CHAPTER TWELVE: "Growing Fascination"

•••

Hongjoong POV:

Two weeks passed since having the not-so-truthful conversation with Minho, one where he seemed to accept without any further probing either. Part of me felt guilty for being vague about the matter, but another part of me felt a deeper sense of need to protect the male I've been dutifully seeking out once again. It was obvious that what started out as a simple assignment for payment had now turned into a personal goal, almost bordering the fine line of possible obsession.

The feeling I had while being around the male was unnatural for me, a feeling where despite the overall warnings of being near such a strange phenomenon was dangerous, I couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth. A normal person would consider themselves insane for not only being in the same place as one like him, but also for willing to indulge in conversation with such a male. The aura of protectiveness I instantly felt around him was something I've never felt before in my life, and the warmth from the kiss, ever so fleeting, made me crave it more now that it's gone.

However, ever since the night we shared a moment where I considered forming an unspoken bond of trust, I had yet to see any sort of sign of him again. Each night after, I found myself combing through the city in places where some had deemed having their own sightings of nightly creatures, but as my luck would have it, I would end up short on anything close. It almost felt as if he was toying with me, and I couldn't help but wonder if him sharing his secrets with me cause an unintended consequence as a result.

It was now Monday, exactly two weeks later and a night later, and amongst the dark sky and its decoration of stars, I sat in my car at yet another possible location for sighting him. Tonight destination was a library, but instead of being a popular spot for many people, it was near the outskirts of Seoul. The idea of him showing up at a place like this was close to impossible, but I couldn't help but try anyway. Plus, based on knowledge gathered by patrons who were fully immersed in the world of possibilities regarding the supernatural, I felt like the impossible may indeed be possible. This library was one that on the exterior seemed to be run down and disheveled, but on the interior, held a plethora of books for anyone interested in basically anything from the supernatural to the extraterrestrial.

Stepping out the vehicle, I fixed my beanie on my head as a powerful wind gust blew against me. Dressed in a black trench coat and accompanied long sleeve with slacks, I made my way towards the doors of the library. One thing that never left me was my fondness of reading, to lose myself in the world transcribed onto each page of paper within a book. It was one form of coping where I felt the most drawn to, and it made me feel some sort of semblance of happiness to do it as well.

"Even if he doesn't show up, at least I can read to accompany myself..." I whispered softly.

Reaching the door, I quickly noticed the sign on the door, one marking that this particular library was opened all hours and days of the week. The sight itself was peculiar considering how little traffic passed through this side of town, but I brushed it off and made my way inside. Upon entering and to my surprise, there was actually few people who were indulging in their own personal reading at the late hour of the night. Glancing over to the desk where the main librarian would usually stay, I noticed the lack of human presence behind it.

"You're not from here, are you?"

My head whipped around to see a tall pale-colored male with glasses standing behind me with a curious head tilt. He slowly looked me up and down before nodding to himself. "Yeah, definitely not from this area at all...."

"I'm sorry, who are you supposed to be?"

The male chuckled before taking off his glasses, granting me what I assumed to be his version of a welcoming smile. "Sorry to startle you, I should mind my space and manners. The name is Sunwoo, and welcome to what folks around here like to call this place, the 'Hiding Sanctuary'."

This time I snorted. "Seriously? Is that supposed to make this place sound cool or something? It's a library."

It seemed as though my response was heard by the other people, as small lighthearted chuckles went around at the sound. Sunwoo only smirked and shook his head. "It's not to sound cool in the slightest, as it's actually the name of the place. And luckily for you, I'm the main Librarian that runs the place."

"You?" I paused, taking in his youthful features before continuing, "I thought most librarians were-"

"Old, fragile beings who were as ancient as the books that resided inside here? Possibly collecting as much dust as well, huh?" Sunwoo teased. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm far from old."

He paused for a moment, looking into my eyes deeply before raising an eyebrow playfully. "Something tells me that your main priority is not to read a book tonight."

Scoffing, I rolled my eyes. "What makes you say that? If anything, I love to read."

"That may be true..." he whispered with a knowing smile, "but I have this....feeling...let's call it that, where you came here for another reason. No one willing comes to the outskirts of Seoul to a library in the middle of the night unless they are a local or in search of something."

"You got all of that from just looking at me?"

Sunwoo smiled, and in the quickest moment, I noticed his fanged teeth as he nodded. However, before I could even process what I saw, he pushed his glasses back on his face before speaking in a normal voice. "I just have a good feeling, that's all. If anything, your selection of books will be on the second floor, section four."

I opened my mouth to speak, but based on how he switched subjects, I took a mental note of the interaction and made my way over towards the staircase. However, my mind was reeling on the instant realization of what he told me about the place.

Hiding Sanctuary...

As I slowly ascended the stairs, my eyes slowly grazed over the few people dispersed on the first floor. One by one, I noticed that each had the same colored skin as Sunwoo, but their attire and appearances were almost perfectly crafted to a human. If one wasn't paying attention, they could easily pass as humans without any sort of stress.

Reaching the top of the staircase, I focused my attention on making my way to the specified area given to me, my heart beating fast in the possible sighting of the male I indirectly longed for.

With tentative steps, I crossed each aisle of books until standing in the one designated as 'four' , noticing that instead Seonghwa standing there, there was a black-haired male leaning against the window with his arms crossed. Unlike Seonghwa who had a unique look and beauty to him, this one had a different type of beauty that reminded me of what a prince would look like in fairytales. His eyes turned from the window to me and with a smirk, he gestured me to follow him down the aisles, further back into the second floor.

Despite every nerve in my body fighting against it, I conceded, the two of us meters away as we trailed further back, the bookshelves being our only barriers as we crossed each one slowly. Our eyes never left each other, and the more I followed him, the more I began to question whether or not I should comtinue.

"Don't worry, I'm a friend. Not a foe. Seonghwa sent me."

Pausing mid-step, my eyes grew wide as a gasp escaped my lips. "No fucking way..."

The male paused his steps as well, his smirk slowly turning into a smile of amusement before shaking his head. "Sorry, I should've probably waited until we reached the back to do that."

"Who are you? Why would Seonghwa send you?"

The male sighed, rushing over to me in a blur before poking me in the head. "The name is Wooyoung, and like I said, I'm a friend."

"Well you answered the name part," I scoffed, swatting his finger away from my head before scowling, "but you have to answer why he would send you!" I whisper-yelled.

Wooyoung laughed. "Wow, he really failed to mention how skeptical you are. Instead of question why you ended up in a sanctuary full of vampires, you are questioning why am I here?"

"Well, Joongie..." Wooyoung huffed out his chest with pride before grinning, "consider me your personal bodyguard for now."

My eyes grew wide. "What?!"

•••

Rushing to my car, I quickly opened the door in haste, hopping inside before letting out a sigh of relief. "This has to be a joke..."

"No joke here, sweetie. It's true."

I bit back a yell as I noticed Wooyoung seated in the passenger seat. "What the hell are you doing in my car?!"

"Well, like I said before you just decided to run..." Wooyoung yawned, "I'm your bodyguard for the time being!"

"I never asked for this, you can leave. I don't know you or need some bodyguard. I'm fine as it is by myself."

"No can do, sweetie. Not until boss man tells me it's fine for me to leave." The male whistled. "Last thing I need is to get in his bad graces for disobeying his orders."

I groaned. "Isn't there some unspoken rule where you can't enter people's homes or cars, or whatever?"

Wooyoung giggled. "You have watched way too many movies or read too many books. Besides, I already had access to your car prior to this moment."

"Excuse me?!"

"Oh right..."he paused for a moment before snapping his fingers in remembrance, a proud grin growing on his face as he continued, "remember that note you got a while ago about meeting Seonghwa at midnight? That was placed by me!"

Leaning back into my seat, I heavily sighed while rubbing my face in annoyance. "So let me get this straight....you left the note for him. Then who is the guy who not only showed at my work event, but dropped off my car that night. His name was San."

"Oh, that's my fiancé." Wooyoung smiled. "We're getting married soon."

"Wait, you mention orders. He is your boss?" I asked skeptically, earning a nod in response.

Wooyoung smiled in pride. "He's the leader of 100 of us in total, but me and three other males are under him in regards of leadership."

"This is too much...why couldn't he be here and explain all of this..." I muttered, feeling a headache slowly growing.

Wooyoung's smile faltered and for once, I could feel a switch in mood within the space. Noticing the sudden change, I glanced at the male. "...Is there something wrong?"

The smile returned on his face in an instant, and with a quick shake of his head, he grinned. "No, of course not. I'm just trying to figure out a way for you accept me being here."

Taking a deep look at the male, I could tell that this time, the smile on his face was forced. However, I knew that if Seonghwa had sent him here to protect me, there would be an explanation for it once we met again. On top of that, it only made me more curious about the male in general, as to who exactly he was in his own realm of existence.

Plus, it's not his fault for being assigned to this job...

With a soft sigh, I granted the male leniency before nodding. "Alright...I won't push any further on that...but since you're going to be around, we need to have some sort of agreement."

Wooyoung forced smile turned into a genuine one while he nodded eagerly. "I'm listening!"

This is going to be a long night....