so last chapter was kinda boring and short, but I hope this makes up for it

The next couple of months are a complete blur, faces and words and days of the week that don’t really have anything to do with each other. Looking back, I can’t really distinguish February from March, or March from April other than by the birthdays that occur in each month, and there are times where I really have to think if something happened yesterday, or the day before, or even a week before that. I guess that happens when everything moves quicker than you do.

Kris is no longer head of the Training Department; he’s now taken the spot of Chairman (the former one retired), right below Suho and right above me. To be honest, I’m glad he was chosen. Like Suho, he’s incredibly detail-oriented and makes high efforts to finish a task properly (although he can be extremely lazy at times). Suho’s nurturing and organized, always making sure that everyone is well taken care of, while Kris is a bit more strict and will always be punctual about things and I think that they’re an impossibly efficient duo that, quite frankly, SHC needs. 

Sehun’s also been moved up to field agent A, which means he has excelled at hand-to-hand combat and is a decent shooter and they put him up on the first line of defense and offense. So whenever I have to organize groups to a place in question like a murder scene, he’ll be sent to the most important and/or dangerous expedition. Although, I’m still better with guns than he is, even if he’s one of the best in A. I’ve also learned that Luhan likes to spoil him with frequent outings to coffee shops and clothing stores. It’s because if I ever had a younger brother, he would be like Sehun. So Luhan said. With constant care from Kyungsoo, Sehun’s on his way to being fully recovered. There are no more almost changes anymore, no out-of-control vampire. Just my brother Sehun. The only thing that’s really changed visibly though, is his height. I think he’s gotten even taller now, and my average 5’4” is dwarfed next to him.

And Jongin is Jongin.

Jongin and his smirk, Jongin the tease, Jongin the cute kid, Jongin and the way he kisses me lightly on the lips when he thinks no one is watching. 

It really isn’t until June, when I’m eating cereal and flipping through a magazine and listening to the news half-heartedly, that things start to get a little clearer and less fuzzy.

“-moving on to a more cheery subject, masses of people have been visiting parks due to the newly opened cherry blossom trees…”

I stop crunching on the cereal to listen, swallowing even though it scratches against my throat.

“It was a bit late this year, but now they’re finally in bloom and-”

I don’t want to get up, but I do. I rise from the chair and walk to the living room window. From there I’ll get a good view of the parking lot and the trees that line the sidewalk, and I’ll see at the very end, a decrepit cherry blossom that hasn’t bloomed in years…

“Never fails to amaze the public every year. It’s definitely a favorite-”

And my gaze falls on that last tree. It looks dead, like it does every year, but if I look hard enough, if I squint, I think I can see spots of pink and green along the branches.

“It’s truly enchanting. A symbol of young and new love. Couples everywhere are taking pictures, and who knows? You might even meet your soul mate in the midst of the pink petals…”

_

“Daeun?” I hear and I turn. Kyungsoo looks at me worriedly, a tuft of hair sticks up endearingly on his head. “Are you okay?”

“Yes? Why?” I ask and he shrugs, shakes his head.

“Nothing, you just looked a bit...upset for a moment. Anyway, have you seen Jongin? I have to get this to Kris, but he’s all the way in Gwangju on a business meeting.” Kyungsoo lifts a file.

“He left a while ago to run some errands. I’m sure he’ll be back pretty soon, though. When he gets back and I see him, I’ll send him to you.”

“Alright, thanks.” 

And I’m left in silence again. Left to my own thoughts. Should I visit Yoonmi? To distract myself? Lately, all I’ve ever been thinking about are cherry blossom trees, and it’s been keeping me from sleep like an unwanted nightmare. 

There’s a hush of moving air and then I see Jongin materialize in front of me. He’s wearing dark washed jeans, a navy blue shirt under a white winter coat, and a white beanie on his head. When he sees me, a smile plays across his lips, but it’s stiff and doesn’t reach his eyes. 

Pretending to put papers into order, I place the file full of pictures of the black markings in Reeve’s apartment and the book from Baekhyun subtly off to the side and cover them with company papers. Jongin saunters to my desk and leans against it.

“Did you miss me?” He asks.

“You weren’t even gone for a long time.” I reply and he huffs.

“It felt like a long time.” Then he leans away and starts to examine his hands like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world. Several times, I notice he opens his mouth but hurriedly closes it again. “Daeun, I...I have to tell you something.”

He doesn’t seem ready to tell me whatever’s on his mind, so I stop him. “Oh, before you tell me, Kyungsoo needs something delivered.” I notice relief loosen the tension in his shoulders. I add, “You can tell me whenever you’re ready.” 

He nods, and exits the room, only to come rushing back. “I forgot something…”

“Wha-” He interrupts me with a soft kiss on my forehead, and before I can respond, he leaves again.

I recompose myself, and set back to work on deciphering the strange black markings. That looks like that, this looks like this, and pretty soon, I come up with a sentence that makes sense. But what I’m given, leaves me shivering, and it only sets me back to square one and even more confused about the strange presences that have been relentlessly following me. 

Come to us willingly, and the ones you love won’t end up like you’re precious Snow.

_

“Hazelnut or Kona?”

“Just have both and mix it together.” I offer Kris and he stares at me like I’ve said something in a totally different language. “You were wondering what kind of coffee you should drink, right?”

“Yeah.” He draws out in a cautious tone. “Mix it. Alright.”

_

“Bubble tea. Bubble tea. Bubble t-”

“Sehun, can you focus? Right now I’m organizing a group. You can think about bubble tea later.”

Sehun looks at me with wide eyes. “I wasn’t saying that out loud, was I?”

_

“Maybe she’s busy. When she’s busy she gets mad easily, and I don’t want to be around when she gets mad. But I was told specifically to hand this to her-”

“Luhan, stop talking so loud and just come in.”

He enters, holding files against his chest. “I didn’t…say anything.” He says with a confused expression on his face. Something glints in his eyes. I 

recognize it as curiosity.

“Oh. Never mind,” I mutter, hand outstretched to take the papers. Then quietly to myself, “I’m hearing things.”

_

“I keep….I keep hearing people think. Like I’m reading their mind. That’s not normal.” I say. Danmi shakes her head.

“Being the Pure One does give you special qualities. Reading minds is a defense mechanism: if someone wanted to hurt you, you would hear it and you could get away safely.”

“But why is it only happening now? Why not before? And I’m not in danger, it happens randomly.”

“Maybe it did happen before. You just didn’t know. Rest assured, this is absolutely normal for you. And you don’t always have to be in a hazardous situation for it to start. Really anything can trigger it: stress, strong emotions, or maybe the person’s thoughts are being projected out unconsciously.” 

I settle back into my seat and watch Woomin construct something out of Play-Doh. It’s a miniature purple flower that he hands to his mother, and Danmi smiles back at him. Before I can stop it, I ask one of the most difficult questions that have been swimming around in my mind: “Why are there things like the Pure One and vampires?”

She stares at me, pondering if she should explain and if it’s really necessary for me to hear. Then she nods to herself, and leans forward with her elbows on her knees and hands clasped together.

“It started with a pair of lovers, and the beginning was bright for them. But the man was greedy, and as they grew older, he wanted everlasting youth. So he visited a woman who was known for her magic and he demanded for longevity. In return, she asked for pure and innocent blood, and so he killed a child and gave her just that. She created a drink from it, promised him that if he drank it his wish would be fulfilled. So he did, and he offered forever to his wife.

“But his wife was terrified. All she wanted was to grow old and happy with him, not eternity. She fled to the same woman, and asked for something that would be the cure for her husband. So the woman created another drink that she instructed the wife to take when she was with child. The child would then have blood that could cure her husband. Sensing that she wasn’t safe, the wife had run away and she started a different family and drank the potion as the witch had told her to. A girl, you, was born and the wife went looking for her first husband. But she didn’t know that he gave the drink to many other people, as well. He found her, killed her before she could save him, and her baby was placed in the hands of strangers. It was by accident that the girl realized she could save the vampires that were steadily increasing; she told her caretakers about it, and so they gathered a group to keep you 

away from harm.They were just going to protect you, but you wanted to save vampires, and that’s where the Reditus came into place.”

“So in essence, everything that’s happened and is happening is my fault.” I start. “If I had just kept quiet about saving vampires in that first life, there wouldn’t be the rogue Reditus coming after you, Jongin would still have his parents, and-”

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself.” Danmi says. “You didn’t know what would happen. You only wanted to help.” She adds, “I didn’t tell you this Daeun, but there is another way to change a vampire into a human. Black magic is one, but the other is to give some blood from the Pure One to a vampire who’s almost bled to death. It’s painful and needs your blood, which is why nobody really knows of this.” 

With the newly acquired knowledge, I drive home, my mind eerily empty. Everything passes as a smudge of color with the sky as a constant backdrop of gray. Pretty soon, I’m back in the parking lot of the apartment complex. For a brief moment, I sit and glance over at the last tree that was supposedly dead for a couple years. It’s blooming out of control now. I exit the car.

Something pangs in my side and pain starts to flood through me. It feels like I’ve been shot or stabbed, but when I lift my shirt, nothing’s there. I try to brush it off as a cramp, but the pain heightens and I have to steady myself with a streetlamp to keep from falling. 

Daeun. 

My name is carried on the breeze and for a second I hear Jongin. I see a blur of colors, and him gasping for air on the ground.

Something’s not right…and as I answer my phone and hear Sehun’s voice rush into my ears, my apprehension is confirmed.

“Hurry, Daeun!” The line disconnects and I push the gas and speed through the busy highway. The ride takes forever it seems, when really it’s only ten minutes to the hospital. I guess that’s a side effect of fear or anxiety. Or both.

I can’t seem to get to the second floor, to the ICU, to room 203 fast enough. And when I do, there are several people already there, sitting, standing, leaning against the wall. Then my eyes land on the pale body lying on the hospital bed and my mouth goes dry. I can barely comprehend Sehun wrapping me in his arms, Luhan saying, “We found this next to him” and slipping a piece of paper into my hand and explaining something.

“The bullet itself wasn’t enough to kill him and he’s not bleeding too much. Luckily he transported away before more damage was done. But there’s a lot of VT2 in his system and...and the doctors are worried his body might shut down-”

“What can I do?” I mumble, the pain in my side still throbbing.

“You’re his bond.” I hear Yoonmi say. “Do what a bond does.” 

If one is near death, the other can give their very own blood and save their bonded partner. Right out of the textbook, that’s what bonds can be used for. Yoonmi had once said that it could save a lot of lives. And I hope it does.

I nod, and suddenly everyone is emptying out of the room and a nurse comes in with a syringe to draw blood from my forearm. She replaces the IV drip with a clear plastic bag full of the red liquid that almost instantly starts to enter Jongin’s system. She leaves, and I drag a chair up next to him. 

Remembering the paper Luhan handed to me, I fumble to open the folded slip. This time, there is no undecipherable black markings that I need a book to decode. It’s written in neat black flowing handwriting.

We told you so.

“Daeun?” I lift my head at my name and see Jongin sitting up. He still looks pale, but better. A lot better. 

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Fine,” He says. “But how am I...” His eyes land on the emptied bag with remnants of my blood, and they follow the line drip all the to the needle 

stuck in his arm. Then suddenly he’s ripping it off his arm, and he’s out of the bed and against the wall. “T-that wasn’t yours, was it?”

I cross my arms. “Who’s else do you think it was?”

“No.” Jongin shakes his head. Runs a hand through his hair. “You weren’t supposed to do that. You shouldn’t sacrifice anything for me. You shouldn’t save someone like me.”

I get out of the chair and cautiously take a step forward. “Jongin, what are you talking about?”

His eyes flit down to the bandaid on my arm from drawing blood. “I’m so sorry. Daeun I don’t know what happened. I just…”

But he doesn’t have to explain. Because I’ve seen it. Whether it was through the bond or because I can see into people’s minds, I saw it. Briefly, but all of it.

He’s met her.

Yesterday, on the errand he ran before I sent him along to Kyungsoo, he went back to the apartment to grab something. But he saw a figure, someone, 

on the ground under the dead-but-not-dead-anymore cherry blossom tree. He asked if she was okay, and apparently she had just been admiring the flowers and that’s when he saw her. Pale skin, dark hair, and caramel eyes. He learned that her name was Minkyung. This is what he wanted to tell me. Then today, prior to getting shot, they had met again in a cafe. I don’t know how long they stayed, but he walked her back to wherever she was living.

And then she kissed him. And he didn’t refuse.

You’d think that if you could see into the future, you’d be prepared for whatever was coming. But knowing, didn’t make it any less painful. I feel out of place standing in the hospital room, unwanted almost. All the white glaring and menacing.

“Oh.” I say. Because I don’t know what else I can say.

I guess he remembers the bond and that it can transfer some thoughts and images to the other pair, because he’s rushing forward and shaking my shoulders lightly. “What did you see?” He mumbles. “What did you see, Daeun?” It’s a little louder this time.

Gently, I remove his hands from my shoulders and step away. I don’t answer until my back brushes the door, one foot already outside.

“Everything.”

_

I haven’t told anyone. Maybe because I’m afraid I’ll choke up or they’ll ask too many questions. Jongin’s still being monitored at the hospital until 

they’re absolutely sure he’s ready to be back on the field. 

The apartment’s incredibly quiet, I realize. So I stay at Yoonmi’s for a night, and then I visit (or bother) Sehun and I have all my meals with him. Yoonmi suggests retail therapy, and this time I don’t protest. Sometimes, when I act out of character, I find Luhan or Kris staring at me with an expression that’s a cross between curious and bewildered, but they don’t say anything about it. And I silently thank them for that.

We’re in the middle of dinner, watching a slapstick episode of a comedy series, when I suggest something to Sehun.

“Let’s find our parents.”

“Why so suddenly?” He asks after finishing a mouthful of take-out chinese. 

“Because.” I shrug. “I guess I miss them.”

He puts his container on the coffee table and leans back into the couch, slinging his arm on the backrest. I can’t help it, but the action reminds me of Jongin. “You’re right. I guess I miss them, too.”

After researching multiple locations where our parents could be, Suho allows us to leave for a couple of days. “I hope you find them.” He tells us with his signature warm smile. We tell him we hope so too.

Sehun and I head back to the apartment building to pack necessary items. Grabbing the duffel bag at the top of my closet shelf, I start to throw in clothes, toiletries, money. I hear the door open, and thinking it’s Sehun, I zip up the bag and head out into the kitchen. It isn’t Sehun.

“Oh.” I say, again. 

“Are you...are you going somewhere?” Jongin asks as he notices the duffel at my side.

“Uh. Yeah, Sehun and I are going to look for our parents.”

“Oh.” It’s him who says it this time. 

I clear my throat. “So you’re completely fine now?”

“Yeah. Thank you.” Then, “I’m sorry.” We aren’t talking about me saving him anymore.

“Don’t worry about it. Needles don’t hurt at all-”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

I fiddle with the strap of the bag. “Well, I have to go now. I’ll see you in a couple days, I guess.” Before I can escape out the door, he calls out to me.

“I…I…” I look back and he fumbles with the words in his mouth. Almost like he thought better of it, he settles with, “Good luck.”

I feel happy. I feel happy, I tell myself. Because I’m going to find my mother and father, finally. And yes, I do feel happy, but I am not happy. There’s a little itch on my chest and no matter how many times I scratch at it, it doesn’t go away. It’s like one of those annoying itches in the back of your throat and it doesn’t matter how much you cough, it stays.

So I tackle a different strategy. I leave everything behind in that apartment, the memories, the cherry blossoms, and then the itch goes away. And I can settle into the seat of the passenger side of the car, and focus on the way the engine hums a tune that I fall asleep to.

GUYS, I was so tempted to spam you all with how amazing EXO's comeback was but I waited until I posted this chapter.

Can you believe the waiting is done? 

BUT WOLF THO

I seriously really, REAALY like it. When I first heard I was surprised but then I just got really excited...

If I wasn't already sold at the 'saranghae yo' part, then this ^ just made it for me.

If you have a tumblr(and even if you don't), you can come talk to me here. it's pretty new so talk to me, spazz with me, fangirl with me, ask me any questions that you want answered.