Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Boy, the Tree, and the Children

“BamBam?” Julie’s small, confused voice slipped out as she stared with wide eyes at the skinny boy with scraggly hair and dirty skin with bones showing through. His own eyes widened as both the guard and him jumped from shock, turning to look at where Julie was still hidden. The guard pulled out a second gun and pointed it at Julie, glaring hard.

“Who is there?” He demanded. Julie jumped from fright and moved away from the gun’s aim, noticing he still couldn’t see her. Glancing at BamBam, she caught his eyes. He stared at her as if he could see her, but Julie stared back, confused. How could he see me? Jae Bum said only his children and…oh.

Slowly and carefully, Julie walked around the guard, keeping her eyes on BamBam until she was next to him, staring at his handsome yet dirty face. She wrapped her hand around his own, staring into his eyes with a small smile. He stared at her, confused, and opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head, frowning at the guard. Slowly, she covered BamBam with her invisibility power, pushing him in front of her as they quickly and silently walked to the door.

“I ask again: who are you?” The guard growled out, angered and shooting off a bullet as a warning – though Julie suspected he had hoped to hit her. Feeling angered, she pushed BamBam out of the jail cell, quickly following after him, and closed the door, locking all of the locks on the door. He jumped and turned to the closed door, realizing BamBam was nowhere near him. “Yah! Let me out of here!” Julie turned off her invisibility and watched the man jump in fright at her sudden appearance. “Who are you, ? Let me out!” She glared down at him.

“Looks like you are rather easy to dispose of, isn’t he, BamBam?” Julie asked with a smirk, turning to the small boy. He let out a lifeless chuckle, nodding as he glared at him like her before turning to look at her.

“Who are you, though? How come he couldn’t see you but I could?” He asked, confused. She pursed her lips and pulled him down the hallway, away from the guard’s prying ears.

“I am a friend of Mark, Jackson, Youngjae, and Junior.” His eyes widened and tears formed as he grabbed her shoulders, staring into her eyes.

“They are okay, right? They didn’t fall for Lee Soo Man’s traps like me? They are safe?” He bombarded her. She frowned.

“There isn’t much time. All I can tell you is that they helped Soo Man steal my children, and I am here to steal them back. I don’t know why they did it, but they were with me for a long time. I watched them turn from jerks to grieving brothers; from friends and uncles to backstabbers and puppets.” She stopped, watching as his face fell as he looked down.

“Then why are you here?” He asked harshly, disappointed in his friends and feeling guilty for speaking so harshly. He stared at her apologetically, dropping his hands from her shoulders. “I-I am sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so rude.” She shook her head, giving him a small smile.

“I know.” She looked down at the hallway door, listening to the yells from the guard in the cell and screams of help from the other inmates. “I saved you because they saved me. The least I could do to repay them was save the friend they thought was dead. They were brothers to me and uncles to my children – and it was real. I know with all of my heart that they do not deserve whatever is happening to them, and neither do you. So. Let’s get out of here before the other guards come looking.” She pulled him down the hallway, turning them invisible when they reached the door.

“W-Wait,” a soft, scared voice pleaded. They paused, confused at the gentle female voice that was different from the gruff and harsh screams of the other inmates. They turned to the back of the hallway where the single door stood, highly sealed except for a little slit for the guards to look in. “P-Please help me. M-My b-brother m-must be s-so w-worried f-for me.” Julie cocked her head, confused at the voice that sounded like a little girl but seemed to be older.

“Who’s there?” BamBam asked, standing in front of Julie protectively. The gentle voice let out a sob and harsh crying reached their ears.

“Hyoyeon. I-I’m the Tree of Death,” she sobbed out before the sound of chains moving reached their ears and she spoke louder in a hopeful tone. “But I won’t hurt you! I swear it! Please, help me before they come back! My brother – the Tree of Life – can grant you anything you want if you set me free! He will be very grateful and I will be, too. Please.” Her voice went from hopeful to desperate as she sniffled and sobbed. “P-Please help m-me. Please.” Her voice choked and she cried harder. Julie felt her body tense at the knowledge of who it was and felt wary of helping her.

From what she knew, the Tree of Death could very well be a killer. Even if Julie set her free, she could be killed on the spot and never see her children again. But then her thoughts reminded her of Jae Bum’s words. She was in love with a human and had a child. Surely, she must have some feelings and would feel grateful. And seeing as she was locked up tightly in a jail cell and the names they called her, she must hate them as much as Julie was hating them right now. Julie took a step forward towards the door, but BamBam put a hand on her shoulder, turning her around to give her a stern and wary look.

“The Tree of Death is not to be trusted. If you unlock the chains that bind her, no one knows what she can do,” he warned. She frowned but nodded anyway and continued to walk towards the cell, stopping in front of it as the clinking of chains and sobbing grew louder.

Julie looked through the slot to see a pale skinned body hunched over as she shook violently with sobs. Her long blonde hair seemed dirty with black and brown streaks in it due to the dirt and grime on the cell’s cement and dirt floor. The black chains clinked as they locked around each of her ankles and wrists. Her long black dress covered in rips, holes, and mud pooled out next to her as she cried loudly. Julie frowned, feeling bad for the poor girl. Hesitantly and wary, she reached down and undid the locks on the door, noticing a giant ring of keys next to it, BamBam showing up behind her. Hyoyeon’s head snapped up and stared at the door, locking eyes with Julie as Julie noticed that the girl’s face and arms were covered in bruises and cuts, showing how much they tortured her. She pulled the door open and the girl stared at Julie with wide eyes, shocked that she would actually unlock the door and begin to set her free. Julie walked in as BamBam stayed at the doorway, watching the Tree of Death carefully. Taking cautious steps forward, Julie sat down in front of the powerful yet weak tree in human form.

“Your brother sent me here,” Julie started off, watching as the girl’s eyes went wide – anger and shock before happiness shining in them. She reached forward and grabbed onto Julie’s hand, giving her pleading eyes.

“H-He sent you to rescue me?” She asked, shocked but happy as tears welled in her eyes. Julie carefully moved her wrist out of the girl’s grasp and kept a stoic face.

“I am not setting you free until you understand something.” Her head cocked to the side as she stared at Julie with a wary look. “Your brother told me his story. You two had a tough past, I get that, so you need to realize that your brother never sent me here to save you.” The hope in her eyes seemed to deflate as she leaned back, glaring at the floor as tears welled in her eyes. “Your brother loves you very much. But he is very angry. You believed that he killed your husband and child, but you never took into account the people here.” Hyoyeon looked up at Julie with wide eyes, shocked at what the girl was telling her. Julie pressed gently on the bruise on the girl’s wrist. She hissed and pulled her hand back, glaring at Julie. “That hurt, didn’t it? Did your brother do that? Did he cause all of these bruises and cuts on you? Did he make you weak and vulnerable?”

If Hyoyeon couldn’t tell, Julie was angry at her. Julie was angry at Hyoyeon for one reason: she blamed all of the deaths of her loved ones on Jae Bum, her family, and that wasn’t right. Julie wanted to get that through her thick skull, even if that meant she could never see hers again. Hyoyeon turned her face stoic as she realized where this was going, but Julie kept her rant going.

“Your brother cared enough for you to make your husband immortal and grant the life of your child without being asked. And you repay him by killing his children – innocents he cared about – all because you think he killed yours? That makes you the tiest sister in history.” Hyoyeon flinched. “For years, he believed you were siding with the people whom killed your husband and children – albeit, he created some of the people – and have been creating children to kill your own.” Hyoyeon’s breath caught in , but Julie kept going. “He decided to create biological children – just like your first half-human child – and succeeded. Well, until one of your own newborn children killed the mother and Lee Soo Man swept in and gathered the twelve boys, taking them away to be given to other people.” Hyoyeon’s eyes grew wide.

“I haven’t-,” she began, but Julie raised a hand, shutting her up with a glare.

“Let me finish,” she growled out, tears of anger entering her eyes. Hyoyeon silenced, taken aback at the confidence and feistiness the girl carried. “My grandmother and grandfather were two of the people those children were sent to. When they decided they weren’t able to care for the first two, they brought them back and Lee Soo Man…,” she trailed off, tears falling down her face before she took a deep breath and continued, “killed my grandfather and then my grandmother. They were the strongest, kindest, and best grandparents a girl could ever ask for and I was told they were killed by – imagine this: a tree. A stupid tree that was called the Tree of Life.” Hyoyeon’s eyes widened and she shook her head, frowning. Julie let out a humorless chuckle. “And the cherry on top of the whole load of pure and utter bull? I have to be the mother of twelve toddlers that were the biological children of the thing that killed my family. But do you think I blamed everything on him and killed the children he brought into the world?” Julie raised an eyebrow, challenging the silent female. “No, I didn’t. I cared for those children because they were innocent. They knew nothing of what their father may or may not had done. All they were worried about was their bath time and food.

“And then a group of five boys walk into my life and become my brothers. They helped me take care of my newly found sons and protected me from the darkness the ‘Tree of Life’ would supposedly bring. I helped them get into college, and in return, they protected my sons and myself. They cared enough for me that they were with me when the Tree of Life practically impregnated me, so you can probably imagine my shock and hurt when I found out that they were only my friends because they needed the money. The job my sons and I became was different than the one I was told.

“When I gave birth, they kidnapped my twelve sons and brought them back here. My seven sons I gave birth to were, thankfully, taken away with me before the five came to kill me and take them, too. And what do I do? I decided that even though they betrayed me and put my children in harm’s way, I will save their friend they thought died from the cell next to yours – if you heard what just happened. Do I plan on killed them? No. I plan on grabbing my kids and leaving to live with Jae Bum.” Hyoyeon’s eyes widen in shock at the name that slipped past the woman’s lips, but stayed silent as Julie stared down at her. “And so, I ask you again: do those bruises hurt? Who caused them? Your brother? Or the people that have kept you locked up for years, using your power to their advantage?” Hyoyeon looked down.

“Th-They hurt me. Not my brother.” She looked back up at Julie. “I realize that, now. I promise I will never hurt an innocent child of my brother again unless they were fated to die on the exact day at the exact time. Please. I’m sorry for what I had done.” Julie stared at her a little longer before nodding and unlocking the chains around her wrists and ankles.

“I can keep us invisible, so we need to leave before our ride out leaves.” Hyoyeon nodded and wrapped her arm around Julie’s shoulder. Julie turned to the saddened BamBam. “Lead us to the main entrance. And whatever you do, say nothing.” Both nodded and they walked quickly and quietly to the end of the hallway, opening the door and rushing down the lavish hallway. Suddenly, two guards walked towards the dungeon’s door, laughing at whatever they spoke about. When they were out of earshot, Julie cursed and urged the two to walk faster, quickly ending up at the main entrance (the rendezvous point).

“What do you mean you cannot find her?” Lee Soo Man’s angry voice flittered to the trio as they turned a corner, looking at where the voice came from. They all froze and watched the scene before them: the five boys Julie felt were brothers stared straight into the gold plated wall in front of them as Lee Soo Man paced back and forth in front of them, red faced with anger. “I wanted her dead and the new children. Was that not clear? I guess my advisors were right: you five are worthless pieces of trash. If all of the Tree of Death’s true children weren’t either dead or captured, I would have used them, seeing as the Tree of Life’s children are too sentimental to their half-brothers and useless.” He slapped the boys one-by-one, angering the trio. BamBam tried to rush and take him on, but Julie grabbed him, forcing him to not go and blow their cover. He glared at her, angry, but then three guards rushed past them – the two from before and the one sent to kill BamBam all there and panting, fearful and angry.

“S-Sir!” The one sent to kill BamBam cried out, stuttering in fear. Lee Soo Man growled, angry and annoyed.

“What?”

Julie! Julie heard a voice in her mind, making her jump, turning to her right to see the hallway in front of her. She watched as the three ladies held onto the visible children, looking anxious to leave. She pulled the Tree of Death quickly to the corridor, hiding behind the walls when the boys saw her and opened their mouths, tears rolling down their faces. She put a finger to her lips to make them be quiet, but they were babies: they didn’t understand. Their loud cries filled the hallway, making the guards and others straighten and grow quiet.

Teleport them out! Julie practically screamed at the three in her mind. Jill frowned.

What about you? She cried out, seeing strange people around Julie. She shook her head, begging Jill and the other two with her eyes.

“Who’s there?” The guards yelled, rounding the corner with their guns aimed at Julie’s visible children. Not understanding, they cried out, scared, but soon disappeared in black smoke. Lee Soo Man immediately appeared beside them, angry as he took the gun from one of the guards.

“How could you let them escape? You useless idiots!” He screamed at the top of his lungs. The guards shrunk away in fear, but they didn’t get far as he raised his gun and shot all three in the head, one after the other. Their dead bodies fell to the floor and he turned to the five boys now standing behind him with wide eyes. When Julie looked up at them, she caught eyes with Mark and watched him flinch, looking down in shame with the rest of the boys. Lee Soo Man raised his gun and pointed it at them, gritting his teeth. “When you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Julie let go of her invisibility and appeared in front of mortal eyes.

“Lee Soo Man.” He flipped around, eyes wide with shock. He quickly placed a fake smile on his sweaty, red face, but Julie didn’t believe it.

“Ah, my wolf shield. What brings you here at this time?” He asked, forcing out a gentle voice. She shrugged the still hidden Tree of Death off of her and stepped forward.

“You didn’t see it? I’m re-kidnapping my children. You know, the ones that you had them kidnap before sending them to kill me and kidnap my other ones.” His eyes widened at the revelation and he opened his mouth, trying to smooth it over, but she didn’t let him. “Oh, by the way, how does it feel to know that you lost your most powerful weapon?” She gave him a sarcastic smile.

“What?” He asked, confused. She made an innocent look.

“Oh? They didn’t tell you before you shot them in the head?” She made a tsk noise and shook her head. “Well, if you must know, I overheard someone talking about a scrawny boy in the dungeon. Apparently, he needed to be disposed of, so I figured you wouldn’t mind if I took him home with me, seeing as you didn’t need him anymore.” His smile faltered and he pursed his lips. “I mean, hypothetically, he is my son since I gave birth to his half-brothers, but doesn’t make much of a difference to me. BamBam, say hi to your other brothers that thought you were dead.” She made him reappear in front of the others as they snapped their heads up, eyes wide and faces pale as Lee Soo Man practically cursed Julie and BamBam out in his head. “Now, isn’t he just cute?” She patted his hair down, smirking when he moved away in annoyance to her messing with his hair. She turned back to the man. “But, he wasn’t the only one I decided to take home with me. I mean, why not take my sister-in-law with me?” Julie made her reappear as well and Lee Soo Man backed up into the five boys, fear on his face, and the boys grabbed onto him, holding him in place for the trio. “Now, it must to be the odd one out, doesn’t it?” She smirked smugly and watched as Jill reappeared in a puff of black smoke, looking as if she was dizzy.

“Whew. What’d I miss?” She asked, wiping the fake sweat off of her forehead before smirking happily. Taking in the scene, she walked towards the scrawny boy gawking at the happy girl walking towards him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. “Ooh, I missed all the good stuff!” She pouted before an evil look appeared in her eyes. “Do we get to kill him, now?” Lee Soo Man’s eyes grew wide before narrowing.

“You cannot kill me!” He cried out, angry as he struggled against the strong hold of the five boys behind him. Julie frowned, agreeing, but Jill and the others disagreed.

“I think I’ll kill him,” Hyoyeon muttered, glaring at the man angrily. Julie looked at her and realized she was fully healed, now, and glaring at the man that locked her up. “He killed off all of my children and my husband. He deserves it.” His eyes raced back and forth, fearful.

“J-Julie, you c-can’t do this t-to me!” He cried out desperately. “I gave y-you your s-sons! You would be n-nothing without me!” Julie frowned.

“No one’s ever ‘nothing,’ Lee Soo Man,” she muttered, turning away from the man and grabbing onto Jill’s hand. “You’re the one who just got -slapped by karma. Have fun rotting in Hell.” In a split-second, Jill teleported her back to the house where the others were before disappearing another split-second later to grab the others.

“Julie!” Jae Bum practically yelled as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, legs collapsing from underneath her as she stared into his eyes. He put an arm underneath her legs and hoisted her up into his arms, pressing a hard kiss to her lips, showing her his fear and happiness aimed at her. He placed her on the couch so they could sit together and watch the children rolling around on the ground as they played with their new baby brothers.

“Omoni!” Xiumin screamed when he saw her, waddling to her in his cute sumo-wrestler way, falling into her arms as he cried. Julie felt the relieved tears run down her face as she held him close, relishing in the love. The other eleven heard and rushed to their mother, too, wiping their teary faces and snotty noses on her clothes as she sat on the floor.

“Omoni missed all of you so much!” Julie cried out, setting Xiumin down to pick up and hug the others. When they had calmed down, Julie realized the others were still not back. She turned to a happy and proud looking Jae Bum. “Where are the others? Jill and the other boys?” The two ladies on the other couch looked at each other, but were content as Jae Bum smiled softly at Julie.

“They’ll be here, soon. I told Jill to call the police and get everyone there either arrested or killed.” She frowned, but nodded, picking up Suk Jin as the other newborns lied on the floor.

After what felt like years, Jill’s black smoke appeared and the six smiling boys appeared with Jill. Jae Bum stood up.

“My sons,” he murmured, grabbing onto each and every one of them, hugging them as hard as he could. Julie could tell they were uncomfortable with having a father that was the same age as them, but they hugged him back happily. He gave Jill a friendly hug and finally saw the small figure behind her. “S-Sister?” He choked up as he stared at his beautiful sister. She looked up, twiddling her thumbs.

“B-Brother, I’m…I’m sorry. I went to them because I thought you killed my family, but I was wrong. They…They locked me up and killed off all of my children, using magical chains to steal my power and use it as their own. I don’t know how they made more children of mine, but if they did and the children harmed yours, I am sorry. I did not realize how terrible they were – are.” She looked up at him, tears running down her face. “Please-,” she was cut off by getting wrapped in his arms.

“It’s okay. I’m just so happy you are safe,” he murmured into her hair. She hugged him back, but pulled back to look into his eyes.

“We killed Lee Soo Man, but…,” she looked at the children rolling around happily on the ground. “There are others that will travel to great lengths to kill us all. The Angels, Demons, and hunters have grown to be numerous. We need all of the help and strength we can get to stop them before they kill another one of us.”