no pain in the world.

i am a lovesick fool, falling for seven different men.

vernon has always been like that high school love you could never get over, the one that was out of your league but somehow managed to love you. that's who he is.

🌷

"to finally graduating!" i screamed at the top of my lungs, bringing up my cup of champagne and clinking it with the others. "my nights of studying until i fall asleep are finally over," i sipped on the only glass they let me drink.

"why did you always study so much, it's not like we ever forced you?" mingyu leaned into me for a moment. we were all in the living room that i had crafted in the last few weeks, the one they were adamant on leaving empty.

i turned my head to wonwoo, narrowing my eyes at him. "he terrorized me. he said i wouldn't have a good life if i didn't study, he said that to me when i was tiny and i've always been scared because of it," i pointed a finger at him.

i brought up and fist and playfully punched him. "well, you graduated didn't you?" he muttered with a grumble, drinking the last of his drink.

"yeah, but being traumatized at the idea of having one low mark isn't fun."

i turned to seungcheol who was staring out into nothingness in front of him, lost in the void of space.

he must be so worried, constantly. i furrowed my brows.

i walked to his side and nudged his shoulder, "today isn't a day to be so sad," i cheered. he opened his mouth to say something but i interrupted him, "and don't say you're not in a solemn mood, i can see it in your sad eyes," i poked his side.

"fine," he huffed, pouring himself another glass of champagne.

it was a joyous day. we needed to be happy.

it feels like life is full of only pain at the moment. there's no joy in this household because all of us aren't here. but, you need to find the silver lining, or else you'll be miserable for the rest of your life.

"it's jun and soonyoung's birthday soon, i wonder if they're going to celebrate," i muttered with my lips on my cup, creating slurred words. "speaking of, have they made any progress?" i turned my body to look at the four men on the couch; they left no space for me, left to stand by the dinner table.

"the gemini boys won't do anything for their birthday. we only ever had birthdays for you," vernon stood up and kissed my forehead, proceeding to wash his glass in the kitchen.

"what?"

"when you were three?" mingyu questioned himself and turned to seungcheol, making sure he was saying the right words, "you kept bugging us about our birthdays, so we had no choice but to celebrate," he looked down at his cup as he spoke.

"after living through so many birthdays and so many anniversaries, they get tiring and you stop caring because you don't age anymore. you're frozen in time. a living corpse, if you will." wonwoo explained, looking out the window with a melancholy voice, reminiscing on his past.

-wonwoo's pov-

we were wonderful people once. we cared more for others. we cared for simple things, like anniversaries of the day we were born and of when we met. it was all gone now.

there was a time when my voice was accented with an english accent and i couldn't even remember my mother tongue. the times when i was learning english from joshua and vernon.

i used to remember the streets i was raised in, where soonyoung and yeji and i would play with the other orphaned children.

but time is our greatest enemy.

it takes away our cherished memories from us, it taints them and muddles the truth.

-vernon's pov-

i might have had one too many glasses of champagne, i laid down on the bed, letting my body fall completely.

when mingyu received areum's call, i was more happy than worried. i couldn't bear the screams of the man myungho and soonyoung were torturing. day in and day out, i could hear his screams in that bug empty mansion. i was ready to just leave and go to london by myself.

when mingyu came into my room and said that we needed to go to london, i was so relieved. i was going to see areum again, and maybe finally i could stop hearing josh's howls in my head.

they had managed to get information out of him, but not what we were looking for. he told us how they found out what we were and how gong-myung managed to get vervain. vervain had been burned for years by vampires, it's become an extremely rare herb thanks to it. but he hadn't told us where his base was, but in the end, soonyoung compelled him to say where.

that same night we were told to go to london, we were discussing how to infiltrate gong-myung's headquarters.

i'm sure by now, joshua and jeonghan have a solid plan.

"vernon," areum called out, "are you not going to shower?" she stood at the foot of the bed. her voice was so sweet, it felt like it drowned out all the blaring of cars in the background.

from my silence, she leaned forward, placed her knees on the bed, and looked down at me. "vernon," she said again.

in one swift move, i grabbed her arm and pulled her under me. now i was hovering over her frail body, and she was looking up at me.

"you shouldn't leave yourself so vulnerable to a man," i leaned my head down to her neck, licking it in the softest way i could. i could hear her breath hitch and her heartbeat speed up. i took both her wrist in my hand and placed them over her head.

-areum's pov-

i take it all back! he is not the high school boy you fall for!

he is no boy!

"i know," i muttered, "but i trust you."

he chuckled at my words, continuing to kiss my neck, placing small hickeys and marks on it.

"i know what seungcheol did, it's pretty obvious," he stopped to look at me, "i can only hope he treated you right," he leaned down and gently kissed my lips and i wrapped my legs around his body.

i was happy that they respected my decision. when i chose seungcheol to be my first, i wasn't sure how the others would react, knowing how jealous soonyoung and wonwoo can be. but when wonwoo reacted the way he did, it calmed my nerves. it reassured me that even though he's incredibly jealous, he would respect my decision.

he let go of my hands and i was finally able to pull him closer. "thank you," i moaned as he bit my shoulder.

he pulled away to look down at me, "i don't think i'll ever be able to let you go," he tilted his head to the side. "i love you," i said back, pulling him to kiss me again.

all i wanted was to have him close, to feel his body against mine.

a/n i think that for the next few weeks i'll mostly focus on updating old chapters. so i probably will take even longer to post chapters.

-like and comment--word count : 2092-