.15
Blood. Life. Love. Us
She was being barrage with a semi-truck over and over and over and over again and again. Eight days, 4 hours, 22 minutes, and 24...25...26...27 seconds...
"Naeun-ah." Chorong's warm voice brought her back to the dreadful world also known as her reality. He was gone. Myungsoo was gone. He'd been gone for that long. Eight days now.
She had been dying slowly and painfully for the last eight days. She had barely zero to no sleep, she was rapidly losing strength from lack of food. She was growing sick, and she knew this, but couldn't stop herself. She couldn't stop herself from falling.
It felt like yesterday. Her sobs echoing through the room, her tears soaking into his shirt, her pain written all over her face as he held her in his warm arms. His arms felt like she was falling in heaven. Then he gently and softly pulled her away. Looking her straight in the eyes he whispered, "Sleep." He was compelling again, but somehow she understood he was hurting as much as she was.
The last thing she could comprehend before she closed her eyes were his soft lips touching the skin. It was electricity, it was power so strong she could fool herself into thinking no one could ever destroy it, it was magic. They she awoken alone at night surrounded by darkness and emptiness. She had awoken to the shadows. He was gone. He along with his sworn brothers, gone, gone from Seoul. And gone from her.
"You have to eat you know." Chorong told her as she set aside a tray of food. She sat down on the corner of the bed staring at Naeun stare up into the skies. The skies were painted dark and grey. A perfect parallel of everything Naeun felt. There was no wind, the leaves has gone dried losing the crisped bright colors and turning into brown flakes easily crushable, there was no life, no magic.
It felt like he had taken the magic along with him as he had brought it.
"You know staring out into space and hoping he'll come back won't do you any good." Chorong commented. Naeun knew Chorong was right. Chorong always was. And Chorong knew Naeun was in pain even if no one else did. She felt her friend pulling her away from the window. Her eyes turn to Chorong with no life, those honey orbs were drowned of spirit.
"Can I show you something?" Chorong questioned. There was an odd light in her voice, a sense of excitement rang in her tone. Naeun nodded gently. Chorong smiled, standing up and grabbing a wilted pot of flowers by the open balcony she brought it back into the room and set it on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Naeun asked and realized how soft and weak her voice had gotten.
"I've been studying and practicing. Just like Woohyun said, the book would guide me." She replied and saw Naeun's face flatten at the mentioned of Woohyun's name.
"Come on." Chorong said trying to lighten the mood as she sat down on the ground, crossing her legs and pulling out the book which she hid under her bed and flipping it to some random page.
"I never asked how you got the book." Naeun mumbled out of pure curiosity.
Chorong looked up from the pages. "The book found me. They do that apparently. They just sort of pop up whenever they're needed....Like a pet." She answered remembering what Woohyun had told her about the book. Yeah, it sort of follows it’s master. It’s like a pet really, one that never gets lost. His voice replayed itself in her mind.
"Chorong-ah, you okay?" Naeun asked noticing how Chorong had lost herself in her head. Naeun did that a lot, lose herself in her own mind. "Yep." Chorong chirped blocking out any thoughts to do with a certain vampire. Chorong turned her attention to the flower pot in front of her and looked back down to the book ready to flip onto the correct page only to find what she needed already in front of her.
"I love it when it does that." She whispered and felt Naeun narrowing her eyes at her.
"Watch." Chorong told her the other girl as she reached her palms out towards the plant. Mumbling in Latin forms a ray of energy spread out from her palms eloping around the plant.
Naeun's eyes widen in astonishment as the dried petals slowly popped back to life, one stem at a time they slowly grew, curling with a new flower bud at each end as several move flower stems appeared, growing in inhumane speed as they spread around even outside the flower pot with a flower bud ending the stem's course.
Chorong had the gift of mother nature in her own reach. A simple flower pot containing a few dried flowers now lavished into a garden of green. It was the warmth coming from Chorong. The kind only a mother could offer of infant, trusting, kind, caring, protective, light energy and positive strength came from her. Naeun felt totally enlighten like she was casted into a rainbow surfing on cloud seven.
"That's amazing." Those were the only two words left Naeun's lips.
"I'm a fast learner remember." Chorong said slowly removing her hand.
With a small smile she looked up to Naeun, "I wanted to lighten up your gloomy day. How'd I do?" Naeun didn't answer with words, no she answered my attacking Chorong with a big hug and a wide smile. The first smile she had all week.
Chorong laughed at Naeun's action, "I'm still learning okay. Its hard, I have no teacher to help me and with everything going on, its quite a challenge."
"But its enough. Its enough." Naeun remarked because Chorong was enough, Chorong could pull Naeun through this.
--
The house was quiet as the two stepped into the living area. The town was basically on high alert now that some raging animal was around, through no one knew what exactly it was. Bears, wolves?
No, something much worst, but no one knew. No one but two girls.
"Mom doesn't want Dad going back to work, but being as stubborn as he is. He insists on it." Chorong ranted as she searched the fridge. There was the sound of a key rattling before the door opened. The Parks hid a extra key underneath a flower pot by the bushes.
"Anyone home." Eunji's voice echoed through the house as her fast footsteps soon entered the kitchen.
"Hey, she's alive." Eunji acknowledge looking at Naeun. Naeun had basically fallen into solitary since...since he left.
"Yep. Still breathing." Naeun confirmed.
"Good, because History Class has been killing me. I'm supposed to do research on the old Original families, and to think that since we're part of the Original families it would be easy." Eunji whined.
"Why? You stuck on something?" Chorong asked. She had her back turned towards the two as she tried wiping up breakfast. "There's just some missing information I need. I'm going to the library in a bit. Come with me." Eunji replied.
"Great. We're not doing anything anyways." Chorong answered. Naeun frowned and stared outside the window. Things were slowly and gradually falling back to how they were supposed to. Just like how she wanted, but now she realized it wasn't what she wanted. What she wanted was gone.
--
The scent of dust and wood filled the air. Old rustic walls and wooden floors lined the place along with lines upon lines of books stacked on top of each other waiting to be read, their knowledge waiting to be past on.
"Eunji-ah, are you almost done?" Chorong asked while scanning the line of books. Naeun sat patiently at one of the many round oak tables staring into space as Eunji looked through the array of books showcased on the table.
"Yeah. Give me 20 minutes." Eunji replied. Chorong nodded through she was awfully bored of being in the library all day.
"I seriously don't understand. Its like a fifth of the population of the town skipped off in the midst of a few weeks." Eunji groaned. "What exactly are you researching?" Naeun asked.
"Migration pattern of our town. What years each family settled in, what year which families left, death population, stuff like that. But the oddest thing is that there's this gap and I can't seem to find any sources about it." Eunji answered.
"What kind of 'gap'?" Chorong asked, her back was turned towards Naeun and Eunji as her fingers brushed through the line of books.
"There was a high death population in one of these year, its like a virus or sickness spread around killing everyone. But there are no sources, no explanation." Eunji explained. She didn't realized how both Naeun and Chorong froze.
"And what time period was this?" Chorong asked trying to make her voice sound casual. She had a sense of when this occurred.
"About 400 years ago. I'm trying to date it back all the way back to the founding of the town, but the older sources are difficult to find." Eunji answered. She was so clueless to what really happened. It wasn't a virus or a disease, nothing of that sort. No, it was something bloodier. Before either girls could comment a line of books fell, crashing onto the ground catching Eunji and Naeun's attention.
"What happened?" Eunji asked noticing the line of books on the floors. Chorong stood there like a shock statue, her eyes pale and distant like she was in a trance.
"Nothing." She suddenly shock kneeling down to pick up the books and randomly throwing them onto the shelf.
"Naeun come with me to the bathroom." Chorong ordered. Naeun, unlike Eunji, understood what was happening. She stood up from her chair and quickly followed Chorong. Eunji watched as the two girls disappeared, she shrugged and continued looking through the book of records.
--
"You had a vision didn't you?" Naeun asked, alarmed and worry as the two stepped into the back of the library. They were surrounded by woods and the earthly scent along with the dead wind breathe by.
Chorong was rubbing her temples, her eyes were closed as if she was having a terrible headache. A frown crossed her face, and Naeun wondered how long Chorong had been in this state. Then she remembered, she remembered what they had said. There was something from the other side playing with Chorong's powers, or mind, or whatever apparent reason it was. Naeun felt a rage of anger soar through her. Chorong had been suffering.
Then she felt guilt slowly nimble at her limbs. Naeun had been so absorbed these days she didn't realize that Chorong was going through pain also. Chorong was being Chorong, which meant hiding her pain and trying to miserable act strong. What kind of friend was Naeun?
"Hey, Chorong." Naeun called stepping closer to Chorong.
The girl looked up and smiled affirming she was okay. "I'm okay now." She stated, through Naeun didn't buy it at all.
Chorong loved burying away her emotions, she had grown up that way. And it was unhealthy. Hiding your emotions, piling them up. It was layer upon layer of anger, disappointment, pain, guilt, rage. And sooner or later, you crack, you blow up and the world comes tumbling down along with you.
Naeun knew, she went through it, and when she did, she felt like Myungsoo made it all go away. He made her stop hurting, he made her breathe, he made her smile. He cracked up open and let her unleash her rage on him while he comforted her. Myungsoo did all this.
Maybe it was time she started doing the same for Chorong, for Chorong was always the one pulling her out of her hell, maybe this time she'll be the one to save her friend.
"Chorong-ah-" She began but was cut off. "It was a vampire that killed your aunt." Chorong revealed and Naeun's jaw dropped. Yes, she was expecting that already, but to hear the words out loud from someone else was something she hadn't mentally prepared herself for.
"And it was a vampire who attacked my father." Chorong continued running her hand through her hair. What else did Chorong know?
"Is...is that why they left? Because of this vampire?" Naeun questioned, through both knew she was fearful of the answer she would receive.
"Woohyun told me if they left, he would leave with them. And I guess he did, or at least he's trying to make us think he did." She answered. Chorong choose her words carefully knowing that the mention of a certain Myungsoo would bring Naeun crashing down.
"-then what did you see in your vision?" Naeun asked hesitantly. Chorong exhaled deeply and inhaled again letting the smoky scent of the woods into her lungs.
"Its not over Naeun." She stated. Naeun furrowed her brows. That statement didn't sound good, but it was vague.
"What's not over?" Naeun asked.
Chorong frowned, "I don't know. At least not yet." She adjured as she pulled her bag over so she could it. She pulled out the book that she had stuffed in her bag before leaving the house.
"But I'm determined to find out." Chorong stated. Naeun's curiosity was soaring high. She needed some way to get her mind off of Myungsoo, and maybe this was it. Or maybe this would bring Myungsoo back to Seoul, back to her.
"You know that the book changes on its own right." Chorong stated as she flipped through the pages. Naeun nodded. She had seen the book's impressive ability to change its words and languages.
"What did you see Chorong?" Naeun asked once again but already knew Chorong would give no answer.
"I saw vampires. Here, in Seoul. Strangers who we don't know." She replied, and there was something else bothering her, something even she had yet to figure out.
--
Eunji didn't like her lack of height, she didn't like it at all, especially at times like this when she was on her tippy toes trying to put one of the books back. Damn it, where's Hoya when you need him.
She froze for a second not believing she had actually thought that. It was odd, the man, mysterious, quiet, and a total question mark, but he was kind, caring, and frighten, through he would refused to admit the last part. Why the hell am I thinking about him? She pondered brushing her thoughts aside.
"Here, let me help you." An unfamiliar voice popped in gently taking book from her and stacking it back to its belonged place on the shelf.
"Thanks." She replied dusting of the invisible dusk on her clothes, her looks looked up to find a smile brighter than sunshine staring back at her.
"I'm sorry, but are you new to town? I've never seen you before." She remarked, the man's smile only widen.
"No, I was actually born here and spent my younger years here. I'm back visiting old friends. " He replied, his voice was like a melody of the freshest flowers to her ears. He was danger and mysterious written all over in ink, he reminded her of Hoya, or Woohyun and of Myungsoo, but there was something dark about him. Something that told her he wasn't scare to rip the town in two, something told her not to trust this man, something told her he was a monster in disguise.
"My name is Jonghyun. "
I love Shinee and I love Jonghyun, and I'm a Shawol as well as an Inspirit, but I needed a bad guy, so one no start hating.
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