(11)

Things like fairytale didn’t exist in real life.

                  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Mr. Yoon,” Baekhyun smiled and stepped back a little as he swiftly avoided a punch from the elder in front of him. “It’s not my fault that the girl is a little insane on the head.”

                  The elder was in his mid-seventy. His skin too fair and pale, such that he looked rather sick with it. One of his eyes had changed color to grey, and it was only a matter of time before the other followed suit. The only indication of his age was the wrinkle under his eyes, which would not go away no matter how many glasses of blood he drank.

                  “I told you not to touch her,” Yoon Sang Hyun straightened his suit and growled. He was the same imposing man as he was when he ruled the Seiryuu clan, and for many, he was hell-on-earth, for his dictatorship had ruined countless of lives. “I saw the news, young man.” He threw the newspaper on the table, “You have attracted unnecessary attention to yourself.”

                  “Like you would care,” Baekhyun snorted and picked up his sandglass. “Newspaper reported it as a terrorist attack, but would they investigate my clan for it? No,” He grinned, “Because they need my company supply for weaponry and technology development.”

                  “I couldn’t careless about Kim Yong Ha from the Genbu clan, but Byun Baekhyun, we had an agreement regarding my granddaughter’s safety!” Sang Hyun intercepted. “Isn’t it enough to cause commotion with the other three clans? What would the Elders of Seiryuu think when they heard this!”

                  “Ah, the Elders,” Baekhyun chuckled in delight. He turned the sandglass over and watched as it fell quickly to the bottom. “I told you they should have died a long time ago. What Elders?” He scoffed, “They are just greedy bastard who would take bribe and flattery from anyone. That’s why I got rid of them months after I killed my father.”

                  “Not yet, Baekhyun, not yet,” Sang Hyun shook his head, “Without these pawns, I won’t be able to move around so easily. Besides, one of them recently told me that one of the spies I have planted on Sena’s side has started rebelling.”

                  “Which pathetic fool is it?” Baekhyun laughed out loud. Nothing pleased him more than the news of it. He remembered very vividly the men standing by Sena’s side.

                  “Kim Jongin,” Sang Hyun sighed. He still remembered him to be a young, innocent five year old who cried about his parent days and nights before it finally ceased. In his opinion, Jongin always carried a dark aura, much more than his other grandchild, Sehun, and it was one of the reasons he picked Jongin in the first place – to taint his innocence and torture his soul. “It seems that he’s forgotten his place and now dares to threaten Sohee and I.”

                  “Oh believe me, scars like that never do heal,” Baekhyun lightly commented as he pictured the slightly tanner man in his black suit. He was dashing with, or without a smile, with those charcoal eyes that could pierce through anyone’s soul. “So? What is he up to? Is he playing hero to our fragile little heroine?”

                  “Perhaps,” Sang Hyun grinned a wicked smile as his long grey hair fell onto his shoulder length. He and Baekhyun were scarily alike that it would not be reaching to say that the pair made a very convincing play of a family. “Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun, it’s funny to see which one would get to me first.”

                  “They know about you?” Baekhyun raised his eyebrows.

                  “That’s what Jaehyun and Sohee told me, but it’s not a surprise, really. They should be intelligent enough to figure out after the first attack, but that dumb granddaughter of mine sent them to do something else instead,” Sang Hyun rambled on about his dislike, “Her Elites are no different. What a joke –!”               

                  “One minute you sound so loving towards Sena and the next you are throwing out insults to her,” The younger man’s eyes lit up with excitement. It was always interesting to bail out Yoon Sang Hyun’s emotion because he rarely did so. Lately, impatience had ruined his composure – such that he’d no longer care that he rushed out his attacks to the clan.

                  “Of course I love her for her blood. Why else would I feed and raise her for eighteen years?” Sang Hyun scowled. “First her grandmother, then her mother, and finally her. Neither one of the former could fix this old, wrinkly body, but Sena’s pure blood will surely give me strength and immortality.”

                  “Too bad she has Kim Joonmyun on her side now.”

                  “What can the failed contender of the Genbu clan do to us?” Sang Hyun rolled his eyes and sat down on the brown leather sofa. His manner was imposing, his posture straight and regal. “Kim Joonmyun is no better than Jongin and Sehun.”

                  “I don’t know much about your grandchildren and their affair. My clan has nothing against Seiryuu for centuries, but Genbu’s sons – those cursed tortoise children,” Baekhyun gritted his teeth as he spoke, “Minseok might be named leader – for now. But I wouldn’t underestimate Kim Joonmyun if I were you. That boy has troubled me for the past ten years since our rivalries started and the result has always been a draw.”

                  “Then it is time to put a conclusion to your fights, no?” He was right, but with an opponent as strong as Joonmyun, it wasn’t possible. If Baekhyun was a child prodigy, then Joonmyun was a rare talent. They both carried different weights in their clan. “Find a way to get rid of Sena’s Elites first, then I will find a way to get through her. After all, what would six Elites stand for in the face of twenty-four Shadow fighters?”

                  Shadow fighters – genetically-enhanced human with no feelings nor thoughts. They existed solely to serve Byun Baekhyun and his empire. If Sena had the Elites to fight for her, then Baekhyun had the Shadow fighters. He wasn’t fond of using them since the bloodshed was often hard to clean, but he had no other choice in facing formidable opponents like Kim Joonmyun and Yoon Sena.

                  “You are right. It’s better to end this fast. I will tell them to get ready soon.”

(12)

                  “What’s with the sleeping pretense?” Sehun snorted as he mercilessly pulled the curtain apart. It wasn’t sunlight that greeted him, but a breeze of cold October wind and a pale grey sky. His dark eyes reflected the current mood – gloomy and unpredictable. It might rain anytime soon.

                  “How do you know I was awake?” Jongin moved a bit and winced when the wound bit him. His recovery process had been miraculous and fast, but it was only because of his bloodline that he was able to do so. “For s’ sake, Oh Sehun, close the door before you freeze the room.”

                  “It isn’t that hard to tell,” Having known Jongin his entire life, Sehun was able to read him very clearly. “Except that our Princess doesn’t know, and she’s been a walking zombie ever since. Your incident really scarred her, you know?”

                  “Says the man who scolded her for being so apathetic,” Jongin rolled his eyes and leaned onto the bedhead comfortably. He wasn’t supposed to eat anything solid yet, but Sehun brought a plate full of roasted chicken and Jongin couldn’t resist a bite from it. He still felt pain everytime he chewed.

                  “It was a… slip of a mouth,” Sehun sighed and went on to lock the door. He sat on the seat beside Jongin’s bed. “Nothing to be proud of. She cried and escaped.”

                  Jongin scoffed and held onto his ribcage area where the wound was still fresh and hurting, “You are Oh Sehun, the perfect one. When have you ever had a slip of a mouth? All your life, you’ve lived a careful, peaceful life in a guarded, pretentious stance for that Elder of yours. Your words are intentional, Sehun, don’t try to deny it.”

                  Guarded? Pretentious? Sehun laughed out loud and shook his head, “No one knows me better than you do, Kim Jongin. They might be intentional, but I never expected her reaction. Sena looked so betrayed, I’d never seen anyone cry so hard – perhaps only once, when she got lost in the coronation ceremony somewhere in the second floor of Jaehyun’s mansion.”

                  “Well, that girl’s gotta learn to adapt to this side of yours,” Jongin ignorantly remarked. He cautiously avoided the fact that he was probably the one who caused her to cry so hard that night. He looked at Sehun, and he too, was staring in return.

                  Somewhere, they both thought simultaneously, in between the hate and love they had with the clan and their responsibilities, they developed protective instinct towards the younger girl, sometimes feeling pity, until it affectionately turned into something more. Sehun was the first to break out of his thoughts and chuckled.

                  “You know,” Jongin simply stated.

                  “I know Grandfather is well and alive, Jongin,” Sehun didn’t waver. His eyes were clear as the still water. Like Jongin, Sehun had nothing to fear anymore and in that conviction, he found peace. “Elder Jaehyun wasn’t good enough in hiding that secret from me and my mother. His study room is full of letters from Grandfather and I’d only discover that he trusts Jaehyun the least because he never reveals any plan to him.”

                  “Guess that’s where Sena got her personality from. Living with that monster for years can be traumatizing,” Jongin bit his thick lips and looked at his own hands.

                  “And you still hate her for it?” Sehun questioned. He saw how Jongin’s eyes twitched in response, and how he stilled when he asked. It wasn’t much, but it was still a reaction. “Still bitter over your parents’ death?”

                  Jongin clenched and unclenched his fists. How could he not be? His parents’ death was not accidental – it was staged. Unlike Sehun who lost his father at an early age and moved away with his mother to Elder Jaehyun’s house, Jongin was living in a perfect little family until his parents were killed. He swore vengeance to his Grandfather and any of his direct descendants. Until Sena.

                  “Jongin, you’ve changed,” Sehun smiled radiantly. He knew better than to believe such a beautiful smile because underneath it was thorns and poison. Oh Sehun wasn’t the person he appeared to be. Jongin wasn’t the only product ruined by the clan; Sehun had his own fair share of suffering as well.

                  “You’d better stop if you’re gonna start lecturing me about love.”

                  “She’s changed us, whether or not we realize her impact upon us. Tao, Yixing, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, Taeyong, Luhan, you and me, we are all damaged goods, but it’s inevitable to fall for her, isn’t it?” Sehun’s expression now changed to one of melancholy, “How do you fall for someone who won’t trust you? Isn’t it funny?”

                  “I’m not in love with Sena,” Jongin stubbornly insisted with a finality tone. His face was solid and firm, but underneath it all, was a crumbling mess of doubt and struggles of self-identity. Jongin could never differentiate between what was real and what was surreal. He could never reaffirm himself whether it was an illusion or reality.

                  He touched the wound on his ribcage and right arm. Kim Jongin had only ever vowed once in his life. He still wasn’t sure whether it was love or delusion he was feeling, but he would protect Yoon Sena at whatever cost it would take.   

                  It was a promise.    

P.S: My favorite part to write (and to read from the comments) is when you guys start playing the who-to-trust game. Because sometimes I wonder whether I can trust my own character, too. So keep on guessing, who knows maybe you'll be able to predict the storyline. But I must warn you. I am a cruel author. I don't like fluff. I write angst and lots of em. So be prepared.