Chapter 23

Day 2, Afternoon

*

From the other end of the room, BTS watched you and your brothers with their cold unchanging expressions. Rapmonster, Jin and Suga took their leave and the rest eventually followed. V took one lingering stare in your direction before following his group. Just as V was about to reach his room he was yanked into the supply closet right next to him. 

"What the !" He begins. He spun around to face none other than Wonwoo.

"Oh, it's just you. Wassup ?" He sighed in relief.

"That's what I want to ask you. I saw you and your group "heroicly" save those two from the Vampires earlier. What do you want ?" Wonwoo snarled with detest.

"Who knows ? But I'll give you a bit of advice, don't get so attached, you might get hurt again." V laughed with mockery dripping from his tone. Patting Wonwoo's shoulder he turned to take his leave from the cramped space they were both sharing. 

"A bit too late for that sort of advice." Wonwoo called after him as V closed the door leaving Wonwoo alone in the darkness.

Downstairs Sehun wrapped his coat tighter around him as he shook from the sudden chill that went up his spine.

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"Don't get so attached, you might get hurt again."

V's voice rang inside Wonwoo's head. If it was just any girl he would be able to do it easily without hesitation, but you, you were different.

Wonwoo chuckled remembering the times both of you had played together in the headquarters. The headquarters he had trapped you in. You grew up so much that sometimes he wonder if you were actually the same person. But then, whenever you laughed, he would look into your eyes which glowed wand your cheery voice which he knew so well, it was still You. Even if you didn't remember him. 

Wonwoo felt a stirring feeling inside of him, the strange nervousness, unfamiliar palpitating heartbeat, whenever he was near  you, when he tucks your hair gently behind your ears. But it was impossible for his friendship with you to go any further. If you were to ever remember what he did to you. One wrong move, and looking at your face would even become something next to impossible. The most he could do was to stay at your side and protect you.

Wonwoo fell onto his bed defeated, how could he just let go ?  He sighed as he recalled the moment that bonded him to you forever. 

*

The night his birthday was off to a terrible start, the sky had barely darkened and Wonwoo already found himself with a load of regrets. He regretted getting into a fight with Seungcheol. He regretted turning down Jun’s offer to go with him when he left for the convenience store down several blocks to cool off. He regretted not bringing his knife with him.

He had rushed out of the Head Quarters straight into the rain, in a fit of anger and frustration. Why ? Why did had he chosen choose to become a Vampire ? It had sounded so right but now it felt so wrong. He even dragged his 12 brothers into it with him too. There was no turning back anymore, he couldn't return back to his life as an Arch and neither could his friends. Everything was wrong and it was all his fault. He took a detour into the alley to give himself more time to think about what happened. He knew he should’ve just apologized when he bumped into the three guys loitering underneath the lamplight. Still consumed with the anger, he picked a fight. He wanted to get all the frustration out. He wished he hadn’t.

His body was slumped to the ground, he had given up calling for help a long time ago. After all, who would still be around at 2 in the morning, walking through a dark alley ? Nobody was going to hear him, even if somebody did why would they help him. He was nothing but a lowly Vampire now. The cold was cutting through his body and at the same time, it felt like flames were the several stab wounds around his abdomen every time he tried to breathe. The numbing feeling that started from his fingertips was spreading to around his whole body. Wonwoo was fighting the urge to close his eyes, staring fixedly at the dark night sky holding on to every sliver of hope he could find.

However, he was starting to lose the ability to even hope anymore. 

He was starting to come to terms with his impending death.

He swore he only blinked once. Instead of seeing raindrops pelting down on him from a starless sky, he was gazing at an extremely beautiful face. He took a sharp breath, and that was another mistake he made that night. Wonwoo coughed loudly, waves of pain hitting his side again.

“You lost a lot of blood.” The girl said. Her voice was soothing; not too high and not too low. Despite that, Wonwoo wanted to know why she wasn’t dialling for the cops, and why she looked so calm seeing a half dying person on the ground. She was young, maybe four years younger than him ? That would make her around 6 or 7, how could a kid be so calm to the sight of blood. 

The girl took a deep breath before opening her eyes. She looked him square in the eyes and said in a grave voice, “You won’t survive. Even if I get the ambulance. It’s too late”

Wonwoo had already knew of this fact however, hearing it still crushed him. He thought about how the boys were going to take it when he makes the news headline the next morning. He thought about never seeing them again. He thought about the last thing he had said to Seungcheol, one of his closest friends and whom he considered a brother; the last thing he had said to him was “I hate you”.

A tear fell out of the corner of his eye, and he didn’t have the strength to lift his arm to wipe it away.

“You want to live.” She said, almost as though she was hearing his thoughts, and Wonwoo remembered that he wasn’t alone in the alley.

She stopped leaning against the dirty brick wall and crouched beside him, the faint scent of Roses entering his nostrils.

“I can give you another life,” she told him. “Do you want it?”

Wonwoo looked at her with alarm. How could she possibly offer him a chance to live when it was she who told him that he would surely die? But the only thing he could focus on was the word “life”. And he felt a wave delight surge through his body, as well as desperation. He wanted to live.

Opening his dry cracked lips, Wonwoo tried to respond, but no sound came out. He turned his head to face her, seeing his vision begin to worsen. Wonwoo weakly nodded his head. The girl lifted her pale, petite hand and gently touched his.Her fingertips felt warm and it was as if she was slowly burning his icy skin. Wonwoo froze up and watched as her hands wrapped around his.

“You can’t live the same way you did before. You will have to learn to live by laws and not as a... vampire. You will have to witness and experience a lot of pain. Are you sure you want it?” The girl asked.

Wonwoo ignored the pity in her voice, as well as her warnings as he nodded his head again. Anything, he’d do anything to live. He gently tapped her hand and chuckled slightly.

"Your fingertips..." Wonwoo said with a smile. "Their warm."

The girl smiled.

Wonwoo didn't question how she knew his name and nodded. The girl leaned closer to him and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Wonwoo looked at her with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening. 

"Close your eyes.” She urged softly. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind; his gut was telling him not to trust this stranger, especially not since her idea of saving him only consisted of a simple kiss, but he was desperate. He shut his eyes tightly unsure of what was about to happen.

Wonwoo's head hit the wall behind him as a burning sensation started to spread throughout his body starting from his forehead. He felt everything within him twist and turn rejecting the foreign power that was taking over his body. Wonwoo’s pupils were shaking, fear once again lodged in his throat. The girl then gently placed her hands on his chest. The pain begin to discharge out of his body into her small hands. He watched as the girls pupils violently shake as it turned red. She closed her eyes and shook her head a few times, when her eyes opened again he saw her pupils slowly fade back from red to brown. 

The girl placed both of her hands on his cheeks and looked straight into his eyes.

“I know you’re scared, but I also know how much you want to live. Just trust me.” She said firmly. Her voice strangely eased Wonwoo’s worries and somehow, he wanted to trust her. He took several shaky breaths before nodding at her.

“You’ll be okay. You'll live again... as an angel.” She reassured him. 

And she snapped his neck.

*