Kris (roughly) put Jieun on the bed and he trapped her in between his arms. “Ok Jieun, now is the time to tell me what the bloody hell is happening to you?”

Jieun jerked her head backward, sinking it even more into the pillow as she stared at the man in disbelief. Her head was still throbbing in pain and Kris had made it worst. She pushed his shoulders in such force that it had thrown Kris unsteadied on his feet. “I’m not one of your damsels in distress that you can pretend to save and do whatever you want with me.” She spouted.

He snorted. “Well, you certainly bore that image very well eighteen years ago.”

“Well as far as I can remember, eighteen years ago, I still hated you.”

Kris leaned himself in towards her yet again, and they breathed angrily against each other’s face. Neither Kris, nor Jieun was prepared to back down on the staring game that was heated between them. The only thing they couldn’t understand was how their bodies were failing to cooperate with their minds.

“I knew that I can’t leave you two alone.” They heard a voice.

It was Wooseok. Thankful for their son’s appearance, Kris regained his posture and pulled himself away from Jieun.

“I don’t know why do you guys hate each other so much but dad, can you leave mum alone? And mum, please. Can you tell me what’s happening with you?” Wooseok pleaded, looking back and forth between his parents. He didn’t even realize that he had called Kris ‘dad’.

Jieun sat herself up and beckoned her son to sit next to her, and so he did. She took his hands, one by one, as she examined his palms. There were no scars. She then looked at him. “None of this is your fault. They were going to take you away…” She said sadly. “But of course I couldn’t let that happen. So, in exchange, I’ve promised the Ascendants that I will give my life up once you’ve fully grown into an adult. They’ve agreed to protect you but in return, I also can’t let your father found out about you.” She stopped briefly, looking at Kris. “I know it was selfish of me but I was desperate. They were going to take my baby.”

Kris could only stare at her. She knew he was trying hard to control himself not to explode in front of Wooseok.

“I’m sorry.” She had said. “To both of you.”

Wooseok sighed. “So, once I turned what? Eighteen? Which is in two months, then you’ll have to give your life up?”

Jieun pursed her lips. “I’m not sure if I even have two months left since your dad found out about you before he was supposed to—so basically, the rules has been broken.”

“They’ve tricked me.”

Both Jieun and Wooseok glanced up to Kris.

“The witches. The one that you’ve bitten was the one who told me that I have a son. The secret was in exchange for my blood.” Kris explained.

Jieun sighed. “So, they used your blood to track us down.”

Wooseok buried his face into his palms. To think that he couldn’t even handle the thought of losing his mum for few hours earlier, to lose her forever, they might as well kill him too.

“Wooseok…” Jieun grabbed his wrist, pulling his hands gently off his face. “I’m happy enough that I get to see you’ve grown into who you are at this moment. It’s more than I’d hoped for.” She caressed her son’s cheek. “And it’s not the way how I wanted you to meet your father, but now that he’s here…I hope that you can accept and treat him like one. I want to trust that both of you will keep each other safe…when I’m gone.” She brought her eyes back and forth between her son and Kris. She might have misread Kris’ expression, but she saw his eyes softened a little.

Wooseok looked at her mother’s young face and how he wished he was as stronger as her. How she kept his father away from him was no longer matter, but instead, he felt sorry that she had to suffer ever since he was still in her stomach.

“Hey…come here.” Jieun pulled Wooseok into her arms. “I’ll be fine.” She whispered to him. Her fingers the back of his head, comforting and assuring her son with her words. She breathed in the boy’s scent of soap and extra fresh deodorant.  How she missed it when he had smell of cookies and milk. Or that one time when he had spent a whole day outdoor with the rest of the pack, he came home smelt like sweat and grass. Nevertheless, she was sure she would miss his smell when she was gone.

“Wait.” She suddenly uttered and released Wooseok from her embrace. “How can we be sure that Makaila won’t hurt Wooseok, just because she linked herself to him?” Jieun asked, looking at Kris. “What else did she do to you?” She wearily asked her son.

“She took my blood.” Wooseok answered his mother earnestly.

Jieun coughed. Her face suddenly had gone pale by the seconds.

“Mum, I think we need to get you check.”

Jieun shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

“I agree with Wooseok.” Kris suddenly voiced out, taken Jieun by surprise. “You look terrible. Victoria—”

Jieun’s face crinkled disapprovingly. So much for comforting words.

Victoria appeared in the room within a tick. “What is it, brother?” She asked looking at Kris, and then to Jieun and Wooseok.

“Is there anything that you can do with her?” Kris spoke in a hush tone as he stood in front of his sister.

“You do know I can hear you? And seriously, I’m fine.” Jieun said, annoyingly.

Victoria walked up to Jieun. “No, Jieun. You’re not fine.” She shook her head. “Did you know that you weren’t you when you were in the Other Side?”

Jieun sighed loudly. “What do you mean?”

“You said, you need to see your baby. And your baby’s name is Anna. Do you remember saying things like that?”

“Anna?” Jieun asked and her head throbbed again. She groaned as she pressed her palm against the side of her forehead.

“Oh. The journal! You brought it back from there.” Victoria bellowed a little excitedly as she tried to remind Jieun. “It’s in your pocket.”

Jieun allowed Victoria to take the journal out from her black coat. She wasn’t in the right mind to think properly. She just wanted to smash her head against the wall.

“They’re just blank pages.” Victoria declared, finding it weird why would Jieun wanted it if there was nothing written in it.

Kris took the journal from Victoria’s hand and studied it. His eyes widened as he began to read the first page in his head. “These are no blank pages.”

“What? How come I can’t see anything? Whose journal is it then?”

“This journal belongs to Diana St John.”

Victoria and Kris looked at each other, both were trying to figure out who could the owner of the journal be. Could she possibly be one of their foes, or maybe one of their long lost friends?

“Aunt Vic, I think we need to save mum first.” Wooseok’s panic voice called out for Victoria.

Victoria’s eyes widened at the sight of Jieun whose skin had gone as pale as the dead, and who looked nothing as a person anymore. Her pain suddenly seems so real when she suddenly screamed in such an ethereal voice, it echoed around the house.

The rest of the pack and Han rushed into the room.

Jieun sobbed in Wooseok’s arm. “It hurts.” She whispered, so softly that no one would believe that it was her who had screamed earlier. Few seconds later, she remained to be unconscious.

♛♛♛♛♛

Jieun woke up, feeling the nasty bile in . It tasted of medicine and blood. She thought she might throw up, but she sat up and winced as her head spun violently. Everything still felt cold, though she was sure that it was just her. She didn’t even bothered to get water to rinse off the disgusting feeling down , but instead she walked out of her bedroom and into the room next to hers.

There she was, sleeping ever so soundly in her crib.

She strolled closer and picked her baby up into her arms. The tiny thing wriggled its tiny body and cooed sof