"Hyunsuk."
The boy turned around as his arm was grasped harshly. "Oh, Yoshi?"
"Where's my thermos?" Yoshi asked, but based on Hyunsuk's scrunched-up expression, he couldn't hear him. "My thermos!" Yoshi yelled.
"Ah!" Hyunsuk excused himself from the group he was talking to, dragging Yoshi with him. "I put it somewhere else so that no one will get it. It's-" Hyunsuk's finger lingered in the air, pointing at no thermos.
Yoshi's pupils shakily scanned the table, realizing why Hyunsuk wasn't continuing. "You didn't lose it, did you?"
Hyunsuk turned to Yoshi with a brief, nervous chuckle, rubbing his nape. "No," he elongated, scanning the room worriedly, "I, um, just..."
Yoshi grabbed onto his forehead, his pulse quickening. Nausea engulfed him at the thought of someone having taken it and opened it. He grabbed Hyunsuk by the shoulders, looking him in the eye. "Can you ask around if anyone saw it?? Or check everyone's bags-" Yoshi cut himself off as he noticed Hyunsuk looking a bit terrified, and only then did he realize how tightly he was gripping the boy.
"Are you looking for this?"
He paled as he recognized the voice, his hold on Hyunsuk loosening.
"I saw you earlier and figured you didn't find it," Jihoon approached the two, extending him the desired object. "Here."
Yoshi's eyes shot at Jihoon and then at the thermos. He couldn't figure out whether he had opened it or not but was afraid to ask. He grabbed it, hugging it to his chest. Without saying anything, he rushed off, and exited the party, to both boys' surprise.
"I wonder what's up with him..." Hyunsuk pondered, rubbing his arms where Yoshi had held him.
"Yeah," Jihoon laughed stiffly, "I wonder what." His eyes lingered on the door as they made their way back into the crowd, where the others were.
Junghwan and he made some intense eye contact as they spotted each other, not having figured out what to do with the information they had just discovered, in the middle of a party. His eyes flickered to Danbi who seemed to have relaxed and he forced himself to calm down a bit, taking a deep breath. Yoshi was a vampire, but as crazy as it was, he didn't want to agitate the spirits right then.
"Are you okay, Hoon?" Jeongwoo scooted by his side, sensing some tension in the air. "You and Junghwan are acting a bit weird."
Jihoon plastered a smile on. "Yeah, I'm fine."
The party was yet to reach its peak, and it was clear that there was going to be a lot more dancing until anyone went home.
Yedam excused himself as he felt his sides hurting from so much dancing. Stumbling over to the table with drinks and snacks, he thirstily searched for some water. He poured himself some and gulped it down. As his eyes surfed the waves of dancing people, hands propped on the table, they fell upon a certain individual entering the house. "It's him..."
Seeing how the male who entered immediately started searching the crowd, for whom Yedam guessed to be Danbi, the boy's face turned uneasy. He placed his glass down and returned to his friends, torn between pulling Danbi aside to tell her or not. He didn't know what the relationship between them was, though he had noticed she seemed uncomfortable around him at lunch and the restaurant.
"I've passed DJ-ing to someone else!" Ayeong announced, wiping her forehead as she appeared among the friends. "If I stay one more second so near that speaker I think my eardrums will explode!"
"Why are you yelling?" Jeongwoo asked with a dumbfounded laugh.
"I'm yelling?!" She looked confused, making everyone laugh.
Junghwan took a deep breath and sneaked over to Ayeong and Jeongwoo's side. He motioned them to come with him, and they did, trying not to be too obvious about their leave.
"What's up? Do you want to play some games?"
Junghwan suddenly turned to them as they reached a quieter area. He rubbed his forehead, feeling about to burst from the tension within him.
"You know how I told you yesterday I've been a little suspicious of Yoshi ever since my live?" He phrased it carefully.
The two nodded slowly, trying to get where he was going.
"The thing is-" Junghwan inhaled deeply, feeling out of breath. "Yoshi... he's- he's a-" He couldn't get himself to voice it, but he didn't need to. Jeongwoo and Ayeong's eyes rounded simultaneously as they put the pieces together.
"W-what?" Ayeong covered her mouth. "He's a vampire??" She said loudly, still not in control of her volume.
Junghwan and Jeongwoo hurriedly placed their hands over her mouth, noticing some people staring their way weirdly. Ayeong blinked in surprise and peeked at the two, who were also taken aback by their own actions.
"How did you find out? Did he even come-?"
"I found his thermos and it- it had blood in it." Junghwan revealed, much to their dismay.
"I never expected Yoshi to be one. Isn't he Danbi's benchmate? Wouldn't she have noticed??"
Jeongwoo's stomach churned with uneasiness. "I-I don't know," he gulped, shaking his head, "but he doesn't seem to be after her. We would have noticed if it was like that." And that only made things more confusing.
"Should we tell her now?"
"No," Jeongwoo said, "I'll call our aunt to pick us up, and I'll tell her when we're home. I think it would be too much to tell her now."
But things didn't go as planned as the three returned to just Doyoung and Hyunsuk dancing, and no Jihoon or Danbi in sight.
"Hey, um, where are the others?" Jeongwoo grabbed the boys' attention.
"Jihoon went to the bathroom, I think," Doyoung recalled, "I'm not too sure about the others. I think they wanted to go play some board games!"
Jeongwoo nodded and hurried away, motioning to his friends he'd go on his own. He pushed through everyone, trying to find his way around Hyunsuk's house, but unintendedly spotted someone else, who he hoped he wouldn't see there.
"Haruto?" Jeongwoo asked, his voice barely squeezing out. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, now more determined to get to his cousins sooner.
Not seeing any familiar faces where the games were, he groaned and dashed to the bathroom instead.
—
"I can hear my ears thanking me." Yedam said, his eyes shut as he enjoyed the night breeze cooling his skin.
Junkyu and Danbi chuckled. "Indeed. They feel stuffed." She said, massaging her temples.
Checking her phone for the time, she also noticed a text from her mom.
"Are you staying for longer, sweetheart? It's 9 already. Jeongwoo called to say he'd like to go."
She stole a glance at Junkyu, smiling subtly upon seeing his eyes glistening at the starry sky - a rare sight for their gloomy town.
"I'll stay for a bit more. Is it okay if you come pick us up at 9:30?" She hesitated on sending the text as she wasn't sure why Jeongwoo wanted to leave but a finger entered her visual range, pressing send for her. Junkyu smiled at her.
He peeked at Yedam, who wasn't minding their business, and leaned towards her, making her heart flip as his lips approached her ear. "I want to play some Uno before you leave." He whispered, smiling at his courageous invite. Something about the moment they were sharing was making all his shyness dissipate.
Danbi pressed her lips together and nodded, trying to keep her eyes on the stars. She feared that if she were to look at him, her heart would burst.
"Should we go inside?" Yedam asked with a sigh of satisfaction.
"S-sure, let's go play." Danbi smiled.
Reaching the couch where the cards and some other players were, Danbi decided to go to the bathroom and calm her thumping heart a little as they prepared the cards. She had expected she would be tense during the party, but she hadn't thought that it would be Junkyu making her feel like that - and in a pleasant way.
However, the party wasn't over, and someone she was still not aware of was lurking among the guests, having spotted her. Haruto's feet unwillingly took him a step towards the bathroom, accidentally bumping into someone.
"Hey, watch it!"
The yell managed to grab Yedam's attention, who was facing the scene. His eyes narrowed and then widened as they spotted Haruto, once again.
"Sorry," Haruto said faintly, his mind already a blurry mess. Either he had supplied himself too little for this scenario, or just the thought of her being a door away from him was accelerating the decrease of his blood pressure, but he could feel himself drifting away from any form of control. He took another step, and the door opened.
There she was, exiting with a smile on her lips and adjusting her white top. Her appearance seemed to slow down everything for a second as she made her way a little closer to him, unaware.
Haruto felt a chill running up his spine as the proximity between them built up. He took another step, now at a more hurried pace, feeling himself losing against his urges. All he could think about were Asahi's words. Her blood heals us.
"J-Junkyu!" Yedam blurted, realization hitting him at once as he saw Haruto moving after Danbi.
No more words were needed from Yedam as Junkyu turned his head. With a rush of adrenaline, he stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over and sprinting towards the girl.
Danbi noticed him and halted, startled. Her smile dropped as she noticed the panicked look on Junkyu's face.
The last thing Junkyu saw as he grabbed onto Danbi and swirled her in his arms was a pair of red eyes. A few moments of silence followed the commotion. Junkyu felt the right side of his neck numb out before a sharp sting stabbed him there, making him moan in pain.
Danbi's eyes enlarged in terror as she felt Junkyu's hands sliding off, and then he collapsed to the ground. Gasps surrounded her, making her feel like throwing up. Haruto stood before her, his pigmented eyes equally wide and his lips stained in red. His whole figure quivered as he kept his eyes on the wound on Junkyu's neck, unable to tear them away from there.
"What the heck just happened?"
"Did he bite him??"
"He- he has red eyes!"
Haruto's mind spun as whispers surrounded him from all around. Frightened by his own actions, he used his last bit of strength to rush off. Everyone ran out of his way as he dashed out the door.
"Junkyu!" Danbi screamed at once, kneeling next to him. She grabbed onto his face to inspect him, gasping as she spotted the bite mark on his neck. "No, no, there's- there's no way." She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
The friends also made their way to see what was going on, all palling at the sight. Jihoon pushed everyone aside and crouched beside Danbi, motioning her to make way. He hurriedly pulled Junkyu up by his arms, moving him behind him so he could pick him up. He rushed out with Junkyu and Danbi followed.
Ayeong and Junghwan eyed each other and also ran after them, leaving the petrified Doyoung and Hyunsuk behind.
"It's for my vlog!" Junghwan lastly yelled before shutting the door, leaving the party in grave silence.
"What the heck is going on?!" Jihoon growled as he put Junkyu down. Danbi laid down and moved Junkyu's head on her thighs, her eyes filled with worry.
She couldn't get herself to speak, though her mind was running wild. She kept her eyes on Junkyu's sweating and quivering figure, holding his hand with all her strength. Junkyu was bitten, and it was all because of her. Because he saved her. And it was all she could think about.
"Aunt's here." Jeongwoo explained, also sweating.
Hearing the news, Jihoon blanked. "And what should we do? Get Junkyu in the car?!"
"Do we have any other option??" Ayeong intervened. "We can explain to her after, Junkyu's bleeding!"
Defeated, Jihoon grabbed ahold of Junkyu and picked him up again. A familiar car pulled up in front of Hyunsuk's house.
Jihoon took a deep breath and hurried to it, trying to keep Junkyu as stable as possible.
Opening the door, he put Junkyu down and then the other three shoved themselves inside, startling the living being out of Mrs. Park.
"What's going on??"
"Mom, Drive!!"
Under pressure, Mrs. Park started the engine, abruptly stepping on the acceleration pedal. The teenagers were all pushed forward at the sudden jerk of the car.
"Care to tell me what the hell is going on?!"
Junkyu groaned, reaching out to touch his neck and hissing at the pain.
"Junkyu got bitten..." Jihoon began, "by a wild animal."
Mrs. Park stepped on the brakes, sending them forward once again. "What?!"
—
"Is it still bleeding?"
Mrs. Park sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She stayed silent, so Danbi figured she was mad and didn't push it any further. Both of them were on Danbi's bed, looking down at a weak Junkyu.
Danbi's heart ached at the sight of him. His body was visibly battling with the pulsating pain in his neck, but he was too weak to do anything other than let out inaudible groans.
"Did you-"
"I spoke with his mother," Mrs. Park finally replied. "I told her he's staying at our place tonight,"
That managed to calm Danbi down a bit, though she felt terrible for asking her mom to lie for her.
"You're not telling me the truth." Mrs. Park continued, finally taking her eyes off the boy.
Danbi averted her stare as she met her mother's eyes. She couldn't even get herself to deny it. "It's because I'm not sure what happened. He just appeared like... this." Lying only accentuated the nausea engulfing her stomach. She didn't want to keep lying to her mother, but she knew there was no way she was going to believe her vampire explanation.
Her mother only sighed.
Silence settled between the two once more as they zoned out, staring at Junkyu's squirming figure. He was still sweating profusely, the droplets being visible on his pale skin.
"Will he be okay, Mom?" Danbi asked, her voice close to cracking as she squeezed his frigid hand in hers.
"He will,"
That was all she needed to hear.
"But you should let him rest for a bit. Once he feels better I'll have to drive him to get a rabies vaccine."
"Rabies vaccine?? But, it's not necessary-" Danbi stopped, realizing it was in the context in which Junkyu had been bitten by a wild animal, and not a vampire.
Mrs. Park's furrow accentuated.
"Can I stay with him for a bit, Mom?" Danbi changed the subject. "I'll go to sleep after. I promise."
The woman sighed and nodded, putting the medicine from her lap aside and standing up. "I'll come back in a bit."
Left alone with Junkyu, Danbi liberated herself from a long breath she had been holding for a while. Her finger grazed his features, which flinched under her touch but then relaxed.
"Bi..." His pale, chapped lips parted.
Danbi hovered over him, grabbing onto his cheeks. "Junkyu? Are you okay??"
Junkyu's eyes opened slightly, slowly moving from side to side. A line appeared between his brows as he adjusted to his surroundings.
Moving his head, he yelped, feeling his neck throb.
"Don't move. You should stay still. Do you need anything? Water? An ibuprofen?"
He shook his head, not listening to her instructions and attempting to stand up. However, his hands gave up, making him fall back onto the bed. Danbi rushed to help him, realizing he wasn't going to succeed on his own.
"Here, have some water." She brought the glass to his lips.
Junkyu tried to drink but the moment he gulped, he felt pain strike the side of his neck again. He gently pushed the glass away.
He finally turned his head to her, his eyes parting a little wider, allowing her to see his tired eyes. Danbi's gaze softened with concern as she unconsciously brought her hand up to his bangs, brushing them from his face.
"I'm sorry." She said.
Junkyu brought himself to shake his head the slightest, his lips twitching at the pain. "Don't be..." He spoke raspily, managing to raise his hand enough to grab hers, bringing it to his lap.
"I am. You are hurt right now because of me." Danbi said the last part under her breath. She looked in the opposite direction, sniffling as she felt her eyes getting wet.
"I," he flinched, finding it hard to talk. "I'm fine."
Danbi shot him an incredulous look, wiping her eyes with her free hand. "You have a bite on your neck, Junkyu. How is that fine?" she said, upset, "It should have been me. I was fine when Asahi bit me. What if something happens to you, Junkyu? What if-" She cut herself off, not wanting to voice the scenario she was greatly afraid of.
"I won't." He weakly squeezed her hand.
But that didn't reassure her in the slightest.
Danbi sniffled quietly, looking away. "Get some sleep, you should-" She was about to get up when a strong force pulled her back down. Startled, she glanced at Junkyu's hand, which had seized her wrist.
"Can you stay with me a little more? Until I fall back asleep."
Danbi bit her lip, stuck between smiling at his child-like wish and crying at how frail his voice sounded. She inhaled deeply and nodded, scooting a little closer to him.
Helped back down in his laid position, Junkyu found a position comfortable enough so that his neck hurt less. He tried to focus his mind on the warmth of Danbi's finger, which trailed circles on his forearm, as he shut his eyes, preparing for sleep.
Seeing Junkyu's sleeping features, Danbi yawned, placing her head down without realizing it.
—
Mrs. Park gently opened the door, stumbling upon the two sleeping soundly. Danbi's head rested on Junkyu's arm, her figure squished beside him, on the edge of the bed.
Smiling to herself faintly, she let out a worried sigh. She felt as though there was more to the story than her daughter led her to believe, but she wanted to trust her.
"He can get his vaccine tomorrow." The woman whispered, closing the door back as quietly as possible.
—
Danbi woke up in complete darkness as she felt something pushing against her. She took in her surroundings for a moment before turning to Junkyu, who was the source of the movement. Her eyes embiggened as she noticed him shaking rather violently and moving around, making pained sounds in his sleep.
She stood up and leaned over him, panicking. "Junkyu! Junkyu, wake up! Junkyu-!"
The boy shot up at once, his eyes wide and his breathing heavy after letting out a loud gasp.
Danbi stumbled back a bit, taken aback.
Junkyu placed a hand on his chest as he scanned the room with terrorized eyes.
"What happened? Are you okay??"
He finally caught his breath, shaking his head. "I- I don't know what happened. It hurt." He explained.
Danbi's eyebrows furrowed, taking a seat next to him. "What hurt?"
"My," he swallowed, "my whole body."
Her stomach tightened at the information. Remembering her similar reaction from that night, her heartbeats increased.
"Junkyu," she began seriously, "do you feel anything else?"
"L-like what?" He asked, panickedly gazing between her eyes.
She didn't know what to continue with. There was no way he was going through what she went through with the candy - but was something happening to his blood too?
Caught up in thinking, she didn't realize Junkyu had leaned a little closer to her. There was an indescribable pit in his stomach, making his abdomen pulsate. He clutched onto the sheets as his vision began to spin, and with it came a wave of coldness that made him curl.
Danbi took notice of his state and brought her attention back to him, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over him. "Are you feeling sick?? I'll go call Mom-"
Once again, Danbi's arm was grasped, keeping her still in her position. Junkyu's fingers were digging into the material of her sweater as his head hung low. He grabbed onto his forehead, feeling like he was about to throw up.
"Junkyu?"
"Go." He said almost without realizing it.
Danbi's eyebrows twitched at his low tone. Thinking he must've been feeling sick she nodded and rushed off to get Mrs. Park.
Junkyu felt his hand shaking as it let go of her.
"Mom! Mom!" Danbi abruptly made her way into her parents' room, scaring them.
"What happened?" A confused Mr. Park asked.
"Did something happen, Danbi??"
"Junkyu, he's-" Danbi grabbed onto her head, not sure what to do. "He feels sick. Can you come?"
"What? Junkyu??" Her dad suddenly got activated, following the two out of the room. The boys also heard the commotion, rushing after them.
"He suddenly woke up and-"
They stumbled upon an empty bed.
"Where is he...?" Danbi blinked in disbelief.
The family searched around the house and then even went outside to call for him, but Junkyu didn't seem to be anywhere. He had just vanished.
—
"I don't understand how he went home like that." Mrs. Park sighed for the nth time, getting a headache.
"He said he felt better." Danbi kept her explanation short, barely managing to get herself to snap out of her dazed staring. She had not gotten any shut eye ever since returning to her room and seeing Junkyu's phone on her empty bed.
"Enough to walk home on his own?" Mr. Park challenged, arching a brow.
Danbi didn't reply, poking her breakfast with her fork. She was trying not to seem worried, though her mind was filled with thoughts about Junkyu. The idea that she didn't know what happened to him after the bite was driving her crazy.
"You saw it too, Uncle. The front door was unlocked." Jeongwoo added.
"I suppose he won't be at school today. I should give his mom a call and ask him how he feels." Mrs. Park spoke.
The cousins all snapped their heads up at that. "T-there's no need for that, Mom." Danbi stepped in.
Jihoon noticed the panic on her face. "We can give him a group call at school." Jihoon proposed, and Mrs. Park hummed. However, he wasn't aware that Junkyu's phone was in Danbi's bag.
Shortly after, the three were out of the house. Hyunsuk's face greeted them, but not as happy as usual.
"What the heck happened last night?? I called you like twenty times after the party!" He scolded, storming up to them.
"Shh!" Jihoon hushed him, having not closed the door to their house.
"Shh?!" Hyunsuk scoffed, placing his hands on his hips. "Danbi, what happened?" He turned his stare to the girl, realizing the other two weren't going to enlighten him.
Danbi exhaled, looking down. Trying to tell her friend that Junkyu was bitten by a vampire was no easy task after hiding that from him for the past few weeks. "Junkyu," she began, feeling her eyes burning at the mention of him, "he-"
"He was bitten by Haruto, right?"
The cousins' heads snapped up at Hyunsuk's theory. "How did you know?" Jeongwoo asked, stupefied.
"No way." Hyunsuk's face blanked.
"Oh, you didn't know..." Jeongwoo rubbed his nape, earning a nudge from Jihoon.
"Bi, it's a joke, right? Like, I know I said that, but I didn't actually think-"
"It's true." Danbi revealed, causing Hyunsuk to gasp loudly.
"Haruto's a vampire?!" Hyunsuk halted, covering his mouth.
The cousins nodded slowly.
"No way. No, there's- how?? How could there be vampires? And where's Junkyu now? Is he at your house?"
Danbi's lips trembled as she opened her mouth to respond. She gave the three an uncertain look.
"Junkyu (...)"
—
"You're kidding."
"That's how I reacted too! I can't believe Junghwan was right." Hyunsuk snorted, threading a hand through his hair.
"And you don't know where he went? And, wait, you said he might've turned to a- a-" Doyoung shook his head, trying to get himself to think straight. "a vampire?"
"It's a theory," Jeongwoo explained, "Jaehyuk said that after getting bitten-"
"Jaehyuk??" Doyoung and Hyunsuk queried at the same time.
"That's a story for another time." Jihoon smiled sheepishly.
"H-how do we find him? And can we do anything to help him?" Doyoung asked.
Danbi shrugged her shoulders, pressing her lips to a line. Sadness clouded her features as she realized she had no plan to begin with. She didn't even know where he might be.
"Do you know for sure he's not home?"
"His Mom called in the morning. I told her he had his school things with him and that he's going straight to school," she frowned, realizing how complicated things had gotten, "I- I don't know what to do. Do you guys know any places where he might've gone?"
Hyunsuk and Doyoung shook their heads slowly. "He's a mama's boy, if he's not home, I don't know where he is."
"I think where he is depends on what's happening to him. If he really did... turn into a vampire," Doyoung strained himself to say, "He probably won't return home, right?
The bell rang, meaning it was time for them to head to their first classes. The group sighed.
"Gosh, how will I survive a day of school after finding out all of this?" Hyunsuk's monologue was followed by a groan.
"We have to talk during lunch." Danbi told the two heading to B8 as they went separate ways.
"This is insane." Doyoung stated as he and Jihoon walked to class.
Jihoon sighed, reaching out to give the boy a pat. "I know, but it's real."
"And Haruto is actually a vampire??"
The answer was clear as the two entered their class, not spotting Junkyu or Haruto. All eyes turned to them.
Jihoon cleared his throat. "Yes."
—
Jeongwoo hurriedly sat beside Junghwan as their teacher had already entered the class. His eyes ping-ponged between the many stares directed to their table.
"W-what's happening?"
"The party is a hot topic," Junghwan sighed, leaning towards Jeongwoo. "Also, I should be asking you that...! What happened with Junkyu??"
Jeongwoo gulped, stopping in the middle of taking his books out. He turned to Junghwan with hesitance. "Junkyu's... missing."
"What?!" The other boy reacted - a little too loudly. "I'm sorry." He bowed, smiling sheepishly at his glaring teacher.
"We think he might have turned into a vampire." Jeongwoo continued, sucking out all the color from Junghwan's face with that information.
"And w-what should we do? Is there any way we could find him?"
Jeongwoo shook his head. "Probably not," he whispered, "but now is probably the time to visit your grandma."
Junghwan's eyebrows almost bounced off his face as he stood up abruptly, disrupting the class once more. "My grandma?!"
"So Junghwan-!"
The woman silenced as an unforeseen appearance emerged through the door. Yoshi stood panting in the door frame, hands on his knees as he attempted to apologize for his latency.
"Go to your seat." The teacher instructed.
Junghwan quieted as his eyes followed Yoshi's figure. Recalling the blood he saw in the thermos the previous day, his stomach turned.
"I completely forgot that he's also a vampire." Jeongwoo said open-mouthed, also gawking at the blonde boy.
Feeling the stares on him, Yoshi peeked at the two from the corner of his eye, a serious yet uneasy look turning his face.
—
The friends had gathered at their usual table, but the atmosphere was far from normal. The silence in the cafeteria was loud. Everyone was looking their way, all whispering about the fresh events. Obviously, Haruto and Junkyu's absence wasn't aiding the situation.
"My subscriber number did explode overnight, so I'm thinking at least some believed it...?"
All gave Junghwan unphased looks.
"Or... not." He cleared his throat.
"I can't believe this is happening." Ayeong puffed in her palms.
"Yeah. Tell us about it. I can't believe you all knew about this." Doyoung scoffed, distressed but lucid enough to be mad at his friends.
"What can we even do about this? If Junkyu did turn into a vampire, can we save him??" Hyunsuk asked.
The friends exchanged troubled looks. Jaehyuk had clearly mentioned that the virus was transmitted when coming in contact with blood, but the fact that she hadn't turned into a vampire led Danbi to believe there were some chances - though little - that Junkyu hadn't turned. But, then again, her blood was far from normal.
"I have something to say," Jeongwoo raised his hand, his forehead creasing as all attention turned to him. Jeongwoo looked between Ayeong and Junghwan, and upon receiving nods from them, he inhaled. "Junghwan is that old woman's nephew."
Danbi and Jihoon's eyes twitched wide. Meanwhile, Doyoung and Hyunsuk only grew more confused.
"What old lady?" They haven't been told everything.
"And you're saying-"
"Yeah," Jeongwoo nodded. "we might get her to tell us the truth."
"What truth?" Another voice sounded from behind Jeongwoo. Yedam was standing there, a tray in his hand as he nervously scanned the group.
"O-oh, Yedam," Hyunsuk greeted him.
"Are you guys okay after yesterday? Where's Junkyu?" He tried to seem cool about it as he sat down between them - as if he hadn't replayed the events in his mind the whole night.
"Oh, um, Junkyu..." Doyoung trailed off with a stiff laugh.
"He slept in, so he stayed home." Jihoon butted in.
Yedam nodded, unconvinced. "But what happened? Did he get hurt?" He pushed it, noticing how tense everyone looked.
"No, no," Junghwan smiled crookedly, "Haruto and Junkyu helped me with my vlog, about, uh, vampires. Did I show it to you?"
The boy's eyebrows furrowed, vaguely remembering Junghwan yelling something about it as they rushed out. "Oh, is that so? I didn't know about it."
The discussion drifted in other directions as the vampire topic was put to a stop now that Yedam was there. But no further talking was needed after Jeongwoo's reveal. It was clear that they had some serious things to deal with after school.
—
"Yes, we'll get back soon, Mom. S-sure, I'll tell Junkyu you asked about him. I love you too,"
Danbi ended the phone call with her mom with a long sigh. The knot in her stomach was only deepening the more lies she had to elaborate.
Her friends waited for her affirment in silence, reading the mood off her face.
"We can go now." She smiled faintly, sadness laced in her voice.
And so the six of them walked away from the school. However, a honk made them stop in their tracks.
A familiar white car stopped beside them, and Ayeong's head peeked out as the window rolled down. "Jaehyuk's helping us. Hop in!"
—
After a tense discussion and a lot of shifting and uncomfortable squeezing, Jaehyuk parked the car. He sighed as he turned the engine off, turning to the ones squeezed in the backseat with a serious look.
"If something happens, yell,"
They nodded simultaneously.
"And," Jaehyuk turned to Ayeong, who was in the passenger's seat. "You're staying with me. I'm sure they can handle it."
Ayeong's eyebrows furrowed. "Jaehyuk-"
"No buts."
The teenagers waited for the heated spirits at the front to calm down before daring to open the back doors. "Butts." Jihoon quickly added before being flown out of the car by an irritated and sweaty Hyunsuk.
"Are you sure about this?" Doyoung asked as he scrunched his face at the old, deteriorated building in front of them.
Danbi nodded with certainty. "Let's go."
Reaching the crusty door, Danbi was about to knock, but Junghwan blocked her hand. He gestured for her to step aside, wanting to do so himself. With a deep breath, he knocked.
There was no response.
Hyunsuk blinked, pursing his lip. "Maybe she's not home-?"
Danbi knocked this time, aggressively. "We know you're here! Your nephew's here!"
But that also earned them no reaction.
"I don't think she's home." Jeongwoo concluded with a defeated sigh.
"Then we'll wait."
"Danbi-" Jihoon got cut off by a loud creak. Their eyes darted at the open door, where the petite woman stood, with tears in her eyes and parted lips. She scanned the many faces in front of her eyes but as her gaze reached a certain boy, it lingered there.
"G-grandma?" Junghwan questioned, stunned.
The woman's lips spread to big smile.
---
Should've put a warning in the descriptions, these chapters are LONG. What do you prefer, shorter or longer chapters?
Also, this chapter is paving the path for the peak of Danbi and Junkyu's relationship, I promise. MORE ROMANCE IS COMING!