Mythical

23. Another Attempt

"We're having a picnic!" Hoseok exclaimed, his eyes filled with excitement, but his face remained expressionless. These people really needed to smile every now and then.

"It's after lunch though?" I pointed out, softly.

He chuckled, breaking into a smile. As the corners of his mouth lifted, his expression became lighter, the intimidating vibe also lifting up. He had a pretty smile. Did everyone have a pretty smile? If so, I envied them cause I looked like a rabbit when I smiled. I always hated my smile. I preferred coming off serious and intimidating, but if someone made me smile, I would lose that façade and look vulnerable. People would take advantage of me if I didn't seem intimidating.

"Your innocence is so cute. It makes me wish I was still a hu-" he cut himself off with a cough as he realized what he was saying. He went back to a straight face, and he straightened his posture. He was a human before? I thought he was born a vampire.

If he was a human, then why did he hate humans so much? Something must have happened for him to hate humans so much, to the point of wishing death upon them, and not in a predatory manner.

"Come on Jungkook. Let's catch up to the others," Jimin said, softly as he intertwined our fingers. He led us forward, leaving Hoseok behind.

"H-hoseok was a h-human?" I asked, looking at him with big eyes of curiosity. He clenched his jaw in response, indicating his annoyance. His grip tightened, sending pulsating pain up my arm.

He stopped abruptly and pulled me close to him, we stood face-to-face. His glare made me want to cower in fear, but he didn't let go. Instead, he clutched my forearm. "We don't talk about it, understand?" He asked. His stern tone was mixed with a threat. I wasn't stupid to question any further.

"Y-yes," I whispered out, the pain in my arm increasing. He studied my face for a few more seconds before letting go of me and walking off ahead, anger evident in his footsteps.

I let out a shaky breath as I stared after his angry figure, rubbing my aching spots to sore them. Hoseok walked up to me, deep in thought. He seemed to notice my halt and looked at me in confusion.

"Jungkook, what's wrong?" he asked. I shook my head in response, looking at him.

"N-nothing. Let's g-go," I said, walking off, leaving a confused Hoseok to walk behind me.

-

"Are we there yet?" Namjoon asked for the tenth time in two minutes.

"No. And we've only been walking for 10 minutes. Patience," Jin responded, his arm slung over my shoulder as we walked down a rocky road.

The fresh air definitely helped clear my cluttered mind. I definitely need some fresh air and a change of scenery. I also needed privacy, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. I'd make the most of what I could get.

I sighed, softly. I wanted to sleep so the days can pass by faster and eventually I can grow old and finally leave this place.

"We're here!" Jimin exclaimed from behind us. I looked around, absorbing the sight. It was a big clearing, with a pond almost as big as the clearing. There were fairy lights lined along with the trees that circled the clearing. People were out and about, laughing with their partners or friends.

I leaned further into Jin's side when I noticed the stares we received from the other vampires as we walked past them. I would hide if it weren't for his arm draped over my shoulders.

He gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, glaring at anyone who cast their gazes upon us.

We went to a secluded spot by the lake. Anyone who sat within ten meters moved after one glare from the guys. I helped lay the blanket on the ground before sitting on the side of the pond. I was facing the pond as I pulled my legs up, my arms wrapped around them as I watched people interact with others.

They were happy. Or that's what I liked to picture them as. It was refreshing to see happy faces and definitely uplifted my mood. Of course, my subconscious knew better than to fall for the small illusion I created, so the small bit of happiness was always temporary.

"Bunny," Namjoon called. I turned around and made eye contact with him.

"Hey, what happened to you?" Yoongi asked, placing his hand on my thigh. I gently pushed it off and pulled my legs to my chest.

"Nothing," I said, feeling slightly guilty at his dejected expression.

"We want to get to know you, little one," Taehyung said. I hummed in response before speaking up.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"How's it like?" Hoseok blurted out, looking at me with an unrecognizable expression. Seeing my confused expression, he clarified. "Being a human, I mean. How does it feel?"

The others sent him worried and confused glances. I pushed aside the questions that were arising in my head. I didn't want a repeat of Jimin. "Neutral, I guess. I-I don't know about t-the past, b-but right n-now I feel like the b-best way to describe it is n-neutral," I said.

"Neutral, how?" Jin asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"We f-face oppression every day. And n-not just by v-vampires, but other s-supernatural creatures as w-well," I explained, trying my best to ignore their stares. I could feel my body grow hot, and my heart picked up its pace because of all the attention I was getting. "But at the end of the day, we were happy with what we got. I mean, it sucked to worry about whether your family member would come home, but we were happy with each other."

I didn't realize that I stopped stuttering as I remembered the happy moments I had with my family. The four of us, sitting at the dining table. The food we ate was too less. It was a bad day cause dad and mom, both got fired from their jobs a week before, so hyung and I were the only ones earning. We didn't have enough money to buy food for all of us.

But we were still laughing. We cracked jokes and had so much fun when hyung imitated the vampires at his work.

"Oh. That's nice. Do you miss them?" Namjoon asked. I nodded, zoning out as I stared at the picnic basket that they brought.

I wished for everything to be a dream.