• 第十三章 •
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Joseon Dynasty.
Ever since Hoseok was gone, Hana felt as if her heart had been torn into two and the other half of it was slowly, but surely, decaying away like the way the three stalks of flowers he had given her before his departure one and a half month ago. With her eyes staring blankly at the now wilted flowers before her, she wrapped her delicate fingers around the stems and took them out of the makeshift vase; and before she could even realize what she was doing again for the umpteenth time, she was back at the same spot where the moonlight shined the brightest in the darkest of nights.
The luminous yet comforting warmth of the moonlight reflected on the surface of the lake, rendering the nature-blessed night light to glimmer like tiny dancing stars on the water ripples crafted meticulously by the gentle hush of breeze. Hana glanced down at her hazy reflection from the bridge she was on, and with her lips pursed thinly and eyebrows furrowed in pain, she released the dead flowers into the body of water before crouching down to break into another round of tears.
"It hurts. It hurts so much." Hana cried out hysterically, her words directed to no one in particular.
Her legs gave out eventually, so she sat down on the wooden bridge as she hid her face which was dampened with tears using both of her hands. She wiped the tears away furiously, but no matter how hard she did so, new waves of tears would escape her eyes, sparing no mercy to break her already broken heart into debris.
"Please don't cry. It hurts my heart to see you cry." A deep voice spoke as his kneeling form shadowed over hers, his arms raising up wanting to comfort her but didn't exactly know how to do so.
"Y-your Highness." Hana stifled a hiccup threatening to escape from her throat. "What brings you here?"
"I can't possibly leave my protector's lover all alone when everything is my fault." Hyeon dropped his head in shame, his lower lip trembling as tears of his own fell out. "I'm so sorry for everything, Hana. It's all my fault."
Hana quickly shook her head. "It's not your fault, Your Highness. Stop blaming yourself."
"But it is! Can't you see? If it weren't for me, they wouldn't be k-killed and you wouldn't be suffering here, all alone." Hyeon sniffled, his turn to start bawling before the girl who was at slight shock at how vulnerable the Crown Prince was.
"Yah, I don't think you should be crying out in the open here you know." Hana choked another sob, and she started crying when Hyeon whimpered while wiping his own tears. "S-stop crying!"
"I can't help it! The tears are falling out by themselves." Hyeon dabbed the hem of his sleeves on Hana's face gingerly. "Seeing you cry makes me cry!"
"Seeing you cry makes me cry even more, Your Highness." Hana slumped her shoulders, none of the two having any desire to stop bawling like two children.
Namjoon was in the state of bewilderment when he found the Crown Prince of the country and his own best friend sitting next to each other on top of a bridge shedding tears with loud audible sobs erupting from their mouths. He had been searching for them for probably the past one hour, wanting to deliver the news he had eavesdropped on his father to the girl.
In the midst of hunting for the girl, he was confused to see the palace royal guards moving around stealthily in groups, but now that he had coincidentally stumbled upon the Crown Prince who had left the palace grounds at such a late hour, the puzzles in his mind clicked together into a big picture. Shaking his head, he released a long sigh as he made his way towards the two.
"Your Highness, the palace royal guards are searching high and low for you." Namjoon stated, making the royalty to glance up at him with teary eyes.
"I don't want to go back." Hyeon pouted childishly with his arms crossed.
"Your Highness." Hana quirked an eyebrow questioningly at him.
"Why are you out at night as well?" Hyeon ignored her glare, directing his attention at the taller man.
Namjoon's gaze softened. "I've heard some news regarding Hoseok and the group."
"What?" The two who were now standing back up stiffened at his words, their eyes widening and jaws dropping.
"They're back." Namjoon smiled, and he stumbled a few steps backwards when Hana threw herself onto him with her hands grasping onto his clothings.
"Where?! I want to meet him." Hana's croaked out, her voice breaking when Namjoon shook his head sullenly.
"I don't know yet. But I've heard that they're back." Namjoon comforted the girl by patting her back, and looked up at Hyeon. "Your Highness, perhaps you will be able to find out?"
Hyeon nodded. "Of course. I care for them as much as you two do."
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21st century.
Taehyung lifted an eyebrow when his eyes fell onto the girl he had met a few times and the guy laughing next to her inside the convenience store near his house back in Seoul. He entered the store, the chilly air-conditioning hitting his face as he walked towards the alcohol section, eyes peeking once or twice at the couple giggling happily in the instant ramyeon section.
He wondered when would he be as carefree as them.
Would he be able to find joy in his mundane life?
Upon returning back from the Ilsan branch yesterday, he was immediately called back to work at the main company to settle issues on his eligibility to be the new CEO of his own father's company. As the one and only son of the Kim household, it went by without saying that the position would of course, be his; but the shareholders of the company whose age were twice of his doubted his ability, hence the emergency meeting held yesterday until today.
Taehyung was beyond exhausted as he paid for his beer can, his eyes barely opening as he snapped the lid open before taking a swig while walking out of the store. Mind hazy and clouded, with huge strides he headed back towards his apartment building, passing by a dimly lit alley not noticing the eyes gawking at him like preys.
He was about to let out a shout when he was pulled suddenly into the alley, but his mouth was muffled by a hand and limbs overpowered by a few men whose physiques weren't much larger than his. But what shocked him was the fact that they all had glowing red eyes and a pair of fangs sticking out from their upper row of teeth, and it kicked the adrenaline pump in him to start working as he began to struggle in their grasp.
One of the four vampires tackled him down by throwing a strong punch onto his face, breaking his nose instantly for the blood to start trickling out of his nostrils. Blinded by anger, Taehyung tugged his dominant arm out forcefully from their hold and swung it towards the culprit who gave him a nosebleed, snapping the said vampire's head towards a side while stumbling backwards, but only a little.
With a hand grabbing onto the girl's arm to stop her from walking, both Hoseok and Hana halted their footsteps abruptly when the man's eyes flashed a luminous silver as he sniffed the air sharply. Hana had paid a visit to the group of vampires earlier today, and it was around half an hour ago when she decided to leave for her home, allowing Hoseok to accompany her back home.
With a concerned look plastered on her face, Hana spoke. "What happened?"
The girl's eyes flew wide open when a strained shout emerged from the alley, answering her question.
"I smell blood. I'm going to go and take a look. Return back to the penthouse okay?" Hoseok placed the keycard onto her palm, and was about to run into the alley when he was hoisted back by the girl.
"I'm going with you. I'm definitely not leaving you alone." Hana told him sternly, and fished out her phone. "If it makes you feel better, I'll be on standby to call the police too."
Despite wanting to refute her, Hoseok knew how stubborn she could be. So, he gave her a defeated nod before lacing his fingers with hers, pulling her closely as they ventured into the alley, towards the fight going on inside.
"Your blood smells different. Why?" One of the low-tier vampires daringly swiped his finger onto the blood stained on Taehyung's face, putting it into his mouth to taste it. "Wow. It is indeed different."
"F*ck you, let me go!" Taehyung bellowed angrily, and attempted to kick the vampires cackling around him but failed due to their fastened speed. "What the hell are you beings?!"
"Us? We are simply a species more superior than you weak humans." The same vampire taunted, a malicious smirk etching on his face, showing off his sharp protruding fangs. "Actually, since you're a pretty boy, maybe we should turn you to lure girls into our traps."
Taehyung spat angrily at him, literally. The vampire's eyes flashed another bright red before charging towards him, instantly wrapping his hands around his neck to cut off his breathing.
"LET HIM GO!"
The vampires froze at Hoseok's booming voice, and with their eyes now focused on him and Hana glaring furiously at them, they broke into a laughing fit. Hana glanced up at Hoseok when she felt him clenching his fists, tightening her hands briefly before relaxing.
"More idiots for us to feast on huh?" Another vampire cackled, finding the situation hilarious.
The leader of the gang - who was also the one mocking and beating Taehyung up - popped his joints as he took bold steps towards Hoseok who was still watching him closely. He was a few centimetres taller than Hoseok, boosting his ego to tower over the latter with a stupid smirk on his face.
"What a pretty girl you've got." He grinned, hand moving towards Hana to touch her, but got swatted away by the girl herself.
"Don't touch her." Hoseok warned, startling the low-tier vampire when his irises glowed a blinding silver ominously. "Leave the man and us alone and I'll let you see the day tomorrow."
The taller vampire scoffed before aiming a punch towards Hoseok. "Who are you to order me around?!"
Hoseok didn't even blink nor did he flinch for the slightest bit when he grabbed his incoming fist smoothly, surprising the low-tier vampire once again. A side of his lips twitched upwards when the other vampire whimpered the moment he applied pressure onto his fist, and without wasting another second, he began to squeeze his knuckles to break his bones in a painstakingly slow speed.
"You should have left when I told you to do so, bastard." Hoseok's fake smile faltered as he flicked his index finger onto the vampire's hand, snapping the bones to break into pieces which could never return back to the same.
"W-who are you?" The vampire cried out while holding his broken hand in pain, legs already heading towards the entrance of the alleyway with his minions following him.
"LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN!" Hoseok roared, ignoring his question blatantly as he didn't find it necessary to tell him the answer.
And as the group of vampires ran away, Taehyung who had been leaning on a wall finally allowed himself to pass out, the distant calls by the two being the last thing he heard. Black swallowed him next.
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Reminder : Hyeon is Taehyung's past life :)
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Next update : 30/4/2021 (Friday)