oo8

A/N: Phew, guys. I missed you, really. 

Mistress Lee walked briskly through the woods, her mind solely focused on the news she heard earlier that day. 

A few days before Minhyung's birthday, an old man with an odd looking wound on his neck died on the plaza. The gossip spread like wildfire and ridiculous madeup stories about whoever the assaulter was reached her, one of which was assumed as an attack from vampires. 

So tonight, she was proven that no matter how hard she tried hiding him, they are bound to find her son soon. 

So, she was left with only one option; to protect him on her own, thus the frantic venture through the woods in the cold night, getting out of the capital to ran towards Jaehwa's stables where her precious son was supposedly safe. 

Too bad, he wasn't anymore. 

Not now that he was acquainted with Gin.

--

"I'm sorry Minhee, but Minhyung doesn't want to talk to you, not right now. You know how he went berserk yesterday, right?" It was Old Man himself who answered the door and it only broke the woman's heart. 

"No please. I need to bring him with me. He's not safe here anymore, you know that. He met the palace guard, and the others are on the move. Please, please just let me protect my son from all these things." 

The old man was supposed to speak more but then the moment he opened his mouth to do so, the two heard the horses in the stable going wild, neighing as if they were in great distress.

Everyone else in the barn straightened up in alarm, including the three boys who were hiding just behind the doors. 

"What was that?" It was Jaehwa who was quick to react, going back inside the house to light up a torch. Minhee draw her attention towards the estranged barn, her brows furrowing. 

What on earth is happening?

Soon, the old man went out the door with his three minions, hurrying towards the barn where the horses are currently restung—supposedly. The moment Minhee saw her son following after the group of men, she immediately chased after them. 

As the group ran towards the stables, Minhyung forced his self not to spare his mother a glance, acting like he doesn't care about her when in fact he was worried seeing her clothed thinly in this weather. 

Isn't she cold? 

How come she's wearing something thin?

Pushing the doors to the stable, the group was caught off guard seeing a boy, probably a year younger than Minhyung dressed in a black cloak, one of his hand covering his mouth as blood abundantly slipped through the spaces of his fingers. 

Whether he heard the intruders coming or not, they didn't know because this lanky boy didn't bother looking at them, his attention focused solely to the lifeless horse on the ground, unfazed by the sight of a dead being in front of him. 

"This one tasted bland." 

He remembered that voice. 

"I'm sorry too."

Lee Minhyung remembered hearing that voice a few days ago. He was the honey-voiced guy he bumped into at the capital just before his birthday. 

"Ooohhh, you're smart, aren't you?" He finally turned his attention to them, replying to Minhyung's thoughts as if he was master in telepathy, his eyes glaring red until he laughed bubbly, his eyes turning to crescents. 

"Look at you fools, frozen in fear while the prophesized boy's mind the only thing working right now."

He now turned to face them fully. His kind eyes are in contrast to his bloodied lips. He raised both hands to remove the hood of his cloak and Minhyung was met with a red hair. 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Renjun and—"

Just then, the boy named Renjun was thrown to the side, destroying the stables pillar, chunks of woods and hays making a mess all around the place. The assault resulted in a smoke, covering the boy shortly and the horses to start sounding wildly once more.

Even before the group could flinch to the speed of event, Gin appeared right before their eyes, her eyes also glinting red and her fangs in full display as she looked at them. 

"Run!" She screamed and this time, it was Minhee who reacted first. 

She didn't know why this being was shouting at them to escape but one thing's for sure,

She needs to get Minhyung out of here. 

"Run!" She hollered and all the other men followed at her instruction. 

--

The sounds of woods breaking and neck cracking resonated in the air as Gin waited for Renjun to finally stand up and d face her. 

Unfortunately for the younger, his regenerating ability was slower than usual this time so he faced her with an exagerated tilted head, his neck in the process of healing. 

"Leave the boy alone." Gin muttered under her breath and the guy chuckled. 

"Then get our selves killed? No thank you. I'll make sure to kill him even before he gets to kill us."

"You're crazy!" She hollered, eyes wide and angry. "He doesn't even know about the prophecy!" 

"But he soon will," Renjun argued back. "Specially now that the royalties are on the move." He turned serious, shaking his head. 

"I'm sorry but I'm killing him even if I have to hurt you. And you can't stop me in that current state of yours. You have never devoured humans, which makes you stink and utterly weak."

"It's a choice."

"I know. And this is also my choice."

With his last words, Renjun dashed towards Gin in a fast pace, pushing her out of the stables, before landing a scratch on the front of her body, the fabric of her dress ripping. He didn't stop there, the moment she landed on her back at the grass with a loud thud that had her gasping for air, he grasped on the skin just below her collarbone, pulling it out, knowing that her recuperating ability is slower than any of the vampires because she lacks nourishment from human blood. 

With that, Gin winced in pain, her body unconsciously curling. Quickly standing up, Renjun forced his self to ignore the older's cries, ushering to ran after the group until a hand stopped his ankles, causing him to land face-first on the ground.

He turned to look at her, hissing menacingly.

How can she still be so fast even if she's never devoured humans? 

 "If you want to kill him. You have to go to me first." She whispered, gripping on his ankles tightly to the point of breaking it. 

This moment of vulnerability, when Renjun was busy shouting in pain, Gin took the opportunity to tucked him to the ground, straddling before piercing her hand through his abdomen, his blood splattering all over her. 

The boy's mouth let out drops of blood as he coughed in pain, trickling down his chin and that's when their fighting stopped, both heaving deep breaths. 

A few moments later, Gin took notice of his neck, which was taking too long to heal. 

"You're regenerating slowly," she pointed out before her eyes widen in alarm. "Haven't you devoured a human yet?!" Tears instantly pricked her eyes at her question. One wrong move and there's this possibility that Hwang Renjun could die at her hands and she's hating it. 

Every little bit of it. 

At her reaction, the boy underneath her rolled his eyes. "The last human I devoured is an old man, you except me to be healing easily?" He mocked before coughing some more blood out his lips. 

"No, no no no." Gin finally let the tears slipped her eyes, droplets of it dropping to the boy's cheeks. 

"D-drink my b-blood," she offered, untying the knot of her jeogori before she leaned closer to him but he only pushed her back. 

"You're healing slower than I do, stop acting all high and mighty." He deadpanned but the woman's cries wrecked his heart to bits. 

"Renjun please..." She begged, her forehead leaning on his chest. 

"I don't want us to end this way..." She whispered and the younger didn't have anything else to do but listen to her. 

"Fine." He grumbled. "But I'm telling this to Ten. You know how he'll react, he'll most probably mock you for being weak."

Ten. The one behind all of this, the one who wanted to prove that they were superior beings. 

The man who had Renjun, Jisung, and the other ones in their neck. 

Ten, the one she looks up to and the one she hates the most. 

She nodded slowly before feeling the younger's shaky hand on the back of her neck, ushering her closer to his mouth. Soon, Gin felt his warm ragged breath hitting her skin and she wondered how much it hurt him to be moving with a totally injured stomach. 

"You smell bad." He mused, earning him a slap on his arm. 

Soon, she felt him piercing his fangs on her skin, then the warmth of her blood dripping on her skin, some getting by the young vampire. She smiled blissfully, feeling his strength coming back. 

She would lie if she says she hadn't thought of him wasting her blood and fighting her more but she trusts Renjun. The innocent vampire who was also caught in this awful situation. 

"Feeling fine?" She asked as she caressed the now closed wounds on his abdomen and the guy could only roll his eyes. 

"Feeling fine?" He mimicked her, eyeing her in annoyance. "You were ready to tear off my head and now you're crying?"

--

The encounter with Renjun ended with him disappearing in the form of dust and Gin couldn't be more thankful. She wouldn't know what else to do if he really was ready to kill for Ten. Nevertheless, he left with a warning, "you're lucky I'm weak or I'm not getting easy with you."

She was scared, obviously because she knows how much wrath Renjun has for humans after they killed both his parents. 

Sure, he wouldn't hurt her, but she doesn't know about Lee Minhyung. 

Soon, the vampire searched for Minhyung's scent in the woods, albeit having difficulty because of the fog. If there's one thing she's sure of, it was probably that Mistress Lee brought them to her house in the capital. 

Finally reaching the clearing, Gin took a very deep inhale, wanting to sniff his scent clearly to no avail. The fog and the mist from the grass drowned his scent along with the others. Her weakened sense of smell as well affecting her. 

"Gin!"

She turned her head to look at the one who called her by the name and alas! It was Lee Minhyung at the other end of the clearing huffing and panting as he looked at her, his chinky eyes staring at her widely. 

She wantedt tocall his name too, just to acknowledge his presence but she was too damn tired and weak to do so. So instead, she lifted both ends of her lips in a warm smile, her eyes turning to crescents, and her chest blossoming with relief. 

--

"Where the heck is he?!" Minhee frantically walked from one side of the room to the other, biting her nail in worry. 

She was sure that he was trailing behind them so she was in a panic learning that she lost her son in the woods. 

"Will you please calm down, Minhee. It's not good for your—"

"How can I call down?!" She snarled at the old man who flinched at the intensity of her voice. 

She sighed, getting frustrated by the situation. 

"I'm sorry, I'm just—" she bit her lip shortly. "I'm just getting stressed." She admitted, looking at the two other boys who instantly looked else