(38)

Third Person's POV

❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌

"Oh my god! Rae! What are you doing here?!" Valarie instantly tackled her in a hug.

"I wanted to surprise you. I'm on my semester break" Rae stated.

"I missed you so much!" Val hugged her even more tighter.

"Come in. Come in" Val said quickly, leaving space for her to enter.

"Val, I'm not alone. I bumped into someone earlier"

"Who?" Valarie asked.

"Uhm..." Rae turned to look back and Valarie followed her eyes. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Mr. Chae..." Hyungwon was captivated by her appearance. She has changed. He didn't noticed it before because he was so far, now seeing her up close, she's beautiful. The sunlight cascading down on her, was no help. She looks angelic. Her hair was coloured a light brown and it was longer, her cheeks were flushed and her lips were a nice shade of pink. She was only wearing an oversized button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and denim shorts. As much as he was captivated by her, she was captivated by him as well.

"How are you?" She asked, softly. Her hands gripped the doorknob of the door tightly. If she knew he was coming, she would've dressed up better. She's just in Andre's oversized clothes.

"I'm good. How you've been?" He asked.

"I'm good too. I didn't expect to see you here"

"Me either"

"Uhm... can we...?" Rae broke the silence, pointing inside.

"Uh, yeah. Sure! Come in" She entered first, before the others followed inside.

"The apartment is nice" Hyungwon stated.

"Oh, thank you. I decorated it myself. Coffee, tea?"

"Coffee, thank you"

"Rae, would you mind helping me?" Valarie asked. Rae followed Valarie in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Valarie asked, while she started preparing the coffee.

"I told you. I bumped into him"

"Why did you bring him here? Look at me! I'm a mess! I was cleaning up the place" Valarie whispered harshly, her face showing her panicking.

"Can you relax? You looked like you popped out of a magazine!" Rae hissed back.

"I am not prepared to face him!"

Hyungwon could hear them whispering harshly and he chuckled slightly. He walk around the apartment, he glanced out the window and he could see the rooftop where they were at a few nights ago. He move around a little bit more and he was happy to find out, that there was not many of her boyfriend's things in the living space, meaning Andre is not living with her. He felt his confidence rise a little.

"Have a seat, Mr. Chae" She placed the coffee on the table.

"Call me Hyungwon" He said. How many times has he told her to call him Hyungwon throughout the years they've known each other. But after they separated, she keeps calling him formally.

"If I known you would've come. I would have changed into something else"

"Don't worry about it. You look beautiful" Valarie sucked in a breath, feeling the blood rushing up her neck. How badly she wanted to hear those words coming out of his mouth last time. It's too late now.

"Thank you" Rae focused on sipping the coffee, feeling awkward as hell.

"So, what are you doing here in Paris?" Valarie asked, taking a seat in front of him.

"Me and my friends had some business to do here. And I coincidentally ran into Rae" Hyungwon answered.

"I heard about the change in the system. It is changing back to the old ways, right? A monarchy?" Valarie asked, unsure.

"Yeah. The council has appointed Wonho hyung to be the king in the meantime, while Shownu is in his slumber" Rae felt so awkward.

"Oh my god. Vampire politics" Rae murmured, in an annoyed tone, but was clearly heard.

"Well, how is your life here?" Hyungwon asked.

"It's good. I'm working as a freelance model now. And I am dating someone for about four months now"

"Oh, I see. I'm assuming everything is going great for you?"

"Yeah. Everything's great" Lies. Hyungwon just nod at her response, but he knows that they're in a rough spot.

"I was wondering..." He started, making them both to look at her.

"If you're free tomorrow, do you want to have lunch with me?" Hyungwon asked.

"The three of us?" Valarie asked.

"Oh no, you guys go ahead. Since I'm here. My mother wants me to buy her a perfume she's been wanting for a long time"

"You're going alone?"

"Yeah, I thought I would tour alone" Rae stated. Valarie's eyebrows scrunched, but it's not weird. Most of the time, Rae would shop alone.

"So, what do you say?" Hyungwon look at her, she wondered for a moment. If Andre could go behind her back, why can't she? This will teach him a lesson.

"Okay" She nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~

Valarie look at her reflection. She grunt in frustration. She don't know what to wear! She look at the big bundle of clothes on her bed. Why is she even trying so hard? It's just lunch with a regular person, right? Ah! Who is she kidding?! Chae Hyungwon is considered to be a real prince now! He is one of the seven crown prince of the Vampire community now. F**k! She mentally cursed.

"Come on, Valarie! Get a grip!" She told herself.

"I think a dress would suffice" She stated, going through the dresses.

"Okay. I think this will do" She look down at herself in the mirror, wearing a white short sleeve dress, with dark blue floral thread pattern on it. She wore a small white flower earrings and white flats. She grab her purse and left her apartment. As soon as she reached the lobby of her apartment, he was already waiting for her. He's early.

"Have you been waiting long?" She asked, glancing at the time on her phone.

"I wanted to be early. Don't worry about it"

"Okay. What do you think?" She asked, pointing to her clothes, while she herself looked at what he was wearing. He was wearing a dark blue blazer and white undershirt, with denim jeans.

"You look perfect"

"Shall we?" He asked.

"Yeah" She instantly went to walk beside him, following his strides.

"So, have you been seeing anyone?" She asked, wanting to start a conversation.

"I didn't have the time. Besides, I've been busy with the council"

"Right. Yeah, I forgot. How's that working out?"

"Well, I'm surprised that the community agrees with us. So, it's going smoothly"

"That's good" She nodded.

"I thought that we could have lunch somewhere in the city first, before going to the outskirts. Be warned, you're gonna be spending the whole day with me" He smiled at her. She instantly felt smitten.

"Okay" She agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Rae was wondering the city, looking through all the shops. But after a few hours, she can't find the store her mother wanted. But then again, she liked touring alone, it has always been that way and she would always use her wits to find her way. Traveling with her family is the worst. They would fight non-stop and her parents couldn't even stop their fights. She can't even remember the last time they were happy. They were always arguing about something. She frowned thinking about her family.

"Bonjour, mon amour" Rae jumped a little, hearing the soft whisper.

"Jooheon! What are you doing here?" She asked. Her heart flutters seeing him, this always happens when he's around.

"I'm just strolling, searching for gems. Didn't think I'd find the prettiest and brightest one" He stated, smiling down at Rae, showing his dimples. She could just faint.

"You're such a big flirt, you know that?"

"Only to you" He said. She shake her head at that, narrowing her eyes at him playfully.

"So, where are you heading?" He asked.

"I'm trying to find this store. But I can't find it" She stated, pointing at her phone.

"I passed that store down that road. It's a little secluded. Come on" He grabbed her hand and led her away. Her heart started racing at that. He smirked, seeing the shy smile on her face, and her eyes were fixated on their intertwined hands.

"So, Juliette. Any boyfriend?" Jooheon asked, catching her attention. Her eyes narrowed on him a little.

"And may I ask the purpose of you asking?" Jooheon look down at the ground for a moment.

"Out of curiosity" He stated. Rae felt disappointed.

"Oh. Curiosity" Rae affirmed.

"I mean, who knows? Maybe I might get a chance" Rae's ears perked up at that and she look as he look down, his cheeks turning pink slightly. Somehow, seeing Jooheon embarrassed made her blush as well.

"The chance to what?" Rae asked.

"Oh, you know!" Jooheon's grip on her hand tightened, and Rae noticed that.

"I don't!" She exclaimed, genuinely not understanding him.

"Ah, I'm not gonna say it!" Jooheon shake his head. Rae mentally whined.

"Jooheon, you lived for so long, I would think that you would be more brave" As soon as she said that, she gasped as her hand was tugged and she was pulled. Jooheon caught her in his arms and hold her close. Her breathing hitched and her eyes widened, looking up at him. He smirked down at her, she looks so cute when she is caught off guard.

"Jooheon..." She said, softly, her heartbeat racing. The wind was blowing softly against them. Luckily, the area was a little secluded, there was not many people passing through here, but still, that wasn't bothering her at the moment. Her mind was clouded with him, just him.

"What's wrong, Juliette? Cat got your tongue?" She never felt so turned on by him saying her name, but at the same time, she felt nervous. Jooheon leans his forehead on hers, making the blood to creep up her neck. Jooheon chuckled seeing her blush. Look at how the tables have turned.

"I... " She doesn't know what to say.

Jooheon leans closer and she felt her mind was blown when his lips slowly placed itself on hers. Her goosebumps raised and her heart was banging against her chest. My god! How badly she wanted this! Their lips danced, it started slow, before it turned more bold. Rae wrapped her arms around his neck and tiptoed a little and Jooheon pressed against her harder. Rae moaned in the kiss, making him smile against her lips. God! Jooheon has been wanting to do this since they first met.

"You don't know how badly I've wanted to kiss you, Juliette" She chuckled at what he said.

"It feels like a dream!" Rae stated, her eyes became teary with happy tears.

"This is for real, though" Jooheon stated, before he kissed her once again, she laughed in the kiss, but the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Why am I crying?" She stated, as she pull away and wipe her tears.

"Aww, Juliette" Jooheon wiped her tears with his thumbs and he pulled her in a hug. She smiled against his shoulder, hugging him back as tight.

xxxxxxxxxx

A/N: I just finished a week of my internship. And lemme tell you something, I had so much fun on my internship, I was really surprised at how everyone was really friendly and caring. They kept bringing me snacks every hour and they didn't give me much work, so I mostly just sit in the office and blast music all day, doing small jobs. So, I'm happy! 😁😁😁