" Actually, to tell you the truth, I don't hate it

Why do you keep giving me that look?

You know me, I don't open my heart easily

Come to me slowly, protect me more

I'm still scared, take it slow... "

- Take It Slow by Red Velvet

- 3rd POV

Keni and Bora had told their group of friends that they wouldn't eat dinner and lied that the Headmistress had asked for their help with some school things. Maia and Kiera gave their best friends a weird look but didn't bother in asking what kind of school work they're going to do with the Headmistress. Dakyung and Sangmin weren't listening to what Keni and Bora were saying. The two were busy talking to themselves about Jisung's different behavior earlier after Keni had left their room. Once Keni and Bora had left with Jaehyuck following them a few feet away from behind them, Maia then spoke up.

"Where's Vivien and Jisung?"

- Jaehyuck's POV

I didn't know when I started to even care about who this Vivien girl is. Just like how Keni and Bora, I was confused with my sudden help in trying to find out who the new student was. It must have been Bora's curious expression from earlier in the greenhouse when she and Jisung's Guardian were talking. I must have gone too soft after spending my afternoon time with her in the shed and greenhouse. Whatever the reason is, I'm just glad to be spending my time with her.

"Okay, so where do we start?" Bora asked once we all entered the library.

"How about checking the family tree of the Royal and High Bloods?" Keni suggested right away as she started to walk to the stairs that would lead her to the second floor of the library.

"I'll look for the article about a family dying in a fire accident," Bora spoke up, and then she looked over at me. "Why don't you help me out with the archives, sunbae?"

I bit the insides of my mouth from smiling. Then I nodded my head and answered, "Yeah. sure."

We walked up the stairs and went to the other side of the second floor where all the newspapers and archives should be at. Keni had disappeared in the many bookshelves across the second floor and then Bora and I started to look for the article about the fire accident that killed Vivien's parents. Less than an hour later, Bora and I didn't find anything.

"Don't you think it's a little impossible to not have an article about a fire accident in the school archives and newspapers?" Bora asked, sounding irritated while climbing back down the ladder after returning an old leather book.

"Maybe the Academy doesn't keep those kinds of articles in the library," I replied back while leaning on one of the bookshelves.

I watched Bora sighing to herself and then she unexpectedly slipped on the fourth step of the ladder. Before she could fall to the floor, I quickly ran to her and caught her before anything bad could happen to her. She landed on my back but then I lost my balance and soon started to fall down. I twisted around in worry for Bora. My chest faces forward and my arms wrapped themselves around Bora, whose back is facing me. Then we landed on the floor of the library with a loud thump.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I slightly sat up and looked down at the younger Vampire.

Lee Bora looked up to face me and when she did I see her eyes widening in surprise. We both blushed at how close we were and before she could say something, we heard the sound of a camera clicking. We turned our heads to the sound and saw Watanabe Haruto. His mobile phone pointing right at us with its camera on.

"Oh, Ruto? What are you doing..." Keni's voice faltered right away when seeing me and Bora on the floor.

She blushed as well but was smiling ear-to-ear. Then she asked teasingly, "What did I miss here, guys?"

"I was studying for the midterms," Haruto explained when everyone gathered around on the first floor.

"So, you have not eaten dinner yet?" Keni asked in worry for the younger Vampire.

Haruto chuckled cutely and said, "I had an early dinner. But what about you, noona? You didn't eat, yet?"

Keni smiled warmly at him and nodded her head. "There's something that Bora, Jaehyuck sunbae, and I need to find," she answered while Bora and Jaehyuck avoided each other's eyes.

Then the young boy smiled happily and had clapped his hands together. "Uh, why do you look so happy?" Bora asked, feeling offended.

"Ah, sorry, sunbae-nim," Haruto exclaimed with a small laugh. "It's just... I texted a friend to come here and give me some late snacks later."

"But you're not allowed to eat in here," Jaehyuck reminded him.

"Oh, I know, but the Librarian made a deal with me earlier today. She said that if I'm going to eat in her library then I should help her sometimes with the books the next day."

"And you're going to do that?" Bora asked her arms crossed over her chest.

Haruto nodded his head with another one of his bright smiles. Then the doors to the library opened and Keni froze on her spot when she felt the weird feeling again. She turned around and saw Soobin walking in with two bags of lunchbox in one hand and a bottle of iced coffee in the other. When he saw Keni, his heart stopped beating for a few seconds and a blush crept upon his face.

Bora, Jaehyuck, and Haruto saw how the two were reacting to each other and knew that one week of them not being together must have caught up right then and there. Then Bora faked a cough which brought the two Soulmates back to reality.

"Hyung!" Haruto called out with a mischievous chuckle. "You're a bit early."

Soobin looked away from Keni, who is now looking at one of the tables, then he walked over to his best friend but his eyes were still on his Soulmate. It's been hours since he last spoke to her and seeing her again but not being able to hold her in his arms was placing him in a painful state.

"Your tone in your text messages sounded like you were that hungry," Soobin said while placing the items down on the table.

Then he looked away from Keni and saw two other faces he didn't think he'd see at that moment.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked, not trying to sound rude. "Isn't it dinner time?"

"It is," Jaehyuck answered. The Bora added in, "We're just looking for the article about a fire accident and the book of family trees of the Royal and High Blood."

"Is that like for a research paper?" Soobin asked but this time he looked over at Keni.

He had a feeling that it wasn't for a research paper because knowing how Keni is at night in the library... She wasn't there for school work.

Then Jaehyuck spoke up, "Yes-" 

"No, it's not," Keni replied back, cutting him off.

The older Guardian and female Vampire were surprised with Keni's answer. They didn't think that she would honestly answer Soobin since what they were looking for is a secret.

"Keni..." Bora called out carefully, making Soobin and Haruto suspicious of her. "We don't have any proof right now..."

Keni sighed and looked over at her friend. "I know, but I think it's best, to be honest with Soobin."

"And Haruto!" the younger one exclaimed with his hand up in the air.

Keni softly smiled at Haruto. "And you, too, Ruto." 

Then Jaehyuck rubbed his eyes and said, "Alright, fine. But that's all. We can't tell anyone else about what we are doing. Not until we find proof of who Vivien truly is."

"Wait, what?" Soobin spoke up in surprise. "Is this about Vivien Kang? The new girl?"

Bora nodded with her eyebrows crossed. "Yeah, it's about her."

Then Soobin looked back at Keni who was already looking at him. The two seemed to know what the other one was thinking because they both walked to the back of the library where the research books and theory books about the Soulmate Connection are at.

"Was that what you were trying to fix?" Soobin finally asked.

Keni bit her bottom lip. "It is and there's something else," She answered slowly.

"And what was the other?"

The two stared at each other, feeling the connection again.

"Jisung and what he did to you."

Soobin's breathing hitched in his throat as the memories of Jisung manipulating him came back. He squeezed his eyes shut when he also remembered seeing the hurt expression on Keni's face. He hated that memory and wished to forget it, but it's what keeps him on his toes. Without that memory, he wouldn't be sure about how he truly feels for Keni.

"Soobin... There's something we need to talk about..." Keni whispered while hugging herself.

"Go on. I'm all ears," Soobin said as he took a step closer to her.

"Remember what I said to you earlier... About us being friends before anything else?"

Soobin's heart clenched at the memory and nodded his head. Then Keni continued on, lying through her teeth, "I'm sorry but... My memories of us... they have not yet returned."

- Keni's POV

"That's alright, Keni," the tall boy said. "We've got a lot of time to get your memories back. I can wait-"

But I cut him off. "No, please, Soobin... Hear me out."

Soobin looked a little frustrated but he nodded his head for me to continue on.

"Have you ever wondered about what we've been feeling before this week? Have you ever thought if what we feel are just the Soulmate Connection and not our own feelings?"

"Are... Are you questioning my feelings for you?"

"No, I mean, I'm not questioning it-"

"Yes, you are. It sounded like you are."

Silence filled up between Soobin and me. Then his eyes started to get teary and I knew then what I said must have hurt him. I didn't mean for this to hurt him. I just wanted him to see if what we feel for each other was true and not just the Soulmate Connection.

"I'm sorry, Soobin... But please think about it," I spoke up after what felt like a minute had passed.

Then Soobin placed his hand on my chin and pushed it up, making me look up at him instead of his neck.

"Keni, I lo-" Soobin was cut off in the middle of his sentence.

"Hyung! Noona!" Haruto called out from the main area of the library. "We've found the book!"

Soobin's eyes held the pain and frustration while mine held an apology. But when we returned back to the other three, we were able to store away our sad moment in the back of the library.

"Technically, it was Haruto who found the book," Bora exclaimed as I walked to the table where a huge, brown book with a golden tree is on its cover.

"Where did you find it, Ruto?" Soobin asked as he stood beside Haruto across from me.

Haruto chuckled. "It was in one of the librarian's bookshelves-"

"WHAT!" Jaehyuck gasped in shock and panic. "WHAT?!"

"Don't worry, hyung, it's not like we're going to steal the book," Haruto explained with an innocent smile.

But Jaehyuck didn't take it. He glared at his Vampire's best friend and scoffed, "Don't call me that. We are not even close."

The young teenage Vampire pouted and said, "But we shared ice cream yesterday. So we are not close?"

Jaehyuck sighed in total frustration, making Bora and I bite our bottom lip from laughing at the cute situation between the two. Then quietly Soobin opened the book and went to the pages for Kang Family Tree. Right away he sees his new Guardian's name but no Vivien.

"She's not on here," He spoke up, making the four of us look at him in confusion. But when we saw the opened book, we understood right away.

"There's the first proof then," Bora said and looked at me.

"Give me the book," I ordered right away when I remembered something.

Soobin did what I just told him to do and I flipped a couple of pages and saw the Kim Family Tree. I see Rose's name and two other familiar names beside hers. Ruth and Ruby. As far as I can remember, Ruby is the younger sister who is currently staying at St. Luke's Hospital and Ruth is the older twin of Rose, who has not been out in public after the fire accident.

"The fire accident..." I muttered under my breath as I looked at Bora.

"Jaehyuck sunbae and I couldn't find the article. Sorry, Keni," She said with a sad expression. But I shook my head and decided to pretend that I remembered a memory between me and Soobin for the sake of tonight's proof.

I looked at the owner of the golden-red eyes and said, "I remember... I remember the story you told me about Rose and her family. The fire accident from Rose's birthday party."

Then Soobin's eyes lit up. "Keni... Are you saying that Vivien is connected to that?"

"It is..." I softly said.

"How?" Jaehyuck asked as he moved closer to the table.

Then I looked at him, Bora and Haruto while taking a deep breath in and out. "Would you believe me if I said I can see the Spirits and talk to them?"

"You mean like a medium?" Bora asked, using the human term of a Seeker.

I nodded. "Kinda like a medium..."

"No, stop right there," Jaehyuck butts in with furrowed eyebrows. "You can't be the Seeker. You're a Guardian."

I bit my bottom lip and heard Soobin. "That's what I said. Same with Yeji noona."

"Yeji noona knew?" Haruto asked, putting the form with a slice of Teriyaki chicken.

"Wait, Soobin knows that you have a gift?" Bora asked, making Keni sit down on a chair.

Then I said, "First of all, everyone asks one at a time. I feel like I'm going to have another headache." Everyone apologized and then they all sat down on the other chairs around the table before I continued on. "Second, it was Yeji unnie who first figured it out after seeing me speaking to air... But I was actually playing with a kitten in one of the Academy's courtyards. Then Yeji unnie caught me and since that day she has been helping me control my gift."

"Okay, but how does Soobin know? Did Yeji tell you?" Bora asked both of us.

"No, she didn't. Keni... She told me last week about it," Soobin answered for the both of us, his golden-red eyes looking at me.

Then Jaehyuck spoke up, "So you can see the Spirits, and? What is the connection between that and Vivien?"

"Believe me or not, but I saw Yeji unnie that night during the sleepover with the girls and I think she had done something that night... Because when I saw her, she was standing beside Vivien and when I saw Vivien's face... She looked just like Rose sunbae, but half of her face was burnt."

Everyone stayed quiet for God knows how long. Then Soobin stood up and walked around the table to my side. Before he picked the book up, he looked at me and whispered, "I didn't want to tell you this but...". Then he stared at the Kim Family Tree, and placed the book down, and pointed at something. We all looked at it and saw Yeji's picture but under it was another name.

"Kim Yeji?" I asked in shock and confusion. "They're related?"

✨ a/n.

word count is 2690. oof.

we're finally getting to the main part of V ACADEMY!

Yeji will be showing up more in the next chapters...

Also, eyyyy Scooby-Doo gang is H E R E.

If anyone wants a scene for their OCs, please tell me xD
I wanna write everyone in the chapters but the damn plot that I wrote is just -_-

So, pm me if you want your OC to show up in the next chapter and tell me what you want them to do. Then I'll add her/him in the next chappie~~

If anyone's wondering what I was listening to while writing this chapter...

https://youtu.be/uArPVD5ZIfc

There was another sad kpop playlist that I was listening to before this one, but I'm too lazy to go back to it hehe. THE ROSE's Sorry is currently playing~ STAN 'EM, PEASANTS! 🧡✨😂

ima eat dinner now~
stay safe y'all!!

ps. what do you think about this chapter? xD