The pressure suddenly released , Yujin breathed heavily – an habit which reminded her that she was not entirely a monster. She put her hands on her chest, that rose rapidly despite the slow beats of her heart. The brown-haired girl straightened up on her elbow as her eyes studied the vampire : the smile on his lips did not appear as a good sign. She ignored the hand he offered to her, a hand that had just strangled her before and got up, waiting for him to do something. Passing suddenly an arm around her waist, Baekhyun lifted her body up and put it over his shoulder. Without letting her the time to understand the situation, he turned around and started running so he could take a long run-up, before jumping in the air.

Yujin's scream would have alerted the whole city if it hadn't been caught in when the ground slipped before her eyes and drew away, once the vampire jumped. Yujin immediately closed her eyes and grabbed on to what she could, in order not to fall : Baekhyun. She held on to his shirt as if her life depended on it. It was. Her hair, swept by the wind, whipped her face tensed with fear. If the girl had always dreamt of observing the city from the sky, she kept her eyes closed and couldn't help herself to do so. The blood was rushing to her head and the feeling to fall freely everytime Baekhyun lost ltitude and bounced on what she guessed were the roofs of some buildings made her feel dizzy.

Yujin knew they arrived when Baekhyun's hands slipped on her skin, causing shivers on it, and made her body tumbled on the side. The touch between her feet and a rough surface was enough to make her relax her muscles. Now calm, the young girl opened her eyes and stared curiously at her companion. She headed towards the house he showed with his head. A gaudy yellow band adorned the front door with a cross. Yujin tilted her head in order to read what was written on it : “police line | do not cross”. She flinched in recoil, her back meeting Baekhyun's chest while her eyes widened in horror. “Is it.. ?” She dared not continue her sentence. Or rather, she was unable to do so. She did not even wait for him to answer. Yujin cautiously turned the handle and went inside the house.
 

Nothing seemed to be missing in the living room yet Yujin had the impression that it was the first time she walked into this room. She bypassed the sofa, ensuring she did not touch anything, as her gaze remained on the coffee table where a round stain of coffee marked the wood while the cup which caused it was not here anymore, and Yujin was sure she had seen it the day before. She then stared at the bookcase : the young girl was surprised by the empty frame on the third shelf, in her memories, there was a family picture. She passed past the vampire who stayed in the entrance and headed for the kitchen. Her body froze at the doorstep while her eyes went from the knocked down chaise, the imposing stain of coagulated blood on the floor, the several droplet scattered on the window and the kitchen counter. Yujin felt like throwing up. A lump formed in as the acid taste of bile spread in and the young girl struggled to keep it in it. Her face showed disgust. With shaking steps, the brunette walked towards the table, which was still set for two people. A sheet of paper that was likely put here after her sudden departure drew her attention. The leaning writing and the shaking plot of the letters, some words were bigger than others were the proof that the author of it was in a hurry.

Yujin, if you see this, call me instantly. When I came back home, your mother was lying on a pool of blood and you were missing. Where are you??? I tried to call you but your phone is in your room, I'm so worry ! Pls !! The police is looking for you so please, call me back once you have seen this letter!! I would be at Chungcheon Hospital for your mother.

Dad

Yujin bit her lips in order to repress the pain in her chest. She looked over her shoulder and met eyes with Baekhyun who followed her every moves from the shadow.

“D-did I do t-this?”

Her voice broke. In some ways, her reason too. The young man slowly nodded. Her legs gave up under the pressure of guilt and Yujin fell on her knees on the floor, the head down.

“What am I going to do... What did I become ?”

One sob. Then two. She burst into tears, getting swallowed up by pain, sorrow, incomprehension and especially, guilt. She didn't notice the presence coming nearer silently in her back. She didn't notice the peculiar expression in his eyes, a mix of boredom and pity. She didn't notice the ivory hand he put on her own shoulder. And the voice that spoke to her seemed to be far.

“We can't stay here. We have to leave.”

Yujin wasn't listening. So the hand had to shake her body. Yujin didn't react. Her eyes couldn't see. Her mind was elsewhere and her body felt unfamiliar. A vice caught her other arm and lifted her up, soon the girl was her on feet. She saw something dark. A black mass whose voice was deep.

“Pull yourself together, Yujin !”

And as if the spell was broken, a spell that kept her away from the real world, Yujin lifted her head up and backed off instantly.

“I have to find my parents”, she said as she freed herself from his grip

“No.” and before she had the chance to cut him, he added with a velvet voice “you have to learn how to control your mind and body. Who are you now, Kim Yujin ? Are you still the pathetic little student that hated the relationship she had with her family to the point where she would sneak out every night?”

Byun Baekhyun made a point of reminding where one's place should be. His eyes surveyed Yujin's face, looking for a single expression of the determination she had manifested before but as he thought, the girl was speechless.

“You have to learn how to die. And I'm going to help y-”

The young man stopped talking and turned his head to the right. The room felt in silence again. “We have to get out of here”. He grabbed her wrist, pulled her and covered with his free hand, to prevent her from showing her surprise for the sudden change of behavior. Walking briskly, he climbed the stairs and guided her through the first floor, they entered the room at the end of the corridor the moment someone opened the front door.

Baekhyun released Yujin and leaned on the door he just locked. Thankfully, they were in the young girl's room : thus he asked her in a hushed tone to grab the things she needed. Below them, voices resounded. The vampire went to the window and opened it. Yujin's parents had decided to install bars on the window during her rest time to prevent her from slouching into old habits and to prevent another incident, but Baekhyun didn't even care and teared it off. “And change your clothes” he added as he crouched on the sill, without even looking behind. The brunette, who had changed into a pair of dark jeans, sweatshirt and baskets and put her dried hair into a bun, sunk the bloody clothes into a bag she got from the back of her closet. She added another sweater, some clean undergarments and her wallet. The sound of wood cracking alerted them that the intruders were coming near as their deep voices were louder “Who's in there ? Miss Kim Yujin ? Show yourself !”. She took the bagpack and grabbed Baekhyun's hand, climbing on the ledge of the window.

She had done it many times and even though she hadn't done it since a few time, old habits died hard. Baekhyun appeared to have another idea of running away : instead of jumping on the ground, he pulled himself on the roof, by using the gutter. Yujin followed closely. Once they were done, she stared at him and asked why he chose the roof, to which he replied “There are police patrols all around the place. It's better if we gain height. Believe me, they never look up.”

The speed of their running wasn't natural. They were so fast that it was impossible for a simple mortal to catch a glimpse of them. Their shoes barely touched the rooftiles. And when the lines of houses were cut by roads, Baekhyun would grab Yujin's hand, as a sign of guarantee, and they would jump in the air, land with grace on another roof and keep running. Baekhyun didn't even let her the time to be scared.

They stopped in front of a long path bordered by big trees and bushes the color of a fading green. Some barriers were placed in front of the entrance of the path, which look like a small forest from the exterior, to prevent the inhabitant of Yulyeong to walk overthere.

The Ivy Quarters* was almost as famous as the Mirrors Quarters, with the difference that the tourist didn't come near. If the latter had been reorganize by the city to please the most adventurous people's desires, the “Jungle”, which was another name for the Ivy Quarters, was known because of a strange phenomenom that occurred years before. Nature had decided to clame her due and took back from men what was Its : the houses built on the north side of the city, not so far from the forest in the moutains, had slowly seen themselves covered with vegetation. The ivy had wrapped every brick, every tile and even went through windows. Grass was growing inside the houses. The place had been deserted because he had soon been uninhabitable.

The two young people walked through the main pathway in a deep silence, clearing a passage between the brambles that intertwined with branches on the ground and climbed up the facades of the houses. Yujin slipped many times but caught herself before touching the ground, only gaining stares from Baekhyun. After a while, they the left and climbed a stone stairs, covered with leaves. The brunette was looking around, clearly impressed by the way the houses were hidden behind a green cover. Sometimes, one door was still attached to its hinges, resisting the attack of Nature. Sometimes, the roof wasn't there, leaving space for trees to grow inside the house. The frog that wrapped up the building helped in giving a mysterious atmosphere, almost dangerous. If Yujin knew all the alleys in the Mirrors Quarters, even with her eyes closed, here, she was lost and deprived of orientation since it was the first time she walked that far. She once tried to go in there with her schoolmates but as soon as they had crossed the boundary that separated the urban side of Yulyeong and the Quarter they had turned around ; that day, the frog was especially thick and they couldn't see anything. The more they walked, the steeper the stope was and the longer the stairs were.

Baekhyun stopped in front of an two-storage house that overhung the rest of the district. Half of the facade was hidden behind a tangle made of lianas and brambles, and for the rest of the building, it was made of old stones eroded by time. There were three gaping hole and were the proof that they were once windows whereas the front door consisted of a flaky-reddish piece of wood. Baekhyun entered the house, Yujin on his trail. Inside, a carpet of grass and leaves covered the floor and the walls looked like what was outside. The furniture, a round table with chairs around and a sideboard, the whole in a very bad state, were disposed in the main room; on the left, stairs that lead to the first floor. A mirror covered with moss was put on the imposing piece of furniture among leaves, surrounded by two frames wrapped in lichen. Yujin grabbed one of them and brushed the photo under the glass. The colors were faded but the young girl percieved a group of girls hugging themselves. Their smiles were bright althought the glass was tarnished. Memories mingled in her mind as the nostalgia hit her. She put down the frame with much force she intended and leaned on the sideboard.

“You said before that I had to find myself and to learn who I was, that I was no longer a “pathetic” girl as you said very well. But... I never asked for it. I don't want to become a monster” she whispered as she lowered her head.

“If becoming a monster means being immortal and powerful, then you shouldn't see that as a curse. Think of it as a gift. Accept it. Hug it with all your soul. Because this is who you are now.”

“I never want to become like that !” she turned around abruptly, with a frown on her face.

Baekhyun sat on the chair she faced and lifted up his head nonchalantly “Anyway. You can't go back to your human life. It's useless to wish that. It's impossible. I already told you : let the human die and accept the transformation.”

“I don't want to die ! I don't want to transform” She shouted “How could you take something that is not yours ? What gave you the right to steal my life ?!”

She moved forward. She breathed heavily. Her vision blurred as she kept moving towards him.

“Who are you to destroy everything in someone's life ?”

“I didn't destroy you thought, I saved you.”

His words elicited Yujin's fury. She was like a ticking time bomb, ready to burst anytime. And Byun Baekhyun just had cut the wrong wire.

In a cry of rage, Yujin threw herself on him, her hands stretched. The chair he sat on fell backward. He rolled on his back and stood straight only to be tackled on the wall by the young girl. Who thought a small template had that much power ? Thought, the student wasn't going to surpass the master that day. Baekhyun grabbed her wrists and pushed her back, throwing her backward. Her back hit the sideboard with a muffled sound as her body collapsed on the floor. She growled before standing up and tried again. She threw punches, kicks, flapping arms and legs without stopping. She managed to scratch the young man's cheek, making blood drip on his immaculate skin. As for him, he avoided the thumps but some could break through his defense, Yujin was determined in trying to make him suffer as much as she did. A hook send him on the ground, bumping into the chairs and in the twinklink of an eye, she was on top of him.

Byun Baekhyun was experimented. He had lived enough to experience all the things a man could do. He had met a lot of people during his long life. But he had never encounter someone with as much hate in its gaze. Yujin who looked fragile in his eyes seemed like a rabid wolf, ready to devour its prey. Her black eyes shone red as her hands never stopped hitting. The vampire took the opportunity of a loophole in Yujin's attack, a slower movement and took the adventage in the fight. He made them roll in order to be on top of her, tackling her arms on the cold stones, not as cold as his touch thought : Yujin could feel the burning sensation. She shook her legs in the air even thought she couldn't reach anything, beside the chairs she hit.

“Calm down” he intimated as his grip thightened on her wrists.

Baekhyun's stare, blacker than a night without stars nor moon, met her's, burning in fury.

“Yujin, get a grip of yourself !”

The flame disappeared in the abyssal gap of his eyes. The anger fell down. Baekhyun stood straight and slowly backed off, hands up.

A thin trickle of blood ran down her nose. Yujin curled up.

And for the first time since the incident, she cried.

Hey ! I'm back with another chapter, I hope you will like it as well :D

Be free to vote, comment if you like this story so far

Sorry for the mistakes, if you saw any please tell me I will correct it

Thank you for your support !

*The Ivy Quarters is inspired from the abandoned village of Gouqi in Shengshi, China