“Should the leader passes away unnaturally, her husband would be in charge until their youngest daughter is ready to take over the crown.”

Book of Dawn, 1110, K.J.

(9)

                  Jongin jumped over the graveyard gate, privately owned by the Yoon family. He was careful enough to escape the CCTV camera and security, so he didn’t face much trouble as he ran swiftly to the cemetery area, where the nobles were buried together with their families. These graves were classified into rankings, so the ones buried on the higher ground were the deceased leaders and their wives.

                  It was a few minutes pass midnight. The only sounds he heard were his own breathing and the owls sitting on the branches of trees. The moon was almost full tonight, but the clouds covered its light so the only source Jongin could rely on was his own eyes. It didn’t matter much because he was used to the darkness.

                  Jongin didn’t believe much in ghosts, but sometimes he swore he could feel another presences around him and heard soft whispers carried by the autumn wind. He shook his head ignorantly and convinced himself that the dead would not try to interfere with the living’s business, so he calmly walked on to the last row of the cemetery ground, right on the top of the hill, where the previous leader was buried.

Yoon Sang-hyun

1941 – 2015

Age: 74

975^th leader of Seiryuu

And his wife,

Yoon Eunhye

1954 – 1977

Age: 23

974^th leader of Seiryuu

                  It was Jongin’s first time visiting the cemetery because he never did care too much of the clan’s internal affair until Sena came. As he stared down at Sena’s Grandparents’ graves, he felt a tinge of bitterness rising onto his throat. Unconsciously, Jongin touched the scar on his hips and smiled coldly at the memory of the whipping punishment he received too many of a time.

                  “Psh, Old Man, even in your slumber, you won’t rest in peace,” Jongin chuckled and cursed as he threw his bag on the ground and started searching for tools. Before long, he was already digging the soil earnestly. His heart wouldn’t rest peacefully until he could confirm his suspicion. He only halted when a bronze coffin appeared fully on the sight.

                  “You’d better be dead, Grandfather,” He muttered and took a deep breath before he lifted up the cover with all his might. The coffin costed and weighed ton. Jongin spat out with so much hatred, “If not, I myself, will drag you down to hell. You can count on it.”

                  His heart grew cold as he saw the inside of the coffin. There was a body, preserved perfectly so that it wouldn’t rot no matter what. Jongin almost hit the corpse with his shovel had he not remind himself to calm down. Wiping the soil from his forehead, he carefully placed the cover down and continued to put the soil back over the coffin.

                  He collected any evidences of grave robbing that he used and ran away at the speed of lighting to his silver Bentley and raced away. Still dirty from sweat and hard work, he threw away the gloves to the back seat and fished out the phone in his pocket.

                  “Hello?” The feminine, soft voice sounded sleepy and tired. Jongin scoffed and put on the Bluetooth headset on his ear and spoke, “Yoon Sohee. Do you recognize my voice?”

                  She paused for a while and quickly rubbed her eyes, checking her phone twice just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. It wasn’t her first time being called by a private number and she certainly knew who the caller was, but she coughed and lied, “Who is this?”

                  “Cut the act, . I know who you are working for,” He wasn’t fazed at all. His voice was sharp enough to stab onto her heart, but she wasn’t any ordinary woman who would back down when she was told to, and Jongin knew it. “Were you the one who sent that dirty bastard to Sena?”

                  “Playing a knight in shining armor, aren’t we?” Sohee laughed loudly on the phone, “How sweet of you, Kim Jongin. Does she know, though?”

                  “So you were indeed, the one to send him to attack her,” Jongin took a deep breath and let it out. However, his heart was anything but calm. His mind was racing and words of curses were at the tip of his tongue. “What do you gain out of this? Money? Position? ?” He spat it out with disgust, “How low are you willing to go for this, Yoon Sohee?”

                  “Oh, are you betting on me?” Sohee cackled wildly and stopped only when she needed to breathe, “Relax, Jongin. That assault was just a reminder for you Elites that someone is after her. Though I do not understand why, out of all of you, you, Jongin, will be the first to step out for her. Aren’t you working for Elder Junjin?”

                  “And where does that concern you? You are nothing but a pawn, and a pitiful one, on top of that,” He clenched the stirring wheel so tightly that his fingers were hurting from it. “Sooner or later, you’ll be nothing but a corpse. And worse yet, no one will remember you. I wonder how your parents must have felt for you. After all, you are the reason they were killed during that fire accident fifteen years ago.”

                  “Don’t be so mean, Jongin,” Sohee sultrily whispered. “My parents are dead. They couldn’t say a word against me. You should be working with us against Yoon Sena, so that when she meets her end, you could have a better life beside me. Don’t you think that’s a good plan for the two of us?”

                  Jongin pictured him and Sohee, standing side-by-side, and it sent uncontrollable shiver down his spine. That would be the last thing he wanted, and frankly, he’d rather die than suffer such a thing. He had only ever vowed once in his life, and that was to Sena and no one else. No matter how low he was, he would never break a promise to her.

                  “That’s an interesting offer, Yoon Sohee,” Jongin chuckled sweetly, “But you are not so good of a negotiator, so I’ll pass.”

                  “Are you sure, Kim Jongin?” Now she sounded amused and interested, and when she did, it was never a good thing. “Are you betraying your uncle to play a fool for little-miss-perfect? Is Yoon Sena good enough for that?”

                  “Of course not,” He snorted lightly, “The plan still goes, just not with you. So meanwhile, you can play your goody-two-shoes act and see if anyone will still believe in that. I must warn you, though, not everyone will be fooled by your pretty demeanor and sweet nothing words.”

                  “How sweet, now you are worried about me,” She pouted over the phone. “You are one confusing man, Kim Jongin. And I like it. I like it so much I almost want to taste your blood.”                 

                  He frowned in disgust and said passively, “Touch Sena and I won’t hesitate to cut you off. Remember that.”       

                  He hanged up.

(10)

                  Kim Joonmyun and I met in a small, secluded café in an abandoned area of the city. No one had followed me here because I sneaked out very early in the morning to have a Saturday date with my fiancée. It was called a date, plus business transaction, because everything with Joonmyun was just give-and-take.

                  “We both have something to say. So you can go first,” I firmly nodded at him as I picked up the giant mug from the wooden table and drank half of the hot chocolate inside. Autumn weather in Seoul was quite chilly and I needed something to warm me up because my hands and toes were freezing and numb.

                  “Drop the courtesy, Yoon Sena, and start first,” He offered with a playful smirk tipping on the red lips on his fair face. We had the tendencies to call each other by full names – something we did only because we felt close and connected. At the same time, though, it became a reminder of our boundaries – he was a Kim and I was a Yoon, but now it mattered less than before.

                  “Alright,” I sighed and gave the half-empty mug for him to drink. Joonmyun, on the other hand, pushed the half-eaten plate for me to eat. It was another habit we shared. “It’s about Yoon Sohee. Does the name ring a bell to you?”

                  “Sohee? Of course I know. It’s hard to miss a face like hers. Pretty, same age as me, very gentle and demure,” Kim Joonmyun flashed me a grin. He had a near perfect memory, though not nearly as accurate as a photographic memory. “Isn’t she your cousin? Why are you asking me?”

                  “Well, she is somewhat connected to our Elders, and it’s very suspicious,” I explained, “She is a daughter of a noble from Seiryuu and Suzakku – a political marriage, of course – and she should have been the leader but well, here I am,” I flashed a lazy smile at him, “I have a bad feeling about this girl. Can’t you help me on her?”

                  “Yoon Sohee,” Kim Joonmyun repeated, all smiles had ceased as he tried to remember something. “If I remember correctly, this is the same girl your Grandfather mentioned several times to my parents. She was supposed to be sent into our clan as the next priest’ wife.”

                  I hanged onto his every word because Joonmyun never joked about something like this. Not when it concerned the well being of our clans or us. “If so, then what is she trying to do with the Elders? She’s already had enough power by being the Genbu’s wife!”

                  “Well, I don’t see any reason why she could have such power on the clan unless someone more powerful is aiding her from behind,” He was half-joking, half-serious, “Impossible as it sounds, the only person I can think of is your Grandfather, but he is already…” He trailed off and looked at me meaningfully.

                  “My grandfather is probably enjoying his life in the Underworld,” I spat out coldly and put down the fork as I had no more appetite to eat. “Anyway, she is an eyesore, and I don’t really like her coming every so often. I will probably ask someone to look into it, though your theory does make a bit of sense. I mean, why else would a lady with no power climb up the rank so fast without a strong backing?”

                  As I was rambling on about my dislike, Joonmyun had pulled out something from his blazer and it was a brilliantly designed invitation with a pastel pink elastic band. I watched him watched me and decided to rip it open for the sake of satisfying my curiosity. On it, written a clear date and place, as well as Korean Hangeul of a certain someone’s name. Kim. Min. Seok.

                  “Ah? They are inviting us to his coronation ceremony?” I hid a chuckle and stared at Joonmyun playfully. There was mirth in his eyes, for he, too, felt no resentment, but amusement for his gullible oldest brother and family. “I guess they really can’t wait to be rid of you, Darling. Is this invitation a way of showing off?”

                  “Most probably, yes,” Joonmyun bit back a smile and sipped the hot chocolate carefully. He wasn’t overly concerned about this coronation even though he still held some grudge on his family for it. “So? What do you think? Pretty fancy for a new leader, huh?”

                  Considering that Minseok was the most favored of the three, I would have expected something as lavish as this party. “Minseok is proud and Jongdae is rash. Are you sure you will be fine with this arrangement, Joonmyun? Genbu will face hard time from Byakko from now on, knowing that Byun Baekhyun is one hell of a psychopath.”

                  I narrowed my eyes, “Please don’t tell me your family also invites Baekhyun and Yifan.”

                  Joonmyun shrugged while I held back a shriek.

                  “For God’s sake, your parents are st…” I stopped before I could blurt out ‘stupid’ to his face. He didn’t seem to mind, and calmly sipped his drink. His eyes were holding my stares as he chuckled and shook his head, “Say whatever you want. I’m all ears.”

                  “Your parents are stupid,” I spat out viciously, “At least your father is. Inviting the thirteen-year-old Wu Yifan from the Suzakku clan is one thing, but inviting Byun Baekhyun is the same as giving him the opportunity to trap us all. What is he thinking?”

                  “Can’t deny my father is a proud old man,” Joonmyun chuckled and offered to finish the remaining of our chocolate muffin on the plate. “Come on, Sena. Let him live his life peacefully, at least for the last few days of his reign. Then when he sees the chaos he created, let him swallow the regret and guilt.” He said it without a hint of mercy. “That day will come very soon, Sweetheart. I promise.”  

                  Joonmyun didn’t receive much love from his father, but he was held in higher regards than his youngest brother. His eyes changed from cold to warm in a split second as he asked in a honey-coated voice, “So? Will you accompany me to the coronation ceremony next week?”

October 2016

                  “You are being really… unfair right now,” Chanyeol pouted like a big baby that I had to stand on my toe and reached out my hand to pat his shoulder. Only he and Kyungsoo drove to send us off to Singapore. “Even Tao and Xing got their breaks in Chongqing. Why do Kyungsoo and I have to stay in Seoul?”

                  “Because Kyungsoo is the best in digging out Yoon Sohee’s whereabouts and you are one of the Elites’ most well-rounded fighters. Don’t frown like that, Yeol, you know I would’ve brought you along if I could,” I sighed exasperatedly and glanced at Kyungsoo, “Soo, help me. Chanyeol won’t shut up and listen.”

                  “He is just worried because Kim Joonmyun is going with us,” Taeyong scowled and whispered in my ear. He leaned back and helped Luhan and Sehun loaded our luggages into the counter. “Where’s Jongin, by the way? Is he bailing out again?”

                  Knowing Jongin and his unpredictability, it was very much of a possibility. He didn’t really agree about the idea of going to Singapore with Luhan, Sehun, Taeyong and Joonmyun to attend the coronation ceremony of Kim Minseok. He expected a strong disapproval after knowing that both Byun Baekhyun of Byakko and Wu Yifan of Suzakku would be there, but this was a formal invitation we wouldn’t reject. Especially since I knew that this meant the world to Joonmyun.

                  “Is Jongin always like this?” Joonmyun sighed and shook his head. He wasn’t exactly fond of Jongin coming with us. “The boarding time is in ten minutes and we have to get to the waiting room in five.”

                  “Don’t worry, Jongin is… Oh, there he is!” I almost shouted in relief as I saw his figure from afar, dragging a small suitcase and a medium-sized backpack. As he approached us, he threw his car key to Kyungsoo and smirked at me, “What’s with that long face? Were you expecting me to miss the flight, Princess?”

                  “No, but you are bloody late, Kim-ing-Jongin,” I cursed. Inside, I felt a little bit of warmth spreading in a subtle, but comfortable notion. There was a small smile that came onto me when he turned around to put his luggage in the check-in counter that only Joonmyun noticed. He quirked his eyebrow at me and I shook my head, avoiding any more questions from him.