“If one day I disappear, what would you do?”

“You won’t. I will never let you go.”

Kim Jongin, 2015

(22)

                  Kim Jongin sipped his glass of wine slowly as he lied his head back on the couch. He could hear the sound of guns ringing outside of the door, but he did not care. He savored his time slowly while others were racing to save themselves from the sudden attack of Byun Baekhyun. The calmer he was, the more unsettling it became. He hummed a tune familiar only to himself. He did not call upon this wrath, but that did not mean that he had never expected it.

                  Jongin observed the reflection on the mirror, admiring it for a little while as his brain worked quicker for a solution. So shall be it. Bloods would be shed. He had came to this point of no return. Byun Baekhyun had his own way of doing things, and so did Jongin. He ed his white shirt and threw it somewhere and changed to a black V-neck that fit his body perfectly. The sound of his knuckles cracking were loud in the air, for the noise outside had turned to silence, signaling a new phase of event.

                  Before long, someone knocked on his door impatiently. Jongin counted to ten with a victorious smirk on his face and calmly greeted the door with a prepared mentality. He had long waited for this day to come. That man was sitting upright on a wheelchair with his smooth black suit. His complexion appeared a little paler than it used to be, but his features had hardened over time. This man almost reached eighty and yet he did not look a day older than forty.

                  “Old Man, you’ve finally appeared.”

                  Sang Hyun observed the grown up teenager who never once bowed down unless he was whipped until his back could not stand straight anymore. He hummed in approval and went inside the clean white room. The others might be fighting outside with gunshots ringing and blades clashing, but that was none of his concern at the moment. Let them fight and he would watch, for nothing makes him happier than seeing people killed each other off.

                  “Still the disrespectful brat, I see. You have not changed a bit, Child,” The elder lightly scolded. Yoon Sohee smiled politely at Jongin and followed her grandfather’s steps, pushing him carefully so that they were face to face. “I reckon that you have heard all the noises in the deck, have you not? Else you would be stepping out to protect Sena in a rush, just like the guard dog I trained you to be; so perfect and lethal and inhumane.”

                  Jongin did not even flinch anymore. His words did not affect him as much as they used to. Calmly, Jongin sat down at the couch and stared defiantly at the elder. They might not be directly related, but Jongin bore a little resemblance to Sang Hyun, more than Sena ever did. Their eyes were equally sharp and smoky; intense and intimidating. Jongin quietly calculated every movement in his mind so that he would not miss a single detail for tonight’s event. It would not be hard, he reminded reassuringly – he just had to do this once.    

                  “Are you ready to face them, Jongin? Ready to bring her back to me?” Sang Hyun grinned murderously. The glint in his eyes never did look good. Those orbs were long dead and so was his humanity. The elder could feel a delightful thumping of his heart in a rhythmical beat, reminding him of the pleasure he would take upon tonight and the prize he set on since the very beginning. He had waited fifty more years for this day to come and he would not waste another second for it.

                  “Of course. If only you would give me the pleasure to deliver the final blow,” Jongin clenched his fist with a sadistic smile. His tone was indifferent, and it reminded Sohee of their last conversation which was still deeply engraved on the back of her petty little mind. “But I must ask you this before I step out of this room, Old Man, else I would not rest in peace for tonight: why do you want to bring Sena back with you? Isn’t she better dead than alive?”

                  “You’re wrong. Sena is better alive than dead,” Sang Hyun entangled his hands together in a knot and looked at his legs. Two months ago, he was fine, standing upright with his legs walking perfectly fine, but right after the supply of blood was greatly decreased, his body started showing signs of weakening. Yoon Sang Hyun was usually a man that did not rush, but time was forcing him to do so. “Have you heard of the myth that the Four Gods’ blood gives one immortality and strength?”

                  Jongin’s heart skipped a beat. The image of Yoon Sena tied up with bloods all over her fair skin sent shivers down his heart. To taint such innocence was delightful as it was. His pale, indifferent eyes looked at Sang Hyun without a hint of reaction. It was just cold and shallow. No one should tell the distraught and chaos of mind behind that figure. “Are you telling me it’s not just a myth? That you’d want her blood to lengthen your life span?” But most importantly – was it worth it?

                  To Sang Hyun it was. He was a selfish man to begin with. Sena was just another blood bag for him. It never mattered – or even occurred to him – that Sena was his own blood and flesh. “When you checked my coffin, did you ever check Eun Hye’s? Ever thought about why Sena’s mother was never found on the bottom of the cliff?”

                  “Well, you can’t sustain on two bodies alone. It would be gone before long,” The younger boy raised his eyebrows. He was disgusted at first, but his temper was tampered as such that none of it could affect him anymore. He had lived long enough to see some of the most despicable part of human nature. “And how did you manage to fool the whole clan with your funeral? Didn’t we see your body going down the burial ground?”

                  “You saw me in a comatose, later dug out of the coffin at night,” Sang Hyun dismissed the idea so easily. “It wasn’t hard when many people are faithful to me still. As for the bodies… Let’s just say that I only need the purebloods every two to three months, depending on my condition. I need fresh maiden blood every week, preferably from Suzakku’s family because of my bloodline.”

                  Jongin narrowed his eyes. So this bastard had been dealing with Suzakku, too. It would not be as difficult because Suzakku never valued the female members of their family. And with Kim Yong Ha’s dirty dealings in the market, he might as well be indirectly involved, which ultimately caused his death. “So now you want Sena because there is no more purebloods for you.” How ing brilliant. Jongin scoffed and picked up the watch on the table and put it on.

                  Sang Hyun did not reply but looked at him with a small smile. Jongin straightened his back and pushed the gun into his pocket. There were exactly three bullets in them and he did not plan on telling the elder about his lack of supply. “Whatever, Old Man. I don’t need to hear your crazy bulls. So long as you get me in, I will do whatever you say. Let’s get going. We don’t want our Princess to wait for too long.”

***

                  Sehun threw the guns on the ship floor. He did not look the slightest bit anxious – part of this he had experienced his entire life. He raised his right hand and spoke loudly to the Elites behind him, “Put your weapons on the floor. We are in no position to compromise with this man.”

                  Sena was standing at the front with a very panic Minseok and an anxious Jongdae. Joonmyun was just as calm as she was – his face showed a delightful twinkle when he looked up, startling others but sending cautions to Baekhyun. They had known each other for the longest time and when Joonmyun was angry, he looked happy. There was never once that Baekhyun was able to catch him off-guard, and that made him wary.

                  “Luhan,” Sena hid her trembling hands behind the sleeves and sighed, “Listen to Sehun. Drop the weapon now.”

                  Luhan stonily complied, unhappy about the whole situation more so than everybody else and threw two of his guns onto the floor none-too-gently. He folded his hands and stood close to Yixing, who was unusually composed right now. There was not a trace of worry on his fair face, and his lips even held the ghost of a smile. Tao was close to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, the three had nothing more to say while Taeyong stood on the other corner, not too close to either side.

                  “Yoon Sena, ever since the day you insulted me in front of your Elites, I have not once forgotten about your words,” Baekhyun circled around them with a playful grin. He was the only one without any weapon while his soldiers were heavily armed. He kicked the bodies of the newly killed victims of tonight onto one side. They were precious children of Genbu, and after this, they would be no more. “Are you surprised, Pretty? Why don’t you cry like those girls that I killed, hm?”

                    Sena, stubborn as ever, snickered loudly and her ferocious eyes shone even in the dark of night as she replied fearlessly, but not without a moment of hesitation, “Surprised?” A light scoff followed, “Only someone as ambitious and insane as you are could do this. Are those your Shadow fighters they so highly praise for being the world’s deadly killer? Let me tell you what, no matter how strong you are right now, you are nothing but a coward! I do not cry for a small matter as this, Byun Baekhyun. Be it dead or alive, I shall not relent to you.”

                  It was silent afterwards. Yoon Sena was known for her poisonous tongue and blunt personality. Baekhyun laughed out loud, throwing his head to the back ignorantly and pointed at the door, “See that, Mr. Yoon? Did you hear her reply? Oh God, she was exactly as you described her to be!”

                  Mister… Yoon? Sena froze when the door flew away by a mere kick from Jongin. On the wheelchair was the man of her nightmare. Yoon Sang Hyun immediately sat a little taller when his granddaughter’s face came full view. It had been almost eighteen months since they last saw each other – and the last time he was inside the coffin; pale and dead. She was sure! She was so sure he was dead! Sena stumbled on her feet. Gasps were heard.

                  “Grandfather…” 

                 A/N: Our love is not easy. Maybe that's why it's worth it.