“Since when were palace maids held to such standards? It’s not like the royal family actually cares about them. They’re easily replaceable in their eyes,” you say. 

“Y/n.” Your father took a hold of you by your shoulders. “The royal family can’t have a hair out of place. That applies to anything associated with them as well, so please mind your image.” He looks you dead in your eyes. 

“You promise I can be a musketeer after all this?” The only reason you agreed to posing as a maid to protect the prince was because your father promised that afterwards you would be able to become a musketeer, just like you always dreamed of. 

“As long as you keep the prince safe, yes. I promise you will become a musketeer.” 

“Ok then, I shalln't have a hair out of place,” you state, smoothing over the fabric of your maid outfit. 

“Good.” He released his hold on your shoulders and stood up straight. “Now remember you must heid to his every command, that goes for any member of the royal family too. If your cover gets blown then so does the cover that we’re ignorant to the assisnation attempt.” There’s the reason your dad asked you to pose as a palace maid, specifically the prince’s personal maid. To protect him from the assignation attempt that’s planned to take place before the prince’s upcoming coronation. 

“I know, once I enter those doors I’m essentially a palace slave,” you say, sounding less than thrilled. 

“Not a slave, a…servant,” your father corrects. 

“You took a moment. Which means you know those two words are quite on par with one another,” you remarked. Your father’s eyes narrowed at you. 

“Not another peep out of you. Stand up straight, shoulders back, hands folded politely in front of you. You won’t speak unless spoken too,” you father instructs. He leads you out of your house and to the carriage that awaits outside to take you to the palace. 

The ride to the palace is quiet, other than the sounds of the carriage wheels spinning against the path and the sound of the horses' feet trotting. 

When the palace came into sight you felt a blob of feelings stirring inside of you. The weight of the prince’s safety sinking deeper into your hands. Knowing you’ll have to push your pride aside to follow royal orders. Followed by a contradicting feeling of not knowing what all you’ll be subjected to do. But more importantly you feel like your dream is right at your fingertips. In a matter of months you could be a musketeer. 

👑

“Seeun this is your newly appointed personal maid.” His mother, the queen, introduced you to him. You stood with your back straight, shoulder back, head high and with your hands folded politely in front of you. 

Prince Seeun doesn’t seem very impressed by your appearance. He looks you up and down with his face holding a neutral expression.

“Go to the library and fetch me The Art Of Calligraphy and bring me a cup of tea while you’re at it. I’ll be in my study.” He walked away without another word. You watched his back as he disappeared around a corner. 

“The library is located in the east wing.” The queen gestures in the direction of the east wing. “And he drinks chamomile tea with one teaspoon of honey and two lumps of dark sugar,” she advised you. 

“Thank you, your royal highness,” you say with a bow of your head. You give a full ninety degree bow to the queen as you excused yourself to the library. You notice how huge the palace feels when you're walking its halls alone. You almost feel like a mouse scurrying around. 

The library’s doors are huge and heavy. They make a creak much too loud for a library when you push them open. Fortunately no one else appears to be inside. You found the library catalog and looked for the card for The Art Of Calligraphy. You found the card and pulled it. The old worn paper felt rough between your fingers. You found the location number, quickly memorized it and put the card back. Then you proceeded to walk through the shelves till you found the location number and pulled the book from the shelf. The Art Of Calligraphy was written across the cover in gold lettering. You tucked the book under your arm and exited the library. Doors making that same high pitched creak as you left.

From there you hurried to the kitchen to make the prince his tea. Fortunately the kitchen keeps hot water on hand so you don't have to wait for water to boil. You grabbed a tray, a saucer and a cup. You place the saucer of the tray followed by the cup neatly placed in the center of the saucer. Then you placed the bag of chamomile tea in the cup and poured the water. While it steeped you added the teaspoon of honey and two lumps of brown sugar. Afterwards you picked up a spoon and mixed the contents of the cup till the sugar dissolved. You waited a few minutes more and removed the tea bag, throwing it in the trash.

Carrying the tray, the book under your arm and opening doors on your own was quite the feat to say the least, but alas you made it to the prince’s study, knocking on the door twice before entering. 

“You took your time,” Prince Seeun remarked upon you entering. You wanted to scoff, did he expect you to snap your fingers and have everything he wanted?

“Apologize your highness,” you force yourself to say instead, walking further into the room. You place the tray down on his desk and set the book beside it. From there you tried to quietly take your leave, but the prince spoke. 

“You need to grind my ink,” he tells you. Of course you did. Because why would the prince grind his own ink?

You add the drops of water onto the inkstone and pick up the solid inkstick. Carefully you began to grind the ink in gentle circular movements of the ink stick against the ink stone.

When there was enough ink Prince Seeun picked up his quill pen and dipped it into the ink.

“Can you read?” he asked you. 

You failed to contain your scoff. Of course you could read. It’s not like you were a poor peasant.

“Did my question offend you?” Seeun looks up at you from where he is seated at his desk. It looks like he’s trying to look at you with some kind of foe concern, but rather he simply looks annoyed at you.

“My apologies your highness. My throat had a tickle. No, your question didn’t offend me.” you answered. 

“Then answer it,” he told you. Your grind of the inkstick against the inkstone became a bit firmer as you tried to keep your composure. 

“Yes, I can read,” you informed him.

“Read for me then.” He ordered, opening The Art Of Calligraphy and tapping at the text using the back of his quill. You take a brief composing breath before beginning to read the text on the page.

“The pen angle can be as steep as 85° to the horizontal for the thin vertical strokes. This angle is relaxed to nearer 45° for the foot serifs and diagonal strokes. Therefore, from the top of the stem to the beginning of the foot, the pen must twist as much as 40°, and this transition is the key to well executed Rustic Capitals.”

“You read surprisingly well,” he voiced, but he doesn’t look up from the page he’s practicing rustic capitals on. 

“Thank you, your highness.” You have to say despite his words not feeling like a compliment at all. Did he think you lacked proper reading skills? And if so then why did he ask you to read? Did he want to make a jest of you?

“Keep reading and mind the ink,” he reminds you of your hand that was still moving in circular motions against the inkstone. 

You continued to read from the book while simultaneously keeping an eye on the ink. Temporarily stopping your motions when more than enough ink was ground and began your movements again when more ink was needed. This went on until dinner.

👑

“How are you holding up?” One of the other palace maids checks on you when you return to the maids quarters while the royal family is eating.

“Well I suppose, but I’ve only had to fetch him a book from the library, make him a cup of tea, grind his ink and read to him,” you went on to say. 

“Read to him? I haven’t heard any of his previous maids mention that,” she tells you. 

“Oh I have. He ask her to read a passage from one of his books and totally jested her when she stumbled over the word cumulo-cumuloni-nim-”

“Cumulonimbus?” you inferred the word the maid who cut into the conversation was trying to say.

“You’re educated,” the first maid says, looking at you with a hint of awe. 

“Yes, I was fortunate enough to receive one,” you said. 

“Then why are you here? I mean no offense by that, it's just maids don’t usually have such high literacy skills,” they explained themself. 

“My father…had a change of jobs,” you lied, looking down at your lap.

“Oh,” the two maids chorused and looked at you sympathetically.

“It’s fine.” You continued your act. “At least I get to work in the palace now.”

“And be close to the prince…though he’s not the nicest person to be around.”

A chortle rumbled through your lungs. “No, he isn’t,” you agreed, but was he so un-nice to be around that he deserved death?

After dinner was over you followed the price back to his room. 

“Run me a bath,” he ordered you. 

“Yes, your highness,” you obliged, making your way to the bathroom that was attached to the prince’s room. You reached the bath that was in the center of the room and turned on the facet, allowing the water to begin filling the tub. After adjusting the water’s temperature you looked at the array of different bath salts and soaps. You pick up the bath salt jar that looked half way used, probably the one the prince uses most you inferred since the other bath salts jars were mainly full. You pull off the cork and smell the salts. Different scents hit your nose, but the one that sticks with you the most is hemlock, poison hemlock. It’s hidden under the gardenia scent, but it’s there. It concerns you because it can cause respiratory paralysis.

“Your highness your bath salt has gone stale,” you inform the prince, walking over to the doorway where his room meets the bathroom. 

“Gone stale?” he looked at you puzzledly. 

“Yes, gone stale. It shouldn’t be used anymore,” you tell him. 

“Then throw it away. Use one of the others.” He speaks to you like he doesn’t know why you’re talking to him.

“Will do your highness.” You went back into the bathroom and looked at the salts again. This time you picked a jar that looks like it hasn’t been touched in a while. When you take a sniff you don’t smell any poisonous plants lurking around with the other scents of the salt. Now knowing that it’s safe to use you pour an amount of it into the tub and mix it into the warm water. 

“Your bath is ready.” Once more you walked to the doorway to notify the prince. He nods and gets up from where he was lounging on a couch and makes his way into the bathroom. He proceeds to stand in front of you. You give him a confused look. 

“Undress me,” he told you. 

“Undress you?” Your eyebrows rose every so slightly, not being able to fully contain your shock. 

“Yes, undress me, it's your job as my maid.” Of course it is.

“Right.” You swallowed the salvia that was sitting in your mouth. Ever so carefully you reached for his jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. Once it was off you folded it and set it aside on the counter that held all the salts and soaps. From there your fingers tentatively found the buttons on his collar, beginning to undo them one by one. You hyper fixate on the buttons, doing your best to ignore the prince’s skin that became more and more exposed with each button that you undid. When your fingers undid the last one you repeated the same motion you did with his jacket and pushed the silky material off his shoulders. After the shirt was folded your hands found his belt buckle. Again you attached your focus to the piece of clothing that you're removing, not daring to look at the body that lies underneath them. 

When you reach for the button of his pants the prince’s finger hooks under your chin, lifting your gaze to meet his. 

“You’re different from other maids,” he states. 

“Pardon?” you asked. 

“I mean what I said. You’re different from other maids. I’ve never had a maid that reads as eloquently as you do and I’ve never had a maid that undressed me so casually either. His voice drops when he says the second part. 

“I’m only doing my job.” You drop your gaze from his and return to undoing the button of his pants. Once the button is undone your fingers sink around the fabric of the waistband to pull the pants down, but the prince places his hands over your, preventing you from doing so. 

“Yes, your highness?” you asked, looking up at him. 

“Fetch me the book from my nightstand,” he ordered. 

“Of course, your highness.” Your hands release the fabric of his waistband and you bow slightly, turning to head out of the bathroom to grab his book. You walk the distance over to his nightstand and grab the book. 

Upon returning back to the bathroom you see that the prince is already in the tub, leaning against the porcelain with his arms resting on either side of it. His pants and underwear are sitting in a pile on the floor beside the tub. 

“Your book, your highness,” you say, handing the book over to him. After handing him the book you reached down and picked his clothes off of the floor, folding them and adding them to the pile of his other clothes on the counter. 

“Bathe me,” he said with nonchalance as he flipped open his book. Meanwhile your heart lurched into your throat. Though you suppose you should have expected him to give you this order. He can’t even lift a finger to grind his own ink.

Wordlessly you grabbed a washing rag and dipped it into the bath water. Then you chose a soap (smelling it first to ensure that it was safe.) You applied the soap to the rag and walked around to the back of the tub, coming down onto your knees and started to wipe down the top of the prince’s shoulders. 

“You can rub harder,” he tells you. You put a bit more force into your rubbing.

He naturally leaned forwards for you as you ran the rag past his shoulder to his upper back. As you cleaned down his back the more your heart sped against your chest because that meant you would have to wash his front side soon

After rinsing his back side free of suds you moved around to the side of the tub to scrub his chest. Your grip on the rag was slightly tighter as you tried to ground yourself. Your eyes hyperfixated on the rag, especially when you felt the prince’s eyes shift from his book to you. Even more so when you heard him set the book down all together. His gaze fully fixated on you now.

You ignored it as you brought the rag down his arm. When you reached his hand he captured your hand in his. The soap soaked rag, dripping down into the tub water below.

“You’re truly different,” he voices. 

You cleared your throat, finding a stable voice. “Yes, you mentioned that earlier, your highness.” 

“I was talking about your behavior then…” His thumb runs along the back of your damp hand. “However now, I mean that I fancy having you beside me,” he reveals. 

“We’ve only met today. Haven’t even known one another for a full day.” You didn’t look him in the eye. You feared you would lose your composure if you did.

“It’s been long enough.” His fingers wrapped more firmly around your hand, causing the rag to drip more. Droplets sounding in little splashes as they met the bath water. “Look at me,” he requested when you kept your gaze averted from his. 

Upon bringing your eyes to meet his your heart sputters in your chest. Why is he looking at you so thoughtfully? 

“I’ve never felt so at peace around someone before. Everything feels less loud. With my coronation approaching I’ve felt like I couldn’t breathe properly in months, yet right now.” He tugged you closer. “Breathing has never felt easier.”

“I should finish bathing you. The bath water will get cold.” You weren’t trying to dismiss him, but how were you supposed to respond to what he was telling you. It was practically a confession.

He allowed you to continue bathing him, but his eyes never leave you as you do so.

You changed him into his sleep clothes and pulled the blankets over him in his bed. 

“Have a goodnight, your highness.” You bowed, beginning to back out of the room.

“Stay,” he says. “Read to me.” He glances over to the book that is sitting on his nightstand. 

“As you wish, your highness.” You made your way over to the nightstand and picked up the book. 

“Sit.” He gestured to the empty space next to him on the edge of the bed. You obeyed and perched on the edge of his bed.

“Where were you?” You asked for his place in the book. 

“Just read,” he tells you. 

“Okay.” You opened the book and began to read. The prince closes his eyes, relaxing to the sound of your voice. It didn’t take long for him to drift off to sleep. When you took note of his sleeping form you quietly shut the book, returning it to its place on his nightstand. Then you proceeded to make your way out of his room as silently as possible, pausing to turn off the lights before closing the door behind yourself with a soft, gentle click. 

👑

“There was hemlock in the prince’s bath salt,” you notified your father when you were finally able to meet him privately. 

“Hemlock?” Your father repeated. 

“Yes, hemlock. Don’t worry I threw it out. Made a fib about it being stale, but I’d look into who provides the royal family with their bathing salts.”

“Naturally I will do that. Did you notice anything else that was off?” your father asked you. 

“No,” you simply stated. “But I’ll keep my eyes out.” 

“Good. How’s the prince? Not too insufferable?” He questioned with a hint of humour. 

“Surprisingly not,” you disclosed. 

“Really?” Your father seemed intrigued by your answer. “In the past I’ve heard gossip from his other personal maids about how…not so kind he could be.” Your father chose his words carefully. 

“He can be blunt, but he hasn’t been outwardly rude. At least not yet.” A small, almost imperceptible laugh rumbled through your chest.

“Pleasant news to hear. Though I suppose the more peace you keep with him the more willing he may be to grant you your musketeer title.”

A smile tugged at your lips. “I can only hope.”

👑

“Good morning, your highness,” you greeted the prince as you opened the curtain in his bedroom to allow the sunlight to pour in.

The prince groans from his bed, making his detest clear about getting up.

“Come on, I’ve got to get you changed for breakfast. Then after you’ve eaten you have your painting lesson in the great room,” you let him know his schedule for the morning. 

Prince Seeun reluctantly sits up, blanket pooling around his waist before he swings his legs out of bed. Meanwhile you fetched his clothes. When you return with his clothes he is still sitting on his bed, posture far less than perfect. A very light chuckle blew through you, seeing the prince in such a groggy state. You set his clothes beside him on the bed and started to remove his silk sleepwear top. One by one your fingers nimbly undid each button till you reached the last one. As you push the soft fabric off of his shoulder he lifts his head to look at you. His more than tired eyes meeting yours. You finished slipping the shirt off of his arms and reached for the new one, but you froze in your spot when you felt his long arms circling around your waist. 

“Oh-what are you?”

“Your apron is crooked,” he mumbled out as he pulled the knot of the back of your apron. 

“I’ll fix-” You went to take the strings of your apron from him.

“Let me.” He adjusted your apron around your waist. Your breath hitches in your throat when he leans closer to you. Peering around your back to tie your apron and after he tied the knot he let his hands graze down your sides. His touch only lasted for a second or two, but the intimate touch had your heart racing.

You cleared your throat, collecting yourself. “Thank you.” 

This time as you button up his shirt you're less cautious with your touches. Instead of strictly only touching the fabric adorning his body, you allow your fingers to ghost against his skin ever so slightly.

Prince Seeun notices this subtle change. An almost imperceptible smile gracing his lips at the feeling of your hands, dusting across his skin. 

“May you stand why I change your pants, your highness?” You asked after your fingers fell from fastening the last button. 

He nods, letting out a slight hum and rising from the bed to stand. His full height is now looming over you, but you pay no mind to it (try not to.) Your hands sink into the waist band of his silk pants and pull them down. Once they pool at his ankles the prince steps out of them. You grab the new pair of pants and prepare them for him to easily step into. After he does you pull them up his long legs and fasten them closed. Proceeding to reach for his belt and sliding it through the loops before tightening it and latching it closed. Finally you reach for his jacket, sliding it up his arms and coming around in front of him once more to do up the buttons. 

“Brush my hair for me too,” he told you. 

“Of course your highness.” You went to grab his hair brush. He takes a seat on his couch while you do so. You brought the hairbrush with you back over to the couch, standing behind it and beginning to brush the bristles through his hair. 

“Come around in front of me,” he says. You do as he says and come around to stand in front of where he sat on the couch.

Apparently Prince Seeun didn’t like the distance you were keeping between you two, because his hands landed on either side of your waist and pulled you closer to him, in the space between his legs. 

“Oh,” you gasp gently. 

“It’s nice to have you close,” he stated while looking up at you, his hands still on either side of your waist. 

After breakfast you’re assisting Prince Seeun during his painting lesson. Mixing colors for him on the palette, holding the palette for him, changing out and handing him different brushes and other painting tools. 

You fail to notice since you’re too preoccupied with the painting tools and keeping an eye out for anything that could impair the prince’s safety, but anytime you walk “too” far away Prince Seeun’s eyes glance towards you like magnets. You’re supposed to be the one watching him and yet here he is watching you. 

Promptly after finishing his painting lesson Prince Seeun's presence was needed in the courtyard for his archery lesson.

From the moment you stepped into the courtyard your gut was telling you that something was off. Your eyes scanned the surrounding area looking for anything that seemed out of place. Your ears pricked at every rustle of leaves that blew in the gentle breeze. Your ears stayed on high alert as you placed the prince’s hand guard and arm guard on him.

Just when you began to think that it was simply due to the fact that the prince was exposed in a more open area that was causing your paranoia you heard it. The distinctive crack of a bow snapping.

Without a split second of thinking you shoved the prince to the ground.

“You better have a-”

The arrow flies by, right in front of your face, landing in one of the pillar structures in the courtyard.

“Protect the prince!” A guard shouts. The rest of the guards hastily pull out their swords while they surround the prince, pushing you out of their way and to the ground as they do so.

You land on the ground with a firm thud, feeling the ground scratch against your palms.

“My maid already did!” Prince Seeun seethed, pushing his way past the guards that were surrounding him. “And why are none of you going to look for whoever shot that arrow at me!” He yelled at them. “Good for nothing insolent fools! I should have you all fired!”

However his rage falters for a mere moment when he sees you on the ground. His eyes soften with a flash of concern. A flash that came back to stay when he saw the streak of crimson red across your cheek. You had gotten hurt. Upon that realization his face hardens, jaw clenching. He bends down and pulls you up from the ground by your elbows. Once you’re on your feet one of his hands slips down to your wrist, pulling you along with him as he makes his way back inside the palace. Guards following right on your guys’ tails of course. 

“Leave us!” Prince Seeun barked at the guards when you two were back inside the palace walls. Upon passing a maid in the hall he shouted an order at her to bring a first aid kit to his room.

His livid demeanor faded away once the two of you were back in the seclusion of his room.

“Let me see.” His voice was soft now. His touch gentle and caring as he cupped your face in his hands to better inspect the wound on your cheek. 

“It’s alright your highness. It’s only a minor graze wound.” You tried to move your face out of his hands, but he held you more firmly, still keeping gentleness to his touch though. His finger slid from your cheeks to the resting on the side of your neck just under your jaw. His thumb came to wipe away the blood that was dripping down your cheek. 

“You shouldn’t be dirtying your hand,” you say softly. Though you didn’t really care about the prince dirtying his hand with your blood. No it was the way he was caring for you so gently that was affecting you. His delicate touch surrounding your face made it hard for you to fight off the crimson colored blush that wanted to take over your face.

A knock on the door becomes your saving grace.

“I have the first aid kit you wanted your royal highness.” The maid’s voice sounds from the other side of the door.

Prince Seeun walked over to the door and opened it, taking the first aid kit from the maid without any words. He comes back over to you. 

“Sit down.” He leads you over to the couch and gently pushes you down onto the plush cushions.

“You don’t have to, your highness,” you tell him when he sits down beside you and opens the first aid kit. 

“Shush, any wound of any size can get infected if left untreated. Just let me take care of you.” He damps a cotton ball with disinfectant.

“Come here.” He angled your body to face his and cupped your cheek again with his hand that wasn’t holding the cotton ball.

Despite him tapping the cotton ball gently against your wound you felt the sting instantly as the disinfected burned against your broken open skin. You winced ever so slightly, but it still made the prince pause.

“Sorry,” Prince Seeun apologized. Before resuming his action of dabbing the cotton ball against your injury, somehow even more gently than he did before. When he was done applying the disinfected he adjusted his hold on your face and pulled you in closer. Your heart lurches in your chest and he softly blows on the deep scratch on your to put out the burning the disinfectant caused.

“Seeun! Seeun! Are you alright!?” The queen came bursting into his room frantically. Of course it didn’t take long for her to hear about the news of the arrow that was aimed at the prince. “Oh-” She froze when she saw the sight of you and her son.

Now you feel your heart lurch into your throat along with some bile at being caught so intimately close with the prince. 

“I’m alright mother. Thanks to her. She got injured while saving me too.” Prince Seeun used his hand that was still holding your cheek to turn your face, so that his mother could see the injury you sustained. 

“Oh, oh I see…well should I call the royal physician to have a look at that?” She asked you, looking at your split open cheek. 

You shook your head. “There’s no need, your majesty. It’s only a small graze wound, nothing serious. I appreciate your offer though,” you tell her. 

“Thank you for saving my son.” She bowed her head at you, showing her appreciation. 

“Of course, your majesty.” It was what you were assigned to do anyway, technically speaking.

“You should fire those guards,” Prince Seeun tells the queen. “They failed to protect me and even pushed the one who did protect me to the ground when they finally decided to do their job.” Prince Seeun glances at you. The queen doesn’t miss it.

“Seeun, I understand you being upset with them, but your coronation is right around the corner. We can't afford to fire so many guards right now,” she told him. 

“With the way they failed to do their job today you still trust them to protect me? The palace? Call in the musketeers if you're so worried for my safety, because those guards don’t seem to know how to protect it.” He spoke with clear malice in his voice.

“I will discuss this further with your father alright. And I will cancel the rest of the lessons you had scheduled for today. Use the free time to recoup. I’m sure almost getting hit with an arrow must have startled you.” With that the queen takes her leave. 

After his mother leaves Prince Seeun instantly shifts his attention back to you. (Not that it fully averted from you anyway.) He picks up a bandage from the first aid kit and opens it.

“Face me. We shouldn’t leave your wound uncovered.” You obeyed and turned your head to face him. He delicately places the bandage over your wound. 

“I knew you were different from other maids,” He says, taking your hands in his. 

“Yes, your highness you’ve mentioned that,” you said. 

“Yes, I have, however then I was referring to your behavior.” 

“What are you referring to now then, your highness?” you asked. 

“The only way you could have pushed me out of the way in time for that arrow to miss me was if you heard the snap of the bow that the arrow was shot from. No normal maid’s ear would be trained to hear that.”

“I suppose not.” You weren’t sure what to say. The prince was right. No normal maid would have been able to hear the snap of the bow like you did. If you were a normal maid Prince Seeun would be gravely injured right now, but you’re not supposed to reveal your identity either.

“Who are you?” he questioned. He doesn’t look like he’s mad at you for pretending to be a maid.

“I’m your maid.” Technically that’s true.

Prince Seeun felt his heart soar. Something about hearing you say that you’re his made him feel warm inside. Though he can’t revel in that feeling as long as he wishes because you also didn’t really answer his question. 

“Are you not allowed to say?” he followed. 

“You’re right, I’m not a normal maid, but I am also your maid, so can we just leave it at that, your highness?” you asked. Prince Seeun takes a breath. He really wants to know more about your true identity, but he supposes right now he can simply be happy with the fact that you’re his (maid.)

“If you stop referring to me as ‘your highness’ we can. Please call me Seeun or Prince Seeun if you must call me a title.”

“Ok, Prince Seeun,” you smiled. He smiled back instantly. He loves the way his name sounds leaving your mouth. 

👑

Prince Seeun and you have gotten closer. It’s noticeable, so noticeable that they are whispers about you two floating around the palace halls. 

“How did she manage to seduce him?”

“I heard that he fancied her first actually.”

“I saw the way he dragged her into the palace that day. Let me tell you that boy is in love.”

“Why has the King and Queen not kicked her out yet? I mean a maid fooling around with their son, the prince.”

“Do you think they’re serious?”

“He won’t be foolish enough to try and make her his queen right?”

You didn’t pay any mind to the whispers. Seriously going as far as to claim that Seeun was in love with you because you walked alongside him in the halls rather than two steps behind? People simply loved to talk nonsense.

Except maybe it wasn’t nonsense at all.

“Prince Seeun, your coronation outfit has arrived. I need you to try it on, so we can see if any adjustments are needed,” you tell him as you enter his room with the box containing his coronation outfit.

Prince Seeun doesn't appear to be too pleased about the news of his coronation outfit arriving. Apparent in the way he gets up with a reluctant sigh.

“Not happy about your coronation?” you asked, setting the box aside.

“I don’t believe I’m ready to ascend the throne,” he voices. You approached him and took his hands in yours. Prince Seeun feels his heart stutter in his chest at your touch. 

“There are some things that we never feel ready for,” you tell him looking up at him. 

“Come with me to the coronation.” Even if he doesn’t feel ready. Prince Seeun knows he would feel a lot more at peace with you by his side. 

“I’ll be there. Granted, more in the background as a maid,” you say.

“No.” Prince Seeun brings your linked hands up to his chest. “I mean come with me.” He repeats the words with more intention. “Remain by my side the whole night.”

“I think having a maid by your side the entire night would be less than appropriate, Prince Seeun. Plus there are already plentiful amounts of whispers about us. That would only add to them,” you politely declined. 

“I got you something,” he tells you instead of trying to say something else that would say your mind. 

“You got me something?” You give him a surprised look. He chuckles at your expression. 

“Yes.” He lets go of your hands and walks over to the other side of his bed. He bends down and when he stands back up he’s holding a box. He came back over to where you stood and held the box out to you. “Take a look.”

You hesitated for a moment before removing the lid of the box. When you look inside you see an outrageously beautiful purple gown.

“For the night you won’t be my maid.” Speechlessly you look back and forth between him and the dress. 

“Prince Seeun I couldn’t possibly-”

“Try it on.” He pays no mind to your refusal.

“I shouldn’t,” you insisted. 

“You will.” He set the box down and before you knew it was unbuttoning the top buttons of your maid uniform.

“Prince Seeun, this is highly inappropriate." Yet instead of pushing his hands away to prevent him from undressing you any further, you look towards his bedroom door feeling paranoid that it would fly open at any second. 

“You undress me all the time,” he dismissed, continuing his way down your top.

“Because it’s my job,” you reasoned. 

He stopped undoing your buttons to look you dead in your eyes. “Undressing you can be my job,” he smirks. 

Your cheeks burn instantly. A deep red hue taking over your face. “Seeun!” You pushed him in his chest. 

“Finally got you to drop the ‘Prince’.” He smiled and went back to finish undoing the last set of buttons. He pushes the dress off of your shoulders, letting it pool around your feet. You feel exposed as Prince Seeun’s eyes roam over your body.

“You’re beautiful,” he tells you, placing his hands on your bare waist. His thumb swipes back and forth over your ribs.

“Seeun~” you complained, feeling hot all over. 

“What?” he asked you with a playful glint. 

“Get the dress.” You nodded over to where the dress box sat. He looks over you a few seconds more before going to grab the box. You step out of your maid uniform while he does so. He helps you into the gown then proceeds to lead you over to the mirror. 

“Absolutley breathtaking,” he states. His hands then move to your hair bun and removes the tie keeping it in place. Allowing for your hair to fall over your shoulders. “No one will even think for a second that you’re a maid.” His hands find their way back to your waist, resting on either side of it. He pulls you back against his chest.

“But what if someone asks for my title?” Prince Seeun moves his arms to rest around your middle. One of his hands then goes to meet yours. He lifts it to his lips, pressing a kiss against your knuckles. 

“I’ll take care of it. All you have to do is be by my side, the whole night. Won’t that make your job easier too?” he added.

You turn your head back to look up at him. “What are you implying?”

“We established that you’re not a normal maid. Based on the fact that you saved me from that arrow I can infer that your real duty more than likely has something to do with protecting me, so won’t it be easier to protect me when I’m right beside you?” He slightly raised a brow as he looked down at where you were in his arms. 

“People will still talk. Even if the guests don’t recognize me. Other palace staff will,” you said.

He leaned in to whisper in your ear. “And we both know that their whispers aren’t far off from the truth.”

“Prince Seeun.”

“If saying my name is the only rebuttal you have. Then it’s safe to say you’re accompanying me to my coronation.” He kisses your knuckles again. Letting his lips brush reverently against your skin.

You didn’t have any other rebuttal. 

👑

It was the day of Prince Seeun’s coronation and you were on high alert. You doubt whoever was behind wanting to assassinate Prince Seeun would simply give up after their arrow missed their target. Certainly they were planning something bigger. 

“You look more nervous than I do,” Prince Seeun remarked as you did up the last button on his coronation jacket. 

“I’m not nervous,” you refuted, hands taking a hold of his jacket lapels. “I just…” Know something is going to happen tonight. 

“You just?” His hands came to rest on either side of your hips.

“Want tonight to go smoothly.” But you know it’s not going to.

“As do I.” he grabbed your hands that were holding onto the lapels of his jacket and brought them to his mouth, pressing kisses against your knuckles. “I have something for you,” he told you, gently letting go of your hands.

“Last time you said that you pulled out this more than extravagant gown,” you say, looking down at the gown that hangs over your body. 

“And this time it’s the finishing touches,” he tells you. 

“What?” you asked. He answers your question by opening up a jewelry box, displaying a necklace with the sparkliest amethyst you’ve ever seen with matching earrings. 

“Prince Seeun, this is too much,” you state, looking at the jewelry that is shining back at you.

“No, it’s the bare minimum,” he articulated. He retrieves the necklace from the box and walks around behind you to put it on for you. He sweeps your hair out of the way, letting his fingers brush leisurely against the side of your neck. He sets the necklace around your neck and secures it. He then turns you around to face him, admiring how you look in the necklace. Allowing his fingers to run across the cool metal and your collarbones. He proceeds to put the earrings on you as well.

“You make the jewelry look beautiful,” he tells you, sweeping your hair behind your shoulder. 

You laugh. “Now you’re talking nonsense, my prince. The jewelry is beautiful on its own.” Prince Seeun has to act like his heart didn’t explode in his chest upon hearing you call him your prince. 

“It is, but it looks even more beautiful on you.” His arms found their way around your waist, pulling you into him. 

Your hands landed on his chest. “So what will my title be tonight?”

A smile graced Prince Seeun’s lips. He let go of your waist with one of his hands and reached into the pocket of his dress pants. He pulled out a ring box. Your heart stuttered in your chest at the sight of it. 

“Prince Seeun,” you say. He removes his other hand from your waist, so that he can open the box.

“My betrothed.” He opens the box, revealing a marquise style diamond ring. 

“Seeun, you can’t be serious,” you remark, looking at the ring in shock. Prince Seeun only chuckles, taking the ring out of the box. He grabs your hands and slides the ring onto your ring finger. 

“I’m dead serious.” He looked at you directly in the eyes. “Mother already agreed to it as well.” You look at the ring sitting on your finger. “I don’t know if I want to ask if this is just for tonight or if you’re being serious?” you voice. Prince Seeun simply takes your hand in his. 

“You can find out after tonight.”

All eyes were on you and Prince Seeun, granted this was his coronation, but the attention was definitely stemming from the news of you being announced as his betrothed. The gasps you heard from the guest when the announcement was made still rung through your ears. 

Prince Seeun didn’t appear to mind any of the attention though. He kept his arm linked with yours, walking around the room like he didn’t just shock everyone in the room. 

“Prince Seeun, you always did know how to get a room's attention.” Some guy, who you can only assume is of some high status, approached you and Seeun.

Prince Seeun laughed formally. “Well, yes, I supposed that’s true. Though honestly I wanted to announce my engagement the second she accepted my proposal, but my mother thought it would be best to share the news after my coronation. I bargained for the same night.” He leaned down to press a kiss to the crown of your head. 

The guy smiles fakely at the affection. “I’m surprised myself is all. I don’t recall ever hearing that you were courting someone, let alone planning on proposing.”

“I like to keep the matters of the heart private for the most part. It would be horribly embarrassing if I ran around singing about my love for someone only to have them reject me. I wanted things to be set in stone before sharing,” Prince Seeun responded with ease. 

“Indeed it would be,” the guy mused. “Well, enjoy your evening, soon to be king.”

Something irked you about that man. He clearly had a distaste for Prince Seeun, but was that distaste enough for him to want to assassinate him? You weren’t sure.

Throughout the evening you stayed latched to Seeun’s side. Encounter various kinds of people. However, they all essentially wanted to know the same thing: yours and Prince Seeun’s love story. One woman was even bold enough to question if you were carrying his child.

The crowning ceremony was about to start, which meant you found a way to be on even more high alert than you already were. Any one and every one was a suspect in your eyes. Even more so when a part of the ceremony included Seeun walking through a path of knights, who have their swords lifting, creating a tunnel for him to walk under. All holding very real swords that could be used to harm Seeun in an instant. 

“Seeun.” You stopped him right before he had to get in place for the ceremony to start. 

“What is it?” He asked you. 

“Don’t walk by a knight until I walk past them,” you instruct him. 

“Are you suspecting them?” He looked at you with concern. 

“I’d just rather be safe than sorry,” you tell him. 

“Okay,” he nodded. “I trust you. You’ll keep me safe.” 

This time you nod at him. “Of course I will, my prince.” That name has his heart sputtering in his chest again. He leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to your cheek. He walked to his position as you walked parallel to it on the other side of the row of knights. 

You began your walk, thoroughly inspecting each knight with your eyes, looking for any signs of intentions of harming the prince. Prince Seeun kept pace a couple steps behind you. Only passing by each knight once you’ve walked by them like you instructed him to do. 

That’s when you notice something strange. A knight on the opposite side of the ones you're walking behind. He keeps glancing somewhere. At someone rather. You follow the knight’s gaze and that’s when you see him. The guy that approached you and Seeun earlier. The one who harbored a clear distaste for the prince. 

Prince Seeun noticed that you stopped walking. He makes eye contact with you, you shoot your gaze over the knight. He gets the idea and nods very subtly. He continues on walking and right when he passes that knight they lunge forwards. As do you, pushing your way through the knights that blocked your path.

It appears like you're too late. The knight’s sword had already pierced into Seeun’s side. Easily going through the material of his jacket. Sinking in deeper, until it hits something, armor.

“Is this really necessary?” Prince Seeun asked you attached the pieces of armor to his body. When you were getting him ready for his coronation.

“Yes, because I’d rather be safe, you be safe than sorry.” You pat the armor in place. 

“So you care about me?” He asks it like it’s a question, but he means it like a statement.

“Let’s finish getting you dressed.” You looked down to hide your blushing cheeks as you reached for his shirt. Of course you cared about him. 

Quickly you kick the knight away from Seeun and subdue him, tossing his sword aside and trapping him on his knees with his arms behind his back. Other knights urgently moved to help you contain the attempted murderer. 

“Somebody get him while you're at it.” You pointed to the man, who was trying to quietly, although promptly leave the scene. Upon seeing that his knight pond had failed to kill Prince Seeun. 

👑

“So how do you feel, King?” You asked him after the ceremony finally ended. You were back in his room. 

“Like the armor was a good call,” he says humorously. “But more than anything else.” He pulled you in close to him. “I want to know who you really are?” he asked. 

“My name is y/n and before becoming your maid I was in training to become a musketeer.” You clasped your hands together behind his neck. 

“No wonder you subdued that knight so easily,” he commented, hands falling to rest on your lower back. 

“Only the best to protect the King,” you remark. 

“Why do you want to be a musketeer?” he asked. 

“My dad is a palace knight.” Seeun’s eyes widened so much they looked like they could pop out of his head. You couldn’t help but laugh. 

“He wasn’t the one who wanted to kill me, was he?” he jested. Again you laugh. 

“He might want to when he finds out if you’re serious about taking my hand in marriage,” you jested back. “Anyway one day some musketeers had some business to discuss with my dad. I remember watching them ride up to our house on the horses and from that moment I just knew I wanted to be one,” you shared. 

“I am serious,” he tells you. 

“What?” You looked up at him. 

“I’m serious. About this.” He moves one of his hands to grab your left one. His thumb rubs over the ring sitting on your finger. “I know it may seem like it’s too soon, but I also know my heart has never yearned, never cared, for someone the way it does for you. I love you,” he confesses, leaning his forehead against yours. “I understand if you need more time, but I really want you to be my queen.”

“I think I’d like to be your musketeer first, but I’d also like to be your queen.” You linked your hand together with his, keeping your forehead pressed against his. Prince Seeun smiles the brightest he has ever smiled and presses his lips against yours in a much awaited kiss.

“Y/n,” Jihoon, one of the butchers, smiled at you from behind the counter. “What can I get for you today?” he asked. 

“Two pounds of ground beef and a rack of ribs,” you recited the list your mom gave you. 

“Right up,” he told you before turning his back to gather the meat you ordered. 

Your ribs had already been wrapped up and as Jihoon was weighing the two pounds of ground beef on the scale the door to the shop chimed. 

“Finally caught the damn thing. This stupid wolf has been killing my chickens for months.” You flinch as Mr.Kim practically slams the wolf’s body onto the counter. “Can you hack it up for me?” You feel bad as you stare at the wolf’s lifeless body. You know you should’t, wolves have been causing a lot of trouble for the people of your town lately. Killing farm animals or pets. Scaring away other forms of wildlife. Destroying gardens, stealing fruits. There had been some human attacks as well, so having one wolf dealt with should be a good thing. Still you feel sad looking at the wolf. Sure it killing Mr. Kim’s chickens was quite distressing for Mr. Kim to deal with, but at the same time the wolf was just trying to survive wasn’t it? You suppose it’s a two wrongs don’t make a right type of situation. One that left your moral compass feeling gray. 

“Here you go y/n.” Jihoon passed you your order over the lifeless wolf. You pay him what you owe and as you leave the shop you can hear Jihoon calling for one of the other butchers to come prepare the wolf. You leave with a sick feeling in your stomach.

“Oh sweetie good your back. While you were gone Mrs. Choi called,” she informed you as she took the meat from you. 

“About what?” You asked, following her as she walked to the kitchen to put the meat in the freezer. 

“Her son got attacked by a wolf last night, so she wanted to ask you to take over the interviews for the cafe tomorrow,” your mom told you. 

“What? Is her son ok?” You asked, feeling worried about her son. 

“Yeah he’s fine, just needs some time to recover,” your mom answered. 

“That’s good, but I don’t think I’m fit to conduct interviews. I’m only a barista,” you say. Not seeing how you could have enough authority to pick a new hire. 

“Head barista,” your mom corrected you. “Plus this will be the person you have to work beside. You actually probably know who’s better fit for this line of work than Mrs. Choi.” She was half joking, half being serious. She did have a point though, being able to choose your coworker was a pretty good advantage. 

“Guess I’ll be holding interviews tomorrow,” you said. Not like you really had a choice. 

The following morning you found yourself interviewing a handful of people who applied for the barista job. Most of those interviews ended with a “We’ll be in touch.” but you actually had no intentions of being in touch with them. You know being a barista isn’t the most renowned job, but it did require a fair amount of skill, something most of the applicants lacked and if it wasn’t a skill issue it was a personality issue. You were starting to lose hope about finding a decent coworker. 

That was until he entered. He being Nicholas, at least that was the name on his resume. 

“You have here listed on your references that you used to work at Starlight Cafe. Why did you stop working there?” you asked. Though seeing that he had previous work at a cafe made you feel relieved. 

“I moved here,” he replied. 

“So you’re new to town?” you asked, even though it was a bit obvious. 

“Yeah, I moved here recently with some friends,” he told you. 

“Well I hope that you like it here, but since you worked at a cafe previously is it safe to assume that you’re somewhat familiar with coffee machines?” you asked. 

“I am. I know how to make drip coffee too,” he adds. 

“Noted” you say, actually making a note of it on his resume. “So what made you want to work at this cafe?” You asked. 

“I like the smell of coffee. I enjoy doing latte art. I know my face may come off as looking cold, but I’m actually friendly. I like interacting with customers,” he replied. 

“Did you rehearse that?” you said. 

“Huh?” he looked at you, taken slightly aback by your question. You chuckle at his response. 

“It just seemed like too good of an answer. Specially when compared to everyone else that I interviewed today.” Your lips pulled into a line.

“Well I didn’t rehearse that. It was a genuine answer,” he tells you. 

“Ok, I believe you. Let’s see what’s next…” You looked at the list of questions that Mrs. Choi provided for you. “Actually I think that we’re good here. We’ll be in touch,” you say and you actually meant it this time. 

“Really? Is that a good or a bad thing?” His head cocked lightly to the left.

“I guess you’ll find out,” you played coy. Nicholas chuckles at it. 

“Before I go, I was kinda wondering something,” he said. 

“What’s up?” you asked.

“I don’t mean any offense, but you seem kinda young when compared to people who usually conduct interviews,” he says. 

“I am. That’s because the manager and owner here, Mrs.Choi, her son got attacked by a wolf, so she asked me to take over interviews. I’m also a barista here, so if you get hired we’ll be coworkers. Though on the topic of wolf attacks you and your friends should be careful. There’s been a bit of an influx of attacks recently,” you warned him. 

“A wolf?” Something about his demeanor changed. “Is he ok?” he asked. 

“Yeah, he’s fine, just needs some time to recover,” you informed. 

“That’s good.” He forced a smile. “Well I guess, I’ll be waiting to hear from you.” He stood up from his chair.

“You probably won’t have to wait long,” you told him honestly. “Bye Nicholas,” you waved at him, giving him a smile. 

“Bye,” he waved back at you and flashed you a curt smile, but you couldn’t help but sense like he was in a bit of a hurry to leave. Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned the wolf attack. Maybe it scared him. Still you felt pretty good about your soon to be new coworker. 

After you finished conducting the interviews you called up Mrs.Choi to give her the rundown on the interviews and soon enough you were given the green light to inform Nicholas that he had been hired. 

Monday came around soon enough and you are currently training Nicholas. Giving him a quick rundown on how the cafe runs before opening. You were explaining the milk to coffee ratio on your shop’s lattes when the beep of a timer interrupted you. 

“Oh excuse me. I have to go take out the scones,” you excused yourself, heading into the back where the kitchen was. 

“Don’t you guys have a baker?” Nicholas questioned while he watched you remove the scones from the oven. 

“We do, but that would be Mrs. Choi’s son, who is not able to work right now. He’s still recovering, so I’m filling in for him,” you explained. 

“So not only can you make coffee, but you can also bake,” Nicholas chimed. 

“I’m quite the double threat,” you replied playfully, walking over to a shelf. You proceed to reach up to the top shelf to grab the dusting sugar for the scones. While you reached up your shirt naturally rode up. Nicholas was about to politely look away, but the dark scars on your lower back caught his attention. They looked like claw marks?

“Oh, did you see them?” Your voice snaps Nicholas' attention back.

“I didn’t mean to I-” He held his hands up in defense causing you to chuckle.

“It’s fine. I know they’re quite attention grabbing.” Your voice carried a bit of a humorous tone. 

“What happened?” he carefully asked. You set the powdered sugar aside and turn to rest your back against the counter space. 

“I was attacked by a wolf when I was younger,” you tell him. A certain look flashes across his eyes. The small perks of a smile that had been in the corner of his lips all morning fell. 

“That must’ve been scary,” he spoke after a few moments. 

You nodded. “I think that’s the scardest I’ve been in my entire life. I was sure that I was gonna die,” you shared.

“But you didn’t.” He pointed with some lightheartedness. 

“Yeah, I survived luckily,” you smiled. 

“Are you scared of wolves now?” he asked. 

“I do have a fear of them, yes, but it’s more out of respect that, yes, they could easily kill me if they wanted to. I’m not resentful of them though. They’re just living their lives like we do. And even if they’re bad wolves out there, there are good ones too,” you voice.

Your answer intrigues Nicholas. “How are you sure that there are good ones? From what I’ve heard most people in this town are quite resentful of them,” he says.

“Because one wolf attacked me when I was a kid, but another one also saved me from that same wolf,” you revealed. 

“What?” Nicholas’ eyes widened. 

“You don’t have to believe me,” you disclosed. “But yeah, I only survived because another wolf saved me. It attacked the wolf that was attacking me.” You went back to your prior task of sifting a fine layer of dusting sugar over the fresh scones. 

“I believe you,” he tells you.

“Really?” you turned to face him, surprise evident in your tone and eyes.

“Yes, really,” he states. 

“Most people don’t. They say that it was a traumatic situation, so I’m probably remembering it wrong. Or that it wasn’t saving me, it just wanted to eat me itself,” you said. 

“Maybe they have a point there,” he said jokingly. You laughed at his joke. 

“I guess I’ll never fully know, but there is a part of the story I don’t tell most people,” you informed. 

“Which is?” he prompted.

You smiled and chuckled. “Not telling you,” you played with him. 

“Ah, come on. You can’t do that. Just tell me,” he urged you. 

“I don’t know if I can tell you yet,” you say.

“Why not?” he questioned, folding his arms over his chest. 

“Because I don’t know if I can trust you,” you reason. 

“You trust me enough to hire me,” he argued. 

“That’s different. Just because you trust someone’s work ethic doesn’t mean you trust them with your secrets,” you state. 

“Guess I’ll just have to stick around long enough for you to trust me then,” he says. 

“Yeah I guess so.” Something in the air shifts between you and Nicholas.

Nicholas has completed his training and has been working at the cafe for about two weeks now. Dare you say he is the best coworker you ever had. He shows up on time and does all of his duties. He never forgets to turn the lever all the way off for the espresso machine. He wasn’t lying about being friendly with customers despite his icy appearance. All the customers that interacted with Nicholas left with a smile on their faces. He makes sure that everything is properly put away and that the shop is cleaned up before closing. There were no clear faults with him.

“Welcome in,” you said brightly at the sound of the bells chiming from the door opening to the cafe. A young man walked in with somewhat long black hair. Bangs that covered his eyebrows and grazed the tops of his eyes. You walked over to the counter ready to take the customer’s order. “What can I-” Your sentence cut off when you locked eyes with the younger male. His eyes felt familiar. They pulled you in. Put you in some kind of trance. It felt like foggy memories were playing in the back of your mind.

“Fuma, Taki. I was wondering when one of you guys would show up.” The sound of Nicholas’s voice pulled you out of whatever daze you were in. It made you wonder how long you were staring at the male since you didn’t even notice the other guy joined him.

“Are they friends of yours?” you asked Nicholas. 

“Yeah, this Fuma and Taki.” He pointed to either of the males. 

“Taki,” you whispered under your breath. It didn’t sound familiar, nor did Taki himself look familiar when you took another look at him, but there was something about his eyes. You had definitely seen his eyes before.

When you feel the weight of something on you you turn your gaze to find Nicholas’s other friend staring at you. You offered him a polite smile. 

“Well since they’re your friends I’ll let you take care of them,” you gave Nichloas a smile and patted his shoulder as you moved to walk around him and head into the kitchen. 

Fuma leaned over the counter, closer to Nicholas before whispering, “Are you sure that working here is a good idea?” he asked. Nicholas laughed. 

“Yeah dude. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s not any different from when I worked at Starlight,” he said. Fuma sighs. Even more so when he notices Taki staring at the curtain you disappeared behind. He saw it when you and Taki were staring at one another. He could feel it. That you two recognized each other. You guys just couldn’t remember why. 

Meanwhile Nicholas noticed Fuma’s line of sight and traced it back to the entrance to the kitchen behind the curtain. 

“Are you worried about y/n finding out? Because I assure you she doesn’t suspect anything,” he told Fuma. 

“I would hope not you’ve only known her two weeks,” Fuma stated. 

“Then what is your deal?” Nicholas asked.

“I…I just think that we need to be careful. You know why we moved here,” Fuma reminded. This time Nicholas is the one to sigh. 

“I know,” he said, sounding glum. “But I am being careful, Fuma. I promise,” he swore. 

“Good. Keep it that way,” he told him.

“I will,” Nicholas reassured and finally he was able to take his friend’s orders. 

Later in the evening after the cafe is closed while you and Nicholas were wiping down tables you asked him a question. 

“Nicholas, have your friends ever lived in Luné Acers before?” Nicholas stops midwipe to think. 

“No they haven’t- actually I think Fuma had mentioned that he lived here for a short period of time before, but none of the others have. Why?” He resumed wiping down the table. 

Fuma? Then did Taki feel familiar? And why didn’t you recognize Fuma? You thought you knew everyone who lived in this town. Even if their stay here was short.

“Just curious,” you dismissed. “I feel like most people who move here have some kind of tie to the town, so I was just wondering.” 

Nicholas nodded, acting like he understood, it was just a simple question. However, in the back of his mind he was thinking about his conversation with Fuma earlier and he seemed so on edge. He also remembers how you and Taki were looking at each other spaced out. Did you know one of them? But how would that be possible? He decided to shake it off. Even if you did somehow know one of them. You would have to have known them as just some person and nothing could possibly be wrong with that. 

A routine trip to your grandparents house two and half miles up the road from the bus stop you got off at everyday after school. You never questioned the safety of the route. There were other kids walking down the dirt road with you. It wasn’t until the last half mile you were left by yourself to walk along the narrower and slightly inclined road up to your grandparents house. From there it was only a seven minute walk to your grandparents.

But a lot can happen in seven minutes.

The feeling of being watched that had your feet kicking up more dirt than usual as they made quicker steps against the dirt. The sound of a growl that was only a mere second long warning for the wolf that lunged out at you from the trees. The high pitched scream that leaves twelve year old lungs as you begin to flee, dropping your school bag in the process. Your senses that begin to leave you when you feel the claws of the wolf dig deeply into your back, but before your senses fully slip away you hear another growl. Another wolf leaps out at the wolf attacking you, knocking it off of you. You try to get up, but you’re in too much pain. Your shirt clings to you, becoming more and more soaked with your blood. The wolf that saved you stands protectively in front of you. Now you can see it’s much smaller than the other wolf. The wolf that attacked you lunged again and so does the wolf protecting you. The growls as the two wolves fight begin to fall deaf to your ears. Your vision becomes clouded with black dots. Right before you pass out the wolf that had been protecting you falls in front of you, letting out a pained whimper. The last thing you see is the wolf’s eyes.

The first time you came to you felt yourself being carried on someone's back. It’s warm, muscular and they smell like a mixture of pine and cherry blossoms. However your body was far too weak to keep clinging to consciousness and the blackness surrounded you again. The next time you woke up you were in the hospital.

A deep gasp escapes you as you jolted awake from your bed. You placed one of your hands over your racing heart while the other went to where the claw marks scarred your back. It had been a long time since you had nightmares about the attack. After a few moments your labored breathing evens out and your heart calms down. You laid back down, pulling your blanket back over yourself. You closed your eyes, trying to fall back asleep, but you kept seeing the pained eyes of the wolf that saved you.

The next morning saying you felt groggy was an understatement. It felt like you had to fight to keep your eyelids open. A battle you were currently losing as you stood in front of the espresso machine, coffee grounds in hand. 

You open your eyes when you feel the grounds being taken from you.

“Seems like you could use one of these yourself.” It was Nicholas. You didn’t even hear him come in. 

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep well last night.” A yawn punctuates your sentence, acting as proof. 

“Any particular reason why?” he asked as he put the coffee grounds in the machine and turned the handle. 

“I dreamt about when that wolf attacked me. Which is weird because I haven’t had nightmares about it for years. Probably about a decade,” you shared. 

The sound of pained whimpers causes Nicholas to wake up from his sleep. The rustling of sheets catches his attention. He sees Taki kicking at his bed sheets. Then the pained whimpers ring in his ears again. Nicholas quickly throws his covers aside and gets out of bed, making his way over to Taki.

“Taki, Taki wake up.” Nicholas carefully shakes Taki by his shoulders.

Taki’s eyes shoot open. His lungs gasped for air. 

“Hey, hey, it’s ok.” Nicholas gently helped Taki sit. “It was just a nightmare,” he tried to tell him.

“No-” Taki quickly stated. “No this felt too real and and-” His breath hiccups. Nicholas rubs his back in a soothing manner.

“It’s ok, just breathe. Focus on your breathing right now.” He took some deep breaths with Taki until his breathing evened out. “There, feeling better now?” he checked. Taki nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. 

“I was…I don’t know exactly where I was, but it was some kind of path surrounded by a lot of trees. I heard a scream and went in the direction of it. I saw a girl getting attacked by a wolf, so I tried to save her, but the other wolf was so much bigger and stronger than me.” Taki’s voice began to shake. “I tried to save her. I really did, but there was so much blood and-” An uneven breath cuts off his sentence. 

“It’s ok. You don’t have to say anymore,” Nicholas told him. 

“She closed her eyes Nico. I don’t think she- I don’t know- I.” Taki began to sob. Nicholas wrapped his arms around Taki and pulled him into his chest. 

“It was just a dream. It’s ok,” he soothed him. 

“No, Nico, this didn’t feel like a dream.” Taki pulled away, but not all the way out of Nicholas’s comforting hold. “Kei said when Fuma found me I was badly injured. Like I got in a fight with another wolf. I don’t think this was a dream. I think it’s a memory.” 

Nicholas’ heart aches, seeing the pain in Taki’s eyes. If this really was a memory, no wonder it was repressed. Nicholas isn’t quite sure what to say in this moment.

“Well whether it’s a memory or not. We can talk about it with Kei and Fuma later. It’s late you should try to go back to sleep,” he says. Taki nodded, but it was clear that his mind weighed heavily. 

“Can we share the bed?” he asked Nicholas. 

Nicholas smiled. “I’ll even scratch your back till you fall back asleep.”

Dots start to connect in Nichola’s mind, but he’s unsure if he wants them to connect.

Taki had a nightmare last night that he thinks is a memory of him trying to save a girl who was being attacked by a wolf. 

You also dreamed about your wolf attack. Where you got attacked by a wolf, but another one saved you. 

Nicholas’ senses are telling him that these can’t be coincidences.

“You know I never got to hear the full story of that. I understand if you don’t feel comfortable talking about it. It’s just you said one wolf attacked, but another one saved you. And that there’s a part of the story you don’t tell most people,” he brought up. 

“You know I somehow didn’t realize that I only told you that one wolf attacked me and another wolf saved me. I really didn’t give you any other details.” You moved to lean against the counter. 

“Well it was only our second time meeting, so I get not wanting to give me all of the information.” He told you as he reached for a cup for the espresso to be dispensed into. “Still don’t like that cliffhanger you left me on though,” he gives you a playful look. 

You chuckled and looked around the cafe. “Well it is pretty dead in here. If you wanna know the full story.” Nicholas' eyes widened a bit. 

“You trust me?” he checked. 

“Should I not?” You raised a brow.

“No, I’m just grateful that you do. Thank you,” he says. You can see the sincerity in his eyes. 

“I swear you have to rehearse lines in your free time,” you joked. Referring back to when you interviewed him. Nicholas’ laugh vibrates though his chest as he follows you into the kitchen. 

“So what’s the full story?” he asked as you two each sat yourselves on the big metal table that was in the center of the kitchen. 

“It happened when I was twelve. I was walking to my grandparents house after school because they only lived two and a half miles from the bus stop. Everyone thought it was safer. I never questioned the safety of the route either. I was only alone for the last half mile which didn’t take long to walk. That part of the walk was actually my favorite too,” you say with a bittersweet smile. 

“Till a big bad wolf ruined it,” you said with flat humor. Still got a light chuckle out of Nicholas though. “Anyway I kinda felt like something was watching me, so I walked faster. Then there was a growl. Next…” You lifted your shirt to show your scars. “Claws in my back.” Nicholas looks down at the dark scars on your back. He feels something tugging on his heartstrings.

“That must’ve hurt a lot.” He lifts his hand. Ever so carefully. Ever so slowly. His fingertips brush across the scars. Your breath hitches at the feeling of his fingers. You turn to look over your shoulder and Nicholas raises his head. Your eyes lock. His fingers are still featherlight on your back. 

“Excruiating,” you breathe out. Your heart thumps in your chest. The eye contact between you feels too intense causing you to look away, clearing your throat. You also release your shirt, causing the fabric to fall against Nicholas’ fingers. At the feeling of the fabric Nicholas removed his fingers from your back and fixed your shirt back into place. It felt too intimate.

“I um…” You pause to take a breath, collecting yourself. “I thought I was gonna die right then and there, but then there was another growl and another wolf jumped out, lunging at the one that attacked me. It knocked the wolf off me and I tried to get up to run away, but I was in too much pain. I could feel my shirt becoming more and more soaked with my own blood. The wolf came to stand protectively in front of me. I saw that it was a lot smaller than the other wolf. Thinking back, the wolf that saved me had to be very brave. It had to be two times smaller than the wolf that attacked me, but it still chose to save me.”

‘I tried to save her, but the other wolf was so much bigger and stronger than me.’ Taki’s words rang through Nicholas’ head. How many coincidences were too many coincidences?

“Yeah, that wolf must’ve fought with every ounce of strength it had.” He looked down solemnly at where his feet dangled off the table.

“It did,” you say with a nod. “Right before I lost consciousness it collapsed right in front of me. I remember exactly how it’s pained whimper sounded and the last thing I saw was the wolf’s eyes. They look very sad and hurt. Kinda felt like it was saying sorry for not being able to protect me better.” A sniffle comes from your nose and some tears roll down from your eyes. You didn’t expect to be so emotional. It’s not your first time telling someone this story, but you do think it is the first time someone has fully listened.

Nicholas’ heart aches when he sees the pain in your eyes. It mirrored the exact pain he saw in Taki’s last night.

Nicholas very gently cups your face in his hand and uses his thumb to tenderly wipe away your tears. 

“Don’t cry.” His voice feels like it’s trying to soothe your heart. 

“That wolf might have died because of me.” Guilt swirled around your eyes. “I mean I don’t know for sure. I never heard anything about a wolf’s body being found afterwards, but I also tried to look for it and I could never find it,” you say. 

“They say no news is good news. I think that applies here. If you never heard anything then I’m sure that wolf is still alive.” His thumbs rest on your cheeks. 

“I hope so,” you voice. A hopeful smile pricks at the corner of your lips. With a bit of reluctance Nicholas removes his hands from your face. 

“Do you feel ok enough to continue?” he checked.

“Yeah,” you tell him, taking a short breath and letting it out. “Usually after telling people I lost consciousness I tell them that I woke up in the hospital.” 

“But that’s not the whole story,” he concludes. 

“Nope. I shortly regained consciousness before waking up in the hospital,” you disclosed.

“And what happened then?” he asked.

“I was being carried by someone. A man I’m pretty sure. Their back was warm and they smelt like pine and cherry blossoms.”

Pine and cherry blossoms. That’s too many coincidences. If your and Taki’s story being perfect parallels wasn’t enough. You smelling Fuma’s scent was the final nail in the coffin. Now the way Fuma was acting yesterday makes sense. He didn’t want Nicholas to quit because he was scared about you finding out about their real identities. It was because he was worried that you would remember, that you would recognize them. (And that would arguably lead to you finding out about who they really were.)

Now Nicholas feels like he’s reached a fork in the road. In his head he knows he should leave. That he should walk away for the sake of him and his pack, but as he’s looking at you his heart tells him that he can’t just walk away.

“Do you not believe me either?” you questioned, face falling. It’s only once you speak Nicholas realizes that he’s been silent this whole time. 

“No, no I believe you. I do. I was just..wondering who that possibly could have been. They saved you too,” he told you. 

“I wonder who it was too. At first I thought it could have been my grandpa. Like maybe I woke up while he was carrying me to the hospital, but it wasn’t his back and he never smelled like pine and cherry blossoms,” you state. 

“So you didn’t get a good look at the person?” He asked.

You shook your head. “No, my vision was really hazy. I could only tell what they felt like and smelled like. I blacked out again really quickly too. Sometimes I think maybe it was a dream, but it felt too real,” you tell him. 

“If you believe it wasn’t a dream. Then I believe it too.” He places his hand over your knee. A part of him wishes that he could tell you that he knows who that person was and that he could assure that the wolf who saved you was very much alive, but he knows that Fuma would actually come for his head if he did. 

“You’re the first who believes me. No one else does,” you said, placing your hand on top of his that was resting on your knee. “Thank you.” 

Nicholas smiles, “Of course.”

“We should probably get back to work,” you say, looking towards the exit of the kitchen.

“Yeah, we should,” he agrees, but he sounds disinclined. He removes his hand from your knee, leaving you feeling the ghost of his warmth. The two of you jump off the table and exit the kitchen, resuming work as usual, but if you can both feel that something shifted. There is something that swirls around in the air between you two.

When Nicholas returns home in the evening a scene is in the middle of unfolding.

“Taki, I’m telling you it was just a dream. You had a nightmare last night. Stop making such a fuss over it,” Fuma’s voice carried a bite to it. 

“Why won't you listen to me? This was a memory I’m sure of it and-”

“And what? Why does it even matter if it was a memory? It-” Fuma is quick to cut off Taki who already sounds more than upset about Fuma’s dismissive behavior.

“What do you mean, why does it matter? It matters a lot!” Taki yelled.

“Taki, it doesn’t,” Fuma insisted.

“I agree with Taki. It does matter.” Nicholas finally spoke up, making his return known. 

“Nico!” Taki feels glad seeing that Nicholas is back. He quickly walks over to his side. “Fuma is being really annoying. He won’t listen to me and thinks I’m being crazy.” 

“You’re not being crazy​​ Taki. I know that for a fact.” He shoots a look over to Fuma. One that lets his elder know that he knows things. Then he turns back to look at Taki again. “How about you let me talk to him for a bit. Clear some things up.”

“Ok, but you better not let him talk you into that I’m just acting silly over a dream,” he points. 

“I won’t. Now go hang out in our room for a bit,” he told him. Taki walks away. When Nicholas hears the sound of the bedroom door shutting he makes his way over to Fuma on the couch.

“The girl Taki was trying to save was y/n and the wolf that protected y/n was Taki,” he states simply as he sat down. “That’s why you wanted me to quit, because you’re scared they’ll recognize each other.” 

“They already did.” Fuma lets out a great sigh. “I could feel it when they were staring at each other. Deep down they recognized each other. They just didn’t know why, why they felt familiar,” he says. 

“I get being worried about y/n possibly finding out about us, but wouldn’t it be beneficial for Taki to know that the girl he thinks he failed to save is alive? Why are you trying to tell him to forget about it?” Nicholas questioned. 

“Because I think Taki imprinted on that girl,” Fuma divulged. 

“What?!” Nicholas' voice rose, eyes widening, eyebrows raising. Fuma sighs again, heavier than the last. His face falls into his hands briefly before wiping them away. 

“When I first came to Luné Acers it was because I got word of an abandoned pup,” he begins to tell the story. 

“Taki?” Nicholas inferred. 

“Yes, and I thought it would be easy. Come here, find him, take him in, but it wasn’t. He refused to leave that girl. He always watched her from a distance. Followed her home each and every day without fail,” Fuma went on to say. 

“You’re talking about y/n?” Nicholas already knew, but he still had to check. Like he couldn’t wrap his head around it. 

“Yes, and even when he almost died because of her. He wouldn’t leave her side. I was basically forced to help her,” he explained. 

“That’s why you carried her on your back. Not because you wanted to help her, but because you wanted to save Taki.” That makes more sense. Fuma never really cared to help out a human. He had been hurt by them too many times. Still makes Nicholas feel kinda downcasted. Fuma really hated humans so much that he was even reluctant to help an innocent child?

“She remembers me?” Fuma asked. His voice fell to a softer tone. His facial muscles even relaxed briefly before hardening again.

“She regained consciousness very briefly. She remembers someone carrying her on their back and that they smelled like pine and cherry blossoms. That’s all she knows. Sometimes she wonders if she dreamed it because no one else will believe her,” Nicholas told him. 

Fuma remains silent for a minute at the news. Like he’s not sure what to say, but he eventually speaks again and Nicholas doesn’t like what he says. 

“Even more reason for you to quit then,” he said. 

“Fuma!” Nicholas sighs. “Look, I know that I can never tell her. I wouldn’t risk our pack's safety like that, but…” Nicholas knows he shouldn’t say what he’s about to say, but he’s gonna do it anyway. “I trust her. She feels really guilty about Taki too. I can see how much it pains her that she doesn’t know if the wolf that saved her is alive.”

“I won’t let Taki get hurt again and I’m sure that’s what’s gonna happen if we let him get near her. So I don’t care if you trust her, I don’t.” Fuma’s tone becomes cold and Nicholas’ eyes become cold. 

“I’m gonna tell Taki,” he declares.

“Nicholas.” Fuma warns, voice stern. 

“No, I’m gonna tell him. Keeping all of this quiet when he didn’t remember was one thing. Now though, if you’re right and he did imprint on y/n you know he won’t be able to let this go. It will keep eating away at him. You say you don’t want him hurt? This is hurting him Fuma. Keeping him in the dark isn’t going to help anything.” 

The two males stare at each other. Glares shooting from their eyes, ballistic growls rumbling in their chest. 

“What’s going on here?” Kei, steps into the room. Either of the males look at Kei then back to each other. “Well?” Kie spoke again. With a final glare the males stand down. 

“Taki remembers. Not everything, but he remembers trying to save that girl,” Fuma shared the news. 

“And Fuma is against telling Taki that he did save that girl and she’s y/n,” Nicholas added. 

“Y/n?” Kei questioned.

“The girl I work at the cafe with. Her name is y/n and she’s the one Taki saved,” Nicholas answered. 

“Does y/n remember Taki?” Kei asked. 

“She remembers the wolf who saved her and she remembers that someone carried her on their back. Someone who smelled like pine and cherry blossoms.” Nicholas takes a glance at Fuma. Kei sighs, head dropping into his hand. “Well it’s good that Taki’s efforts weren’t in vain, but man does this complicate things.”

Kei called for Taki to join them in the living room. When he enters he can feel the tension weighing heavy across the room. Kie is sitting in between Nicholas and Fuma on the couch. The two of them eyes are cast in opposite directions. Seemingly refusing to even look at the other. Kei scoots over a bit creating a space between him and Nicholas for Taki to sit down in. Taki does make his way to the space, rather tentatively. He sits closer to Nicholas than Kei upon sitting down. 

“The dream you had last night,” Kei starts. 

“It’s a memory right? I can feel it. It’s different,” Taki says. You can hear Fuma suck a breath against his teeth from the other side of Kei.

“It's a memory,” Kei confirmed with a nod and he placed a supporting hand on Taki’s knee. However, even though Taki was so sure that his dream was real. The confirmation that it was meant.

“Then that means that girl…she’s- I didn’t- I wasn’t able to-” Taki’s heart plummeted to his stomach. 

“She’s alive,” Nicholas cut in, placing a hand on Taki’s shoulder. Taki’s eyes widened.

“She is?! But I don’t understand. I saw her close her eyes and there was so much blood-” Taki rambled.

“I helped save her,” Fuma spoke up. “I carried her on my back. I was gonna leave her at her grandparents' doorstep, but before I got there I heard them coming down the road, so I put her down and hid. They rushed her to the hospital immediately,” he finished.

“But how do you know she survived?” Taki questioned. Fuma and Kei’s eyes shifted to Nicholas, which caused Taki to do the same. “Do you know something Nicholas?”

Nicholas shifts his eyes to Kei, almost as if he was asking permission. Kei gave him the go ahead, while Fuma tsk eyes away. Clearly not in agreement with this part of the conversation. Not like he agreed with any of it in the first place though. 

“I know she survived, because I’ve met her. Rather I know her…and you’ve seen her once,” he disclosed.

“What?” Taki’s brows knitted together, but then something comes to him. He remembers entering the cafe being more than ready to tease Nicholas at his new job, but then he saw you behind the counter. He felt pulled towards you and when he locked eyes with you it was like the world stopped spinning and everything faded into the background. He could only focus on you. Your eyes specifically. Next thing he knew Fuma was handing him his drink and practically pushing him out the door. Even then he kept looking back at the entrance to the kitchen. Like he was waiting for someone to emerge from behind the curtain.

“That girl. The one you work with. It’s her?” he checked. 

“Her name is y/n and yeah it’s her,” Nicholas tells him. 

“Does she remember me?” he asked with a certain look in his eyes. 

“She remembers the wolf who saved her, yes. She feels guilty too because she doesn’t know if you’re alive or not. She tried to look for you afterwards, but could never find you,” he shared. 

“She looked for me?”

“She looked for him?” Taki and Fuma spoke at the same time. Whereas Taki’s eyes melted with softness, feeling touched that you tried to look for him, Fuma stayed more cold. Like he didn’t trust your kind hearted actions.

“Yeah, she did. Because she knew that you got seriously injured while protecting her, so she wanted to know that you were ok,” he says. 

“I should go see her,” Takie stated. 

“No,” Fuma denied instantly. 

“Why? Fuma I know I can’t just walk in there and be like ‘Hey I’m the wolf that saved you a decade ago.’ but I still want to see her,” Taki said.

“Because you don’t need to see her,” Fuma asserted. “Isn’t it enough knowing that you saved her? She’s alive and well because of you. Just leave it at that.” 

“But Nicholas gets to see her all the time at work,” Taki argued, clearly finding Fuma’s denial unfair. 

“Trust me. I’m not happy about that either,” Fuma voices and shoots another icy glare at Nicholas.

“Just let it be for now Taki. Please?” Kei spoke up. He looks at Taki with a pleading look. He understands Taki and his want to see you, but he also understands Fuma and his protectiveness.

Taki lets out a disappointed sigh. “Fine,” he grumbled.

The following morning Nicholas is still feeling the aftermath of yesterday's events. The weight of the conversations sitting on his shoulders. Frankly he is still trying to wrap his head around it all.

“Good morning,” you greeted him brightly with a shining smile. He smiles back without even thinking about it, shoulder dropping slightly. He felt lighter. 

“Morning,” he greeted you back.

The two of you went about your morning routine, preparing the cafe to open on time. There was something different about it today though. There wasn’t as much distance in between you two as you prepared the espresso machine. Your shoulder would brush occasionally and you kept stealing glances at one another. 

When Nicholas slid by behind you at the counter he said his usual “Excuse me,” but he also rested his hand on your lower back, spreading warmth throughout your skin. 

Once the cafe is open the new developed closeness between the pair of you stays. Fingers brushing when you hand one another a drink or cup or baked goods. Shared eye contact when you're making drinks. Subtle touches on each other when you pass by in tight spaces. It’s nothing too obvious. It’s nothing abnormal, but you can both feel it. Feel the connection, the soft tension, the way your heart rate picks up. The warmth that starts in your chest and spreads throughout your body.

Lunch break swung around after hanging up the “Closed for Lunch” sign on the door. The cafe suddenly feels like a space for only you and Nicholas. Like you it became your twos’ own little corner of the world.

“Hey,” you smiled at him from where he sat across the table. 

“Hey,” he smiled back. A comfortable silence settles over the cafe as you two eat your lunch together.

Soon enough it was time to get back to work. You removed the sign on the door leaving the fancy “Open” letters written in cursive displaying again.

Soon enough you were flipping the sign so the fancy cursive “Closed” letters adorned the cafe’s door.

“Guess it’s time to say see you tomorrow,” you said with a hint of playfulness in your tone after you locked the cafe’s door.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” he says, but the longer he works with you. The more time he spends with you, the more he starts to feel pang in his heart when it comes time to part ways with you.

You also feel the way your heart sinks down whenever it comes time for you to bid your goodbye to Nicholas at the end of your shifts.

“Nicholas,” you called out to him after he turned and began to walk away. 

“Yeah?” he turned back to look at you. 

“Uh..I just wanted to say…have a good night,” you said with a bit of an awkward laugh. Nicholas laughed back.

“You have a good night too y/n,” he told you. Butterflies danced in your stomach, a shy smile tugging at your lips.

For the next week things appeared to have settled back down to normal. For Nicholas that is. Since you remained blissfully unaware of the fact that the wolf that saved you was not an ordinary wolf, but a werewolf. That had lost his memory after being severely injured while saving you. After almost a decade he got a fragment of it back after meeting you. Something that can’t be a coincidence, yet no other members of his pack even want to think about that. Not to mention that that same wolf happened to be friends with/a part of the same pack as your coworker.

Alas nothing can remain settled forever. Something is always bound to come along and stir things up.

One night after closing up the cafe with you Nicholas’ nose picked up on the scent of something or someone. The scent of clove and ruby grapefruit, Taki’s scent. After wishing you goodnight he tracked the scent. He found Taki watching you walk home.

“Because I think Taki imprinted on that girl.” Nicholas gets reminded of Fuma’s words. He sighs. 

“Taki, what do you think you’re doing?” He appeared beside the younger. Taki flinched, briefly darting away from your figure to look at Nicholas before quickly returning to you.

“I’m just watching her,” Taki says, eyes following you as you walk up the road.

“I can see that. I’m asking you why?” Nicholas folded his arms. However he couldn’t stop his own eyes from wandering over to you.

“I feel at peace watching her. I feel more at ease knowing that she’s safe. You know this town is full of wolves. I have to make sure she stays safe. I won’t let her get hurt again,” Taki states. 

Shit. Nicholas thinks. Taki has definitely imprinted on you. 

Upon watching you round the corner up the street Taki naturally moved to follow you. 

“Taki wait.” Nicholas grabbed his arm. 

“Let go,” Taki growled, eye flashing gold. Nicholas lets his arm go. Not necessarily because he was listening, but because he was shocked by Taki’s behavior. Taki wasted no time trailing behind you. Keeping enough distance so that you don’t notice him, but close enough that he feels at ease.

“Taki, I understand that you want to keep her safe. I care about her too, but this is technically stalking. It’s creepy,” he tells Taki, keeping his voice low. 

“If you think it’s creepy then you can go home, but I need to make sure that she gets home safe,” Taki shrugged him off.

Nicholas debates it over in his head. Ultimately he stays by Taki’s side as he follows you home. More so because he doesn’t know what else Taki will do. He’s never seen him act like this before.

Later into the night after Taki had fallen asleep Nicholas quietly sneaks out of their shared room and finds Kei. He was sitting at the kitchen table having some late night ramen. 

“Kei,” Nicholas calls out to him. Kei can tell by the look in Nicholas' face that something is up. 

“What is it?” he asked. Nicholas walked over to the table and pulled out a chair, taking a seat.

“Fuma was right about Taki imprinting on y/n,” he tells him.

“What?” Kei’s eyes widened. 

“Today after I finished up my shift at the cafe. I smelled Taki’s scent, so I followed it. I found him watching her walk home. I think he’s been doing this for a while. He says that watching her makes him feel at peace and that he won’t let her get hurt again,” he informs. 

“Shit,” Kei curses under his breath. “Did he do anything else?”

“I tried to stop him from watching her, he growled at him and flashed his eyes,” Nicholas tells.

“He’s definitely imprinted.” Kei comes to the same conclusion. “Let’s not tell Fuma for now. He’s still hotheaded about the last conversation regarding this, but keep an eye on Taki. We know he won’t hurt her, but he will want to keep getting closer to her and that could be bad for us.” 

“I know, I’ll keep my eyes on him,” Nicholas promises. 

Kei was right that Taki would want to keep getting closer to you. One day he decided that just making sure you got home safe wasn’t enough. He had to talk to you and what better way to do that than visiting you at the cafe. 

You recognize him as soon as he enters. “Oh, you’re Taki right?” you smiled at him from behind the counter. 

“Yeah, Nicholas’ friend,” he confirmed. When your eyes locked with his you felt that familiar pull again. Like something was connecting the two of you. 

“Well umm, what can I get for you?” You blinked your eyes, breaking yourself out of whatever trance you were falling into. 

“The vanilla milk latte please,” he ordered. 

“Sure thing,” you smiled, typing in his order and having him pay. “Be right back,” you told him as you went to work on his order. 

You ran into Nicholas next to the coffee machines. “Your friend is here,” you let him know. 

His eyes widened ever so slightly and head cocked to the side. “My friend?” Then it hits him. 

“Yeah, Taki,” you confirmed.

“I should go say hi to him then,” he excused himself, quickly making his way over to the counter where Taki waited. 

“What are you doing here?” he was quick to ask, leaning over the counter, so no one else would hear. 

“I can’t come get a drink at a cafe?” Taki asked. 

“Taki, you’re here to see y/n aren’t you?” He pointed. 

“So what if I am? Why are you acting like Fuma? It’s not fair that you get to see her all the time and I’m supposed to stay away. Plus you trust her don’t you?” Taki inquired. 

“This isn’t about me trusting her,” Nicholas says. 

“Then what is it about? Are you jealous?” Taki accused with a menacing laugh.

“No, I'm not jealous Taki. I-”

“It’s ok. I won’t steal her from you or anything like that. I can tell that she likes you. I just want to be around her. Be her friend, make sure she stays safe,” Taki cut him off. Before you Nicholas can get another word in you come back with Taki’s order. 

“Here you go one vanilla milk latte,” you passed it over to him with a smile.

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to come back and visit,” he says and makes his way out of the cafe. 

It’s only after Taki leaves that he fully realizes what he said to him, I can tell that she likes you. Nicholas’ heart thumps against his chest as he watches you wipe down the counter. It’s not like he didn’t know about his attraction towards you. He would have to be an idiot to not notice how his heart beat differently for you. The only thing was he never dared to put his feelings for you into words. Since he knew that you and him would never work out. Not with his real identity that he had to keep hidden, but now Taki had just labeled the unspoken tension that surrounded the two of you.

Nicholas really tried to not act differently around you. Alas his heart seemed to run with Taki’s words about you liking him. His feelings towards you were starting to become something he couldn’t ignore or brush off as being friendly. No, he was starting to yearn for you. You started to cloud his thoughts. He thinks about you first thing when he wakes up and you're the last person he thinks about before falling asleep. Before when your fingers brushed against his waist when you reached around him he felt a warmth bloom under your touch, but now, your touch felt like full jolts of electricity.

He liked you. You were his favorite part of his day and yet he shouldn’t like you. He shouldn’t risk the safety of his pack. He is not sure how you react to finding out about the wolf part of him. He knows that you don’t hate wolves, so a small sliver of him hopes that if you did somehow ever find out that everything would be ok, but he also knows that humans finding out about werewolves is never ok. It’s dangerous. Yet what is he supposed to do when his heart lights up at the mention of your name?

The more his feelings grow the less he can ignore them, but he can’t act on them either, so Nicholas doesn’t know what’s going to explode first, his head or his heart. 

“See you tomorrow,” you smiled at Nicholas after you two finished closing, but instead of telling you his goodbye he says something else.

“Can I walk you home?” Your heart stuttered in your chest. For the past couple of weeks you had been daydreaming about what it would be like to have him walk you home. Right now hearing him actually ask to, felt more than surreal.

“Yeah, I would like that,” you expressed. A delicate pink hue dusted across your cheeks and danced onto the crest of Nicholas’ cheeks as well as you two began to walk in the direction of your house.

“So why did you finally ask to walk me home?” you questioned turning your head to glance at him as you walked alongside the road.

“Finally? Have you been wanting me to walk you home?” He playfully elbowed you, but don't be fooled by his playful nature, your question made his heart skip a beat and he had to fight off the red hue that wanted to climb up his neck.

“Ah I- no it’s not like that-it’s just…I answer my question first.” Your face flushed at the way you pathetically stuttered over your words. Nicholas’ bright laugh vibrated through his chest.

“Ok that’s fair. You did ask me first,” he starts. “I could make up an excuse about how the sun is starting to set earlier and I just want to make sure that you get home safe.” He pauses before continuing. “But I just really wanted to walk you home, spend more time with you. Anytime our shift comes to an end I feel sad because it means I have to say goodbye to you,” he tells you. Ever so delicately he reaches a finger out and brushes it across the back of your hand. 

“I feel sad about parting ways with you at the end of our shifts too…which is why I’ve been kinda thinking about what it would be like if you walked me home,” you revealed, reaching your finger out to brush it across the backside of his hand. Nicholas’ lips tug upwards at the feeling of your finger and he works up the courage to slip his hand into yours, interlacing your fingers together. 

“How do your thoughts compare to the real thing?” he asked.

A light chuckle brushed past your lips. “The real thing is definitely better,” you say, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. 

The rest of the walk home is quiet and peaceful. The feeling of Nicholas’s hand holding yours is stabilizing and when you part ways with him at the end of your yard, sun already halfway down the horizon, painting a gorgeous array of golden hues it feels like a moment you’ll never forget. 

“Thanks for walking me home,” you tell him. 

“Anytime,” he told you. Both of your eyes trail down to where your hands are still connected. Neither of you want to let go, so you end up taking a walk around the block and when you reached your house a second time you really wished that you could pause time. His fingers slowly slip away from yours, but you can still feel the ghost of his touch. 

“Have a goodnight y/n,” he told you. 

“You have a goodnight too Nicholas,” you reply back.

He watched you walk up your yard and enter your house, giving him a small wave before closing the door. He waved back and you watched him from your living room window as he walked down your street until you could no longer see him. 

“Puppy love.” You almost jumped out of your skin at the sound of your mother’s voice. 

“Mom~” you complain.

“What? It’s cute…he’s cute. He’s your new coworker right?” she checked. 

“He’s been working at the cafe for a couple months now. I don't think you can call him new anymore,” you say. Your mom laughs. 

“Ok, let me rephrase. He’s your coworker right?” she says, giving you a look.

“Yes, he is,” you confirm. 

“I don’t recognize him. He must be a part of that group of guys that moved into town recently,” she inferred. 

“The bad parts about living in a small town. News travels too fast.” You shake your head, slumping down onto the couch. Your mom sits down beside you. 

“Do I have more news to spread? I saw you two holding hands and you took an extra lap around the block.” She nudged you.

“Mom please!” You picked up a throw pillow and hid your face in it. Your mom laughed joyously and pulled the pillow away from your face.

“Well tell me,” she urged you. “I promise I won’t spread it around town. It can be our little secret.” She stuck her pinky out. 

“We’re not dating,” you state. 

“But you like him.” She pointed at you with her already extended pinky. 

“Yes, I like him…a lot, so please don’t do anything weird,” you pleaded.

Nicholas kept walking you home each day after work. Each day the sun would descend down to the horizon, leaving a golden, orange ombre in its wake. You couldn’t help but fall deeper for Nicholas just like the sun couldn’t stop falling for the horizon.

Nicholas couldn’t help continually fall deeper for you too, so much so that each time he walked you home he began to think less and less about his secret identity. He stopped worrying about it, decided that he simply wanted to enjoy his time with you. He wanted to love you, he did love you. He thought that if things could keep going on like this then a future with you seemed really possible and that made him happier than anything has in a very long time. 

But life is cruel. 

It was a normal morning. You woke up to the sun peeking into your room from behind your closed curtains. You didn’t want to leave the warmth of your bed, but you work, so you had to. You got changed, did your hair and ate a quick breakfast before heading out. Walking your usual route. A route that you never questioned. It was normal, nothing special. Wasn’t uphill both ways like your grandmother's walk to school. It was only three miles from your house to the cafe. Which meant you could have a nice leisurely stroll on your way to work. It was quiet at these earlier hours in the morning too, something that you enjoyed. There’s a bit of a misconception that small towns are quiet. When in reality they actually contain a lot of chatter. Whether it was whatever news was swirling about or just people have conversions from opposite sides of the street. There was bound to be noise somewhere during the peak hours of the day, but right now the only sound was the sound of the wind brushing by. Blowing tree leaves, chiming windchimes, gently knocking loose hanging signs. It was peaceful.

Or was it the clam before the storm? Because right after rounding the corner you come face to face with a wolf. Your blood runs cold. The wolf’s eyes stare at you. Seemingly observing you, before hardening. Then it growls. Your head is screaming at you to run, but your legs are stuck to the ground. With a predatory bark the wolf lunges at you and your legs give out.

However before the wolf can reach you another wolf appears, striking the other one down. It feels like deja-vu when it comes to stand protectively in front of you. The attacking wolf doesn’t appear to want to stand down as it lunges for the wolf in front of you. The sounds of the wolves fighting keep sending shocks through your nervous system. Sparking memories of your attack. Your chest feels tight and your breaths become shorter and shorter. You feel like you can’t breathe, panic pulses throughout your veins. Your head becomes dizzy, vision unfocusing. 

“Y/n! Y/n! You’re okay, it’s okay.” Someone tells you, they place their hand firmly against your chest. “Breath into my hand. It’s ok.” They push with a little bit more pressure against your chest. You take a very chopping breath, but it lets just enough air into your lungs that your chest presses back against the person’s hand. “Good, again,” the instructor. 

Your breath slowly began to even back out and you began to return to your scenes. You see a very familiar pair of eyes staring into yours.

“Taki?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he tells you, still staring at you. He looks like he feels sorry for you and something clicks.

“I remember,” you breath out, hands ever so gently sliding up his face, touching just under his eyes. “The wolf's eyes from back then. They looked just like this.” You gently traced around the edges of his eyes. Then your hand touched something wet. Pulling your hand away you see a crimson color painting it. 

“You're bleeding!” You take another look at him and that’s when you notice it’s just his head that’s injured, he has injuries all over. A particularly bad one on his side. “Taki!” You panic, taking off the light cardigan you were wearing to press against his bleeding side.

“It’s fine. I’m okay,” he tried to reassure you. He places his hand over yours. “Your hands are getting dirty.”

“Who cares about that? How can you be ok?! You’re bleeding so much.” You pressed your more firmly against his wound. 

“Y/n! Y/n! Where are you?” You hear a familiar voice calling for you. 

“Nicholas! Nicholas! I’m over here! Hurry!” You shouted back. The sound of rapid, heavy weighted footsteps gets closer and closer. 

“Taki!” Nicholas rushed over once he saw the sight of Taki. “What happened?” he asked you, hand quickly joining yours in trying to control the bleeding from Taki’s injured side. “Are you ok?” He checked you over. 

“I’m fine, but Taki-help me get him to the cafe,” you say. Nicholas nodded. Together you two carried him to the cafe. You entered through the back entrance and sat him on one of the tables. 

“I’m fine, you really don’t need to worry,” Taki said as you went to grab the medical supplies. 

“You will be fine, but this is still a bad injury Taki,” Nicholas said as he kept your now bloodied cardigan pressed against Taki’s side. 

“How’s the bleeding?” you questioned upon returning with the supplies. Nicholas slowly began to remove your cardigan and inspect Taki’s wound. 

“Looks like it’s mostly stopped,” he says. Once your cardigan is fully removed you now get a good look at Taki’s side.

“Claw marks?” you say confused. “And…” you pulled the collar of his shirt down to look at where he had another injury. “A bite?” You released the collar of his shirt. “Your eyes.” You look at his eyes again and you’re one hundred percent certain.

Nicholas can tell where this is going and it scares him.

“But there’s no way.” You shake your head. “What am I even thinking? There is no way that’s possible.” There’s no way that Taki was the wolf that saved you. You must’ve finally gone crazy.

“You remembered correctly,” Taki spoke. 

“Huh?”

“You remembered correctly. My eyes. They looked just like the wolf’s that saved you back then because they are,” he tells you. 

“Taki, that is crazy. Are you trying to tell me that you’re some kind of werewolf? There’s no way. This isn’t a fairytale. Next, are you gonna tell me that Nicholas is one too?” you rambled. 

“You used to walk to your grandparents house everyday after school. It was closer than your parents house, so it was supposed to be the safer choice,” Taki began to say. 

“How do you know that?” Your eyes shifted to Nicholas, wondering if he mentioned it to Taki. He shakes his head.

“You had a blue backpack that you decorated with duck stickers across the straps,” Taki continued. You never told Nicholas that.

“You saved a wolf pup once. Released it from a wolf trap that had been set out in the woods. You gave it the sandwich your mom packed for you. Everyday after that you pull the meat out of your sandwich and leave it for the wolf pup to eat. One day the wolf stopped taking the meat you would leave out for it, so you thought it finally moved on. Went to live somewhere else, but it didn’t leave. Just didn’t want you to keep giving up your meat to feed it, so it learned how to hunt like a wolf should, but it never left you. For years it watched you walk to and from school and one day when it saw another wolf attack you. It didn’t hesitate to protect you. Even if the other wolf was two times my size. I couldn’t let it attack you, so I tried my best to protect you, but I was way weaker. Still I fought with everything I had. Till I couldn’t fight anymore. I felt guilty for not being able to protect you better. I’m sorry,” he apologized. 

“What are you apologizing for? You saved me. Twice now,” you tell him.

“You believe him?” Nicholas spoke up, stepping closer to you. 

“He knows too much. I never told anyone about that wolf pup. I was terrified someone would hurt it if I did,” you say. 

“Are you not scared of us? I mean we’re…”

“Werewolves, yeah,” you chuckled. “It sounds crazy. It is crazy, but I told you that I believed there are good and bad wolves, remember?” you remind. 

“Yeah.” Nicholas’ lips tug upwards. “I remember.” 

“Well, I think you two are pretty good,” you told them. 

To say that Fuma was furious when he found out about Taki and that you found out about them was an understatement, but ever so slowly he began to come around. His sharp cold gazes started to soften and melt.

“Pine and cherry blossom,” you state after getting a whiff of Fuma’s scent. While you were helping prepare for Taki’s birthday party. Fuma looks at you then looks away clearing his throat.

“Don’t think too much about it. I only carried you because Taki wouldn’t leave your side even when he was inches away from death,” he justified. 

“Thank you,” you tell him sincerely. 

Fuma remains silent for a while, but then he speaks a very quiet, almost inaudible. “You’re welcome.”

Safe to say you and Taki ended up becoming very close, so close that.

“Ok I know it’s your birthday, but that doesn’t mean you get to hang off of my girlfriend all day.” Nicholas pulled you into his side, removing Taki’s head that was resting over your shoulder while you were trying to show him how you pipped the rosettes on his cake.

“He’s jealous again,” Taki leaned into loudly whisper, causing you to stifle a laugh. 

“It’s ok.” You turned in your boyfriend's arms to face him, wrapping your arms around his waist. “You’re the one that I want,” you state, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his lips. To which Taki fake gags at and utters something about leaving you lovebirds alone. 

“Good, cause you’re the only one that I will ever want,” Nicholas tells you and leans to press a tender kiss on your forehead. You smiled and rested your face against his chest.

Later that evening as Nicholas walks you home with the sun setting behind you. Leaving the golden orange hue in its wake you think that Nicholas will always be like the horizon is for the sun. You’ll never stop falling in love with him.

Academic rival! Yujun, who always sends you looks during class.

Yujun is well aware of his sweet boy image that’s why he keeps his taunting towards you discreet, but that doesn’t make it any less nerve striking. If anything it makes it worse.

While you were mid head roll, trying to release the ache from your neck you caught Yujun staring at you. 

What? You mouthed at him. He let out an imperceptible scoff and shakes his head with the slightest smirk pulling at his lips.

Academic rival! Yujun who is all too glad when the teacher pairs you up for a project together.

“This will be fun won’t it?” He says as he slides into the chair next to yours. He places his hand on your shoulder as he does so. 

“It won’t,” you state bitterly as you shake his hand from your shoulder. 

Academic rival! Yujun who makes himself too comfortable on your bed after you very reluctantly agreed to work on the project with him at your house.

A sigh deflates your lungs when you look at Yujun on your bed. He’s laying on his stomach, laptop open and laid out in front of him. He has taken one of your pillows and placed it under his chest to prop him up. 

“Why are you acting like you live here?” you asked clearly annoyed, fighting the urge to shove him off your bed. 

“Sorry, should I sit very precariously on the corner the entire time,” he sassed you. 

“You’re so annoying,” you complained. 

“Only towards you,” he gives you a vexing smile. 

Academic rival! Yujun who you survived doing the project with, but now he acts like you’re close.

“Why are you sitting there?” You questioned, giving him a look when you came into class discovering that he was seated in the seat next to yours.

“Because I want to sit next to you…friend,” he says as you sit down. 

“Please,” you scoff. “We’re not friends,” you state. He leans his head on his hand that’s resting on the back of his chair. 

“You’re right, we’re not, but maybe we could be something else,” he intimated.

Academic rival! Yujun who asks for your help on an assignment. 

“Y/n what is this question asking exactly?” he asked, tapping the end of his pencil against the paper where the question lied. 

“Why are you playing dumb? There’s no way you don’t understand,” you state, not even turning to look at him. Yujun sighs from beside you. 

“Maybe I was just trying to talk to you,” he says. It’s not his words that stir something in you, but his tone. Why did he sound so dejected?

Academic rival! Yujun who tries to be more straightforward about talking to you. 

“Hey,” he greeted you when you came into class and sat down.

“Hey,” you greeted him back plainly, but he still viewed it as progress. 

Academic rival! Yujun doesn’t seem so obnoxious anymore. 

You don’t know how he did it, but you found yourself having real conversations with Yujun now and to your complete utter surprise you don’t mind them. In fact you want to hear more about the web drama that he’s watching.

Academic rival! Yujun, who reminds you that he is your academic rival.

“Looks like you were the one who didn’t understand the question,” he lightly teased you when you got your papers handed back, showing the one question you missed. 

“Whatver Yujun,” you tried to brush him off. 

“I could help you with it?” he suggested. 

“It’s fine I-”

“While we're on a date,” he added. 

“Huh?” you go speechless. 

“I could explain that question to you. If you go on a date with me,” he proposed. 

Academic rival! Sumin, who always invites you to study group.

“Y/n, my friends and I are studying in the library,” he tells you as everyone is packing up at the end of class. 

“Ok,” you say plainly, swigging your bag over your shoulder. Sumin sighs, throwing his own bag over his shoulder and stepping in front of you to block your path.

“Come study with us,” he asked more directly. 

“No, thanks,” you decline and brush past him.

“R. E. J. E. C. T. E. D. Rejected,” Yechan, Sumin’s friend teased him. 

“Shut up,” Sumin grumbled. 

Academic rival! Sumin who somehow found a way to study with you.

It was supposed to be safe. You and a few club members were supposed to be studying in the privacy of your club’s room. That was until he walked in.

“Sumin, hey glad you could make it, have a seat.” One of your club members warmly welcomed Sumin. Your eyebrow twitches in annoyance. A stern look falls onto your face when you hear the empty chair beside you being pulled out.

“Nice to see you outside of class,” he tells you, turning to look at you and giving you something that looks like a genuine smile.

“Yeah, nice to see you,” you say sarcastically, letting out a breath. 

Academic rival! Sumin who isn’t actually insufferable to study with.

You thought that it was going to be the longest hour of your life with Sumin sitting next to you, but it was actually…pleasant?

He didn’t seem as annoyingly cocky as he did in class. He seemed chill, laid back. If someone needed help understanding something he explained it calmly, It was like his ‘I’m better than you’ attitude completely went out the window. The way he pushed up his glasses when slid down his nose was oddly endearing??

Academic rival! Sumin who was back to being his irritating self when you’re both back in class. 

“Guess you should have asked for my help during the study group,” he taunted you when he saw that his score on the assignment was higher than yours. In return you only give him a perplexed look. 

“What? Cat got your tongue?” he continued to irk you. You let out a sigh and shake your head. Proceeding to pack up your things and leave. 

Academic rival! Sumin who is stunned by your silence. 

He was used to your short and cold, borderline emotionless responses, but you never stayed quiet like you just did. He can’t get the look you gave him before leaving out of his head.

Academic rival! Sumin who shows up at your study group again.

This time isn’t like the last time Sumin made his surprise appearance. There is an obvious tension between the two of you. Thicker and heavier than before. Something that could be cut with a knife. 

“Is it because finals are coming up? You kinda look like you want to bite Sumin’s head off, y/n.” You only shrugged in response. Once more your silence strikes Sumin. It hurts way more than any of the sharped tongue remarks you spewed at him in the past.

Academic rival! Sumin who catches up to you after study group ends. 

“Y/n! Wait up,” he called after you. You ignored his words and kept walking which caused Sumin to block your path instead. “Can you talk to me? Please?” He looks you in your eyes. Showing something you never seen from him before: desperation.

“I have nothing to say to you.” You tried to keep walking, however Sumin caught your wrist, preventing you from doing so.

Academic rival! Sumin who tries to apologize.

“Whatever I did that upset you this much I’m sorry,” he apologized. 

“Whatever you did?” you scoffed, trying to pull your wrist free, but Sumin held it more firmly. 

“Then you can tell me what I did, so I can apologize for it?” he asked. You laughed, not a happy laugh. A you’re ridiculous laugh. 

“Alright fine, I tell you. I used to think that you were a dick in general, but after that first study group you seemed like a different person, so I thought maybe I had you wrong. Maybe being academic rivals with you clouded my vision. However then the next day in class you were back to being an ass so..I think I realized you’re only shitty towards me.” The look in your eyes stabs Sumin’s heart.

Academic rival! Sumin who explains himself.

“No, no, no. That’s not it,” he insisted. 

“Isn’t it?” you pressed. “Cause I don’t see you acting the way you do towards me to anyone else.”

“I’m competitive. Very competitive and the fact that I have to work my ass off to just barely score higher than you. It brings out a not so good side of me. An asshole side and that’s why I kept inviting you to study with my friends and I. Because I wanted to show you that I’m not just your irritating academic rival.” He adjusted his hold on your wrist to hold your hand instead. 

“That maybe I’m a guy you could date.”

Wanna know what's like to have the other members as your academic rivals! Find out here:

Academic rival! Hyunwoo who acts displeased whenever the teacher tells you to work with your seat partner, yet always chooses to sit next to you.

“Not again,” Hyunwoo groaned and rolled his eyes. As if working with you was the most exhausting thing in the world.

“If working with me really irks you so much then just sit somewhere else,” you said, tiredly looking down at the assignment. 

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t miss my handsome face if I really did move.” He hooked a finger under your chin and made you look at him.

“As if.” You smack his hand away from your chin, but butterflies danced in your stomach. 

Academic rival! Hyunwoo invades your personal space.

It started with his notes that would cross the line between your twos’ desk. Then it was his arm that would bump into yours while you were writing. Then his knee started knocking into yours and finally his chair scooted all too close to yours. 

“You literally have all of that space over there. Would you stop migrating towards me,” you told him, pointing to all the space he had unoccupied on the other side of his desk.

A smirk pulled at his lips. “No,” he states, looking you dead in the eyes and leans his face close to yours. Making your heart skip a beat.

Academic rival! Hyunwoo who notices you struggling with an assignment.

“Do you not understand?” he asked you.

“No need to mock me,” you sighed, running your hand through your hair. 

“I’m not.” He actually sounded sincere. 

Academic rival! Hyunwoo who helped you.

Maybe it’s the shock that your academic rival is helping you understand the complicated material. Or maybe it’s because he’s leaning so close to you while doing so. So close that you can smell his cologne. All you know is that your head is spinning, making it even harder to focus on the words in front of you and it is because of Hyunwoo. 

Academic rival! Hyunwoo who dismisses it when you score better than him on the test because it was him who helped you understand the material afterall. 

You triumphantly held up your perfectly graded paper, giving Hyunwoo a pointed look. 

“Whaterever, you only got that score because of me. If anything you should be thanking me,” he retorted. His words stirred something in you. He was technically right. 

“Thank you,” you say. Hyunwoo looks at you taken aback. He wasn’t actually expecting you to thank him and now he’s the one whose head is spinning.

Academic rival! Hyunwoo starts taking note of small things about you. 

He notices how you write with your paper slightly angled to the left. He notices how you hold your pencil. That you somehow always know when there are five minutes of class left. Though it’s not until he notices that you trimmed your hair and changed your perfume that he thinks he has a problem.

Academic rival! Hyunwoo who begins to crave physical contact with you. 

Before he bumped his arm into yours and knocked knees with you to annoy you, but now he craves to feel you next to him.

His arm once more crossed the line that lied between your desks, but this time instead of bumping into yours and going back it stayed. It lingered long enough for you to begin to feel the warmth of his arm that seeped through his hoodie sleeve and when you pulled your arm away his chased yours.

Academic rival! Hyunwoo who now feels more satisfied seeing how happy you get when you beat him rather than beating you.

“Ha!” you said playfully as you happily flaunted your paper to him. “And you can’t say anything this time because I beat you fully on my own,” you were quick to add. Hyunwoo should feel annoyed, but instead he smiles. 

“Congrats,” he tells you. Something shifted. 

Academic rival! Hyunwoo comes to terms with the fact that he likes you. 

He’s paying more attention to you than the assignment he should be doing. He cares more about you than his grades and that’s something he never would have ever thought would be the case. 

“Why aren’t you working?” you questioned after feeling his stare lingering on you for far too long. 

“Let’s go out,” he says.

Academic Rival! Junmin who loved competing with you to complete an assignment first.

Junmin knew the sound of him flipping the page before you could, struck a nerve in you. Which is why he all too pridefully (louder than necessary) flips over the page of his assignment. Letting you know that he finished the front page faster than you. At the irritating sound of the page flipping over you shoot your eyes sideways, seeing that Junmin was already beginning to work on the back side. You let an annoyed huff, turning your paper over too as you gnawed the inside of your cheek.

Academic Rival! Junmin who gets paired with you to work on an essay that will represent your school at a state level competition.

“But Ms. Kim why do you have to pair us together of all people? You know that we don’t along-”

“I have no problems with you.” Junmin cuts in. You scoff at his statement. 

“Yeah right,” you say sarcastically. 

“I really don’t. I know we’re rivals when it comes to grades, but that’s it isn’t it?” Your thoughts began to tangle. Did he really only think about you as someone to score better than?

“And that’s exactly why I paired you two together. My top two students, so don’t embarrass me,” Ms. Kim states.

Academic Rival! Junmin who finds it amusing how upset you are about being paired with him. 

After the nth time of you muttering something under your breath about being stuck working with him he confronts you. 

“Do you really dislike me that much?” he asked, raising a brow.

“I-” you sigh. Did you really dislike him? Or were just feeling annoyed about him saying you were just someone he wanted to outscore? “What if I do?” you challenged. 

He leans in close to you whispering in your ear, “Then I’ll give you a better reason to dislike me.”

Academic Rival! Junmin who has become a thorn in your side. 

What was once a quiet rivalry becomes loud. Junmin begins dropping nerve poking remarks towards you. 

“I thought you were a top student. Why does your essay structure suck?” he mocked you as he read over your rough draft.

“Because it’s a rough draft, Junmin. It’s not supposed to be perfect. I was just getting my ideas down.” You snatched your paper back. Only for Junmin to take it once again. 

“Yeah and some of them aren’t that great either if I’m being honest.” He judgementally taps at your paper.

Academic Rival! Junmin who really has given you plenty of reasons to dislike him.

The two of you were rehearsing for presenting your guys’ essay, but you kept stumbling over your words. 

“Can’t you speak properly? Are you trying to make us look bad?” He groaned and you finally had enough. 

“Would you quit it Junmin! The thought of presenting alone already makes me want to throw up and now I have to do it in front of a bunch of professors and scholars who are literally going to judge every word that comes out of my mouth,” you ranted.

Academic Rival! Junmin who suddenly feels bad for how he’s been treating you. 

“Hey, it’s ok. Calm down” He suddenly changed his tune and wrapped a comforting arm around your shoulder. 

“You don’t get to suddenly be nice to me,” you pushed his arm away. “Plus didn’t you tell Ms.Kim that you didn’t have any problems with me? Yet this entire time of writing this essay you’ve been nothing but a dick,” you confronted him. 

Academic Rival! Junmin who thinks he might have taken things too far. 

“You’re the one who disliked me for no reason, so all I did was give you actual reasons to dislike me,” he defended his action.

“I never disliked you. I was just upset that you acted like I was just something you could outscore. Like I didn’t mean anything to you.” The words spilled from your mouth before you thought about them.

Academic Rival! Junmin who realizes he might have meant more to you than he thought.

“And what are you supposed to mean to me exactly? Because you seem more upset than an academic rival should be. Aren’t we just supposed to compete for the top spot?” He stepped into your personal space and backed you up against the door to the auditorium.

Academic Rival! Junmin who is now the one stumbling over his words when you say. 

“Competing for the number one spot is fun, but I want to be the number one spot in your heart,” you confess.

You turn in your chair triumphantly in the direction of where Jinsik sat, holding up your perfectly graded test. Jinisk smiles, picking up his test to show that it was also perfectly graded. You let out a bit of an annoyed huff, turning back around in your chair. Jinsik pouts after you are no longer interested in him. 

“You could just talk to them like a normal person you know?” Seeun elbowed him. 

Jinsik sighs, “I would love to, but they only see me as their academic rival.”

Academic rival! Jinsik who prays every time to be paired up with you on an assignment.

On the outside Jinsik looks calm, hand folded on top of his desk while he waits for his name to be called. However, on the inside he’s shouted a mantra of pleases. 

“Please! Please! Please! Let me and y/n get paired together. Please!”

“Jinsik and Y/n.” 

He has to physically hold back his excitement as he prayer gets answered. 

Academic rival! Jinsik who tries his best to flirt with you. 

The pair of you were in the library working on your assignment when Jinsik spoke.

“Do you see that in the distance?” he asked looking out the window. 

“See what?” you squinted your eyes as you looked out the window, trying to see what he was talking about. 

“Our future together,” he says, placing his hand over yours.

“Jinsik what?” You pull your hand out from under his. “What’s wrong with you?” A laugh vibrates through your chest. You can’t say his flirting didn’t have an effect on you though.

Academic rival! Jinsik who tries to be friends with you. 

It started with him making conversation with you during class. Usually pertaining to whatever topic you guys were covering at the time, but ever so slowly he was able to bring side conversation. A cat saw on the street, something funny one of his friends did, what he did over the weekend. 

Academic rival! Jinsik who walks you to class without you even realizing it. 

Jinsik managed to keep the side conversation going outside of the classroom. In fact it’s more of a full on conversation now rather than a side one. So full on that you don’t even realize you reached your next class. 

“Why did you stop walking?” you questioned Jinsik, turning around to see him standing a couple steps behind you. 

“Because this is your class isn’t it?” He points to the classroom door. I blush creeped onto your face. Were you really paying so much attention to Jinsik that you didn’t recognize your own class?

“Yeah it is,” you said, looking down at your feet in an attempt to hide your embarrassment. 

“Well, have fun in class.” He pats your shoulder as he leaves to walk to his own class. 

It’s not until you’re in your seat and the teacher is a good way through the lesson that it hits you. Jinsik just walked you to class.

Academic rival! Jinsik who’s happy that grades are no longer the sole reason he gets your attention, but still doesn’t know how you really see him. 

“I thought you and y/n were getting closer. Why are you back to staring longingly at them from across the room?” his friend, Seeun asked him. 

“We are closer, but I don’t know if it’s just as friends or what. I don’t want to confess and get rejected.” He dropped his head down onto his desk. 

Academic rival! Jinsik who pulls away from you. 

It started with not walking you to class anymore. Then the conversation between the two of you turned back into small talk. Then only assignment related. Now he hasn’t even talked to you in a week and now you’re the one staring longingly across the classroom at him wondering: Did you do something wrong?

Academic rival! Jinsik who doesn’t even hold up his test paper to show you his score. 

“Jinsik,” you called his name carefully. He ignores you, packing up his things and walking out of class. 

Academic rival! Jinsik who feels his heart leap into his throat when you approach him. 

“What’s up with you? Did I do something?” You asked him, sitting next to him on the planter you spotted him at. Jinsik made the mistake of looking at you. Mistake because he saw how sad your eyes looked. Did he hurt you? He instantly feels guilty. 

“No! No, you didn’t do anything I just-” he stops. 

“You just?” You wait for him to continue. 

“At first I was just happy to have your attention, but then we actually started to get close and I hated how I couldn’t tell…” he stops talking again. 

“Couldn’t tell how?” You were growing more confused as he spoke. 

Jinsik takes a breath. “I couldn’t tell how you feel about me and I’ve spent the past two years liking you. I don't think I could handle rejection and-” Oh this wasn’t how he wanted to confess.

Academic rival! Jinsik who never felt more motivated when you say. 

“If you beat midterms I’ll tell you how I feel about you.” You lightly pat his cheek.

Wanna know what's like to have the other members as your academic rivals! Find out here:

Academic Rival! Yechan who loves to get under your skin.

“Aww, did you miss that question? Should I explain to you how to get the right answer?” He taunted you as he flaunted his perfectly graded sheet.

“Don’t act like you’ve never gotten a question wrong, Yechan,” you said in huff, while shoving your paper into your bag.

“But I didn’t get any wrong here…unlike you.” He gives you a foe sympathetic look.

Academic Rival! Yechan whose lips pull into a line when you do score better than him. 

“Aww, did you miss that question? Should I explain to you how to get the right answer?” You loved being able to taunt him with his own words. 

“Whatever, scoring better than me this one time doesn’t make you better than me,” he scoffed, trying to act like he wasn’t burning inside. 

“But it’s not just this one time. I’ve beaten you many times. That’s why we’re rivals isn’t it?” The look in your eyes along with the combination of your words stir something inside of Yechan. Something he’s not sure he likes. 

Academic Rival! Yechan who doesn’t know what to think or how he feels when you don’t show up to school for three consecutive days. 

“Oh, you’re back. I was starting to think you ran away.” Don’t let his words trick you though he was actually starting to feel concerned about you. 

“You wish.” Your scoff turned into a cough, still not feeling one hundred percent better. “I was just sick.” 

“Yeah your voice totally doesn’t give that away,” he remarks sarcastically. “But…here” he awkwardly gives you his notebook. 

“What?” you questioned him. 

“From what you missed the past three days. It’s only fun to beat you when we’re on an even playing field.” He shrugged, trying to act casual. Trying to act like he wasn’t happy to see you back.

Academic Rival! Yechan whose thoughts become more and more consumed by you and not in a competitive “I have to beat them” kind of way.

“Have they always looked so pretty when they’re focusing on their work?” Yechan wondered, chin resting in his hand as he stared at you.

When you turn your head to look at the clock you definitely weren’t expecting to find Yechan staring at you. Neither was he expecting you to catch him staring, causing him to childishly stick his tongue out at you before turning away. He then uses his hand to block his face as he cringes to himself wondering why he just did that.

Academic Rival! Yechan who now feels butterflies whenever you’re near him. 

“Ok, let’s get this over with. I’ll do the odds you do the evens then we’ll exchange answers,” you said, moving to take the seat beside him after your teacher paired you up for classwork. 

“But the teacher said to work on answering each one together,” he brings up. 

You shoot him a perplexed look. “Do you really wanna have pointless conversations about answers that are literally right in the textbook?” You tapped your pencil against the pages of the open book in the middle of you and Yechan. 

Yechan does want to have pointless conversations with you, but that realization combined with the butterflies that have been swarming in his stomach the moment you sat down next to him, makes him think he’s not capable of doing so.

Academic Rival! Yechan stops you right outside of school one day.

The sudden feeling of a hand latching onto your arm and giving you a light tug pauses your current footsteps leading off campus. 

“Yechan?” you voiced very confused when you turned around to see who grabbed you. 

“I think I like you,” he blurts out. 

“What?” Your eyes grew wide. 

“Not think actually, I know. I like you,” he tells you.

Academic Rival! Hunter who likes to sit behind you in class. 

“Hunter seriously if you kick my chair one more time-” You turned around in your chair, finally having enough of whatever game Hunter was playing.

“What? If I kick your chair one more time, you’re gonna what?” he taunted you. Keeping eye contact with you as he ‘accidentally’ kicks your chair again.

Academic Rival! Hunter who sits beside you during detention after you both got in trouble for disrupting class. 

“Don’t look so upset. You’re literally the one who got us both stuck here,” he remarked, poking your cheek with his finger. 

“No, it was you. Because you kept kicking my chair.” You swat his hand away from you. Hunter chuckles from beside you. 

“Maybe I just wanted to get you alone with me,” he whispered, leaning close to you and twirling some of your hair around his finger.

Academic Rival! Hunter who felt jealous when you got paired with someone else to do a project with. 

You can feel a pair of eyes staring at the back of your head. When you look over your shoulder you find that Hunter is staring at you. Actually no it’s not you. He’s staring at your project partner and if looks could kill your partner would be six feet under.

Academic Rival! Hunter who acts like he doesn’t know what you’re talking about when you bring that up. 

“I guess you’re quite upset that the teacher didn’t pair us up together for the project,” you accuse him. 

“What are you talking about?” He half-laughed. 

“I saw how you were staring at the partner. If looks could kill he would be dead,” you teased. 

“He didn’t have to lean that close to you,” he muttered under his breath. 

“What was that?” you leaned in, cupping your ear in a playful manner.

“Maybe I am upset about it,” he owned, making your breath hitch.

Academic Rival! Hunter who stepped in when a guy was bothering you.

“I believe my girl said that she’s not interested, so leave her alone,” Hunter tells the guy as he walks up behind you, arms encasing you in a back hug and pulling you protectively against his chest. 

Academic Rival! Hunter doesn’t like how you’ve been avoiding him. 

He’s back at it again, kicking your chair. Except this time despite every ticked off nerve in your body screaming at you to scream at him you don’t listen to them. You only gripped your pencil tighter and kept your head down. 

Academic Rival! Hunter who finds a way to land you both back in detention, leaving you no escape. 

“Seriosuly, what is your problem?” you confronted him, feeling more than annoyed about being in detention yet again. 

“My problem?” he laughed. “I think you’re the one with the problem. Since you've been desperately trying to act like I don’t exist for the past two weeks. Are you really that nervous about losing to me at midterms or is it something else?” He backed you up against a desk, arms on either side of your body caging you. Leaving you nowhere to go.

Academic Rival! Hunter doesn’t even bother trying to hide his feelings for you anymore.

“Since I scored better than you on midterms you should go on a date with me,” he proposed. 

You scoffed, "Seriously Hunter, you need to stop whatever game it is that you’re playing. It’s not funny.” He steps closer to you and leans down, bringing his face closer to yours. 

“I’m not playing any game right now,” he states. “Maybe I was playing one before, but I’ve decided to stop acting like I don’t have feelings for you,” he confesses. 

“What are you talking about?” He looked at Jinsik like he was crazy. A look that only grew stronger when Jinsik laughed like he was the one being absurd. 

“Y/n, your academic rival. Naturally you’d be upset about losing to them.” Since when was you being his academic rival a thing? He pondered. 

Academic Rival! Junghoon, who still doesn’t quite understand the academic rivals thing so he approaches you after class.

“So what’s this thing about us being academic rivals?” he got straight to the point. 

“Did you only just find out?” you couldn’t help but laugh. Upon seeing the confusion in his eyes you realize that he really did only just find out. “Look it’s just because we’re the top two of our class, so our classmates labeled us as academic rivals,” you shortly explained.

Junghoon nodded, but still found the situation odd. 

“But I mean if you keep scoring lower than me, they’ll probably forget all about us being supposed academic rivals.” Junghoon didn’t like whatever look you had in your eyes as you spoke. 

Academic Rival! Junghoon, who now feels a competitive spark against you.

Junghoon feels very victorious as he holds up his higher graded test paper towards you from across the room. A half sided grin pulling at his face. That only grows in satisfaction when he sees your face harden.

Academic Rival! Junghoon, who seems to become more interested in you now that you’re proper academic rivals.

Junghoon comes into class sliding to the chair next to yours rather than his usual one across the classroom. 

“What are you doing?” you questioned him.

“Thought it would be more interesting if we sat next to one another.” He shrugged like what he said didn’t mean much. 

Academic Rival! Junghoon, who gave you his jacket?

It was the middle winter and the heating in your schools decided now would be a good time to break. 

You pressed your arms close to your body as you leaned over to read the worksheet in front of you. Dread bubbled in your stomach anytime you had to extend your arm to write an answer. Your desk feels like ice against your already cold skin.

“Here.” Suddenly Junghoon is plopping his hoodie into your lap. 

“What?” You turned to look at him. Seeing him now only wearing his long sleeve shirt. “No, I’m fine.” You tried to hand his hoodie back to him. 

“Your lips are literally turning blue.” He tapped his pencil against your lips. “Just wear it.” he insisted. 

Academic Rival! Junghoon, who feels happy about the dating rumors spreading about you two after he gave you his hoodie.

You and Junghoon just so happened to enter the classroom at the same time, but your classmates only took it as further confirmation that the two of you were dating. 

“I knew I shouldn’t have worn your jacket,” you grumbled as you took your seat, feeling multiple pairs of eyes on you. 

“Why not? It looked good on you,” Junghoon says, leaning in close to you. You have to act like your heart didn’t skip a beat.

Academic Rival! Junghoon, who realizes that maybe it was never a competitive spark he felt towards you, but a romantic one.

“For the presentation I was thinking we would first have one slide that listed all the pros and cons then other slides that specifically talked about each one and weighed- Junghoon are you even listening?” You asked him when you saw him just staring at you.

“Yeah, I’m listening. Keep talking pretty.” He’s so stuck in his daze of looking at you that he doesn’t even realize what he just called you.

Academic Rival! Junghoon, who never cared about being your academic rival, but now he wants to be something else. 

“Y/n.” He approached you one day after class. 

“Yeah?” you said, turning to face him. 

“I don’t care about being your academic rival,” he tells you. 

“I mean I kinda fingered. You didn’t even know about it for half of the year?” you laughed. Junghoon laughs about it too. 

“Yeah, but I do want to be something else to you,” he discloses.

“And what’s that?” you asked. 

“Your boyfriend.”