Bound by Blood

Chapter 164- but the present is kind

JIMIN POV:

Hae refuses to settle, sniffly tears that tear past her throat as she wails, twisting fitfully in Tae's arms, trying to tug herself free and scrabble off.

Desperately staring at the door that closes behind us, the sound of (Y/N)'s stifled cries and panic cut off by the house's wards around her art room.

"Mama... dada go mama. Le' go." She insists between sobs, eyes flashing pure red with her own terror and pain of being taken away, fists pushing at Tae's shoulders as she shrieks and cries.

Tae's own eyes flicker back and forth between red and brown, torn, as he looks at me. Heart breaking as he watches our daughter struggle to get away, to break free from him to go back. To run towards the room that undoubtedly has locked behind us.

Sealed us away from her.

"Mama's going to be okay baby... dada promises." I murmur, fingers brushing at wet cheeks, catching spilling tears as she sniffles, ducking away from my touch; flushed cheeks curling to press against Tae's shoulder as she hides away.

It yanks at my heart to see her distraught and thrashing because she'd been the one to find (Y/N) and yet taken away; because her distressed cries were throwing (Y/N) into a frozen loop, pushing her further into that memory of her own parents.

It made anger simmer because the monster that had started these nightmares was gone. But the taint of his doings remained and made it hard for our baby mate to move on, to free herself from it.

"No! Want mama." Hae Kyung insists, nose damp and red, eyes glassy.

In that instant with the blood flushing her cheeks and her lips wobbling as she cries I think how mortal she seems in that moment.

How much like (Y/N) she is.

How much Hae must be like how (Y/N) was as a mortal toddler.

It makes yearning and pain twist and curl around the bond; seeping in with the cold numbness radiating off (Y/N)'s tether and the grief in the hyungs.

And crippling fear because we don't know how she is, what's happening as I gently steer Tae towards the stairs, towards her nursery.

And yet this time... this time the familiar walls and gentle scent of baby powder and milk doesn't soothe her, even if she stops thrashing slightly, peering over Tae's shoulder at her room.

Tears trickling out large doe eyes that burn a painful crimson as she stares at the bed.

"Do you want to lie down Hae Hae?" I ask softly, brushing back brown waves, fingers drifting carefully.

Heart clenched with the painful anticipation of her ducking away again.

She sobs, eyes filled with pain and tiredness.

"Want mama." She insists.

Curling up in Tae's hold as he presses a kiss to her forehead, hand curled around her back as he keeps her steady.

"Mama will be here. She's with dadas." I soothe.

"Mama hurt. Mama cryin'." She sniffles.

Not for the first time I realised just how deeply her bond with (Y/N) was. How fiercely attached and how much she relied on (Y/N)'s closeness and proximity.

She was curious.

Curious and delighted with exploring the house's endless halls and nooks. But she always searched out (Y/N) first in a room. She always settled quicker when having milk on her lap even if she was giggly and willing to be plucked up and whirled by any of us.