Lucia- Wuthering Heights

After drinking from the Blood River, very few people survived the transformation. Igor could still remember his mother’s cries as his own father was pouring the water down even if it was burning her insides. He watched as a young and skinny child from behind the door and he never quite got over the glint in his father’s eyes. He couldn’t care less if his wife was going to survive or not, but he wanted her to submit to his desire of trying it out. She died that night and she was thrown into a common grave with all the others who didn’t change.

“It’s your turn, Igor.” His father said the next day.

His father was a strict man who liked to cut deep into the hearts of people. His way of educating his children was questionable but all of them were part of the military, all except his youngest.

“You better not disappoint me like your mother or you will have her same fate.” He added coldly.

Igor stared at the red water with fear. He was the boy that his family was not proud of, he was the black sheep because he wasn’t strong and ready to fight like his older brothers. Thinking about the moments he was made fun of for his constitution and his weak mentality, Igor drank. The pain was immediate, he felt as if his whole body was on fire, as if somebody was turning him inside out. He fell unconscious for two days but when he woke up, he was a different man.

However, his personality didn’t necessarily change. He was an immortal but he was still nothing compared to his older brothers. And then his father decided to marry him to Ecaterina, the daughter of his in-law. It wasn’t based on real law but more on tradition. Later on, when they found the Celtic Tree of Life on her back, Igor felt like he was back to being a child. Even his wife was stronger than him…

 “Not for long…” He whispered as the memories were pushed in the back of his mind.

Contrary to what many believed, Igor did not choose to live his days in South Korea in a penthouse, or anywhere rich. He was staying in a normal, traditional Korean house. He especially liked spending time on the porch where he could hear his cousin’s heart better. The wind was blowing gently against his face and from afar, he looked like the most serene foreigner. But Dohwan knew better. The man in front of him was ready to cause a massacre in order to get what he wanted.

“What should I do now?” Dohwan asked.

“I heard rumors before about this man that my cousin changed. Maybe I should meet him, have a cup of tea.”

“A…what?” Dohwan was confused.

“How much do you think she’d pay for his head? Do you think she would stand and watch as I kill him or give herself up first?” Although it sounded as if he was merely joking, the immortal was very serious.

“He seems to be very precious to her.”

“Exactly. I want to look into his eyes as I tell him who Ecaterina really is.”

---

Although their relationship was blooming under odd conditions, Dongwook couldn’t help but feel giddy. No matter what was going to happen, he was happy that he got to meet her again and have a second chance at a normal romantic life. Honestly, nothing could wipe his content smile off his face.

When he arrived at work, the first thing that he felt was this ominous atmosphere. Nothing seemed wrong, the staff and patients were the same and they weren’t even aware of what was actually happening in the dark of the night. Dongwook walked to the elevator, entered and still felt as if he was going down into Hell for some reason. The morgue was empty and dark and the smell of chloroform was still poignant from yesterday’s work. When he the lights, he immediately froze. Sitting calmly on his chair was the man that frightened everyone.

“I wasn’t expecting visitors,” Dongwook started, not moving an inch from where he was.

“Surprise~” Igor , “How nice to finally meet my wife’s first slave.”

Wife. That word alone made Dongwook very uncomfortable. He raised an eyebrow as he slowly took his coat off and threw it on the hanger.

“What? She didn’t mention that she’s married? I was her first man.” Igor continued feeling very cocky, “We spent some very intimate nights together. We fought together.”

“You played together in the mud with handmade toys. Yeah, I know.”

Igor stared at the Korean man in bewilderment before he chuckled to himself. He got up and took one step towards Dongwook. The two man, now standing face to face, were like two very different colors. One was dark, melancholic, pale and the other was like a bright ray of sunlight.

“You’re rather witty, aren’t you?” Igor asked before he flashed in front of Dongwook and grabbed him by the neck. His force was incredible and so where his bright blue eyes. “You look at me with those defying dark orbs. I just want to pull them out.” He hissed through his teeth.

“Why don’t you try?” Dongwook taunted the immortal.

Igor chuckled and threw the vampire to the side. Afterwards he flashed next to him and bent to his level.

“You’re not afraid to die, are you? But you are afraid she will. You should be. You know, Lee Dongwook, you think you know everything about- how do you call her again? Ah right, Yerin. She may be your savior, your beautiful shining princess who fought against her family just to be able to be with you. But that’s just a mask. You have never once seen the real deal. She is a monster. She only needs to feed once and you will see why she has survived for so long.”

“I thought you want to kill her but you speak of her as if you still care what happens to her.” Dongwook commented.

“What I want is the mark. If she has to die, then she dies.”

“Too bad you can’t have it. And she is not going to let herself be killed either. You said it yourself, she is a monster.”

“I bet on that. Do you really think I came all this way for a few drops of blood? I only need to get her enraged and have her kill someone she transformed. If I do that, the mark is mine.” Igor explained, his eyes glinting with malice.

Dongwook stared at the immortal in confusion.

“Seems she didn’t tell you everything, hm? Communication is the key to a healthy relationship.” Igor said before he winked and left.

---

All by herself in the store, Yerin was staring out the window at the path she has been watched for the last two or three years. She came to South Korea after spending a long time in China, where she knew nobody could hear her. Rumors that he also came to Korea reached her right after the Korean War and she couldn’t help herself. They never really met until she saw him in the hospital. That day she just followed him to and from work every night, which was not something she liked to talk about because it was creepy. But it reminded her of the first time she ever saw Dongwook in London.

“I should have killed Igor when I had the chance.” She mumbled to herself.

“Are you talking to yourself again?”

Yerin sighed and turned to the former army commander.

“Didn’t expect you to come to this lowly abode, Liu Wei.”

“We both know what must be done.” He went straight to the subject.

“I don’t-“

“I am not Dongwook, you can’t come with excuses to me. I know you and I know you want to stop him in a peaceful way but you can’t. It’s time for you to genuinely feed.” Liu Wei said before he took something from his man-purse. “I put it aside for times like this. The rest are in the storage room, on the top shelf. Start with this one and then we’ll just go on from there.”

“What if something bad happens?”

“Then I’ll take the blow.”

Yerin stared at Liu Wei with a mix of pity and worry. He was her creation, after all, he was the last human she changed and she cared for him just as much as she cared of Jiwon.

“Vampires will truly rebel if you don’t show them your power. You need to return to the immortal that I met the first time.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

Liu Wei threw her a look that pretty much said ‘are you serious?’

---

When Dongwook arrived at her house that night, he found her in the kitchen staring intensely at a bottle of wine.

“What are you doing?”

“Preparing myself for a very long weekend.” She answered. “I went crazy once. It was really, really bad. It was long before you were born, back when I was in the Romanian county. I used to drink so much blood that I became addicted to it, especially immortal blood. I almost killed Igor for it.”

Dongwook didn’t say a word, he just listened to her.

“It was their fault too. After they saw the mark, they just kept giving me more and more, hoping that I’d transform into some kind of savior. I almost drank Igor’s whole blood and then went for my mother.” She chuckled remembering her past, “That’s why, when we had to leave the country, I decided to limit myself to the amount of blood I needed to survive. I started to cut myself and deposit my blood in vials. I did it on the way to England so by the time you met me, I was already decent. But I continued to bleed into vials until I reached 50 bottles. If I drink one, I’m still calm. But if I drink all 50…I may not even recognize you.”

“But will you be able to kill your cousin?”

It was interesting how Dongwook didn’t judge her after he heard how much of a junkie she was during her youth. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad just yet.

“Probably. I don’t know how bad I’ll get.”

Dongwook sighed and, to her surprise, hugged her from behind. It felt warm and nice.

“I love you. Remember that.” He whispered in her neck making her heartbeat go off the charts.