Mysterious boy

12.

"And what do you two think you're doing?"

Her voice and her sudden presence make me trip and I land with my butt on the slightly wet and with leaves covered ground. I quickly get up, brush the dirt off of my sweatpants and try to recover myself, but I can't. I can never act normal around her.

I look at her, my stepmom, as she casually stands there, arms crossed, fully dressed. Her whole appearance just makes me suggest that she never went to bed tonight and had waited for me and Jun to sneak out so she could catch us.

Jun, of course, noticed her as well and comes standing in-between us, as if he is protecting me from her like a human shield.

"What do you want?" he growls.

"You haven't answered my question yet," she firmly states. "What are you two doing out here in the woods at this hour?"

"That is none of your business," Jun snarls.

My stepmom lets out a sigh. "I'd like to ask my stepson what is going on, if you don't mind. Chan?"

When I look over Jun's shoulder, our eyes meet and shivers go down my spine as usual. The look in her eyes gives me the same kind of hawk eye vibe Jun can give me when he wants something from me. The similarity is terrifying and I immediately don't want to think about that any further. Jun is not the same as my stepmom!

"Leave Chan alone!" Jun yells at her and he leans his arm back, finding my hand to make sure I'm still there. I can see by his body language that he is tensed, ready for whatever will come next. And I get it, my stepmom is a terrifying person, but what is it that makes him act like this? I mean, I would also be pissed at my kid... or stepkid... if they'd snuck out during the middle of the night, so I understand her reacting this way. But Jun... the way he's acting is making me guess that she may possibly be the reason he wanted to leave the house so urgent... Or is that too cruel to think? Never mind, I'm probably overreacting.

"I think you should be the one leaving him alone, Junhwi," my stepmom speaks. "Not me."

"Please stop this madness you're pulling on him," Jun snaps. "What you're doing is inhuman!"

My stepmom evilly giggles. "That's why we're not humans."

What does that even mean?

When I try to look back at her, her arms are no longer crossed and she is standing wide, as if she is about to attack us. And even more terrifying, her eyes are bright red.

I gasp, making her look at me, which then makes Jun take a step back so that his back is just half an inch away from touching my chest.

"Junhwi," my stepmom spits out his name. "Stop this behavior and just hand the boy over to me."

Jun shakes his head and then shortly looks back at me. That quick moment our eyes meet, I can feel the concern and adrenaline he's experiencing right now. I want to ask him so many questions about what is going on right now, but I know now is not the time.

Then Jun turns back to my stepmom. "If you want him so badly, you have got to go through me first."

"Don't make me do this," she hisses.

"To be honest..." Jun tilts his head. "... you were already dead to me."