Slap.

"Fuck-"

Slap.

"Ow!" A desperate yelp of pain left Jungkook's lips as he held his head, his front teeth biting onto the pink flesh of his lower lip. His closed eyes opened into a menacing glare as he looked at me.

"What the hell was that for, (Y/N)-ah?!" He shouted out his question, his eyes full of fury as I took my sweet time yawning.

"I know that like, you guys don't sleep much cause you're vampires and all that jazz, but I'm still human and you guys have got to let me sleep goddamn it." I declared, my voice frighteningly low because of my recent awakening. "And I still have morning breath Jesus Christ!"

"That doesn't mean you have to slap me!" Jungkook retorted and I rose my eyebrows, "Yeah, maybe I should've bitten your lip."

"I never thought you were the kinky ty-"

Slap.

"Okay, okay I get it. I'll let you sleep." He gave up, I heaved out a deep breath, allowing myself to fall limp onto the mattress once more.

"Can I at least sleep here?" He requested and I crooked up a brow. "Depends. Are you touchy feely like Taehyung?"

"Oh, hell n- Wait, you slept with TaeTae-hyung?!" He quickly retorted and I let out a sigh. "Guess you can sleep here."

"Yah! You did-"

"I thought you were supposed to be like, the chill one?" I questioned and his lips quickly settled into a firm line. I dropped onto the bed on my side and held my pillow, hugging it close to my chest as I ignored his every word.

Eventually, he gave up and simply laid down beside me, my back facing him. Closing my eyes, I let out a deep and heaved breath, attempting to relax myself enough to go back to sleep. I was slowly losing consciousness when I felt Jungkook's arms wrap around my body and I shivered slightly, his chin came in contact with the crook of my neck. I was basically half-asleep, but even so, a questioning of his actions left my lips, but due to my hazy mind, it came out more like a hum than understandable words, making him chuckle.

"Nothing, I'm just cold, (Y/N)-ah." He stated, his hand stroking my hair. I heard his words, and understood them, but my inactive brain barely understood his words.

I felt his body come closer to my own, almost blending with my own, our tightly hugging bodies could have looked like one to anyone who came into the room. My dodgy mind couldn't for any words, only listen and allow my throat to let out hums and incomprehensible murmurs.

"I'm so cold (Y/N)-ah," He repeated, his voice dropping low. "I haven't felt warm in such a long time. I constantly feel as if I'm stuck in a dimension of never-ending winter." He explained, his voice lulling and hypnotic, making me fall deeper into unconsciousness, but never quite falling asleep, wanting to hear more of his words, his sweet but tragic words.

"My life has been reduced to a never-ending frozen cycle ever since she left me, she decided to leave me because of what she lived through. She never thought that the answer to her own hurt would cause my own, but I don't blame her, (Y/N)-ah. I can't blame her." He narrated, his words coming to an abrupt stop as a hitched breath left his lips. Was it really a hitched breath? My eyes split open as my mind processed what it was; it was a sob.

A heavy and emotion-filled sob that my mind, that my heart couldn't bear to ignore, even through my hazy and sleepy state. My heart clenched as I tried to turn around, but his tightening arms wouldn't let me, he probably didn't want me to see him in his... miserable state.

Despite my paralyzed state, my hands managed to find his own and hold them, entangling my fingers into his own in one hand and stroking his knuckles with the other; trying to provide him with some type of comfort.

I swallowed; hearing his extremely loud sobs as his breaths became uneven and his tears met with the hot skin of my neck and I swallowed once more, unable to handle his melancholy wails and whimpers. Feeling his arms loosen their grip, I turned around, finally looking at him, his flushed tear stained cheeks and trembling lips. His teeth clutching at his lower one, trying to stop himself from crying, afraid to appear weak. To me, he looked not weak, he looked beautifully human.

Raising my hand, I set it on his cottony cheek, stroking it and wiping at the intruding tears that only enhanced the delicacy of his features. My thumb gently grazed over the soft flesh, wiping the crystal teardrops that escaped from the utmost sublime brown orbs my eyes have ever met. My gestures seemed to only worsen his crying and I couldn't take it. He looked so sad, so despairing, so different from the rest of the times I saw him. Images of his careless stance entered my mind, and wouldn't match the vision I, now, had of him. Luminous tears and trembling flesh did not match his usual emotionless figure, but it showed that he had emotions, feelings, a personality, a heart.

Perhaps he believed that his endless sobs and never-ending crying weren't the best way to show the existence of his humanity, but he showed it nonetheless, he put his heart out there for me to witness, for me to see. He allowed me to see what a beauty he could be when he showed that he was still human, perhaps he craved blood, he had inhuman strength, he was far too attractive, there were too many factors that omitted him from the human race, but his heart, his fragile and delicate heart was not one of those factors.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hugged him, my hands softly stroking his hair in a motherly manner as he gently cuddled closer to me, wrapping his arms and legs around me, taking in my warmth and caring gestures.

"It's okay Jungkook...It's okay. It's okay." I repeated those words, soothing him, his reckless sobs and cries of pain slowly transitioned into an even breathing as his eyes closed in exhaustion from his tragic and pained outburst. His heartbeat settled, his features softened, but not into his usual indifferent expression, into a relaxed and innocent expression that suited his every feature. He looked so childish, it was adorable. I couldn't help the probably dorky smile that my lips stretched onto.

Carefully, I gently kissed his head before I slowly separated myself from him, stopping abruptly when I felt his hands gripping at my sides, refusing to let me go. I was completely helpless in front of his begging expression and allowed myself to hold onto him, hugging him once more, losing myself in the warmth of his body and the sweet lullaby of his breathing. I let out a small sigh, eyeing his relaxed expression.

"Jungkook-ah, don't worry." I whispered, to no one in particular.

"Don't you worry, there's always a beautiful spring day after a long winter."

Thank you, (Y/N)-ah.

For taking care of him.

Like I never did.

◦ ❖ ◦ ◦ ❖ ◦ ◦ ❖ ◦

Two weeks passed by in a blur, tests started rolling by, and we managed to all get used to each other, in as little as two weeks. The boys weren't as, how do I say, affectionate, perhaps? Due to Jin's recriminations about how their grades needed to be better than the past year, I, of course, was also subdued to this treatment, but instead of being screamed at, he simply helped me do better, along with Suga and Namjoon.

As for the others, they focused on providing them with positivity, and not allowing me to stay all day every day in my room studying the shit out of my brain. That was very sweet of them. Also, with the weather getting colder and colder, I found comfort in their clothing, stealing it and to my surprise, they never hesitated in offering me their garments, some of them were actually very pleased with it. Cough, Taehyung, cough.

I learned a lot about the seven boys, and how much dorks they actually were, and all of their little habits that I learned to love from weekly outings that lovely little Jimin organized, for whatever reason. I came to realize that they were all so special, in different ways; they were also pretty much dorks, and I believe that that's what brought out the best in them. I came to get to know each and everyone, even if it wasn't in any special type of way. They were all simply so friendly, and so genuine, and despite my confused state regarding my feelings for them, their friendliness definitely helped in settling those out, at least for a while.

Troubles didn't really occur, I still heard the threatening voice that judged me for all my actions from time to time, but it was very faint, and most of the time I couldn't comprehend the anonymous woman's words. I heard it mostly whenever I was in the shower, for some twisted reason, I talked to Namjoon about it, but he couldn't put his hand on what it could be, other than a Siren Vampire, that's it. After a while, he simply assured me that I should not worry about it anymore, to which I was reluctant, but decided to trust him.

Today was somewhat as a special day, I assumed it was a regular day, and as I headed back towards the car at the end of my classes, I couldn't find the sleek black car anywhere. Raising my eyebrows, I shoved my hands deeper into the large brown coat that belonged to none other than Namjoon. Looking around, I wondered where on earth they could be, only to notice a bright turquoise motorcycle at the very end of the parking lot, beside it none other than the most adorable vampire I'd ever seen; Hoseok.

He enlightened me with a wide smile and a wave before he called out my name and I hurried over, greeting him with a small smile myself. He adorned me with a hug, which I didn't necessarily have the ability to exchange because of his tight grip.

Letting out a small chuckle, he pulled back and lowered my, well, Taehyung's, flat cap onto my eyes. I whined a bit before pulling it up and he chuckled.

"Where are the others?"

"Since Taehyung got out earlier than usual and they all finish early today, they just left, assuming we'd be able to come back on our own." He stated.

"But I guess it's okay! My friend Sehun lent me this awesome bike!" He declared, happiness lacing his voice and I shrugged.

"Yeah I guess it's cool, but hell that was selfless of them." I responded, sarcasm in my voice, contrasting thickly with his light tone.

"Right," He declared, smiling at my ways.

"Let's just go. Anywhere you want to stop by?" He questioned.

"Yeah actually, how about we go get some cocoa? And I need new ear pods, it'd be awesome if we could stop by in the village." I requested and he nodded.

"Yes, ma'am!" He exclaimed with a bow as he took a seat on the bike, I hesitated in joining, which he obviously noticed as a small smile was sent my way.

"Come on, what're you waiting for?"

With no further ado, I joined him onto the bike, slipped the helmet onto my head and wrapped my arms around him in order to keep my balance on the engine, to which he didn't respond, a slight hitched breath left his lips and I didn't question it, assuming it was from the cold. Slowly, he started the vehicle and as he moved into the lane and started speeding, I felt a cold rush which honestly felt relieving, and liberating as well.

I clutched onto Hoseok tighter, seeking his body warmth and he simply sent me a smile, which I returned, trying to match the brilliance in his smile, which was impossible. In the past weeks, I came to realize that Hoseok had been so... sad in his past, at least that's what I was told by Jungkook, his sadness and closeness to depression was enough to make him hate, hell, despite the feeling of utter sorrow and anguish, and he vowed that he wouldn't submit to such feelings ever again.

Surely, he was still a person with feelings, values, dreams, and fears, but as much as he could, he disallowed people to witness whenever he fell into these negative emotions and feelings. To him, the world was cruel itself on its own and thus for everyone, and he genuinely didn't want to be more of a burden, if he fell through such dark holes, he wished to do it alone, because to him, no one should drag sadness upon people. In a perfect world he envisioned, life was happy, life was blissful, life was a never-ending daydream of prosperity and peace.

How beautiful.

I admired those aspects of him, I viewed his sight of the world as something that was far unreachable, but worth believing in. I came to realize that he was truly the sweetest of them, and I couldn't help but crave the truth, wanting to know what exactly occurred to him in the past that could've made him so sad, to the point that he no longer wanted to feel that emotion. I had completely lost myself in a long trail of thought, not even realizing we were there; nearby a Tech store.

"Hey, (Y/N)-ah!" Hoseok repeated for god knows how many times till I jumped out of my trance.

"Ugh, yeah, I'm sorry, I dozed off." I apologized and he nodded.

"It's okay, how about you go buy the earphones and I go get the cocoa?" He questioned and I nodded, "Sure, where should we meet after?"

"The Town Square?" He suggested and I nodded, it was a nearby location to the both of us.

"Alright then. I'll go park this baby right there, I'll see you later (Y/N)-ah!" He declared, driving away and I let out a laugh.

"Sunshine."

◦ ❖ ◦ ◦ ❖ ◦ ◦ ❖ ◦

Finally, I managed to pick out a white pair of earphones and I quickly made my way towards the Town Square, scared I might've made Hoseok wait too long. Taking large and fast strides, I managed to reach the center of the small village quicker than I thought I could, and I was pretty ashamed to see that Hoseok was waiting for me, sat on a rusted old bench, probably freezing in the cold February breeze.

I ran my way towards him, not wanting to keep him waiting for longer whilst. The sound of my footsteps on the marble stone floor echoing through the column filled court must've caught his attention, seeing as he turned his head sideways, meeting my gaze. I slowed my pace, looking at him.

"I'm so sorry, I must've kept you waiting for ages." I apologized, finally reaching the lone bench, he smiled understandingly.

"It's alright, (Y/N)-ah. I was just a bit worried. I thought something might've happened to you." I chuckled.

"Yah! What could happen to me?" I questioned and he laughed.

"From everything that's happened before, lots of things could happen to you, (Y/N)-ah." I looked at him with an irritated expression.

"Don't screw with my fantasies, in my mind, I'm the world's most badass soldier ever!" I exclaimed and he laughed.

"Is that so?! Then how come you're constantly bumping into walls and pouting all about it?" He questioned and I glared.

"I'm living with seven vampires, I'm a goddamn survivor." I stated, crossing my arms and he laughed once more, his melodious laughter resounding in the large empty plaza we were in and I grinned, content with myself that I succeeded in bringing out his amusement.

"Alright, alright." He was defeated and I raised my fist in the air, lowering it as I let out a loud and victorious 'Yes!', only further enticing him to laugh, making me laugh as well. The harmonic sound of his happiness was quite contagious, and I didn't even bother trying to hold myself from laughing. Scratching my knuckles; I looked around before settling my eyes once more on him.

"So, should we go?" I suggested and he shrugged before darting his eyes back to the large monument in the middle of the court, I followed his gaze, awaiting his response.

"How about we stay here for a little while?" He proposed and I shrugged as well before nodding a bit. "Sure."

Joining him on the bench, I shoved my hands into my pockets, attempting to keep them warm as my eyes settled on the statue that was facing us. I noted the great detailing, despite the obvious oldness of the showpiece, it was still so captivating. The water that usually flowed around it was frozen because of the cold, but it didn't dilute of its beauty nonetheless. It was very... expressive.

A woman, sat down, her eyes lowered onto seemingly a young boy, her eyes glued onto him, his own were closed. Despite her lifelessness, you could see the obvious care in her eyes, her inanimate eyes. Her concern and pure fright for whomever she was holding was a clarity, a clarity for the pure motherliness that was intended whilst carving the breathtaking piece. The more I looked at the sculpted body, I couldn't help but feel admiration, it was perhaps simply a statue, but it surely had a deep meaning to it. Turning my head, I was about to ask Hoseok for his opinion about the masterpiece, only to be met with quite the sight.

His deep brown eyes were settled on the tribute stone, red and teary with emotion, even so, his smile was present, small, frail, unnoticeable, but still there. That small smile was similar to a small hint of hope one would have after a long cruel day, it was very heartbreaking to see that, and one would think that perhaps the admiring and valuing smile would lessen the feeling of pure pain that his hurt eyes gave me, but it only enhanced it. Seeing someone as special as him feel unbearable pain and yet; not allow himself to fall into it was too much for me to handle. If I were feeling this much unhappiness by simply looking at him, I wondered what kind of explosive sadness he must've been feeling behind that not shattering glass of optimism he wore so brightly. It pained me, it amazed me, how could he be so strong?

My eyes settled on the tear that dropped on his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away, not wanting me to see the drop of oppressed sorrow that was a witness to the existing anguish that he was feeling. My brain questioned as to why he was so mesmerized by the monument that it brought him to tears, but my heart questioned how I'd be able to lighten his currently heavy heart.

Letting one hand out, it reached into the pocket of his own jacket and I held onto it tightly, my fingers stroking at his soft hands, trying to bring him some type of comfort. His eyes met my own as he noted my gesture and he let out a small laugh.

"How sweet." He commented, wiping his tears away once more before he looked at me.

"It's okay, it's okay."

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" I questioned and he laughed once more.

"I'm okay, I'm just being nostalgic, the memories got me emotional." He stated and I rose my eyebrows.

"But you're crying." I pointed out and he ruffled his hair, "I know, I'm just a bit sad those moments passed by so quickly."

Entangling my hand onto his own, I nodded, before I let out a breath, watching as it turned into a thick steam as it was met with the cold air.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what memories are you reminiscing on, Hoseok-ah?" I questioned and he hummed lightly.

"Many many memories, most of them involve my mother." That was enough to get me hooked.