• • •

Wooyoung

For a few quiet seconds, I can do nothing but stare at the person in front of me. Eyes the hue of maroon meet mine, along with skin so pale it appears like it's glowing even though the hallways are dark and most of the lights have been turned off. The stranger's expression is one that's blank, staring right into my soul with an emotionless intensity that leaves me fumbling for the right words to say. His hair shimmers, a vibrant mixture of ebony and crimson, and the strands lay smooth yet unruly on his head.

He brings out a paper from his pocket, his other hand clinging onto the handle of his large suitcase. Then he stares up at the door, observing the room number plastered on it.

"Uhm," I finally find it within me to say. The silence causes the struggle I have with forming a sentence all the more apparent, and I let out an ungraceful sounding cough. The sound is rough and bounces off the walls of the nearly empty corridors, much louder than it should've been.

The stranger watches me, and all it takes for me to shut up is one look at his scarlet shaded eyes. It's as strange as it is embarrassing, as I'm usually not one to get so nervous easily. Though I'm not the most social person around, I usually have no difficulties speaking to new people.

Until now.

I clear my throat again.

"Is this Room 372?" the male speaks for the first time tonight, and though his tone is more on the questioning side, he still sounds like he's stating a fact.

"Uh... Yeah," I rub the nape of my neck, anxiety swirling within the pits of my stomach. The guy's gaze never leaves my face the second I start talking, and it takes everything in me not to take a step back and close the door in his face. But I'm not that dramatic.

His eyes burn metaphorical holes into my face, his sculpted jaw and high cheekbones making him appear all the more manacing. His whole presence screams 'danger', and the silence isn't helping that fact.

Fuck, Jung Wooyoung, I chastise myself. Say something!

The male speaks again. "You're Jung Wooyoung... right?" Yet another question that's poised as a statement. When I nod, he continues to speak. "You're my new roommate."

"Uhm, yeah," is my highly intelligent response. "I guess so, since you're here with your suitcase and all."

Every bit of my brain yells 'stop talking!', and then I look at the floor, observing my bunny slippers as if they're the most interesting things in the world. The white fluffy things may appear a little childish to most people, but I love them to bits as they're cute and very comfortable.

I look back up only to see that the guy is now watching my bunny slippers.

Shit.

"Uhh, you can come in," I say a bit distractedly, opening the door a bit wider to allow him entrance into the dorm. It's a relatively comfortable living space that's made for two people, with all the necessary furniture it needs and all the rooms protected from hazardous dark magic. There's honestly nothing special about the school dorms as they're all nearly identical (with a few ones catering to creatures with special needs -- like mermen and mermaids, for example). It's basically like most colleges that have their own dorms, except for the fact that a majority of the students enrolled here aren't human. And since we aren't human, the school administration doesn't take too kindly with rule breakers and reckless behaviour, which is why my previous roommate had been kicked out in the first place.

All the lights in the livingroom turn on the second I snap my fingers due to a simple spell, and without the darkness acting as a sort of shield to protect me from my new roommate's heavy stares, I feel more exposed than ever.

"So uh..." I begin, hating the awkward silence that had dawned on us once again. "You new here? I haven't seen your face around campus before."

The male stares at me again, and a lump forms in my throat. He takes a bit too long to reply, and the silence becomes nothing short of unbearable.

After what seems like forever, he drops his gaze and surveys the dorm. "I'm new here."

In contrast with his unnerving appearance, his voice is soft, and rather pleasing to the ears. It doesn't match his face at all.

I awkwardly fumble with the sleeves of my pyjamas. "Do you want me to show you your new room?"

Before we can lock eyes, I head in the way of my former roommate's room, the bulbs above up flickering on in sychronization the more distance we cover. My fingers are clammy by the time I turn the doorknob of the unoccupied room, revealing a space with a bed, closet, drawers and a couple books. Those are the only things in there, which makes the room look unbelievably bare.

"Is it okay?" I ask, before internally cringing. How can I ask that as if I actually have a say in deciding how the rooms look like?

The guy just nods, once again skipping out on the words. Alright then.

Now that we're standing side by side, I realize that we're about the same height. But unlike me, his body is more on the lean side, and the long black coat he's doned in makes his face look all the more pale.

For what seems like the millionth time tonight, our gazes meet, and suddenly warmth creeps over the apples of my cheeks. My head is literally pounding with a ton of crazy thoughts, and my heartbeat races due to the nerves erupting all over my body.

"I'm Choi San," the guy suddenly says, his soft voice slicing through my raging thoughts.

"Jung Wooyoung." My eyes widen after that. "Oh -- wait."

San's dark red eyes sparkle in amusement, two little dips forming on his cheeks when his lips curve into a tiny smile. For a moment there, I don't do anything but stare like an idiot, because the guy actually has dimples.

And they're cute.

But as soon as they appear they fade way, and for some reason I become disappointed.

I chew on my lip, and scratch the back of my neck yet again. "Hope you enjoy your stay here, I guess. If you need anything, you can call me. I'll be in my room."

I'm only doing this to be nice, honestly, so that I'll look like a caring, hospitable person without having to do much. I don't actually expect someone who looks like San to take me up on my offer.

But guess what, that's exactly what he does.

"Actually -- " he calls out just as I'm about to turn around and race into my own room. I freeze up like I've been electrocuted, and turn back around in a way even the clumsiest person in the whole universe would laugh at.

Ms. Keum, my Wizarding Broom Flights teacher back then, would be absolutely devastated if she saw me like this.

"You're a witch, right? I was told you're a witch," San continues, which yanks me back into reality. His facial expression is relaxed, as blank as it was before, but his red eyes look a bit hesitant.

I flash him an awkwardly tight smile. "Yeah, I am. What do you need?"

"I just..." San pushes his suitcase and his backpack into his room and steps closer to me, which takes me by surprise. Our chests almost touch, and with his eyes boring so intensely into mine, I feel like my face might just burst into flames.

Luckily, San doesn't seem to notice my gradually reddening face. He lowers his voice as if he'd about to spill a huge secret. "Headmaster Jung wanted me to room with someone with spell casting abilities. Thought it'd be more beneficial to me."

"Beneficial? What?" I question, clearly confused.

San, unfortunately, doesn't delve deeper into the subject. His finely chiseled face only hardens. He shrugs my question off. "Can you make something for me?"

He's back to looking scary as hell, his eyes brooding and piercing, and I gulp. This was absolute torture.

"S-Sure. What is it?"

• • •

Never in my nineteen years of living would I have imagined sitting across a guy I felt would kill me if he had the chance in my dorm's small livingroom late at night, watching with cautious eyes as his slim fingers wrapped around a cup containing the lavender tea I made for him a few minutes ago, but here I am.

Okay, the tea wasn't the surprising thing here, as I'd made that specific type of tea countless times to make me relax as it contained calming properties. It was a known treat for the magical creatures around here, one that contained a secret spell that only we knew.

No, the surprising thing was the fact that Choi San himself had requested for it in a tone that was way too polite, considering his highly daunting countenance. His words had rendered me speechless for a good while, but thankfully I managed to make him that specific tea without making a huge fool of myself.

And here we are, silence surrounding us yet again. The stiffening quiet drives me crazy.

I pick at my grey pyjamas. "So... What kind of creature are you?"

Wow, real smooth Wooyoung. As if you couldn't be more obvious with your words.

San pauses, his dark locks falling into his eyes. His high cheekbones cast shadows upon his smooth face, and he places the cup on the table. Silence ensues, and then --

"I'm a vampire."

"Okay," I nod, blinking rapidly. I mean, I'm not that surprised, considering his almost unhealthy paleness and his copper shaded irises, but that still doesn't stop me from being surprised.

San takes the cup to take another sip, but it's at that time that my dumb self decides to speak again.

"So like... what do you need the tea for? Are you stressed? Or do you need to relax?" I ask him. My heart drops as his shoulders fall, his velvety black pyjamas rippling at the action. Everything about him seems to have this glow to it, and it leaves me both awed and wary at the same time.

"I just...get...sad at times," San deadpans, and if it wasn't for the sincerity in his voice I would've laughed at his stoic expression. His tone leaves no room for more questioning though, but I don't think I'm bold (or stupid) enough to ask him anything else.

I nod again. "Right. Okay." I jut my thumb towards the kitchen. "Do you want more?"

San's reddish eyes grow pitch black for a second there, and for a few terrorizing moments I fear I might've angered him. "No. I'm okay. Thanks."

I exhale a visible sigh of relief, but the guy barely reacts to my subtle outburst. In fact, he barely reacts to anything.

"Well, I think I'm gonna head to my room now," I say, standing up to my feet. I weave my fingers through my dark brown locks to get them out of my eyes -- a nervous habit of mine -- only to see that San is now watching me.

I almost fall over. He promptly looks away.

"I'm gonna uh...go now."

As expected, San doesn't answer me. He continues to drink the tea, while I stalk into my room and quickly close the door.

I wonder if any of this is real, if there's actually a vampire in the same breathing space as me. This reality doesn't seem plausible, but it's actually happening.

Tousling my hair again, I contemplate grabbing my phone and texting my friend Yeosang, even though I know he'll probably kill me later for texting him this late. For a merman, he's surprisingly not nocturnal.

Fuck it, I think. I take my phone and search for his contact name.

woowoo:
holy fuCK yeosang
i got assigned to
my new roommate
today and he's fucking
terrifying.
delivered 11:18 pm

woowoo:
s.o.s
help me
delivered 11:18 pm

yeosnake:
you woke me up.
suffer u bitch.
delivered 11:19 pm

woowoo:
excuse me??
this is a matter of life
and death
delivered 11:19 pm

woowoo:
my roommate's
a fricken
vampire
delivered 11:19 pm

yeosnake:
so? joongie hyung is one
too but he never hurt you
delivered 11:20 pm

woowoo:
but hongjoong is
a different case.
tHIS GUY looks like he'll
murder me if i even
look at him the
wrong way
delivered 11:20 pm

woowoo:
you should've seen
how awkward it was
for me to talk to him
delivered 11:21 pm

yeosnake:
dont act like you arent
always awkward 💁
delivered 11:21 pm

woowoo:
tHAT AINT THE POINT
delivered 11:22 pm

yeosnake:
look,, i can barely process anything right now.
i need my sleep
delivered 11:22 pm

yeosnake:
you can always talk
to me about the guy
tomorrow
delivered 11:22 pm

woowoo:
no, don't leave me
i beg of you
delivered 11:23 pm

yeosnake:
suck it up
delivered 11:23 pm

woowoo:
this is why you're saved
as yeosnake on my phone
delivered 11:23 pm

yeosnake:
i shall remain unbothered 💅
goodnight. again.
delivered 11:23 pm

woowoo:
:(
delivered 11:24 pm

I fling myself over my bed, my mind racing with a million thoughts per second. And all of them consist of the intimidating vampire that is my new roommate.

I absentmindedly play with my phone, wondering how in the world I'm going to get along with someone like him. Even that idea seems close to impossible.

I sigh. This is gonna be harder than I thought.

• • •

a/n: first chapter! hope it wasnt too bad. thoughts?