A week passed since the day Yunho took his dragon form and made his appearance to the public. Everything seems to have calmed but like the old saying goes, it’s the calming before a storm. Junsu stood in the middle of a crowded room filled with all branches from the shim family. Even lower branches that don’t usually get invited to participate in this type of meeting were also presence. The air in the room was heavy making it hard for Junsu to even breathe. He look to his right and noticed his mother standing there along with his step-dad whom he had never bonded with. Junsu didn’t even want to be part of this family meeting however his mother forced him since changmin was in no state to be here. Ever since his grandfather is placed in life support, changmin had spent most of his time there at the old man’s side. These last couple of days, changmin looked more dead than usual. He barely smiled, barely eat or talk to anyone. It’s not like Junsu can blame him after what went down a few days ago. He lost his best friend whom he loved dearly as well as the man who raised him since he was a toddler.

“Like I say!...” a loud and stern voice echoed into the room as a man in his late 50’s spoke “He is living on life support…even the doctor stated he will never wake up again…we are doing him a favor by pulling the plug!”

“I object to that idea!…until he takes his last breathe he is still the head of the shim family…we cannot decide his faith…”

“So what? Are we just going to wait until he died on his own? As long as he is on life support we will never know for sure if he will take his last breathe or if by miracle he will continue to live” spoke another member of this household

The argument continued as the people in the room has been divided into two opposing groups. Branches that are lower seem to want to pull the plug on junsu’s grandfather while those in the higher branches wanted to give him more time to see if he will recover. Junsu only stood there feeling like their constant yelling sounded like screeches to his ear making it hurt.

“I seem everyone had forgotten something important…” an older man possibly in his late 50’s spoke.

Junsu turn his attention to the older fat man sitting on an arm chair drinking his tea. Now that Junsu think about it, he has yet to voice his opinion. He has been silently sitting there enjoying the refreshments. Junsu looked at him from head to toe and did not recall ever seeing him in any of the family gathering.

“Even though the Mr. Shim is currently on life support living in dream land…he still have an heir…” he spoke

“What do you mean Byungchul?”

The fat man name ByungChul smiled as he set his cup down on the small plate in his hand “Have you forgotten the rules…when the head of the household is no longer in the condition to lead…it will be his heir who will take all responsibilities including the decision of the previous head’s life…in other words… the heir…the only one who could make this decision is Shim Changmin…”

Junsu could see his step-dad tense up with a hint of jealousy. Even though he married into the main house, the next in line should have been him. However the grandfather made it clear that once he passed, it will be changmin’s duty to take the lead not his father. The entire room became quiet as this reality dawned upon everyone. The expression on their face became bitter upon the thought that someone as young as Changmin will be in charge of all branches.

“While everyone is here, let’s bring about another topic that everyone seems to be ignoring” another man in his late 30’s spoke

Once again Junsu did not recognize this family member. It makes him wonder just how many branches in this household he not knew about. However junsu noticed the irritated look upon everyone’s face when the man spoke.

“MinSeok….you are part of the lower branch...what makes you think you can speak so freely?” one of the female in the room spoke

The man name Minseok didn’t seem to mind the way she spoke to him, he only smiled and continued on with what he wanted to talk about “For years we have been seeing the old man as crazy…we saw his obsession as childish and ignored him…a lot of us thought for sure he had lost his mind however…a few days ago you all saw it as clear as I did…a beautiful…a magnificent blue dragon appeared…”

Upon the mention of dragons, everyone became tense

“That was enough proof that the old man was not lying…he was telling the truth…only he acknowledged our family history while the rest of you decided to ignore it…but now we can no longer ignore such sighting…a dragon has appear before us…the blood in our vines…the thirst that was carried from our ancestors to us are throbbing…”

“Are you really suggesting that we slay the dragon like our ancestors? Like how Mr. Shim stated we were doing in the past?” one of the men spoke with a sarcastic smile “MinSeok…it seems you have lost you mind as much as Mr. Shim did…”

“Don’t say it as if I’m not the only one who thought about it…”

Once again the room became quiet

“This is not the past…we are civilized people…we don’t take arms going after a dragon like some children story…” an older female spoke

“Does that mean you do not wish for immortality?” Minseok asked with a cunning smile

Upon the mention of immortality, all attention was drawn to Minseok as if something in each and every one of them has awakened.

“A dragon has appear….in other words…a dragon bride has been chosen…a heart for immortality has appear before us after so many centuries…don’t tell me you are planning to let this rare opportunity slip by for someone else to grab”

Junsu didn’t like where this was going. He may have not meet MinSeok before but he could tell this guy was planning something. For one thing why would he bring something like this up in a family meeting regarding the health of his grandfather?  It’s as if he wanted to provoke every family to act regarding Yunho and jaejoong.

After another hour or so, the family meeting came to an end with the decision that they will wait for changmin. Until he gives them his opinion, there isn’t really anything the relatives can do. They cannot go against the main house especially the heir. MinSeok walked down the hallway before ByungChul call out to him.

“What are you planning?” ByungChul asked calmly

“What do you mean?”

“You wouldn’t bring up the topic of dragons when all the branches have gathered…”

MinSeok only smiled “it will be more fun this way don’t you agree? Now all branches will participate in this little game of dragon hunt…it’s more exciting when everyone is playing together…”

Byungchul was quiet for a moment before he too smile “I guess you are right…it wouldn’t be fun unless everyone go against each other to see who can obtain the dragon bride’s heart…however with every household aiming for the heart…it will be hard for you to obtain it as well…why make it harder is what I wonder”

“That is where you are wrong…I have no interest in the heart…”

“Oohhh…then what are you aiming for?”

MinSeok smiled widely before slightly turning away to leave “I wonder….?”

Without answering the question MinSeok only walked away leaving ByungChul to wonder about MinSeok. Even though he have seen MinSeok a few times and talked to him briefly, he still finds him to be a difficult man to understand.

Junsu was more than happy to get out of that horrible family meeting. His mother had asked him to rest at their house however Junsu refuse. He finds the hotel room to be more comfortable where he could breathe easily without having to put up with unnecessary conversation. It’s not like he will be here much longer, he planned to leave after he conclude that Changmin is fine. But he isn’t sure when that will be, it’s been a week and yet changmin has not recovered. He slides his hotel card key into the slot by the door as it beep. He turns the door knob and enters the room feeling totally drained. That was when he noticed the hotel room window open as the cool breeze filled the space.

“How long do you plan to stalk me?” Junsu spoke knowing very well who it might be

“I’m not stalking” came the voice of Yoochun

“you are clearly stalking…don’t  think I haven’t noticed you following me for the last few days…if you have something to say then just say it and leave me alone…”

Yoochun was nervous as he only looks at Junsu without a word. This was making Junsu feel uncomfortable. For one thing he hates it when people stare at him like he is some exhibit.

“If you don’t have anything to say then leave me alone…I don’t want to be dragged into anymore of your trouble…the last one was frightening…”

Junsu walks pass Yoochun and heads toward the bed as he removes his thin jacket

“Thank you…” Yoochun finally found the words he has wanted to say for the last couple of days

This caused junsu to turn around a bit surprise

“You risked your life to help break me out of that cage and yet I haven’t been able to thank you…”

“Don’t make it sound so dramatic…I didn’t do anything life threatening…all I did was peel off those charms…”

“That may be but I still wanted to thank you…in return…I wanted to give you this…”

Yoochun took out a small pendent that looked like a smaller version of a dragon scale. It glimmers beautifully reflecting color of yellow, orange and red like fire.

“What is it?” Junsu asked as he took it before placing it in front of the sunlight to watch it glow.

“It’s one of my scales” spoke Yoochun

“You mean a dragon scale?!” Junsu shouted

“Yes…”

“Holy crap! This is awesome!!! It’s so beautiful!!”  Shouted Junsu in excitement

He smiles upon the thought of having a real dragon scale in his hand. The color of the scale draws his attention; he has seen many beautiful things in his line of work but never anything like this. It was far more beautiful than any jewels he has come across and sparkles brighter than any diamond.

“Is it really okay for me to have this? Didn’t it hurt having to pull this scale from your flesh?”

“No…we always grow new scale to replace the one that has fallen…”

“I see…”

Yoochun look at Junsu and he couldn’t help but smiles. This was the same reaction Xiah had when he too first laid eyes on Yoochun’s dragon scale. They maybe two different people but Yoochun could tell they are the same soul.

“I’ll be taking my leave…”

“Wait...” Junsu spoke “what…are you planning to do now?”

Yoochun’s expression changed to one of seriousness “I have to find Yunho…I want to make sure he is okay…he was badly injured…it’s only right that a fellow dragon look after another…”

Junsu was quiet as he remembers the family meeting and the topic that was brought upon them by MinSeok “Fire dragon…”

“Yoochun…” he spoke “my name is Yoochun…”

“Okay Yoochun shhi…”

“Just yoochun is fine…”

“Yoochun it is then…there is something I need to tell you…” spoke Junsu “I don’t know when or how but…my family will be hunting for Yunho and jaejoong…rather you already know it or not but my family are dragon hunters…they will want jaejoong’s heart…”

Yoochun was quiet as Junsu continue “If you find Yunho and jaejoong…warn them…tell them to go as far away as possible…right now…Seoul is not safe for either of them…as well as you…”

“I will let them know…” said Yoochun as he headed toward the window and climbed onto the window frame.

“Yoochun…” Junsu called out to him as he turn around “thank you for this…I’ll treasure it” Junsu smiled

With that being said Yoochun flew from the open window into the sky above and disappear from sight. Junsu walked over to the window and felt the breeze upon his face. He once again looks at the scale in his hand. Even though it’s just a simple scale, he could feel the warmth emitting from it before his lip curved into a gentle and soft smile.

Meanwhile changmin walked into his grandfather hospital room. The cast on his leg has been removed as his injuries have started to heal. However he was advised not to do any heavy lifting or put any weight on his leg until it fully heals. He placed the basket of flowers onto the table hoping that this little buddle of beauty will give this room some colors. He turns toward his grandfather who has yet to awaken from his slumber. Even the doctor isn’t sure when he will wake up or if he will ever wake up. Changmin sat down on the chair next to the bed with sadden eyes. The expression on his face was lifeless and dead.

“You have done nothing but come here…you should think about your own health as well” spoke YongHwa

“YongHwa…” changmin spoke “is there any news?” he asked ignoring the statement about his health

“None…I have searched everywhere but no sign of them anywhere …”

Changmin smiles with hint of sadness “By now he probably took him far away…they probably aren’t even here in Korea anymore… it’s probably a good thing…”

YongHwa only stood there feeling pity toward the young master “Why must you put yourself in this situation? Your grandfather won’t be able to hunt down your friend anymore…shouldn’t you be happy? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Changmin turn to his sleeping grandfather “I wanted to stop  him…I wanted to end the tradition of dragon hunting…I didn’t want him to actually be in harm or have anything terrible happen to him…”

“From how I see it…you seem more depress about your friend being taken away then your grandfather lying here…” YongHwa spoke

Changmin paused as he recalls the moment Jaejoong climbed onto Yunho and being taken away. The few seconds that he got looking into those big brown eyes, he could see something in there that wasn’t there before. It was as if jaejoong who wasn’t capable of loving has slowly learned to love. Every time he thinks about it, it makes him irritated. He keeps asking himself over and over again why it wasn’t him.

“Is it that obvious?” Changmin asked

“It’s written all over your face…”

Changmin was quiet for a bit as the sound of machines echoed into the room “When I first saw jaejoong I fell in love…spending time with him made me attracted to him even more…his cold and deadly gaze didn’t scare me…his harsh treatment of making me his gopher boy didn’t bother me…he had threaten to beat me up a few time if I didn’t leave him alone and to be honest that only made me happy…I lived a life where everything was catered to me…anything I want I get…anything I’m unsatisfied with will be changed right away…and yet meeting jaejoong, I made my first decision without the influence of others…I made the decision that he will be the one person I’ll do everything in my power to protect to love to make sure he have endless happiness…and yet at the end…he was swept away from me without me even realizing it…” changmin chuckle bitterly “I used to joke around with him that the symbol on his chest could be the marking of a dragon bride without realizing that that is the truth…I don’t know when or how it happen but jaejoong had belong to someone else long before I came along…”

YongHwa didn’t say anything as changmin continued “You must think I’m a fool huh?”

“You are no fool…we can’t control who we fall in love with…”

Changmin turn to his grandfather once more “I lost jaejoong…I don’t even know if I will ever get to see him again…but I can’t lose my grandfather…he is all I have left…”

“It’s kind of ironic if you ask me…the friend you love dearly end up putting your grandfather in this state…the grandfather who raised you end up driving your friend away…they are like two opposite end of a magnet and you happen to get stuck in the middle while the two force are pushing each other away…”

Changmin didn’t say anything as he felt like the more he thinks about it, the more depress he will become.

“I don’t need you to do anything…I just want to know if jaejoong is okay…if you do find them…don’t do anything…don’t interrupt them…just report to me” said changmin

“Are you sure you are satisfied with just that?”

“Yea…”

YongHwa sigh “you kind of disappoint me changmin shhi…I thought for sure you have a little more fighting spirit in you…like your grandfather once said to me…if you want something badly…then do whatever you can to get it…”

With that being said YongHwa exited the room leaving changmin alone. An image of jaejoong smiling flashed before Changmin’s eyes as he clenched his fist tightly. It wasn’t like he doesn’t want to rip jaejoong away from Yunho; it’s the fact that he was scare…scare of himself. At that moment when Yunho took jaejoong, he was hoping Yunho will died right there and then, he was actually cheering for YongHwa and the others to defeat Yunho so he couldn’t take Jaejoong away.  It’s this unfamiliar part of him that scares him. The last thing he wants to do is take the wrong step and make jaejoong angry or sad.

The moon hovers high above the sky as it illuminate small amount of lights onto the small broken down cottage. Footsteps could be heard making its way toward the front door. However this person was disappointed when the door is pushed open only to reveal the emptiness. He looks around the room and spotted the little fire place and the burnt woods on the ground. He took out his phone and dialed a number with a disappointed look on his face.

“I’m here at the location investigating the report about a strange light coming from here…I found a abandon cottage however…from the look of it, someone was staying here but whoever was here has left” the man spoke “yes…it could be the blue dragon and his bride….alright…I’ll head back now”

He looks at the cottage once more before leaving the place. Once he is out of sight, Yunho and jaejoong emerge from the nearby trees hiding within its dark shadows.

“Looks like your little light show a few days ago has drawn some attention” spoke jaejoong as he leans against the tree and crossed his arms

“It can’t be helped…we both needed healing…”

“So what now? Are we really going to live a life like fugitives on the run?”

“We will need to go far from here? This part of the forest is too close to the city. By now everyone would have seen my dragon form alerting others…changmin’s grandfather won’t be our only problem if we continue to stay here”

“Where can we go to be consider as safe?” jaejoong asked

“Anywhere but here…”

Jaejoong became quiet for a bit feeling irritated with Yunho. For one thing Yunho is a powerful dragon and yet for the last couple of days has been nothing but run and hide. If he had the kind of power and strength as Yunho, he would have stormed into the shim family household and destroyed them before they destroyed him.

“Why can’t you just fight back instead of running away?” jaejoong asked

“By fighting…it will bring death…I had enough of that in the past…”

“But…running and hiding will not solve anything…”

“It’s better than putting innocent people in danger…”

Jaejoong only let out a heavy and frustrated sigh “Look Yunho…you have been sleeping in the sea for too long…running and hiding won’t stop them…they will track us down no matter where we go…”

“Then what do you expect us to do?”

“Fight back…”

Yunho became quiet as he looks at jaejoong in disbelief “No…we will go far away…”

“And what if I say no…”

Yunho glared at jaejoong feeling like his bride to be has once again become difficult to handle

“Sorry Yunho…I am grateful for everything you have done for me but…I don’t want to go with the method of run and hide every time there is danger…I am a fighter…”

“You are a dragon bride…”

“Thus you are the dragon bond to me…rather than being scare, be courageous and protect me”

“That is what I am trying to do”

“No it is not…you are trying to run away from the problem…this is an endless cycle Yunho…the past will continue to repeat itself like it is now…nothing has changed from history… “

“It doesn’t matter…I won’t allow you to stay here,”

“Yunho…”

“Enough!” Yunho shouted startling jaejoong “I don’t want to hear anymore…”

Without another word Yunho walked away. Jaejoong stood there in the darkness as he sighs heavily. He turns his gaze toward the sky as the moon hoovers above them as millions of stars twinkles at its side. Jaejoong couldn’t help but missed the comfort of his apartment. He misses the city life, the food, the comfy bed, a proper roof over his head, a new change of clothes and not to mention he misses Gummy and changmin. He only took a few steps when a pair of hand reached out from behind him and covered his mouth before pulling him into the darkness. Yunho who wasn’t far away could hear rustling noise as he turn around only to see jaejoong missing.

“jaejoong?...”

Yunho rushed back to where jaejoong was standing as he frantically look around but didn’t see his bride anywhere.

“Jaejoong ah!” Yunho shouted but hear no response.

He cursed to himself, blaming himself for not paying attention for letting his guard down. He knew that the minute he takes his eyes off of jaejoong, something like this will happen and yet he did it anyway. Yunho can hear more rustling noise coming from the darkness in front of him however it was fading fast. He quickly give chase and came to a large open space. His eyes widen in complete shock.

His bride to be was standing there completely fine however the man lying on the ground wasn’t doing so great. Jaejoong had managed to escape the captor and beat him unconscious.  Another man came out of the darkness wielding a knife as he aim it at jaejoong who dodged the attack as he quickly grab onto the other man’s hand and flip him over. The man groan painfully,  jaejoong picks up the knife and swings it down right between the other guy’s legs shy of his manhood.

The man became scare as he quickly stood up and took off running like his life depends on it. Yunho however wasn’t going to like this go. He was planning to catch him and make him pay for trying to take his bride. His eyes were glowing as he begins to conjure water. Jaejoong stopped him with a sense of calmness as if this wasn’t anything to be angry about.

“They aren’t the enemy…” said jaejoong “they are probably just simple thieves thinking they can get something out of you by taking me…”

“It doesn’t matter…what matter is that they dare to touch you…take you behind my back!” glare Yunho

“I am fine Yunho…I’m not harmed in anyway…”

“You better be…otherwise I’ll kill them” he spoke with a serious face that clearly shows he isn’t kidding.

Jaejoong only let out a sigh before smiling. He flicks Yunho on the forehead startling him.

“I am not weak…I am not someone who can easily be kill or taken…I’ll struggle…I’ll fight with everything I have...I may not be strong like you or able to shoot out water or summon a storm…but I can protect myself…I need you to try and believe in me as well…for one thing I am not a woman I am a man…” said jaejoong as he reached down to pick up the knife that was left behind as he turn to face Yunho with a confident smile  ”Who knows…I might even be the one who have to keep you out of trouble and protect you from danger”

Yunho stood there unsure of what to say. He is awe stricken by Jaejoong’s smile and the confident as well as courage that runs in that slender body. Indeed jaejoong is right…he isn’t a woman; he is strong and is not your typical normal human being. He is different and unique in many ways. For one thing he was able to wake Yunho from his slumber by just a few beats of his heart when nothing could have awoken him. He came to rescue Yunho knowing very well that he could be in danger. Jaejoong is not the average dragon bride. Upon this thought Yunho let out a few chuckles

“What is so funny?”

“You win…to think I’ll lose to you…” Yunho smiled softly taking jaejoong’s breathe away.

He had been with Yunho for the last few weeks and never had he seen him smile like this before. It made him speechless as his heart started to race.

“Let’s go back” said Yunho

“Can you at least fix the roof of that cottage or something?”

Yunho pause as he slightly turn to jaejoong “No…we are going back to the city…” 

Jaejoong’s eyes widen in shock as his lip curved into a big smile “Really?!”

“Like you say…it’s time to stop running and hiding…it’s time to end the cycle…”

Jaejoong rushed up to Yunho and wrapped one of his arms around Yunho’s neck before pulling him close with excitement. This time it is Yunho who felts strange; this warm feeling that is slowly filling his body was something he had never felted before but it was nice.

MinSeok sat in his study room going through a book regarding the history of dragons. The only source of light was the little lamp that stood at the edge of the table. A smile spread across his face as he thought about the future to come. The thought of all the household fighting each other to see who will gain immortality excites him. This will be the start to the end of this world, everything they thought was legends and myths will come to life.

“You look happy?” Boa asked as she enters the room

“why wouldn’t I be happy? Dragons has once again walk among us…. a dragon bride was chosen…. he is the first and possibly the last…. every household of the shim family is getting ready to face off against each other to obtain the heart that will grant immortality…everything as we know it will fall…”

Boa look at MinSeok strangely concluding that this man is twisted in an awful way.

“I have been wondering this…why do you wish for the destruction of this world?”

MinSeok paused his reading as he lifts his gaze to look at Boa “God has many creations…. there are those that he is proud of and then there are those who he regrets creating…each of us living species are given a path to follow…. a challenge to overcome…he places before us our biggest fear…our biggest challenge to see how we will react…to see what we will do…. "

....Rather it is being look down upon by others because of your rank….

MinSeok recalls his painful memories of being humiliated because he was born into the lower branch of the Shim family

....a possible new-found love…

Yunho and jaejoong is walking side by side talking as they smiled 

…the challenge of finding one’s true self…

Changmin sat alone in the hospital room next to his grandfather with a lifeless expression unsure of what he should do from this point on.

…. facing the hardship of meeting someone you once loved but cannot have that same love return….

Yoochun stood on the edge of a business building looking out into the city as the night breeze blew pass. An image of Xiah flashed before his eyes as well as an image of Junsu making his heart ache.

…. A love that will never bear any fruit…

Gummy sat in the middle of her apartment with the light dimly lit. In her hand is a picture, beautifully framed of her and jaejoong. The both of them were smiling in the picture. She traced her finger over jaejoong’s face with a worrisome expression

....Or the return of a past painful love filled with regrets and hatred…

MinSeok look at Boa “I want to end all of that…end this creation...end this world…”

“you…are challenging the gods…” Boa spoke

MinSeok smiled “I am destroying what isn’t perfect and making it into something better…and the only one who can help me with that is the blue dragon…the last of the royal bloodline…through his power…through his strength…the gateway I need to open will be open and this world of suffering and pain will come to an end…”

Gummy was getting ready to head to bed when she heard a sudden knock upon the door. It was strange for anyone to come by at this hour, but the thought that it might be jaejoong made her open the door. To her horror, two tall men stood in front of her apartment door looking at her strangely. All her red flags went off as she tried to slam the door shut but one of them manages to stop her and pushes the door open. Gummy ran into the living room to grab her phone but the second guy grabbed onto her first. She starts to struggle but it was no use as a white cloth is placed over . The last thing she saw was the picture frame sitting on the living room table.

ByungChul could be seen in his large house looking at the files before him as YongHwa stood at his side "Are you sure we can use her?"

"yes..." spoke YongHwa "In all the years that I was following Changmin...I have come to noticed the close relationship between her and the dragon bride...we can use her to lure him to us..."

ByungChul smiled widely "Good....lets see what this dragon bride is trully capable of to be able to escape death and put that old man in a coma...I guess you can consider this as a test..."