#hyunlore

at this rate, i won’t even be able to start. picking up another book i flip it around to read the back. my eyes skim over the text but it doesn’t tell me anything i’m looking for. “this is getting ridiculous.” i huff and my voice must be louder than i thought because i can hear someone shush me from a few stacks away. head snapping up, i try peering in-between the shelves but i only see a flash of dark green and denim then nothing.

i feel my shoulders slump and i lean forward, resting my forehead against the books in front of me with a groan, “how am i supposed to find information about mythological creatures when there’s absolutely zero mythological creature books in here?”

“you probably won’t find any.”

i let out a squeak and the book i was holding slips out of my fingers.

i clear my throat and turn and see a boy dressed in a dark green hoodie over blue cargo-style jeans and white chunky sneakers. oh. so it was him. his black hair almost completely covers his eyes as he watches me from where he stands at the end of the row. his face is familiar and i know i’ve seen him around campus before but i don’t remember where.

his voice when speaking doesn’t at all sound like it did when he was shushing me a few moments ago. it was deep but light and a wave of calmness washed over me until he blinks and i’m broken out of the trance. he clears his throat and walks over, crouching down to pick up the book i’d dropped, the pages open and folded underneath it’s own weight. i cringed. the librarian will definitely be on my ass about that later. she’s always hovering close by when students come in here. it’s as if she thinks the books hold more value than their obvious educational purposes. he stands back up and leans over me, intending to put the book back where i’d pulled it from. if i moved even an inch, we’d be touching. i try to keep still, taking in air through my nose and almost coughing it right back out. his cologne is so strong. sweet like honey but laced with smoke and i’m instantly addicted to it.

he stops just as it starts to fill my senses and fog up my brain, moving back still holding the book. did he know i could smell him? my eyes follow his as he holds it out towards me, his expression blank. i reach out to grab it, my fingers brushing against his and we both flinch. it felt like i’d touched the sun itself but wasn’t hurt by it. we quickly step away from each other and i see his hands twitch at his side. i finally notice that his fingers are lightly discoloured and marks of pink and red stretch over the pale skin on the back of his hands. burns? they twitch again and i realise i must’ve been staring for too long.

“i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to stare.” the apology already half way out of my mouth when he moves to shove his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. no reply. he just looks at me, his eyes widening a little before falling back into that blank expression i’m already starting to get used to. i fiddle with the books pages wondering if i made him uncomfortable and go to apologise again but before i can say anything he starts speaking although a little quieter than before.

“its fine,” he shuffles on his feet a little. oh right. he probably has study work to finish. “don’t worry about it.” he shrugs as if i had merely bumped into him, not rudely brought attention to a probably traumatic experience for him. i just nod my head, biting my lip slightly and turn to put the book back.

i hear him clear his throat and i spin back around.

“why were you looking for books about mythological creatures?”

“ah, that?” i try to laugh but it comes out as more of a sigh, “i told mrs lee i would submit a creative writing essay for extra credit because my grade in english was falling.” i take a few steps away from the bookshelf towards him.

his face shows no understanding of what i’m talking about so i continue, “i picked mythology because its such an over-used topic and i thought it would be easy to find resources but as you can see i’m in a slump.”

saying it out loud makes me remember where i am. i gasp pulling out my phone, seeing 6:06pm light up my lockscreen. my eyes widen, “we gotta go, the library should’ve been closed by now.” walking past him, i make my way through the stacks and back to the table i was working at. throwing all my pens into the bottom of my bag and grabbing my notebook, i jog back to the row where the boy is but as i turn the last corner and look up, he’s gone. i slow to a stop, my bag sliding off my shoulder. i couldn’t have been gone for more than a few seconds. i didn’t even get to ask what his name was.

˗ˏˋ ✧ ˎˊ˗

adjusting the bag on his shoulder, the boy speed walks further and further away from the library, twisting and turning down the empty hallways of shin university. pushing the door open to the men’s bathroom, he rushes inside, going towards the mirrors on the far wall, the conversation he’d just run from still replaying in his head.

“i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to stare.”

he was caught off guard. his scars have never been visible by anyone other than his brothers. dropping his bag on the floor behind him, he moves his hands up in-front of his face turning them back and forth. still the same old discoloured and scarred skin, nothing had changed in the three minutes it took for him to get here. but how? his brows furrow, watching the skin ripple as he closes his fist. blowing a puff of air through his lips he pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialling the one person who he thought would be able keep a secret.

“chan hyung?” wincing as his shaky voice echoes slightly around him, “can you meet me at the dorms,” his phone suddenly vibrates. a notification. pulling it away from his ear he checks the screen.

this is message is regarding an anonymous claim against you for potentially revealing forbidden information to a human and in turn jeopardising the clé court safety and secrecy. if this activity continues, your family status in the yellow wood council will be reviewed and terminated if deemed necessary.