It was eerily dark; there was not even a speck of light. Waving your hands in front of your face, you were left devastated when you could not even see them. Why were you trapped inside this darkness? You tried feeling your way around, and when you spread your arms, both hands touched solid walls. An alley? You took a step back, and your back hit another solid wall. Which means that you could only move forward for now. Taking a deep breath, you trudged forward, all the while reaching out to touch the walls for guidance.

            ‘Blood, blood… Kiss the blood…’ A faint gruff voice was singing, making shivers ran through your whole body. You were still unable to see anything, and it was getting dizzying. The more steps you took, the clearer the voice became, and the wider the alley became. At one point, both hands of yours were no longer able to touch each wall, and you had no choice but to choose one side. After much deliberation, you decided to hold onto the wall on your right side.

            ‘Within our dreams, we all wake up…’ The voice continued to sing, and as it got louder, echoing through the darkness, you could not help but feel restless. The voice was too familiar.

            Your steps were somehow getting heavier, and it was stuffy to breathe properly. Before you realise it, you were on ground, unable to get yourself to walk anymore. But the voice was calling out for you. Pressing your lips together, you dragged your body forward, ignoring the heaviness in both your legs.

            ‘…to kiss the ones who are born to die.’ The singing voice came to an end, and at the same time, a light appeared in front of you, illuminating a silhouette of a person. A man. As you closed the distance between you and the man, you noticed the familiar blonde hair. Yet, before you could feel relieved to see him, your eyes fell down to his . There were evident jagged long lines on his back, but unlike the previous time you saw it when they were merely scars, these lines were open wounds, crimson blood flowing out from his flesh. It was like something was torn away from his back. His body was crouched forward, and you could see that his form was shaking. Was he holding in the pain?

            ‘Taehyung.’ Your lips parted to call his name, but no voice seemed to come out from your throat. Frowning, you tried screaming out to no avail—it was horrible enough to be thrown into this darkness, now even your voice was taken away from you.

            You lifted a hand to reach out towards him, and as if that was the call, he looked over his shoulder. If the wound had been alarming, the sight of his face was horrifying. Gone was the warmth of his brown eyes, now his orbs were painted bright red, matching the blood on his wounds. His nose flared, and his tongue darted out for a second to the blood around his mouth. You just sat there, petrified by his presence, tears welling in your eyes.

            But your tears were not the first to fall. A single tear rolled down his cheek as his eyes burned into yours. ‘I’m sorry…’ He moved, turning his body into your direction.

            The words made you frown, but then your gaze fell upon what he was holding. A body. Trembling, you craned your neck to see the face, and your eyes widened when you saw who it was.

            It was you. Your head was lolled to a side, your opened eyes lost of their light of life. The bleeding punctures on the neck made it clearer the reason you were dead, in his arms.

            But if that was you in his arms, then what are you now? You looked down to see your hands, but to your horror, you were unable to see anything. There was nothing, no body. You were not real. You were not real. The real you… were dead.

            Taehyung was still crying, and he pulled your lifeless body closer to his chest. ‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry,’ he kept on repeating.

            ‘Forgive me for killing you.’

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

            ‘No!’ You woke up screaming, your body jolting up. It was still dark, making you scream out aloud. The fact that you could hear your voice ringing in your ears proved that you were still alive, but you could not fight the fear consuming your insides. A hand reached out to touch your upper arm, and you wrenched yourself away, terrified. You pulled your legs to your chest, covering your ears as you continued to scream. ‘Don’t touch me! Stay away!’

            Lights were suddenly , and you saw Taehyung standing beside the switch, his eyes wide as he stared at you. You looked around and recognised your own room, the sight seemingly calming you down. Your gaze returned to him, and he took a step towards the bed you were sitting on, careful not to scare you. ‘Hey, it’s just me. You’re safe now; you know I’m not going to hurt you.’

            His words made you burst into tears, and it didn’t even take a second for him to rush onto the bed, enveloping you into a tight embrace. His warmth was so comforting, but your whole body was still trembling horribly, the nightmare too vivid to be forgotten. Taehyung had murdered you in your dreams, but here you were, clutching tightly on him as if your life depended on it. ‘Shh, it’s alright. No one’s going to hurt you anymore. I’ll protect you,’ he whispered softly into your ear, kissing the side of your face softly, his hands rubbing gentle circles on your back.

            ‘I’m sor─’

            ‘No…’ You croaked, pushing yourself away and covered his mouth with your hand, preventing him from continuing. His apology would remind you again of the dark dream. You shook your head, tears still running down your cheeks. ‘Don’t apologise. Please don’t.’

            His eyes drooped down in sadness, but he nodded to your request. He closed his eyes, kissing your palm. The gentleness that Taehyung gave as he held you made your heart clench, it was unfair that you were given a dream so horrible about him. Pulling away your hand from his mouth, you cupped his face, letting your eyes roam on all parts of his face. You leaned forward to press your lips against his temple, and he did nothing to stop you. Then, you gave another kiss on his eyebrows, on his eyes, his nose, his cheeks, and his jaw and on his chin. You gave kisses to all of his face, except for one place.

            When you pulled away, there was a small smile playing on his lips. His arms tightened ever so slightly around you, and you felt him pulling you closer. ‘I think you missed my lips.’

            Your gaze fell down to his pair of pink lips, and you ran your thumb fleetingly against his lower lip. Of course you wanted to kiss his lips, more than anything if you had to be honest. But just looking at his lips reminded you of how bloody it had been in the nightmare. Shutting your eyes close, you wrapped your arms around him, burying your face into the crook of his neck. You felt his arms rubbing your back gently again as he whispered comforts into your ear, but you could not stop trembling.

            You had never felt this scared in your entire life.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

            You woke up the next morning, tucked nicely under a thick blanket; your body spooned from behind by Taehyung’s larger build. Your hand was intertwined with his, and you leaned in to kiss the back of his hand. When you looked behind your shoulder, you noticed that he was sleeping soundly, his breathing soft and even. Careful as to not wake him up, you climbed off the bed, silently padding towards the bathroom.

            As you closed the door behind you, you were met by your reflection in the mirror. You looked awful. Your face looked haggard, and there were dark circles under your eyes. You looked like you probably lost some weight too, judging by how hollow your cheeks looked. You ran your fingers against your neck, noting the bluish bruise on the side, the evidence that the attack had been real.

            …the attack.

            The memories of the attack came flooding back into your head, making you gasp aloud, and your chest contracted painfully. Your fight with Taehyung, you leaving the summer house despite Seokjin’s words, the convenience store, the red haired vampire, the silent male named Junhui, the unconscious store worker, the warning, the blood spurting everywhere, being left in your own pool of blood…

            We all wake up to kiss the ones who are born to die, the words that Taehyung sang in the nightmare echoed inside your head, making all the pain to intensify. You clutched your head, screaming for the voices to go away. You didn’t know how long you were screaming there in the bathroom, but it must have woken Taehyung up because he was banging on the door from the outside, worry laced in his voice as he told you to open the door.

            ‘Baby, what’s wrong? Open the door! Talk to me,’ he called out, his knocks getting louder by each second.

            Tears welling in your eyes, you reached out for the doorknob, but your hands stopped when you caught a movement inside the mirror. You froze, fear striking yourself. You were not alone. You bit back you tongue to prevent from making any noise, Taehyung’s voice no longer heard by you. With much effort, you turn your body to face the mirror again, a whimper escaping your throat when you saw the reflection in it. You knew it was only a fragment of your imagination, you knew… but you were terrified. The red haired vampire was standing next to your own reflection, a smirk evident on her crimson lips.

            She stared straight into your eyes, her lips before throwing back her head to release a shrill laugh. Imagination or not, she seemed far too real for you. You backed away shakily into the wall behind you, shaking your head in denial. ‘You’re not real… you’re not real. Please, just go…’

            The woman gave you a mocking stare, her lips still curled in that smug smile. ‘Do you think you’re already safe? Do you think I won’t come back for you?’

            ‘No, no, no. Go away,’ your hands fisted your hair roughly, forcing the woman’s voice to leave. But her laughter just seemed to get louder inside your head. ‘Go away! Leave me alone!’

            ‘Do you think Taehyung wouldn’t kill you?’

            ‘No! Stop it!’ You shrieked, grabbing something from the cabinet before throwing it towards the mirror. The glass smashed into pieces, and you lifted your arms in front of you to protect your face from being pierced by the shards. Before you could process what you had just done, the door burst open and Taehyung came rushing in, his eyes wide with worry. From behind him, you saw that Seokjin, Mihee and Namjoon were there too, all of them having the same expression as Taehyung. Your screams must have alerted them too.

            You were still frozen on your spot, and no one seemed to know what to do. And then you started breaking down. You slid down onto the floor, falling down onto the pieces of glass shards, tears streaming down your cheeks. Before any words could come out of your mouth, Taehyung crossed the distance and knelt down in front of you, the sounds of the broken mirror scrunched under his feet and knees ignored by him. He gathered you up into his arms, letting you bury your face into his chest. ‘Shh, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m here. I won’t leave you alone.’

            You clutched him tightly as if your life depended on it, whimpering like a wounded child. ‘She’s here. She’s going to come for me again. She’s going to kill me,’ you cried out, you heart aching. This time, not even Taehyung’s warmth seemed to be able to calm you down. Your heart was still beating erratically, and you feared the woman will come to get you in your dreams again. ‘I’m scared, Tae…’

            ‘I won’t let her get you,’ Taehyung whispered into your ear, his voice calm. One of his hands rubbed your back gently as he kissed the side of your head. ‘I’ll protect you, I’ll always protect you.’

            You continued to cry in his arms, and he was patient to wait until all the tears were gone. But even after that, the woman’s voice never left your head.

            Kim Taehyung will kill you.

            You no longer know who to trust.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

            You shifted uncomfortably in the seat, the four pair of eyes staring at you with what you guessed as worry… or maybe sympathy? Several hours after your breakdown and after Taehyung had treated the small cuts on your skin and his own, you agreed to join the others for a late breakfast. But instead of eating, all of them were staring at you stirring your bowl of porridge.

            ‘I’m pretty confident I haven’t turned crazy yet, guys,’ you started, lifting your head and flashing them your best smile. If you had to be honest, you were definitely still petrified, but how can you continue to worry the people that you loved so dearly in your life? Mihee blushed slightly at your words, while the boys laughed awkwardly. This time, you smiled, a genuine one. ‘I’m sorry if I made you guys worry just now. I’m good now, really. Now eat.’

            Slowly, one by one started to pick up their own spoons. The atmosphere became lighter, and you sighed contently. Taehyung reached out to clasp your hand in his, a warm smile on his face. He didn’t have any food in front of him on the table, but you did not question it. Using your free hand, you started digging in your own food, the first spoonful of rice making you realise that you were actually starving. Halfway through the bowl though, you stopped. ‘How long was I unconscious?’

            Your question came out so sudden that Namjoon sputtered on his food, coughing violently and immediately grabbing a glass of water, Mihee rubbing his back to help him feel better. The four of them glanced at each other, and you knew what it meant. They must have agreed to not talk about it in front of you. Letting out a sigh, you pushed the bowl away from you, losing your appetite. ‘Please, don’t hide anything more from me. This is about me, I need to know. The last time you kept secrets from me, it resulted in me being attacked.’

            ‘Are you sure you want to talk about it here? We can wait after the meal,’ Mihee suggested timidly. You finally noticed how tired Mihee looked; her eyes were red, as if she had been crying a lot while you were unconscious. Did she blame herself for letting you go alone into the convenience store? Knowing your cousin, she probably did.

            Before you could answer her, Seokjin opened his mouth first. ‘I think she deserves to know. No more secrets, hmm?’ He directed it towards Taehyung, to which the latter nodded with a thin smile on his lips. Taehyung squeezed your hand gently, reassuring you that this time, he will not run away again. And despite the voices still in your head, you decided to trust him.

            ‘You were unconscious for almost two weeks,’ Seokjin said, and you stared at him, a frown forming on your brows. His eyes refused to meet yours, making you realise that the situation was a lot worse than you had expected. Before, when you were bitten by Taehyung, you were out for three days. But now… two weeks? When you turned to face Taehyung, his eyes were downcast, as if his lap was the most interesting thing to gaze upon. Not even Namjoon was looking straight at you.

            But Mihee, her gaze was fierce at you. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes again, yet her gaze never wavered. It made your heart clench at how much she seemed to bottle up inside her. When she parted her lips, her voice came out shaky. Scared. Broken. ‘We almost lost you… twice.’

            ‘What?’

            ‘You stopped breathing, you just…’ The tears came flooding out before she could even end her words. Mihee buried her face in her palms and her shoulders shook as she sobbed, Namjoon immediately enveloping her into his arms protectively. He sent an apologetic look to you, but remained silent.

            Your grip on Taehyung’s hand was so tight, your knuckles turned white. ‘Is… Is it true?’ You directed the question to both Taehyung and Seokjin; they were the ones who had the answers to most of your unanswered questions.

            Finally, finally, Seokjin’s gaze met yours. His brown eyes were a pool of sadness and when he seemed to remain hesitant, you nodded slowly, pleading him silently. He gave you a tight smile, tilting his head gently to a side. ‘The vampire that attacked you, even though she didn’t intend to kill you, she had no intention to let you live either. She knew that once she bit you, you would have less than five percent to even survive it.’

            She had no intention to let you live. The thought itself made you tremble, but you swallowed hard, trying not to let the fear get the best of you. ‘So, how did I survive it? Only by chance?’

            ‘Yes. And no.’ Seokjin’s gaze flitted to Taehyung for a second, a pained emotion evident in it, but then he returned his eyes back to you. ‘Her poison was too strong on your body, and it almost killed you. And it almost caused Taehyung’s death too.’

            ‘What?’ You blurted, whipping your head towards Taehyung. Did the woman attack him too? You could not understand, your mind becoming a jumbled mess.

            It was still Seokjin who continued talking. ‘When you didn’t come out for too long from the store, Mihee went to check on you, and she found you bleeding almost to death. She called me, and we rushed there to get you. A few seconds late, we could’ve lost you there. We decided to treat you here in your house instead of Tae’s. We thought that you could be cured the way Taehyung did before, but we were wrong. It got a lot worse. It affected Tae too. It was like he tried to relieve you from the pain, but it got to him instead. He passed out once after trying to heal you, the same time you stopped breathing.’

            A tear rolled down your cheek, and Taehyung smiled sadly at you. He lifted your hand that he was holding, softly kissing your knuckle. ‘Shh, I’m here, alright? Safe and sound.’

            You nodded, blinking away the rest of the tears. You almost caused the death of the man that you loved; you needed to be stronger than this if you want to protect him too. The table went silent for a moment, even your cousin had stopped sobbing in her boyfriend’s arms. You just stared at Taehyung in silence, before you were reminded of something. ‘She said she didn’t want me. She wanted you.’

            Taehyung’s brows knotted in confusion. ‘What do you mean?’

            ‘Before she bit me. She said she wasn’t aiming for me. She said she wanted you.’ The moment you said it, his eyes widened, colours draining from his face when he flicked his gaze to Seokjin. ‘What’s wrong? Do you know her?’

            ‘It’s Krystal.’ Seokjin’s voice sounded hard, and when you looked at him, his face showed anger. He pushed back his chair, standing up and running his fingers into his hair in frustration. ‘How the hell did she find us after all these years?’

            ‘Who is she?’ You asked, surprised that both of them seemed to know who had attacked you even without needing you to explain how she looked like. Taehyung jumped slightly when you tugged on his hand, seemingly still shocked with the sudden revelation. He was staring at nothing. ‘Why would she want you?’

            ‘She’s Taehyung’s cousin. His real cousin,’ Seokjin said, anger evidently laced in his voice. His face was red, possibly due to the supressed anger, and he walked away from the dining table to start pacing around the living room. His gaze suddenly snapped towards the sliding door at the balcony, and he nodded to himself. He walked to the window next to it, before placing his palm on the glass, his other hand flat on his chest. Closing his eyes, he started muttering something that you were not able to decipher.

            ‘What is he doing?’ You asked, unable to understand Seokjin’s weird behaviour.

            ‘He’s keeping us safe,’ Taehyung answered, and he squeezed your hand once again. But this time, it did not seem like he was reassuring you—he seemed to be on edge. ‘If Krystal’s really back, we need to be safe, we can’t let her find out we’re here. Damn it, we should have stayed at the summer house instead, we would be safer there.’

            The whole apartment started to dim, as if all the curtains were drawn down. It was all too familiar. The same thing happened when the red-head vampire attacked you. You glanced at Seokjin again, noticing him looking out through the window in silence. ‘Did Seokjin do this? Because the same thing happened on that day… when everything happened, Mihee didn’t even notice that they were attacking me.’

            Taehyung nodded, but then his brows furrowed. ‘No way… That means she found─’

            ‘She got herself her own dream walker,’ Seokjin interrupted, seemingly becoming more frustrated. He leant back against the sliding door and crossed his arms. ‘How did she find one? It was a rare chance to even find a dream walker, let alone work with them. I’ve met one once, but she’s too old to still be alive right now.’

            ‘What’s a dream walker?’ you asked, confused as to the term they were using. You turned to see if your cousin was oblivious just like you, but the way she pointed at Seokjin to answer you proved that you were the only one left behind.

            Taehyung opened his mouth to explain, but Seokjin intervened once again. ‘We don’t have time for this, please. You’ll know what a dream walker is soon, what I do. But for now, get yourself prepared. We may need to run off somewhere; I don’t think we can stay here much longer. Namjoon, take Mihee to your place tonight. You both will be safe there; I don’t think they’ll recognise Mihee to look for her. And until I say it’s safe, please don’t try to look for us.’

            When Namjoon stood from his chair to protest, Seokjin sent him a stern look that was enough to send him sitting back in silence. ‘Look, this is not your fight, Namjoon. You take care of Mihee, don’t leave her alone.’ And turning to Mihee, Seokjin’s face softened. ‘I’ll make sure she’s safe, Mihee. This is the only way.’

            Mihee seemed reluctant, her eyes watering again, but when Namjoon gently coaxed her, she nodded. Tears were falling down her cheeks when they both rose up to start packing for their things to leave. The wait was filled with silence as Mihee grabbed a few clothes into her luggage bag, both her face and Namjoon looking so forlorn when they came out of the room. You released Taehyung’s hand and ran to your cousin, pulling her into a tight hug. You were both a crying mess. ‘I’ll be safe. Seokjin and Taehyung will protect me. I trust them.’

            Her grip on you was so tight you almost could not draw another breath. ‘I’ve always known you are special, but not in this way. Please, stay safe. Don’t die on me again. Promise me you won’t leave.’ Her voice was shaking so badly to the point it was too hard to understand anything. But you nodded anyway, promising to stay safe. She kissed your forehead once, before releasing you from the embrace. And with a look full of hope, she left with Namjoon.

            You almost collapsed on the floor, if not for Taehyung’s quick reflex to catch you in his arms. He wiped away the tears from your face, and as much as you wanted to bury yourself into him and let him protect you, it was not the right thing to do. You need to be stronger. Pushing yourself away from him, you took a deep breath, catching Seokjin’s eyes. ‘What do we need to do?’

            ‘I’ll be going back to the summer house tonight to grab a few things. I don’t think we should go back there for now, Krystal might target that place since she’s familiar with it,’ he began. ‘Both of you stay here for the night, the spell will at least hide this place for several days. I’ll try to find a safe place where we can go as soon as possible. Be ready.’

            ‘And then, what? After we leave, what do we have to do?’ You questioned, finding Seokjin’s plans rather weak. The plan was to run and hide, but for how long? How long until she found you again?

            Seokjin was silent for a moment, before his shoulders drooped and he shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t know either.’

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

            You stared as Taehyung paced around the room, biting his fingernails restlessly. It had been several hours since Seokjin left, and it had been an exhausting day so both you and Taehyung decided to rest in your bedroom. Instead of resting, he had not even sat down but was pacing back-and-forth, not saying a word to you.

            ‘Taehyung, are you nervous?’ You asked softly, trying not to alarm him. You were sitting on the bed with your legs pulled against your chest and your chin on your knees, wearing only your pyjama shirt and a pair of shorts.

            He stopped, pulling away his hand from his mouth in a surprise, as if finally realising what he was doing. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed. ‘No, I’m not nervous. Are you?’

            ‘Well, I’m not the one who won’t even sit down first,’ you mused. It made a small smile appear on his lips, and he approached the bed before planting a soft kiss on the crown of your head.

            ‘I’m sorry. I guess I’m not really in my right mind,’ he explained as he sat down next to you, taking one of your hands and holding it in both of his hands. ‘It’s just that... the last time I met Krystal, things hadn’t been good. I don’t want any bad things to happen to you. And to everyone else.’

            ‘Why is she looking for you?’ You considered not asking at first, but if you don’t know on what basis you were being in danger of, how were you going to protect yourself. If he tried to avoid the question, you will have to come up with a way to force it out of him.

            Taehyung released a long sigh, his grip on your hand tightening. He chewed on his bottom lip, possibly considering how he was going to open up to you. As impatient as you wanted to know, you remembered Mihee’s words to give him time. He will tell you when he was ready. But his next words were a surprise. ‘Do you think I’m immortal?’

            ‘Immortal?’ You asked in bewilderment. Why was he asking something like this?

            ‘Just answer me.’

            ‘I…’ To be honest, the fact had never crossed your mind. Everything had happened too fast, from the moment you were revealed of his true nature, to being exposed to a world that you no longer recognise. Vampires were normally associated with being immortal, but were they really immortal? Seokjin did mention earlier that Taehyung almost died when he tried curing you. ‘I don’t know, Taehyung. I honestly don’t know what to think.’

            ‘I’m not,’ he answered, and his voice was so light he made it sound like a joke. But then he closed him eyes, dropping his head forward to your shoulder. It surprised you, but you let him stay that way, gently running your fingers through his blonde locks. ‘But Krystal is. She doesn't age.’

            ‘How can that be? You both are of the same…,’ you trailed away, a frown forming on your brows.

            ‘Species?’ he offered. When you nodded slowly, he buried his face further into your neck. ‘We are, but I’m only half of it. My mother is a normal human, just like you.’

            ‘Wait, what?’ you snapped, trying to push him off of you so that you could face him, but he refused to budge. ‘Your… your mother is not a vampire?’

            He nodded, his hair tickling your neck. ‘But she died not long after I was born. Truthfully, I’m just like you, with a life that can end at any time. A half vampire is considered as the weak ones and most of us were killed after we were born because we’re a disgrace to our kind. But my father, he kept me only for a sole reason. He loved my mother too dearly, and because I’m a part of her, he wanted me to live. So he ran away from his family. He left everything and found a place to live, far from everyone. Because of my mother, he stopped drinking people’s bloods and settled with animals’ instead. It weakened him, but at least he can survive without the need to kill anyone.

            ‘For a long time, it was just the two of us. The both of us lived like normal people, even though we never really communicated with real humans. My father used to be one of the strongest vampires, and Krystal really looked up to him, so when he disappeared from our family, she was furious. It made her loath humans, because according to her, humans are just meant to be our source of food. Including me. I am part human, and she hated me because of that. And on the night I turned twelve, Krystal found us.’ He paused, and one of his hands released yours, clutching on your shirt instead. His hands were trembling.

            You traced circles on the back of his neck, trying to calm him. Softly, you whispered for him to continue. ‘What did she do then?’

            ‘She attacked the place we lived. Burned everything down. My father tried to protect my life, but during the process, he… he was murdered. There are only two ways to kill a vampire; the lack of blood to drink, or decapitating his head. And that was what Krystal did to him. She beheaded him right in front of my eyes.’ He was clutching so tight on you, so afraid, so fragile. The memories were too dark; you were not sure how he was able to survive all of them.

             ‘I was too terrified to do anything. I just watched him die in front of me. There was not even enough time to mourn for him before she got her hands on me. She blamed me entirely for the death of my father. She said I deserved something worse than death itself.’ He suddenly pulled away, and the painful expression he had on his face made you burst into tears. He tried to smile, pulling you into his arms. ‘Oh baby, please don’t cry. You’re breaking my heart.’

            ‘I’m sorry,’ you cried on his chest. When you were sure that the tears had stopped, you pulled away, rubbing your face roughly. Taehyung reached out for your hands again, a thin smile on his lips.

            ‘You know, some vampires are born with wings. We can fly wherever we want. And despite being only a half vampire, I was born with wings too,’ he said while he played with your fingers. Before you could question why you have never seen him with a pair of wings, the smile on his face disappeared. ‘But I lost them. Krystal ripped it away from me. She stripped me off the only power I had, and she threw me into the forest. She knew I would not survive; I would bleed to death on my own there. She wanted me to die a slow death.’

            ‘No...’ you whimpered. It was all too much; your heart was breaking for him. He was so young, but he had experienced too much, losing both parents and betrayed by his own kind.

            To your astonishment, he was smiling now. ‘I almost died, but then Seokjin came along. He was a young scout then, on a camp nearby. On that night, he dreamed of me, and he went out of his way to find me and save me. He nursed me back to health, and taught me how to walk again. It took me almost a year to be able to walk on my own; the loss of my wings was too great a toll on me. I owed my life to Seokjin, he was the only reason I survived until today. He took my father’s place of protecting me.’

            Seokjin must mean the whole world to him, and you could see it in his eyes when he spoke about the man. You leaned forward to wrap your arms around his neck, kissing the side of his face. ‘I’m grateful that he saved you. He was the reason I found you.’

            ‘And the reason I found you,’ he continued, his arms around your waist.

            When you pulled back, you were reminded of something. Back on the day before you ran away from him and Seokjin, you could not forget what you saw in the study room. The scars. ‘Are the scars on your back… because of your wings?’

            Taehyung nodded slowly. He must have sensed your curiosity, because he chuckled and tapped a finger on your nose. ‘I’m guessing that you want to see it closely?’

            You bite your lower lip before nodding. ‘May I?’

            He nodded again, his fingers started ing his shirt. Halfway through, he paused. ‘You’re the first person that I’m allowing to see it, other than Seokjin.’ The way his voice was shaky made you realise that he was nervous.

            You reached out, touching his hands. Peeling his fingers away from the buttons, you resumed the work. You let the shirt fall from his shoulders, revealing his upper torso. ‘I promise I’ll be gentle,’ you said, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek before going to the other side of the bed to see his back. What you saw was enough to let you know how severe the wounds had been. ‘They’re beautiful,’ you whispered as your fingers traced on the blackened skin, feeling the rough texture under your soft finger pads. The scars started just beneath his shoulder bone, going way down to his waist. It was like someone had dug a knife deep into his skin, and tore his back open mercilessly.

            You felt his body tensing beneath your touch, and you wanted nothing but to make him feel better. It must have killed him, when they tore away the wings from his back, ripping off his flesh and meat. How much did he cry, when he was left alone to bleed to the point of death, without anyone to help him ease the pain? The thought of him curled all alone, bathed in blood and tears made your own eyes well up. If Seokjin had not found him…

            Leaning in, you softly pressed your lips on the scars, peppering light kisses on them. It managed to make him became less tense, and you heard him release a small sigh. Your lips traced the scars gently from his shoulders, down to his waist, his body trembling slightly. ‘They’re beautiful because they’re a part of you.’

            He turned his body to face you, staring into your eyes. The two deep brown orbs that you loved so dearly were now welled with fresh tears. You reached out to cup his face, his cheeks with your thumbs. Your heart was swelling with so much love that you did not even think before you climbed into his lap pressed your lips firmly against his mouth. ‘I love you,’ you pronounced when you pulled back.

            It was the first time you admitted your feelings to him, and he seemed taken aback. But he was quick to respond, wrapping an arm around yours waist while his other hand gently caressed your neck. He wasted no time in pulling you for another kiss, a much more passionate one. His hot mouth melded against yours as he tenderly brushed his hands into your hair, enveloping you impossibly closer. He softly bit your lower lip, it between his lips.

            He pushed you back against the mattress and hovered on top of you. Releasing your lips, he trailed kisses down to your jaw and neck. When he in the tender skin beneath your ear, you gasped, a whimper escaping your lips. Giving a last kiss on the side of your face, Taehyung pulled back, resting his forehead against yours. You were breathing hard and your whole body felt warm. The smile that he had on his face made your heart skip a beat.

            ‘I love you too. I love you so much.’

A/N: I'm sorry for the horrible grammar errors and all other s. I wrote this in a rush, I promise I'll try fixing everything later.

Anyway, I recently got accepted into university, and I've been drowned with assignments ever since. I'm trying to spend some time writing, but it's so hard to juggle everything. I hope this will be enough to satisfy your thirsts. There are a lot of dialogues in the chapter because we need to know Taehyung's history.  They're not really in details much, so do ask if you're curious about anything else!

Enjoy, my sweethearts ♡

P.S: can you guess what's coming in the next chapter? hint: something steamy