It has been a month since that incident and the house has been gloomy ever since. The place is as clean as before; Kris had bought new furniture while Lizzy, Chen and Tao had been keeping the place clean. It would have been an average day but a thick, sad atmosphere clouded them.

 

The reason? Luhan has not left his room since then. He locked himself with Jieun in his room, refusing to leave for whatever reason. There is a bathroom in every room so they assumed that Luhan bathes but in the case of feeding, he should be famished.

 

Kris knows that Luhan can last up to two weeks without feeding but it has been a month and Kris isn’t sure if Luhan has managed to extend his endurance. There’s no blood in his room and there’s no way a corpse can provide him with it either.

 

Knock. Knock.

 

“Luhan, please come out. You have to eat.”, Lizzy pleads as she stood outside his door. She has been doing this every day, trying to persuade him out the room for whatever reason; feeding, trying her new recipe, even suggesting bathing Jieun again, but all attempts were useless. Luhan never opened the door.

 

Though, from his presence, all of them know that he is still alive. Lizzy waited for another five minutes before sighing and retreating to Chen’s room. “Luhan. Please, you can’t continue like this. I know it hurts but you have to open your eyes. She’s gone. If her spirit was still here, I’m sure she wouldn’t like the fact that you’re suffering like this. So please, come out. We’re all worried for you.”, Kris told Luhan mentally, knowing he could hear him.

 

---------

In the room

“You’re so beautiful.”, Luhan praised as he smiled and caressed her cheek gently. Her cheek was as smooth as always but she was paler and strangely, her body wasn’t rotting. “Please, how long are you going to sleep? I need you.”, he begged as he hugged her close.

 

He felt weak from not feeding and he hasn’t slept ever since then. He should have dark circles under his eyes, moustache and beard but Luhan’s appearance did not change; A benefit of being a vampire.

 

Knock knock.

 

At the sound of knocking, he knew Lizzy was outside. She has been persuading Luhan but he doesn’t want to believe them. Jieun is still alive and he knows it; even if all evidences says otherwise, his heart is telling him not to believe it and wait.

 

For what; he wasn’t really sure, but he knows it’ll be something that can bring Jieun back. And it is because of this feeling that he has locked himself in the room, knowing very well that his brothers would never believe him; Tao is the best example.

 

“You have to eat. Please, open the door.”, Lizzy thought as Luhan shook his head. “If Jieun doesn’t eat, then I’m not going to either.”, he mumbled as he laid beside her. After a few minutes, he sighed in relief as Lizzy walked away. She has been annoying recently and he really wants her to stop interfering with his life.

 

“Luhan.”

 

At the call of his name, he turned and looked at the door, only to realise it was Kris calling him from his thoughts. He waited patiently for him to continue as it has been a long time since Kris had talked to him. “How long has it been?”, he asked himself, only to be startled when the leader continued.

 

“Please, you can’t continue like this. I know it hurts but you have to open your eyes. She’s gone. If her spirit was still here, I’m sure she wouldn’t like the fact that you’re suffering like this. So please, come out. We’re all worried for you.”

 

All of a sudden, Luhan felt as though his heart weighed a thousand pounds. He knew his family was worried but it never occurred to him that they were this worried. If he focused on their presence, he could tell that Kris have not eaten since that incident too.

 

The others’ presences are stronger than his or Kris’s but they are not their usual strength. Tao would have to eat since he attends school while everyone else has work at the shop. Kris is the only one that stays at home and I’m sure that even if he did go out, he wouldn’t have the mood to feed either.

 

“They’re all suffering because of me.”, Luhan thought as he sighed. “Is it really hopeless? Are you really gone?”, he whispered and wondered if the feeling he feels about Jieun being alive is really hope, or just his heart being stubborn, as he caressed her cheek. Luhan waited for a few minutes and sighed again before getting up from the bed.

 

---------

“Hey, Jieun!”

 

Turning around, Jieun saw a 4 year old boy with brown hair and big eyes, waving at her. She remembered him. He was the only boy who played with her at the orphanage. “Taemin oppa!”, a 3 year old girl’s voice called as she saw herself running closer towards him.

 

“W-what’s going on?”, she asked herself as she hears herself interact with a 4 year old Taemin. “These are your memories.”, a voice explained, as she jumped at the voice. “W-who are you?”, Jieun asked as she stared at the lady two metres away from her on her left.

 

She was a beautiful lady, roughly in her late twenties, with brown catlike eyes and Jieun could somewhat tell that she wasn’t human. She was wearing a chocolate brown short sleeved dress that matched her eyes, with fair skin and long black hair. She chuckled at Jieun’s reaction and smiled sweetly at her.

 

“There’s no need to be afraid. I won’t hurt my own daughter.”, she replied while Jieun’s eyes widened. “D-daughter? W-who’s your daughter?”, she asked, shocked, as the lady smiled sadly. “You are.”, she replied as Jieun scoffed in reply, “My parents are dead. You can’t trick me with this.”

 

“This is your earliest memory, isn’t it?”, she asked, ignoring Jieun’s remark, as she looked at her daughter’s memory. Slightly distracted, Jieun turned to see her earliest memory. It was when she had woken up at the orphanage with a 3 year old Taemin staring curiously at her.

 

He smiled happily when she woke up before greeting her. “Hello! My name’s Taemin! You?”, he introduced loudly as Jieun remembered she was terrified of him at that moment. Jieun immediately bursts out laughing when she saw her memory. “Haiz.. Taemin oppa. You can’t be so loud to a stranger.”, she mumbled as she continued laughing at the memory.

 

After a while, the lady, who claims to be Jieun’s mother, joins in the laughter. “That’s what makes him adorable though. Don’t you agree?”, she asked as Jieun nodded in reply. “I wonder what he’s doing now…”, Jieun thought as she smiled at the 3 year old Taemin. “I guess it’s time to tell you the truth.”

 

Looking at the lady, Jieun wonders what she is talking about. “The truth?”, she asks curiously as her mother nods her head. “Believe it or not, I am your mother.”, she explained and took a deep breath before continuing, “And I’m human. Well, I used to. Now I’m nothing but a ghost.”

 

“G-ghost? B-but Luhan said ghost didn’t exist.”, she fought back as she backed away from her. Jieun always had a fear of ghosts even if she didn’t mention it. Luhan had figured it out when he tried to scare her one night just for the fun of it.

 

He never did it again though; Jieun had fainted and suffered a fever over 41 degrees for three nights straight. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. Like I’ve said, I won’t hurt my own daughter.”, her mother reassured as Jieun gulped and stopped retreating, but still kept her distance.

 

“I was a human while your father was vampire.”, her mother explained as Jieun’s eyes widened. “V-vampire? But I’m human.”, Jieun retorted as her mother nodded her head. “Indeed you are; partly. You are half vampire, half human.”, her mother explained as Jieun became too stunned to retort or even think.

 

“I won’t tell you how I met your father and how he courted me and everything. All I’ll say is that although I was human, I had the ability to astral project. It means my soul could leave my body but not die. That is the main reason why I’m a ghost. I projected myself out before they killed my body.”

 

“They?”, Jieun managed to ask as she noticed something weird about what her mother was saying. “If dad was a vampire, wouldn’t he be strong enough to protect you from any enemies?”, she asked as her mother smiled. “He would, if they were humans. The people after us were vampires, and they were much stronger than your father.”

 

“Vampires? Why would vampires want to kill you?”, she asked as her mother sighed. “I guess I have to explain from the start.”, she said with a smile before continuing, “You see, when your father and I met, we fell in love at first sight; Our bond was so strong that it allowed me to fall for him.

 

“Things were getting along well, but his father never approved of us; mainly because I was a weak human; He had always wanted your father to mate with another vampire. We decided to run away; traveling to another continent, and lived happily for five years until they found us again. You were three years old then.”

 

Jieun’s eyes widened when she realized where her mother was going. “I think you’ve already guessed it. Your father, being a vampire, tampered with your memories, making you forget about us. You might be wondering what his personal power is but it’s nothing strong like Luhan’s. Your father’s power was healing; he was a doctor after all.”

 

“How do you know Luhan’s power?”, Jieun asked, shocked by her mother’s knowledge. She giggled before asking her daughter a question, “Where do you think we are?” Jieun looked around, noticing nothing but darkness except for her memory playing like a movie in front of them. “A place between heaven and hell? I mean, I’m dead, aren’t I?”, she asked curiously as her mother’s smile faded.

 

“Yes. You’re dead, but we’re not in a place between heaven and hell. We’re actually in your mind. A small part of your brain that stores your memory.”, she explained as Jieun couldn’t believe her ears. “I’m dead but I’m in my mind? What is seriously going on?”, she asked herself, honestly confused about the whole situation.

 

“Anyway I’m just here to unlock your memories. You will remember your father and I, and all the times we spent together as a family. Since you’re half vampire, you might even remember things when you were in my womb! Hahahahaha! I’m just joking about that though.”, her mother joked as Jieun stares at her strangely.

 

“You’re not making any sense. You’re in my mind, waiting for this chance to unlock my memories? Why would you do that? I don’t understand. And you mentioned before; I’m dead, so what would these memories do?”, Jieun asked as her mother smiled at her.

 

“This is the final task I need to do before my soul can finally rest in peace. My spirit can’t survive without a body and I just couldn’t die while knowing my daughter would not her parents. As for the second part to your question, you’re not dead. Well, to explain it clearly, your human side is dead but your vampire side is still alive; just that it has always been asleep. Simply put, you had two lives and you’re now left with one.”, her mother explained as Jieun frowned.

 

“So… You’re saying that my vampire blood will revive me?”, she asked as her mother nodded her head. “But…. Why are you telling me this now? Why not earlier?”, Jieun asked. Her mother explained that Jieun had to die first before her soul would enter her mind.

 

“S-so, if I didn’t die now, you would have waited for me until I did? That’s nonsense! Why would you go that far just to wait for me to die?! I could have died at the age of 60! Would you still have waited for me?”, she asked sceptically while looking at her mother as if she had grown two heads.

 

“Yes. To meet my daughter and watch the memories we shared, I would wait.”, she replied gently yet firmly as Jieun was too stunned to respond. “Well, should we watch your memories now?”, she asked lightly, tilting her head to the left, as she smiled at Jieun. She was about to retort on how ridiculous her mother sounded until the voice of a man silenced her.

 

“Jieun~ My beautiful cupcake~”, a male voice cooed as a baby’s laughter could be heard soon after. Shocked, Jieun turned and stared at a man’s face; as if she was being carried in his arms. “Hahahahaha! Aren’t you happy to see papa? Hahahahaha!”, the man noticed as the baby’s movement increased as if she was excited.

 

“Alright, alright. Calm down, Jieun. You might fall from moving too much.”, he explained but it didn’t seem as though the baby understood. “Gosh. She’s always so excited when she sees you. Come here~”, her mother said as Jieun is now in her mother’s arms; the face of the lady standing a few feet away from her, clearly shown in her memory. Her laughter could still be heard as her hands reached out to touch her mother’s face.

 

Watching her memories, Jieun couldn’t help but tear up at them. It was amazing that she could remember her days as a baby but finally realizing what her parents looked like and the smiles on their faces couldn’t stop the tears from flowing out. She was overwhelmed with the emotions emitting from her parents but it wasn’t a bad thing.

 

She felt happy, excitement but most importantly, love. Not having memories of her parents caused Jieun to think that she was an unwanted child, but the memory playing before her says otherwise. Jieun was a sobbing mess as her memory played like a movie on her development; from when she was a baby up till the age of 3.

 

“I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you.”, her mother whispered sadly and controlled her tears from flowing out, as she placed 3 year old Jieun onto a bed in the orphanage. “What are you talking about, mummy?”, Jieun asked as her father kissed her forehead tenderly. “Sleep. When you wake up, everything will be alright.”, her father promised with a smile as Jieun felt her eyes getting heavy before she drifted off to sleep.

 

“Mom!”, Jieun cried out, after watching her memory, and ran into her mother’s arms as they both cried their hearts out. “I’m so sorry we left you alone.”, her mother apologized as she shook her head in reply. “At least I know you loved me. I wasn’t an unwanted child.”, she reasoned as her mother laughed humourlessly.

 

“You were never unwanted. You are our Angel, but honey, someone else is waiting for you.”, her mother said, wiping both her tears, and her daughter’s, before continuing, “It’s time for you to wake up.” Confused by her words, Jieun stares at her weirdly before realizing everything around her was getting darker and her mother was slowly fading away.

 

“Mom! What’s happening?!”, she exclaimed as her mother smiled lovingly at her. “Your vampire blood is waking up. You’ll never see me again, but just know this; Both your father and I love you very much and I am proud to have a daughter like you.”, her mother said before Jieun was enveloped in complete darkness.

 

---------

Luhan had convinced himself that it was best for him to acknowledge that his mate was gone and that there was nothing he could do about it. Although he acknowledged it, he still didn’t feel any better; in fact, it became worse. His life didn’t seem to have a meaning to it anymore and if he could, he’d rather kill himself. But the thought of his brothers grieving stopped him.

 

He wasn’t thinking anything –He was emotionally dead. His brain only send signals around his body to move them.- as he walked towards the door. His hand slowly wrapped themselves over the handle and was about to turn the knob when a sudden presence appeared in the room with him.

 

He immediately came into his senses, turned and snarled at the intruder. The presence was familiar but at the same time, unfamiliar. Whatever it was, he didn’t like the fact that another person is in his room. However, when he turned, there was no one in sight.

 

Confusion etched onto his face as he tried to pinpoint where the presence is coming from until he found that it was from Jieun. A sudden sense of hope washes over him as he sat on the bed and caressed her cheek while calling her name gently. Nothing happened. Jieun stayed motionless with her eyes closed as he sighed.

 

“Guess my mind is playing tricks on me.”, he mumbled under his breath and was about to get off the bed when his eyes met with her red eyes. 

 

---------------------------------------

 

Jieun's parents are...... 

 

Suzy and Soo Hyun! 

Aren't they just the cutest!!??!! XD

 

 

Anyway, there won't be a double update today. I'm trying to reread my story 'Machine' so that I can continue it and hopefully complete it by the end of this year. :) I'll still update this story but I'm not sure when I can actually update it. So please wait for me!! 

 

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Ps: If this chapter was confusing, feel free to ask me questions. I'll answer them. :)

 

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