Markings of a Beast - 4/?
[Title] Markings of a Beast
[Pairing] Hyukhae
[Genre] Romance/Drama/Supernatural
[Rating] PG-13
[Summary] Not every monster has fangs and claws, dark eyes and sinister smiles. Some are hidden in plain sight, and you only notice when it’s too late. Hyukjae finds that out the hard way after his sister is killed and he is thrown into a world where he learns that trust is the mother of deceit.
[Disclaimer] Still a poor college student, earning no monetary gain from this fictitious publication.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Hyukjae walked back into the locker room after classes had ended for the day. He was sore and tired, and more than a little irritated that he couldn’t be at home aching up under his covers, but instead had to scour the school for his cell phone that had seemingly floated out of his bag in the last 2 hours. He had just finished checking the classroom of his last period and had thoroughly checked the whole gym before walking into the locker room to look for it.
He opened up the locker that had housed his gym bag a while ago and scanned the empty space with a frown. Slamming the locker shut in frustration, he turned and prepared to leave, sharply rounding the corner only to slip on a puddle of water and crash unceremoniously into the row of lockers behind him.
“Ouch! Damn it!” he cursed loudly, rubbing his sore backside and frowning at the water in question. “Why is there so much water everywhere?” he asked himself irately, as he saw the water turn into a trail from where he was, leading into the showers. He got his answer in the form of a concerned voice sounding through the locker room.
“Hello? Is anyone he- Oh my gosh, are you okay?!” Hyukjae looked up at the voice and saw another student quickly approaching him with a worried look on his face.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Hyukjae said, brushing off the hands that tried to help right him.
“I’m so sorry about that,” the stranger said, looking guiltily at the water on the floor. “I always use the pool after school and there’s usually no one in here, so I guess I got a bit careless. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” Hyukjae said, meeting the other’s gaze for the first time. He looked genuinely upset and Hyukjae felt his irritation ebbing away slightly.
“I’m really sorry,” the boy said again, the downward slope of his eyes signifying his sincere remorse at the situation.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Hyukjae said, wanting the other to stop making that face at him. It didn’t end and Hyukjae was extremely easy to guilt, so he offered the other a small tug at the lips to show that there really were no hard feelings. That seemed to do it, and the other sighed in relief, finally brightening up and smiling widely back at Hyukjae.
“I’m glad you’re not angry. I don’t really like to have people upset with me,” he told Hyukjae, tugging at the bottom of his t-shirt, before glancing up and meeting the other’s eyes. He stared at Hyukjae for a second, eyes narrowing the tiniest bit before he said, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”
“It’s only my second day here.”
“Really? I guess I made a really good first impression,” he said, face flushing a bit in embarrassment, though he still had a smile on his face. Hyukjae had to wonder if the other’s face was starting to hurt from all the smiling he was doing. “I’m Donghae. Lee Donghae,” he said, flashing a big friendly grin at Hyukjae.
“Lee Hyukjae. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to interrupt your swimming practice or anything. I was just looking for my cell phone,” Hyukjae said as he glanced at the other’s still damp hair and swimming trunks, subtly trying to end the conversation.
“Oh? I could help you look for it if you want,” Donghae said brightly.
“Thanks, but I’ve already looked around. I don’t think it’s in here,” he said.
“Ah, well I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for it, just in case you missed anything. What does it look like?” he asked, eyes never leaving Hyukjae’s for a second.
“It’s just a small black phone, but I’m pretty sure it’s not in here. So you don’t have to worry about it,” Hyukjae said.
“But just in case I do find it, what homeroom are you in- you know, in case I need to return it to you?" Donghae asked.
“I’m in 2-C. Uh, Ms. Hwang’s homeroom, I think.”
“Oh, then you’re the same year as me!” Donghae said. “I’m in 2-A, Ms. Kim’s homeroom.”
The revelation was slightly surprising for Hyukjae, as he had assumed the other was surely younger than him. With his wide grins and bright eyes, the other exuded a kind of playful youthfulness that Hyukjae hadn’t seen in anyone over the age of 12. That and the fact that the other kept playing with his hands and fidgeting around like he just couldn’t stay still. All his extra energy felt like it was bouncing around and making Hyukjae just as nervous and jittery as the dark-haired boy in front of him seemed to be.
“Um,” Hyukjae cleared his throat. “I should probably get going,” Hyukjae said, turning around to leave the locker room.
“Oh, okay. It was nice meeting you Hyukjae-sshi!” Donghae called after him, and Hyukjae gave him an awkward half smile in return before exiting the room.
Donghae turned and walked back to the showers to gather up his things where he left them after he heard the commotion Hyukjae made and rushed out to see. He had even left the water running in the showers in his haste to get out. He turned the knobs, halting the streams of water and gathered up his belongings, pausing when he head soft shuffling back in the locker room.
“Hyukjae-sshi?” he called, thinking that the other had forgotten something, but when he emerged from the showers he didn’t see anyone. “Hello?” he called again, knowing for certain that he had heard something earlier.
He peeked around all the rows of lockers, not seeing any sign of anyone until he walked to the last row. There he saw a small black phone placed on the benches in between the dull green lockers. He walked over, gingerly picking up the device before looking around again in confusion.
“I thought he said he looked in here already,” Donghae said to himself uncertainly.
Giving the seemingly empty locker room one last once-over, he walked over to where his change of clothes were and quickly slipped out of his swimsuit and back into his school uniform. Pocketing the small cell phone, he gathered up his things and walked out hoping that he would be able to catch up to Hyukjae before the other had got too far away. He walked out into the hallway, glanced up and down for any sign of the other, but coming up empty. He thought about chancing looking around the building to see of the other was still around, but his own cell phone buzzed lightly in his pocket, signaling him that he needed to be on his way home himself.
“I’ll just have to find a way to get it to him later,” he said to himself as he headed down the halls towards the front of the school.
Hyukjae sat quietly at the kitchen table, wondering when he should tell his parents about his missing phone. He didn’t want to put it off for too long, because the longer he waited the angrier his father would be, but at the same time, he wasn’t really in the mood to be scolded right now. His mother, sensing that he more tense than usual, decided to try and lighten up the atmosphere.
“How was school today, honey,” she asked him and he looked up from his plate to see her smiling softly at him.
“It was fine, but,” he paused before just going for it, “I misplaced my phone somewhere today.”
“How did you manage to do that?” his father’s low but resonant voice spoke up from the other side of the table.
“I’m not sure. It was in my bag before gym, and afterwards I couldn’t find it.”
“So you mean to tell me that your cell phone just magically disappeared out of your bag?” his father asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No. I’m not sure what happened. I remember putting it in there, but after class I couldn’t find it.”
“Hyukjae, I find that hard to believe. Did someone take it from you or something?”
“No. I don’t think anyone did,” Hyukjae quickly denied that.
“How do you know? You can’t find it, and if it just ‘disappeared’ as you said, I can only conclude that someone has taken it. Either that or you’re lying.”
“You know Hyukjae never lies to us,” Hyukjae’s mother spoke up. “But I don’t think anyone would have taken it from him either.”
“Well, he is new. It’s not exactly uncommon for the new students to be harassed,” his father argued.
“But Hyukjae’s been doing well so far. He’s even been invited to join the student council,” his mother said.
“What? You’re going to be in the student council?” his father asked Hyukjae with more surprise than Hyukjae would’ve liked.
“I was thinking about it,” he said, recalling the information he had heard during lunch.
“You know that this is a big responsibility. It’s not like that dancing thing you used to do. It’s serious. You shouldn’t pursue something you can’t commit to,” his father said.
Hyukjae said nothing as he grit his teeth to bite back the retort that was rising in his chest. He ignored the rest of his father’s lecture and his mother’s concerned glances his way as he picked through his food during dinner. Thankfully his mother had managed to shift the conversation away from him, but that didn’t do much to curve his already present irritation.
He sat through the rest of dinner quietly and as soon as the table was cleared he bid both of his parents good night and went up to his room. Taking great care not to slam his door, he went into his room, exhaling a deep breath and trying to suppress his irritation. Unfortunately, all he could think of was the words he had wanted to throw back at his father. Like how he was plenty responsible and more than capable of handling anything student council could throw at him. And how dancing, back when he actively did it, was as a big a responsibility as being on the student board. It required dedication, passion, and commitment, probably more so than being the school historian. It was such a big part of his life, and his father just completely disregarded it as if it was some passing hobby that he had simply grew tired of or outgrown.
He shouldn’t be surprised that his father so greatly underestimated how important dancing was to him, but it still hurt. Especially since it was the one thing he felt he was good at, the one thing that defined him, and made him feel something positive about him, and he just cheapened the whole experience in one harsh sentence. Now he felt guilty for the days when he missed moving along to heavy bass lines and haunting melodies. He wished he had never experienced how free he felt when let all conscious thoughts go and let his body disconnect from everything around it, allowing him to be in his own world even if for a little while. He wished that some of the few blissful memories he didn’t blanch in pain at remembered hadn’t been turned to poison just like the rest of them. It seems like he truly no longer had anything for himself, that wasn’t tainted with pain or regret.
Hyukjae blinked heavily, stopping any tears from escaping and trying to stop his current train of thought. If he kept this up, he wouldn't be able to get any sleep later. He gathered up his things and made his way to the bathroom in hopes of washing away these unsettling feelings under a long hot shower.
He made his way back into his room a few minutes shy of 45 minutes later with still slightly damp hair and sat on his neatly made bed, toweling the strands with deft hands. He looked up from up under his towel when he heard a soft knock on his door, and called a quick ‘Come in, mom’, while going back to his task.
He heard the door open and his mom shuffle softly across the hardwood floors, he soon felt her hands taking over his job, softly running the towel through his hair as he let his hands and eyelids fall and felt the tension slowly leave his body.
They exchanged no words, but Hyukjae was grateful at the comfort her mere presence gave him, as he felt lethargy slowly washing over his features, her calming motions relaxing him in a way a long shower had not been able too.
“Your hair is getting long again. We should go get a trim soon,” she spoke quietly into the air. He made a soft sound of acknowledgement while his eyes stayed shut.
She pulled the towel away and Hyukjae slowly opened his eyes to meet hers. She smiled gently at him and the face he was making before leaning in to place a soft kiss on his now dry hair.
“It’s getting late. You’d better get to bed soon,” she said, and he nodded at her, suddenly craving the warmth that he felt sandwiched between his sheets and comforter. She turned and walked out of the room, folding the towel in her hands as she went and only turned to tell him a soft ‘sleep tight’ before closing the door behind her.
Hyukjae stretched out, flicking his fingers and his toes as a yawn forced its way out of his mouth. He stopped abruptly when he felt a rush of cold wind blow through his room. Turning around in confusion, he looked at his open window, a frown deep set on his face wondering when he bothered to open the window. He walked over to close it, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw his phone balancing on the window sill.
“How in the…” he trailed off, picking the phone up and glancing outside at his quiet neighborhood. He saw nothing, which only added to his confused state, and as he continued to scour the dark streets, he could feel goose bumps rise up on his exposed arms. Giving his front yard one last glance, he shut his window and carefully examined his cell phone in his hand.
The uneasy feeling blanketing him as he hesitantly slipped into his bed was one he had only felt one time before, and that one time was more than enough for him.
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A/N: I finally, finally was able to get a little out of my writing slump, and this chapter is kinda short, but am I diligently working on getting other updates done while I can still manage to. So until next time v^^
[Pairing] Hyukhae
[Genre] Romance/Drama/Supernatural
[Rating] PG-13
[Summary] Not every monster has fangs and claws, dark eyes and sinister smiles. Some are hidden in plain sight, and you only notice when it’s too late. Hyukjae finds that out the hard way after his sister is killed and he is thrown into a world where he learns that trust is the mother of deceit.
[Disclaimer] Still a poor college student, earning no monetary gain from this fictitious publication.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Hyukjae walked back into the locker room after classes had ended for the day. He was sore and tired, and more than a little irritated that he couldn’t be at home aching up under his covers, but instead had to scour the school for his cell phone that had seemingly floated out of his bag in the last 2 hours. He had just finished checking the classroom of his last period and had thoroughly checked the whole gym before walking into the locker room to look for it.
He opened up the locker that had housed his gym bag a while ago and scanned the empty space with a frown. Slamming the locker shut in frustration, he turned and prepared to leave, sharply rounding the corner only to slip on a puddle of water and crash unceremoniously into the row of lockers behind him.
“Ouch! Damn it!” he cursed loudly, rubbing his sore backside and frowning at the water in question. “Why is there so much water everywhere?” he asked himself irately, as he saw the water turn into a trail from where he was, leading into the showers. He got his answer in the form of a concerned voice sounding through the locker room.
“Hello? Is anyone he- Oh my gosh, are you okay?!” Hyukjae looked up at the voice and saw another student quickly approaching him with a worried look on his face.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Hyukjae said, brushing off the hands that tried to help right him.
“I’m so sorry about that,” the stranger said, looking guiltily at the water on the floor. “I always use the pool after school and there’s usually no one in here, so I guess I got a bit careless. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” Hyukjae said, meeting the other’s gaze for the first time. He looked genuinely upset and Hyukjae felt his irritation ebbing away slightly.
“I’m really sorry,” the boy said again, the downward slope of his eyes signifying his sincere remorse at the situation.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Hyukjae said, wanting the other to stop making that face at him. It didn’t end and Hyukjae was extremely easy to guilt, so he offered the other a small tug at the lips to show that there really were no hard feelings. That seemed to do it, and the other sighed in relief, finally brightening up and smiling widely back at Hyukjae.
“I’m glad you’re not angry. I don’t really like to have people upset with me,” he told Hyukjae, tugging at the bottom of his t-shirt, before glancing up and meeting the other’s eyes. He stared at Hyukjae for a second, eyes narrowing the tiniest bit before he said, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”
“It’s only my second day here.”
“Really? I guess I made a really good first impression,” he said, face flushing a bit in embarrassment, though he still had a smile on his face. Hyukjae had to wonder if the other’s face was starting to hurt from all the smiling he was doing. “I’m Donghae. Lee Donghae,” he said, flashing a big friendly grin at Hyukjae.
“Lee Hyukjae. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to interrupt your swimming practice or anything. I was just looking for my cell phone,” Hyukjae said as he glanced at the other’s still damp hair and swimming trunks, subtly trying to end the conversation.
“Oh? I could help you look for it if you want,” Donghae said brightly.
“Thanks, but I’ve already looked around. I don’t think it’s in here,” he said.
“Ah, well I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for it, just in case you missed anything. What does it look like?” he asked, eyes never leaving Hyukjae’s for a second.
“It’s just a small black phone, but I’m pretty sure it’s not in here. So you don’t have to worry about it,” Hyukjae said.
“But just in case I do find it, what homeroom are you in- you know, in case I need to return it to you?" Donghae asked.
“I’m in 2-C. Uh, Ms. Hwang’s homeroom, I think.”
“Oh, then you’re the same year as me!” Donghae said. “I’m in 2-A, Ms. Kim’s homeroom.”
The revelation was slightly surprising for Hyukjae, as he had assumed the other was surely younger than him. With his wide grins and bright eyes, the other exuded a kind of playful youthfulness that Hyukjae hadn’t seen in anyone over the age of 12. That and the fact that the other kept playing with his hands and fidgeting around like he just couldn’t stay still. All his extra energy felt like it was bouncing around and making Hyukjae just as nervous and jittery as the dark-haired boy in front of him seemed to be.
“Um,” Hyukjae cleared his throat. “I should probably get going,” Hyukjae said, turning around to leave the locker room.
“Oh, okay. It was nice meeting you Hyukjae-sshi!” Donghae called after him, and Hyukjae gave him an awkward half smile in return before exiting the room.
Donghae turned and walked back to the showers to gather up his things where he left them after he heard the commotion Hyukjae made and rushed out to see. He had even left the water running in the showers in his haste to get out. He turned the knobs, halting the streams of water and gathered up his belongings, pausing when he head soft shuffling back in the locker room.
“Hyukjae-sshi?” he called, thinking that the other had forgotten something, but when he emerged from the showers he didn’t see anyone. “Hello?” he called again, knowing for certain that he had heard something earlier.
He peeked around all the rows of lockers, not seeing any sign of anyone until he walked to the last row. There he saw a small black phone placed on the benches in between the dull green lockers. He walked over, gingerly picking up the device before looking around again in confusion.
“I thought he said he looked in here already,” Donghae said to himself uncertainly.
Giving the seemingly empty locker room one last once-over, he walked over to where his change of clothes were and quickly slipped out of his swimsuit and back into his school uniform. Pocketing the small cell phone, he gathered up his things and walked out hoping that he would be able to catch up to Hyukjae before the other had got too far away. He walked out into the hallway, glanced up and down for any sign of the other, but coming up empty. He thought about chancing looking around the building to see of the other was still around, but his own cell phone buzzed lightly in his pocket, signaling him that he needed to be on his way home himself.
“I’ll just have to find a way to get it to him later,” he said to himself as he headed down the halls towards the front of the school.
Hyukjae sat quietly at the kitchen table, wondering when he should tell his parents about his missing phone. He didn’t want to put it off for too long, because the longer he waited the angrier his father would be, but at the same time, he wasn’t really in the mood to be scolded right now. His mother, sensing that he more tense than usual, decided to try and lighten up the atmosphere.
“How was school today, honey,” she asked him and he looked up from his plate to see her smiling softly at him.
“It was fine, but,” he paused before just going for it, “I misplaced my phone somewhere today.”
“How did you manage to do that?” his father’s low but resonant voice spoke up from the other side of the table.
“I’m not sure. It was in my bag before gym, and afterwards I couldn’t find it.”
“So you mean to tell me that your cell phone just magically disappeared out of your bag?” his father asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No. I’m not sure what happened. I remember putting it in there, but after class I couldn’t find it.”
“Hyukjae, I find that hard to believe. Did someone take it from you or something?”
“No. I don’t think anyone did,” Hyukjae quickly denied that.
“How do you know? You can’t find it, and if it just ‘disappeared’ as you said, I can only conclude that someone has taken it. Either that or you’re lying.”
“You know Hyukjae never lies to us,” Hyukjae’s mother spoke up. “But I don’t think anyone would have taken it from him either.”
“Well, he is new. It’s not exactly uncommon for the new students to be harassed,” his father argued.
“But Hyukjae’s been doing well so far. He’s even been invited to join the student council,” his mother said.
“What? You’re going to be in the student council?” his father asked Hyukjae with more surprise than Hyukjae would’ve liked.
“I was thinking about it,” he said, recalling the information he had heard during lunch.
“You know that this is a big responsibility. It’s not like that dancing thing you used to do. It’s serious. You shouldn’t pursue something you can’t commit to,” his father said.
Hyukjae said nothing as he grit his teeth to bite back the retort that was rising in his chest. He ignored the rest of his father’s lecture and his mother’s concerned glances his way as he picked through his food during dinner. Thankfully his mother had managed to shift the conversation away from him, but that didn’t do much to curve his already present irritation.
He sat through the rest of dinner quietly and as soon as the table was cleared he bid both of his parents good night and went up to his room. Taking great care not to slam his door, he went into his room, exhaling a deep breath and trying to suppress his irritation. Unfortunately, all he could think of was the words he had wanted to throw back at his father. Like how he was plenty responsible and more than capable of handling anything student council could throw at him. And how dancing, back when he actively did it, was as a big a responsibility as being on the student board. It required dedication, passion, and commitment, probably more so than being the school historian. It was such a big part of his life, and his father just completely disregarded it as if it was some passing hobby that he had simply grew tired of or outgrown.
He shouldn’t be surprised that his father so greatly underestimated how important dancing was to him, but it still hurt. Especially since it was the one thing he felt he was good at, the one thing that defined him, and made him feel something positive about him, and he just cheapened the whole experience in one harsh sentence. Now he felt guilty for the days when he missed moving along to heavy bass lines and haunting melodies. He wished he had never experienced how free he felt when let all conscious thoughts go and let his body disconnect from everything around it, allowing him to be in his own world even if for a little while. He wished that some of the few blissful memories he didn’t blanch in pain at remembered hadn’t been turned to poison just like the rest of them. It seems like he truly no longer had anything for himself, that wasn’t tainted with pain or regret.
Hyukjae blinked heavily, stopping any tears from escaping and trying to stop his current train of thought. If he kept this up, he wouldn't be able to get any sleep later. He gathered up his things and made his way to the bathroom in hopes of washing away these unsettling feelings under a long hot shower.
He made his way back into his room a few minutes shy of 45 minutes later with still slightly damp hair and sat on his neatly made bed, toweling the strands with deft hands. He looked up from up under his towel when he heard a soft knock on his door, and called a quick ‘Come in, mom’, while going back to his task.
He heard the door open and his mom shuffle softly across the hardwood floors, he soon felt her hands taking over his job, softly running the towel through his hair as he let his hands and eyelids fall and felt the tension slowly leave his body.
They exchanged no words, but Hyukjae was grateful at the comfort her mere presence gave him, as he felt lethargy slowly washing over his features, her calming motions relaxing him in a way a long shower had not been able too.
“Your hair is getting long again. We should go get a trim soon,” she spoke quietly into the air. He made a soft sound of acknowledgement while his eyes stayed shut.
She pulled the towel away and Hyukjae slowly opened his eyes to meet hers. She smiled gently at him and the face he was making before leaning in to place a soft kiss on his now dry hair.
“It’s getting late. You’d better get to bed soon,” she said, and he nodded at her, suddenly craving the warmth that he felt sandwiched between his sheets and comforter. She turned and walked out of the room, folding the towel in her hands as she went and only turned to tell him a soft ‘sleep tight’ before closing the door behind her.
Hyukjae stretched out, flicking his fingers and his toes as a yawn forced its way out of his mouth. He stopped abruptly when he felt a rush of cold wind blow through his room. Turning around in confusion, he looked at his open window, a frown deep set on his face wondering when he bothered to open the window. He walked over to close it, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw his phone balancing on the window sill.
“How in the…” he trailed off, picking the phone up and glancing outside at his quiet neighborhood. He saw nothing, which only added to his confused state, and as he continued to scour the dark streets, he could feel goose bumps rise up on his exposed arms. Giving his front yard one last glance, he shut his window and carefully examined his cell phone in his hand.
The uneasy feeling blanketing him as he hesitantly slipped into his bed was one he had only felt one time before, and that one time was more than enough for him.
Previous .:|:. Next
A/N: I finally, finally was able to get a little out of my writing slump, and this chapter is kinda short, but am I diligently working on getting other updates done while I can still manage to. So until next time v^^