When I get home, warm arms engulf me. A hand pushes my head forward, burying it in the crook of Jeongguk's neck. I inhale his scent. It is heavy with peppermint mixed with the smell of wet pavement. Lately Jeongguk's scent has been smelling stronger than usual, and I can smell it when I'm miles away.

"Where were you? I was so worried you were kidnaped," He mumbles. I smile and say, "I'm a beta, I can protect myself."

"I'm not so sure about that," He jokes. I'd usually get mad, but this time I don't. I let out a laugh and playfully punch Jeongguk on his arm.

"You've seen me shoot, fight and swim, is there nothing I can't do?" I press on. The smile on Jeongguk's face falters, and he frowns. "Yeah, you can't have a proper conversation with me."

"I'm trying now, aren't I?" I cough out. He's making me feel bad, I deserve it.

"Yeah, I'm trying too." He smiles. And I return it with a grin.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" I say, "You don't have to wait for me, you know?"

"I was about too, but I ran out of milk and cornflakes," He tells me. And that's when I remember: as tough as Jeongguk may seem to be, he has to drink warm milk before sleeping. It seems to be a routine of his.

"Right . . ." I chuckle awkwardly, scratching the back of my neck, where Jeongguk's hands once were. "I'll go with you," I say without thinking. Jeongguk's eyes widen. "But you just got home."

"But it's late," I argue back, "I'm not letting you go out alone at this time, especially if something happens to you, I'll get into trouble." I leave out my small confession, I'm afraid I'll never get to see you again.

"I'm an alpha, I can protect myself," He teases, repeating the words I said before. My eyes roll, and I purse my lips with a sound of disagreement.

"I'm not so sure about that," I tease him back. We laugh. And for once, I feel like I can open up and trust Jeongguk.

"If you insist." He slips on his shoes and opens the door. "Betas first," He jokes. I do a curtsey. "Thank you, kind sir," I laugh, playing along with Jeongguk's little act. We giggle as we walk out of the dormitory.

"So which grocery store are you going to?" I say, rubbing my covered yet freezing arms. "Are you cold?" Jeongguk points out. I look at him weirdly, as if to say: well duh, I'm not freezing, I feel really warm. That would explain why my ears are red.

"Which grocery store are you going to?" I repeat. My lips quiver, and a puff of air escapes my mouth with every breath.

"The one nearest to our dormitory. Though it's not really a grocery store. Just a twenty four seven shop." He shrugs. "I know a shortcut, it's nearby. We just have to cut through the park and we'll reach the shop," He tells me. I nod.

"Here." He brings me to one of the entrances to the park. It is deserted, and different. It is no longer lively. When the wind blows, a sound is created, causing goosebumps rise on my body. "Do you think we should go this way? Why not just take the longer way?" I try to negotiate with him.

"Hell yeah!" He exclaims. "Let's just take this shortcut." I nod. My throat dries. I don't want to admit to Jeongguk, but I don't think cutting across the park is a good idea. The familiar feeling of my stomach feeling queasy triggers me, but I ignore it.

"Hey," He starts. I hum to tell him I'm listening to what he's about to say. "About what happened last Friday, I know you weren't avoiding me on purpose." He pauses. "I'm sorry for being over sensitive."

"It's okay," I assure him. It's true, I don't blame him for being rash, I am at fault too. For giving him the cold shoulder all the time.

Jeongguk rattles in about his apology but I am no longer listening to him. A rustle in the bushes catch my attention, and I hug my body tighter.

"Jeongguk." I shake Jeongguk's shoulder, and point to the right, where the noise came from. We stop walking and start listening intently. "Did you hear that? The sound of trees rustling," I whisper to him.

"Oh Taehyung, it's probably just the wind blowing the trees," He whispers back calmly. I shake my head. "It doesn't sound like it." I feel his shoulders stiffen.

"Maybe you're just paranoid," He mumbles. I see goosebumps on his arm. "You're not scared, are you?" I laugh a little. Another rustle catches my attention. I whip my head back to the right, and catch a figure fly from tree to tree. My arms shake, my lips quiver.

"J-jeongguk," I stutter, mentally slapping myself for acting scared. "Did you see that? That shadow," I tell him. He shakes his head.

"Come on." He pulls me close to his body. Heat rushes to my cheeks. I can feel it burning bright red. Jeongguk guides us out of the park quickly.

"We're safe now." He smiles, letting go of his grip on me. My hand trembles and I clench it into a fist, and hope Jeongguk doesn't notice. I know this is wrong, I shouldn't want to get close to Jeongguk. He is a taken man. And I have to stay loyal to my future mate.

"Come on, don't just stand there, it's cold," Jeongguk rushes me. He is standing beside the shop's door. I force a smile that comes out crooked and small.

When I step into the shop, I am surprised when a blast of warm air slaps my face. I strip out of my jacket and hand it on my lower arm. Jeongguk proceeds to get his milk and cereal. I scan the shop, and find a mirror hanging on the ceiling. I take in my face. My lips are cracked and dry thanks to the cold, and the blood blush on my face is not as red as I thought it would be.

The loud sound of a metal can hitting the tiled floor snaps me out of my reverie.

I snap my head toward Jeongguk. "Oops . . ." He shrugs cutely. My eyes follow him as he shoots me a lazy sideways grin and watch him walk down the aisles lazily. 'What is he up to?' I ask myself. Jeongguk starts picking up really random things—like a bag of chicken skin cracklings and a can of really disgusting soup—and making exaggerated noises of interest, like "This looks yummy." And all I can do is clasp my hands over my mouth to prevent my laughter from being heard.

"Will that be all?" I hear the clerk behind the counter ask Jeongguk. She sounds bored, but I can see her admiring Jeongguk's face.

Jeongguk turns around to look at me, and he strolls to the cashier. "Do you have anything to get, Taehyung?" He asks as he takes his wallet out from the pocket of his raggedy board shorts. I shake my head. "No." He nods in consent. "That's all," He tells the clerk politely.

"Should we take the shortcut again?" He asks once we're out of the store. I shake my head vigorously. "No!"

We end up taking the longer route to get back to our dormitory.

"Here," Jeongguk whispers to me when we reach the gate of our dormitory. "Grab one of those vines on the wall." I grab one of it. Jeongguk does the same. We climb over the wall together.

Once we're back in our room, I say, "You seem really experienced on how to sneak in without getting caught."

"Not the first time I sneak out." He shrugs, leaving me to wonder: how many times has he broken the rule. I really don't know him at all.

"I'm going to take a bath." He smiles. I nod and walk to the dining table. There is a note lying on it. I frown, and pick the worn out looking note.

To: Kim Taehyung

Who could've wrote a letter to me? I tear it open and read.

My eyes widen.

Apparently one of my pack member is still alive and he wants to see me. I know Jeongguk will stop me, to keep me safe. But I've made up my mind.

I'm going, and nothing can stop me.

√a.n.

Right, so I wrote this and was in a hurry to publish that I forgot to write my a.n.
First, I just want to say thank you for reading this book. It hit 100k and is in the first 400 rankings, thank you.
Second, thank you for staying with my ungrateful and indecisive attitude, I appreciate that.
Lastly, I just wanna say you guys are one of the best things to happen to my life in 2017
Edit: I wrote gay of the dorm, I meant gate okay