Mysterious boy

25.

"Why are you so shocked?" Minghao asks me. "Surprised to see me? Seriously?"

When I don't answer him, he starts giggling a little bit too loud, making a few students around us turn their heads to look at us. Suddenly, I am extremely aware of my presence in this room, and I don't like it.

Minghao shakes his head and sighs in disappointment before grabbing me by my arm to drag me into the nearest restroom and locks the door behind us.

"What brings you here?" he asks me as he leans with his back against the door with crossed arms.

I look down and fiddle with my hands. "Nothing in particular," I mutter.

"Waw," he smirks and rolls his eyes. "You are even more stupid than I figured you would be."

I do not deny his statement and just continue looking down, knowing that what he is about to say next is probably true.

"A national wanted boy decides to come check some news articles about his famous ass at his own high school for no particular reason? Really, I've met stupid people before, I'm friends with Hoshi for example, but you really hit that trophy of stupidity," Minghao scoffs, making me feel extremely embarrassed and indeed stupid.

"So, you're going to call the police on me now then?" I speak with almost no voice.

Minghao tilts his head and then bursts out laughing. "No, of course not."

I am simply confused as I watch him get himself together. "You're not going to turn me in?"

"No, silly." 

"So," I look at him. "So, you believe me when I say I didn't kill her?"

"Honestly, I couldn't give less of a fuck about what you did or didn't do. That's the self esteem you'll get when growing up in this neighborhood," Minghao says.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

He rolls his eyes at me again and sighs in irritation. "You don't remember me and Hoshi telling you about all the douchebags and dangerous people in class and the classmate that has randomly disappeared?"

I do remember, I just figured they were making things bigger than they actually are.

"Well, welcome to the neighborhood," Minghao says dramatically. "And now, I'm going to make you leave this shit ass building before anyone else sees you."

I nod and put my hood back on, mentally preparing myself to face the outside world again. Honestly, I have had enough of Minghao's use of swearwords. They only cause negativity and that is the least I need at this moment.

"A shame, though," Minghao says, leaving his hand on the doorknob. "I kinda liked you."

"Wha...?" I look at him.

"No, I'm not confessing my love for you," Minghao grins as he shakes his head. "I'm just saying I'm going to miss your precious innocent ass sitting all alone in the back of the class."

I tilt my head, not understanding. "All alone in the back of the class? I've sat with you guys a few times and with Jun..."

"Jun?" Minghao narrows his eyes. "Who is Jun?"

"Jun, the quiet kid from the back of the class, the one Hoshi said he had a weird aura around him. You know, with the hairsprayed hairdo...?"

When Minghao raises his eyebrows at me, I go mute. Doesn't he know who I'm referring to?

"On what drugs have you been, boy?" Minghao giggles. "There is no Jun in our class and there never has been."

He places his arm on my back and unlocks the door, leading me out while still shaking his head.

"You don't remember Jun?" I try again.

"Nope, never heard of him. Now, get your trippy ass away from me and continue your sad runaway from the police, kid," Minghao says and then walks away himself. Away from me.

For a moment, I felt safe. While Minghao just scolded and swore at me for being so stupid (which was not false), him guarding me in that bathroom was a relief to my mind in between all the running and not knowing where to go.

But now I'm back, I'm back alone in this long lost world, and I've gained so many more questions. Why is Minghao acting like he doesn't know about Jun?

Thinking about his weird behavior makes me strike my plans of leaving, and I head to the administration, where I look for the copies of the school yearbook that is still in the making. When I've finally found our class, I look up the names and the class picture. First, I cannot find Minghao on there, but then I remember him calling in sick that day because, in his words, he ******* hates school pictures.

My mouth drops when Jun is also not on there. I swear on my life that I remember him standing behind me when the picture was taken. You can still see the uneasy look in my eyes because I felt his glance stinging through my soul. But no, he is not there. The picture and the whole yearbook say that he is not there and has never been, just like Minghao just told me. Jun's name is not mentioned once. It's like he never existed.

Flustered, I walk out of the office and leave the school building.

Am I going crazy? Have I made up a whole person in my mind? No, that can't be right. I mean, I've just come over the fact that he and his family are vampires. Now, I need to get used to the fact that he doesn't exist as well? No, this can't be. I can't have made these past few days up! What would that even mean for my stepmother?

Have I killed Jennie?

If Jun was never there, then I must be the one that killed her.

But he was there, I've seen him! Jun was there! Jun was there to watch over me, to run away with me, to make me feel safe. However, the facts are now stating that he never was...

Tears are stinging behind my eyes because I just don't understand. I feel the ultimate urge to scream, which I do. I'm aware I'm out in the open, but I don't really care. I feel like I'm about to have a panic attack, which is taking all control over me. My breathing goes crazy and I crash to the ground, cringing myself up to a ball, hiding my head under my arms, releasing another scream.

Then suddenly, someone grabs me by my shoulder and rolls me over by kicking me in my face. I taste blood in my mouth and quickly cover the bruised spot with the back of my hand, looking at the two faces that are intimidatingly looking down at me.

"Well, what happened to you, Lee Chan?" one of them asks me as he squats down.

"Vernon?" I say with a weak voice as I recognize my classmate. I blink a few times and rub my eyes due to the tears that were still there.

Vernon spits at the ground and then harshly grabs me by my shoulder, lifting me up. "Don't you dare to make a sound, you're coming with us."

I want to protest, but I feel the tip of a knife Wonwoo is holding softly poking in my back, so I decide to keep my mouth shut and just cooperate. Living with Felix has taught me to just do as you're told whenever a knife comes to play  What is there I can do to defend myself from these two anyway? If I must believe Minghao and Hoshi, this duo has made someone disappear before.