love of a vampire - leeknow × seungmin

Chapter 10

THIRD PERSON POV:

"WHAT?!" Lee Know yelled, his voice echoing through their small dorm room. He paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't believe I said that! I'm so stupid!"

Seungmin watched him, a mix of worry and sympathy on his face. "Lee Know, calm down. They didn't believe you, remember? They thought you were just joking."

Lee Know stopped pacing and turned to face Seungmin, his expression filled with regret. "But what if they start thinking something else? What if they connect the dots? We've been so careful about this, and I just go and blurt it out..."

Seungmin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck where the mark was hidden beneath his shirt. "I know, I'm worried too. Not about the vampire thing, though. I'm more stressed about them thinking you actually gave me this mark, like... we're together or something."

Lee Know groaned, sinking onto the edge of his bed. "Seungmin, you're overthinking it again. They don't even believe the vampire thing. They were just drunk, and they probably don't even remember half of what happened."

Seungmin opened his mouth to respond but hesitated. He wanted to believe that, but the uneasy feeling in his chest wouldn't go away. "Maybe you're right. I just hope things don't get weird at uni."

The next day, Seungmin's nerves only grew as they walked to campus together. He kept his eyes on the ground, his thoughts a whirl of anxiety. Lee Know tried to distract him with light conversation, but Seungmin was too preoccupied to fully engage.

When lunchtime rolled around, they made their way to the cafeteria, trying to act as natural as possible. But as soon as they sat down with their trays, they noticed the small group of guys from the party approaching them, grinning like they knew a secret.

"Hey, look who it is!" Hyunjin called out, sliding into the seat across from them with a smirk. The others-Changbin, Jisung, Jeongin, Chan, and Felix-followed suit, filling up the table with their presence.

Seungmin's stomach dropped, and he shot a quick, panicked glance at Lee Know.

"So," Felix began, leaning forward with a teasing smile, "are you two... together or something? Lee Know gave you that mark, right?"

The color drained from Seungmin's face, only to return with a vengeance as a deep blush spread across his cheeks. "W-What? No! It's not like that at all!"

Lee Know, also blushing furiously, shook his head. "It's really not what you think. Seungmin just had a... um, a bike accident. That's all."

Jisung snickered, clearly not buying it. "Sure, a bike accident. That's the best you could come up with?"

"Really, guys," Seungmin said, his voice slightly strained, "it's just a scar. Nothing more. You're reading too much into this."

The group exchanged amused looks, clearly enjoying the discomfort they were causing. Chan raised an eyebrow, smirking as he leaned back in his chair. "Alright, alright. If you say so. We're just messing with you."

"Yeah, have fun together!" Jeongin added with a laugh as they all got up to leave, still chuckling among themselves.

As soon as they were gone, Seungmin slumped in his chair, covering his face with his hands. "This is a nightmare," he mumbled, mortified.

Lee Know sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's not that bad, Seungmin. They're just teasing."

"It's not just the teasing," Seungmin muttered, dropping his hands to the table and staring down at his untouched food. "It's the fact that now there's this... awkwardness between us."

Lee Know looked at him, the usual glint of mischief in his eyes replaced with something softer. "We'll get through it. We've handled worse, right?"

Seungmin managed a small smile. "Yeah, I guess so."

The rest of the day passed with a strange tension hanging between them, neither of them quite sure how to navigate the situation. By the time they returned to their dorm, Seungmin was mentally exhausted.

As he changed into more comfortable clothes, Seungmin sighed heavily, half-heartedly complaining, "You being a vampire is causing so many issues, you know that?"

Lee Know chuckled softly from across the room as he pulled on his own sleepwear. "Tell me about it. But we've kept it a secret this long... we can keep going."

"Yeah," Seungmin agreed, though the awkwardness lingered in the air between them like an unspoken truth.

They both climbed into their own beds, the room falling into a heavy silence. For a while, neither of them spoke, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Seungmin turned off the lamp beside his bed, plunging the room into darkness.

"Goodnight, Lee Know," he said quietly, hoping that sleep would come quickly.

"Goodnight, Seungmin," Lee Know replied, his voice equally soft.

As Seungmin lay there, staring up at the ceiling, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his chest. The awkwardness might pass with time, but something told him that things between him and Lee Know had changed-whether they were ready to admit it or not.