Desperate Hope

Part you have to let go . . .

I remember while waiting for our plane, we couldn't help but watch tv. The headline story that night was all about a mass killing that had left no clues for the police. Most of the security guards had died from broken necks and no other bodies were found.

My guess was that Seungri had tossed his “cronies” outside where the sun would turn them to ash. Meanwhile, Seungri himself had slipped away leaving no other witnesses behind. Even the cameras had recorded nothing which didn't surprise me.

Now we finally stumbled back to the Academy. A crazy outdoor weekend was our cover story. I wasn't the only one in trouble of course. Dara was summoned to the queen for ‘punishing’ though I knew she don’t suffer actual punishment.

Not like Taeyang and me. We were technically under the jurisdiction of the official guardians now which meant we faced as much trouble as any disobedient employee. Taeyang didn't breathe a word to anyone about what we'd done but each time he looked at me I could see the condemnation in his eyes.

Ji Yong scoffed. "Rin, don't bull me."

"We've got plane tickets and hotel receipts to prove it not to mention people who saw the princess hit big on slot machines."

Ji Yong was shaking his head in exasperation. "As soon as I heard the news, I knew it must be something. Then three of you gone? No question."

He knew me too well to believe me. I refused to look at him and slammed the shovel hard into the ground. I bit my lip on any angry retort.

"She did it because she thinks human that turn vampires can be restored to their original form."

My head shot up and I stared at Taeyang in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

"Telling the truth," replied Taeyang. "He's our friend. You think he's going to report us?"

No, rebel Kwon Ji Yong was not going to report us. But that didn't mean I wanted this out. It's a fact of life: The more people who know a secret the more likely it’s to leak.

Unsurprisingly, Ji Yong's reaction was not all that different from everyone else's. "What? That's impossible. Everyone knows that."

"Not really" said Taeyang.

"Will you stop it?" Chaerin exclaimed.

"You can tell him or I will."

Chaerin sighed. Ji Yong's crystal dark amber eyes were staring at us, wide and shocked. Like most of my friends he rolled with crazy ideas but this was pushing the crazy line.

I shook my head. "We’ve found someone. And he's a spirit user."

"Only you," said Ji Yong. "Only you would find something like this."

Chaerin ignored what appeared to be a return to his normal sarcasm. "He claims to have healed a vampire--killed the undead part and brought her back to life."

"Spirit has limits Rin. You might have been brought back but vampire souls are gone."

"We don't know about spirit's full range," Chaerin pointed out. "Half of it is still a mystery."

"If someone could restore back the soul don't you think something like that would have survived in the legends," argued Ji Yong.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's not all that easy." Chaerin retied her ponytail.

"I don't know," said Ji Yong. "For something like this you actually might need two people. Now explain how this miracle is supposedly done."

"Well . . . that's the thing. I can't do it. It has to be done by a spirit user."

"It doesn't matter because it can't be done," Taeyang said.

"We don't know that!" The desperation in Chaerin’s own voice startled her. "Dara believe it too."

"And she wants to do it," Ji Yong said catching on quickly. "Because she would do anything for you."

"She can't."

"Because she doesn't have the ability or because you won't let her?"

"Both," Chaerin cried. "I'm not letting her anywhere near that creature.

"If this were possible," Ji Yong slowly. "It could change our world. If she could learn . . . "

"What? No!" I'd been so eager to get Ji Yong to believe me and now I wished he hadn't. "Dara is not a fighter. No spirit user we know is unless we find one, I'd rather . . . " Chaerin winced. "I'd rather Seungri died."

That finally made Taeyang stop working. He threw down his shovel. "Really? I never would have guessed that."

Chaerin spun around and strode toward him her fists clenched. "Look, I can't take this anymore! I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. I know I screwed up. I let Seungri get away."

"You let him get away?" asked Ji Yong, startled.

She ignored him and continued shouting at Taeyang. "It was a mistake. With Seungri . . . it was a weak moment. I failed. I know I did. We both know it. But you know I didn't intend the damage I caused. If you're really my friend you have to know it. If I could take it back . . ." Chaerin swallowed, surprised to feel her eyes burning. "I would. I swear I would."

Taeyang’s face was perfectly still. "I believe you. I am your friend and I know . . . I know you didn't mean for things to turn out like they did."

Chaerin sagged in relief surprised at how truly worried she'd been about losing his respect and friendship. Looking down she was startled to see her fists balled up. She relaxed them, unable to believe she'd been that upset. "Thank you."

"What's all this shouting?"

We both turned and saw the warden heading toward us. And he looked pissed off. Chaerin also noticed that Kwon Ji Yong had practically vanished into thin air.

"This isn't social time!" growled the warden. "You two still have another hour left today. If you're going to get distracted then maybe you should be separated." He beckoned to Taeyang. "Come on. There's some filing with your name on it."

Chaerin shot Taeyang a sympathetic look as the warden led him away. Yet she was relieved it wasn't her off to do paperwork.

She continued her works, her mind spinning with the same questions she had all week. Chaerin had meant what she said to him. She wanted so badly for this dream of Seungri being saved to be true.

Chaerin wanted it more than anything--except Dara risking her life. She shouldn't have hesitated. She should have just killed Seungri.