minho
I DON'T sleep the entire night. I try to sleep in my bed but it feels weird, somehow, sleeping in my bedroom when I've been sleeping on the couch lately.
I'm worried about Jinwoo. I know I barely know him and he barely knows himself, but I feel obligated to help him.
He doesn't remember anything about his past. He didn't even think he was a Noctura. I saved his life twice.
So, now I worry about him.
In the morning, I make myself coffee. It doesn't help my energy at all, but it tastes pretty good. Plus, it'll make me seem more normal when they do a search on my house.
Thinking about the search, I decide to make a breakfast.
I cook up an egg and eat an apple from the fridge. I leave the dishes in the sink and toss the apple core into the trash. It's almost empty—there are only a few pieces of trash in it.
My anxiety is higher than usual today.
I sit at the table in the kitchen, constantly checking my phone, waiting for some kind of update from Yoon. He doesn't seem like the type to give me updates through a text or call, but still. I just can't help but worry.
I stand up and refill my coffee.
Then, I hear my phone vibrate on the kitchen table.
I quickly move over to it and grab it, almost spilling my coffee.
My heart sinks when I see that the message isn't from Yoon.
It's from Mariela.
They're searching my house right now. You good?
I text her back.
Everything's fine, per usual.
All she says back is:
Good.
I set my phone back down and put my head in my hands. I run my fingers through my hair and feel that it's kind of dirty. I should take a shower later today.
But what if they don't search my house until later? I'll just be here worrying all day until they come through.
House searches are always horrible to go through, but they're not that bad. I just act like I don't have anything to hide. All I do is live here. I'm a normal human just like everyone else.
I take a sip of my coffee.
I wonder what Seunghoon is doing today. I'm sure he's at work. But they wouldn't have him doing searches, would they? I don't think officers do searches, I think only senior officers and executive soldiers do unless they changed—
I don't get to finish the thought because the doorbell suddenly rings.
It causes me to jump but I quickly stand up, take a deep breath, and move over toward the door.
Once I open the door, I see three men standing outside, wearing AAN vests.
Standing on the right is my best friend, Lee Seunghoon.
"We're here to do a home search," Seunghoon says, cracking a small grin.
I open the door wider, allowing them to step inside. "Yes, of course. Please come in."
They step inside and the other two men get to work, starting with the kitchen.
"We're going to search through all your personal belongings inside the house. If we have any questions, we will ask. If you have any questions, please let me know." Seunghoon gives me a small smile. "You know the drill, Minho."
"How did this break?"
I look over at the man standing near the broken cabinet.
My heart jumps.
"I accidentally hit it," I tell him. "Just kinda broke off. I've been meaning to fix it."
The man nods and continues searching.
Seunghoon walks over toward the kitchen table and starts looking around it, searching for anything, but not really.
"When did you become a senior officer?" I ask. "Or are they making officers do this now, too?"
"Well, it's been a couple days," he says. "It wasn't too long ago that I was promoted. I wanted to tell you and celebrate with you, but you've been locked up in here lately."
"Ah," I reply. "I'm sorry, I wasn't... I wasn't really thinking about it."
Seunghoon shakes his head. "It's fine, I understand."
He moves over into the kitchen, looking through everything as the others do. They check the fridge and the pantry, making sure there's food in there.
Seunghoon looks in the sink and then raises his eyebrows at me. "Didn't do dishes today, huh?"
I give a small laugh. "I would've, but I didn't have time."
He chuckles lightly.
They move into the living room and look through the furniture.
"So, what exactly do you guys look for?" I ask.
Seunghoon shrugs. "Just any clues that a Noctura might be occupying the house. I can't give any specific details, but you know."
I nod.
When Seunghoon heads into the bedroom, I follow him in there.
The other guys are looking in the bathroom and living room still, so it's just me and Seunghoon.
He looks around at the nightstand and dresser. He checks the closet and then moves on to the bed.
As he's searching the bed, he looks over at me and grins.
"And what was this used for lately, Mr. Song?"
I give him a light punch. "Shut up, Seunghoon. I already told you. Mariela and I are just friends."
"Mhm." He gives a slight chuckle.
Once he's done searching the bedroom, we move into the living room. The other guys are also done searching, so they move toward the front door.
"Gotta continue searching, but once I'm done, you maybe wanna go do something?"
I give Seunghoon a small smile. "Actually, yeah. I'm free today, so why not?"
He grins. "I'll swing around here after work. You're all clear, by the way."
We both laugh.
"See you, Minho." He gives a two finger salute.
"See you, Seunghoon." I salute back.
He leaves the house and I close and lock the door behind him.
I let out a deep breath and close my eyes, leaning back against the door.
Like I said, I hate house searches, but I really don't have anything to worry about.
Since Seunghoon was the one doing the searching, I know he wouldn't suspect anything. We've been friends our whole lives. If I can convince someone that close to me for over twenty years that I'm a human, I should be able to convince anyone.
Still, house searches are a little nauseating.
I just hope Jinwoo is okay. I hope Yoon was able to get him to the safe house alright.
I'm sure they're both just fine. Yoon knows what he's doing. I think he's been doing it a while, too. He'll make sure Jinwoo is safe.
I wonder why he cares about Nocturas so much. It's surprising for humans to feel any kind of sympathy for us. Usually, they just hate us because they're our diet.
But I guess there are humans out there who care about us. Because if he has an Alliance of humans and Nocturas, that means he's gotten people to see something about us that makes us worth protecting and fighting for.
I need to speak with Yoon more. I need to find out more about why he created the Alliance. I want to get to know him more.
And since he has Jinwoo at a safe house, it seems like a good idea for me to just go there and speak with him.
All I have to do is wait for him to contact me.
But who knows how long it'll be until then?