Vampire Brothers

Chapter 4

After a few more years...

Twenty-year-old Haneul looked at her reflection in the mirror as she fixed her hair. "Looks good on you, Haneul," she said to herself.

Today was the first day of her new semester, and it would be her last year at school. *I hope this year is going to be good for me,* she thought.

For various reasons, she had started school a bit later than her peers. But things turned out fine. Her classmates didn't care that she was a couple of years older; they still treated her like a friend.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in," she called.

The door swung open, and Jun walked in.

She turned with a big smile. "Jun oppa!" She threw her arms around Jun's waist and hugged him.

"My princess looks unusually beautiful today. Are you ready for school?" he asked her. She nodded eagerly, "Of course I am, oppa." She smiled.

Jun stroked her hair softly. "Let's go down. Breakfast is ready." "Okay," Haneul nodded.She grabbed her school bag and headed downstairs. In the kitchen, she hugged someone from behind. "Vernon oppa."

"Hey, princess," he smiled.

She looked at the person sitting next to him. "Good morning, Woozi oppa. I like your hair." She admired Woozi's purple hair.

"Really?" Woozi touched his hair. "I got it done yesterday." "Oh, is that why you weren't home when I went to sleep?" Haneul asked, and Woozi nodded. "Keep that hair, oppa. You look really handsome." She smiled, and Woozi returned her smile.

"Good morning," DK, Hoshi, and Seungkwan greeted as they walked in. The others joined them shortly after. Haneul smiled as she watched them take their seats.

"Can someone help me with these pancakes?" Mingyu called out.

Haneul stood up. "I'll go."

"You really like Mingyu, huh?" Dino teased. She nodded eagerly before hurrying off to help Mingyu.

"Oppa," Haneul said, hugging Mingyu's waist. "Yah, Haneul-ah!" he quickly put the pan back on the stove and turned to look at her.

"Haneul! That's dangerous. What if I dropped the pan?" Mingyu scolded her.

She looked at him sadly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." She apologized, keeping her head down.Mingyu sighed, resting his hand on top of Haneul's head before gently stroking her hair. Her smile returned.

Twelve men sat at the dining table, enjoying the breakfast Mingyu had prepared. "Where's S.Coups?" Jeonghan looked around. "As usual, in his reading room," Joshua answered.

"So, can any of you walk me to school this year?" Haneul asked. The room fell silent. "No one? Do I have to walk alone again?" Haneul asked, disappointed.

Jeonghan put down his fork. "Haneul—" "Why is it so hard for you to walk me to school? My friends have their parents walk them every year on the first day, yet I walk alone!" Haneul was upset.

"Are you scared of sunlight or something?!" she asked, but they remained silent. In anger, Haneul stood up. "I'm going." She bowed to them and stormed out of the kitchen, grabbing her bag and heading toward the front door.

She stopped when she saw S.Coups standing by the stairs near the front door. Haneul felt her heart skip a beat. Ever since she was young, S.Coups had never spoken a word to her. Even when they were in the same room, he would leave when she arrived.

Haneul bowed to him before continuing to the front door, slamming it shut behind her. 

"She left, huh?" Jeonghan asked. "The same thing?" S.Coups asked, and Jeonghan nodded. "We can't let her know, right?" Jeonghan asked. "Never," S.Coups replied curtly before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Haneul-ah!" someone hugged her from behind. "Yah, Yeonhwa!" Haneul gasped for air. "I missed you, girl!" Yeonhwa hugged her even tighter. "I-I kn-know, but c-can you let me go?" Haneul managed to say. Yeonhwa finally released her, and Haneul gasped for air. "Oh my gosh, Yeonhwa, you almost killed me!"

"But I didn't," Yeonhwa grinned widely. "So, who walked you to school this morning?" she asked, but Haneul just shook her head. "My oppas were busy."

"Aigoo. Never mind. You have me, remember?" Yeonhwa smiled. "Which is much worse," Haneul teased, shaking her head. "Hey!" Yeonhwa pouted, and Haneul giggled. "Let's go to class." The two of them walked hand-in-hand to class.

During recess, Haneul sat with some of her friends, chatting about what happened during the holiday.

"Hey, Haneul," one of her friends called. She looked up. "What's up?" she asked.

"Do you still live in that mansion? The one at the end of the village?" he asked. Haneul nodded, sipping her apple juice. "Why do you ask?" she asked.

The boy looked around before leaning in closer, lowering his voice so only they could hear. "My mom said a group of vampires lives there."

Haneul, who was in the middle of drinking her juice, choked. Yeonhwa quickly handed her a tissue. "Yah, Moonkyu!" Yeonhwa glared at him.

Moonkyu shrugged. "What? I'm just repeating what my mom told me. She said the vampires have been living there for a long time. There's even a rumor that they once killed every villager in this village before deciding to stay for good."

Haneul looked at him. "It's just a rumor, right? I mean, I've never seen any of my brothers drink blood or eat raw meat," Haneul pointed out.

Moonkyu shrugged again. "I don't know. It might just be a rumor."

Haneul finished her lunch in silence.