CHAPTER TEN: "Confirmation"

•••

Seonghwa POV:

Gently laying the male in his bed after placing him to sleep once again brought a sense a peace within me. I stood there for a moment, observing every single detail of him as he rested comfortably in slumber. Tonight gave me a newfound spark of hope, something that I wanted from the moment my eyes caught sight of him those few nights ago.

It's him... he's the one...

The moment my lips touched his, I had mentally prepared myself for the rejection, the feeling of my body instantly being pushed back as a result of unwarranted contact. The idea of seeking out a mate wasn't forbidden, but the projection of want into another who is not destined to be such a thing would cause a painful reaction to the one who sought out the other. However, the feeling I received in response only made me want more.

Upon contact, my body yearned for his, wanting to be even closer than just lips connected to one another. The pull was magnetic, a feeling I've never experienced ever in both my human and inhuman life at all. It clear that he was the one who was destined to be my mate, but I knew deep down I couldn't force it. He would have to want me just as much as I wanted him, but based on his reaction to my sudden act, it seemed as though something awakened within him.

While staring in awe of his peaceful smile etched on his face, San walked into the bedroom and quietly cleared his throat. "Hwa...we might have a problem..."

Sighing to myself, I carefully covered the male and granted one last look before gesturing our departure. "We can talk on the way back...but this stays between us, understood?"

"Yes, of course. I would never betray you like that, ever...but I'm sure Hyunjin may question you."

"He can question me, as he knows what's to come. Don't worry."

Stepping out the apartment, the sun was beginning to rise above the clouds, marking a new day. "Let's get back home and we can discuss whatever issue back in my office."

•••

Reaching back at our mansion of a home, our arrival sparked the entire court's instinctive nature to bow at my presence. "Welcome back home, master..." They all said in unison, a practice upheld throughout all courts as a sign of respect for the leader.

Even after all this time, I still can't get used to that...

With a subtle smile, I politely greeted and dismissed everyone, granted permission for them to go back to the prior activities with grace. The three boys stood in waiting for our arrival at the hallway entrance, where Felix spoke up first in curiosity. "Did everything go smoothly?"

"Based on how long this 'job' took, I hope so. I missed my Sannie..." Wooyoung pouted, instantly falling into San's arms with ease.

San pressed a kiss onto his forehead before smiling. "I need to talk to Hwa for a moment..can you wait for me in our room?"

"Okay...but don't take too long." Wooyoung mumbled.

Hyunjin looked at me for silent invitation to join and I nodded. "I need Hyunjin as well."

Felix playfully sighed before nodding in understanding. "Fine, fine...come on Wooyoung. We will keep each other company until they are done."

The two remaining males followed behind as I lead the way towards my office. Upon entering, the two took their respective spots within the room while I made my stride to my seat, flicking the door closed with a finger. A sigh escaped me as I rubbed my temples slowly, "San...you can go ahead and share. What happened?"

"I may or may not have seen someone from the event while dropping off the car."

My ears perked up, and with a brief flash of red eyes at the male, I bit my lip. "Who...did you see?"

San took a moment before bowing his head. "One of his friends...but it was only in passing. No longer than a few seconds."

Hyunjin chuckled. "You are in some deep shit..."

My eyes instantly darted over to the other male, who instantly silenced himself underneath my piercing glare. Focusing my attention on the former, I leaned back into the chair and took a deep breath. "Describe the male, and I'll see if he is indeed a friend."

"Right," San paused for a moment, "he had dark brown hair and matching colored eyes...and he was at the same table as him the entire night at the event, alongside a silver-colored hair male."

I nodded, feeling a sense of relief at the observation. "Alright...he is a friend. I thought it was someone else."

"Who, Mingyu?" Hyunjin asked suspiciously, earning a nod from me in response, "Hwa...what exactly did you do last night?"

"I went to keep an eye on someone..."

Hyunjin pressed further, with slight irritation lacing his voice as he spoke. "That means you knew who the person was from the beginning...before even going to Chan about it and you brought San to accompany you?"

San scoffed. "Hey! I'm right here, you asshole. Not my fault you are only good for visions that are not even reliable all the time."

"What did you just say to me?" Hyunjin hissed.

"Enough!" I shouted, causing the two to instantly flinch and bow their heads. Turning to the blonde haired male, I granted him a soft smile in apology. "Hyunjin...I am sorry I didn't share everything up front with you...but yes, I already knew of him before your vision. I need you to trust me when I say I meant no harm or ill will against you in regards of keeping it a secret."

Hyunjin looked up at me and nodded with a smile. "I do trust you, Hwa...I'm sorry."

Then, I focused my attention on the other male, who still had his head faced down. "San...I do appreciate all of your help last night...but I will not tolerate any sort of mockery or disrespect towards your brothers. Do you understand?"

San nodded sadly, looking up at Hyunjin with a frown. "I understand...and I'm sorry..."

"It's fine...I was rude, so I'm sorry too."

"Good," I paused, turning my chair towards the window with a smile, "and I will be honest and say that I did learn something while seeing him..."

Hyunjin and San both whipped their heads to me, with Hyunjin speaking up with a playful smirk on his lips. "Oh? Care to share with the class, hmm?"

"While I won't share everything with you two, as I still am allowed to keep my own secrets to myself...I shall share one or two details about the male..." I started, feeling a sense of warmth at the recent turn of events.

"For one...the blue haired male's name is Hongjoong."

"Hongjoong..." San repeated quietly, "that's not hard to remember..."

"That's one detail...and the other?" Hyunlix asked skeptically. "What else did you learn about him...?"

The easier thing to admit would be that Hongjoong was truly destined to be my mate, but I didn't want to outright say the words without having a clear and honest confirmation from the male in return. Even though the feeling that transpired between us was an indication of the reality, there was still a small chance that he could still reject me regardless of the circumstances. Last thing I would want is to claim him publicly and result in being forced to deal with endless amount of pain due to rejection.

Therefore, with a small turn of a chair to the two males who stood waiting in anticipation for an answer, I feigned mock sadness. "The male is human..."

"I see...so basically visiting Chan was beneficial after all..." Hyunjin said sympathetically.

San sighed. "Well, that's something then. What do we do from here?"

"Nothing," I said sternly, standing up from the chair before continuing, "I appreciate both of your efforts in the matter, but this is something for me to handle. All I need you to do is keep it to yourselves...I will tell Felix and Wooyoung later today. This stays here..."

"Last thing I would want is for this to get out into the court's ears and be passed around the entire sanction of Vampires. You two already know how complicated it was for Chan..."

"Understood." Hyunjin and San said in unison.