Chapter 9 A Myth

• -Corrine-
• The rackety sound of a game center welcomed us as we entered that place.
• “First time?!” Andrew half shouted to overcome the surrounding noise.
• I looked up at him and shook my head. “No!”
• I didn’t want to go into details about my experience at the game center. First, because places like this brought unpleasant memories for me. Daniel used to take me to the game center in Wesgrove when we were still dating. Second, because I was a terrible player at games like these.
• Daniel would often mock and scold me every time I made a mistake and suffered defeat. Looking back, I should have realized how repulsive his attitude was. But love did make people blind sometimes.
• I was lost in my thoughts about Daniel, staring blankly at the row of games when Andrew bent down towards me and whispered in my ear.
• “Wanna get out of here?”
• His deep and sexy voice made me stumble. I turned and almost kissed his lips. Our faces were only about an inch apart.
• I lingered, gazing into his dark-blue eyes. His iris reflected my face and the faint glow of lights from the game center.
• Our faces were too close, tension rising quickly, and I was almost certain I wouldn’t be surprised if Andrew suddenly kissed me.
• But of course, that didn’t happen.
• “N—no,” I replied, shaking my head. After that, I spun my face away and tried to shift my focus to the games. “There!” I exclaimed, pointing my finger at an empty game machine. “Let’s play that.”
• I didn’t wait for Andrew’s response or for him to move there. I intentionally left him and half-ran to the game.
• When I arrived, my attention first fell on two toy guns mounted in place. I immediately picked one up and examined it, but my mind wasn’t there.
• Behind my eyes, I was still picturing Andrew’s face. So close, so enchanting. And there was something about him that made me feel drawn to him.
• Perhaps because he was forbidden to me.
• Andrew came shortly after. I waited long enough that I thought he had abandoned me.
• “Where were you?” I asked with a scrutinizing gaze.
• Andrew grinned and opened his hand to show a stack of game coins. “We can’t play without these.”
• Oh, yeah, of course. I nodded awkwardly, feeling embarrassed for accusing him.
• I was about to shift my gaze to the screen when I heard Andrew burst into laughter.
• “What’s wrong?” I asked, frowning.
• He took the gun from its place and pointed it at the screen. His eyes fixed on my face. “Did you intentionally choose this game?” His eyes hinted at amusement, and I raised an eyebrow in question.
• “Why?”
• “Have you seen the game?”
• I shifted my gaze to the screen, taking a few seconds to observe the gameplay demonstration before realizing which game I had chosen.
• My eyes moved up to the screen, where the name of the game was written. The letters were printed in red with rough edges and a blood-like dripping effect.
• WEREWOLF HUNTER.
• “Shoot,” I muttered.
• I fell silent for a moment before bursting into laughter.
• Andrew laughed along with me, and we exchanged glances while holding our stomachs, laughing until a tear appeared in the corner of my eye.
• “Do you hate your own kind that much?” he teased.
• I continued laughing, shaking my head. “Absolutely not!” I defended. “I love them.”
• “Oh, really? Do you come from a good pack? What’s your pack’s name?”
• I almost fell for telling him, but my awareness quickly took over. I shook my head, a slow smile spreading across my face. “Nice try!” I said.
• He smirked, shrugging. “Worth a shot.”
• Andrew inserted a game coin and pressed the button. We started playing, and as usual, I was terrible at the game, not lasting even a minute. I returned the gun to its place and watched Andrew easily complete the first level.
• “Aren’t you reluctant to shoot those running wolves?” Andrew asked as the screen indicated the completion of the first level.
• I chuckled. “No, it’s not like that.” I played with the dangling gun cable. My eyes shifted from the screen to his face and then back to the screen. “I suck at games like this.”
• I bowed my head and wrapped the gun cable around my fingers, preparing to hear his mockery. Unexpectedly, he said, “Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
• I looked up. “What?” I asked, confused.
• “That you don’t like places like this.”
• My eyes blinked in amazement. “Is that important?” Daniel never thought about it. He didn’t care whether I liked the places we went to as long as he enjoyed himself.
• “Of course,” Andrew glanced at the screen. “What’s the point of going to a place or doing something if one of us can’t enjoy it?”
• “It’s...” I fell silent, lost for words. Perhaps because I was too amazed to hear and see his treatment towards me. Was this his way of melting my heart? Anyway, I had to stay cautious.
• “Let me finish this. After that, we’ll leave.”
• “Where?”
• Andrew just smiled faintly, his attention returning to the game. Because we chatted for too long, we had to replay the game, and this time I decided to just watch.
• It didn’t take long for Andrew to complete several levels, and when he reached who knows which level, something appeared on the game screen.
• “What is that?” I asked, pointing to the screen. A figure different from the wolves that had been running to attack the player. The figure was just like the one I saw at prom night. A werewolf standing on two legs.
• Andrew aimed the gun at it. “That?” After asking, he shifted his gaze to me, and in a quick fraction of a second, the creature jumped in the blink of an eye and attacked the player, causing Andrew to lose.
• But he didn’t care. He kept looking at me as if waiting for me to say something.
• “Ye—yeah,” I said softly, nodding. From the corner of my eye, I saw the blood effects flowing on the screen as a result of the creature’s attack.
• “A Lycan.”
• “A Lycan?” I blinked.
• “You don’t know?”
• “I... have heard of it. But I’ve never seen one.” I don’t know why, but I started to feel nervous. “I thought it was just... a myth.”
• “People think werewolves are just fairy tales. But we know it’s not like that.”
• There was a long silence between us as he locked his gaze on me. Despite being in the crowd, all sounds seemed to bounce off, leaving a surrounding silence that engulfed and oppressed me. He made my entire body stiffen with the way he stared at me. My hands clenched tightly by my sides, and it took all the courage I had to return his gaze without blinking.
• My shoulders jumped when Andrew returned the gun to its place, creating a sound. “Let’s get out of here.”
• I half-ran to catch up with him, and as we stood outside the game center, I squinted my eyes due to the contrasting change in light.
• “Where are we going?” I asked.
• Andrew took out the motorcycle keys from his pants pocket, inserted his finger into the metal key ring, and twirled it in his hand. “A place I always visit before nightfall.”