Track 166 | THIS LOVE by Taylor Swift

“Wow, if Haoran was recruited in 1910; he was only 19 years old.” Rara ran her thumb on the texture of the page. It felt really old and frail. They found themselves at the library, where Baekhyun kept a book that will answer all her questions; why he chose to come back to her six years after they separated. It was the history of Aima Lamia, their past and present council members. Seeing that Haoran, Luhan, and Tao were already in this book, this has been updated.

“Yeah, and then he met Mei one year later.” Baekhyun said. “Then in 1913, they appealed to the council.” Rara continued reading silently. Haoran did mention to her that he was already recruited by the advisors when he met Mei. On another note, 1913 was the year her great grandfather Jaehyun allegedly died. She suddenly wondered how her great grandfather was doing right now. “In 1918, Haoran, Luhan, and Tao became the Ievenius.” Rara read out loud. “There’s a 5-year time frame between Haoran and Mei’s appeal and Haoran being officially a member of the council.” Aware of Aima Lamia’s disapproval of their relationship, it must have been the beginning of their hiding phase. Well, Baekhyun and I had our fair share. She thought.

Rara continued reading, learning more about the basic information about the Aima Lamia, her back well-rested against the soft cushion of the sunken lounge. Had her memories not come back, it would’ve crushed her pride to be back in this specific part of the mansion. Even now, she wanted to punch Baekhyun in the face for not being able to hold back that night, but she was just as accountable because it wasn’t like she resisted. Baekhyun was just beside her, behaving and reading the same page.

Rara’s eyes read something that made her look at it back and forth. The Veteris only serve for 300 years. The first century is spent as the Ievenius of the previous batch, then they will be promoted to Veteris, and these last two centuries will be spent as Veteris, with a new set of Ievenius. Calculating the given numbers, back in 2012 would have been this current Veteris’ 294th year. This year, Haoran, Luhan and Tao would be announced or would have been announced the new Veteris, and a new set of Ievenius would be or would have been chosen.

When her memory of being a vampire got taken away from her, it marked a 6-year countdown until the younger chapter of the council was to replace the older ones. If Haejung wasn’t sitting on that middle throne, then that could mean that whatever she began must come to an end, unless the new leader would allow its continuation.

But if the head next in line is Haoran, then this would be an easy win. No one in the world knew better what it felt like being involved in a relationship not up to Haejung’s standards back in the day.

“Is Haoran,” Rara paused for a while, kind of anxious from her assumptions. The last time she saw Haoran, he was being held down by Luhan and Tao. Was he still alive? If he was, would the advisors have allowed him to be the head of the council? If it was either Luhan and Tao, then there was a lot of uncertainty whether or not they’ll break off the deal Haejung had with her, about how she won’t cause any danger to her family if both Rara and Baekhyun stayed away from each other. Most of the work was on Baekhyun though; having forgotten bulk of her memories, she didn’t have any reason to go near him. “Is Haoran the new head of the council?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun replied with a smile.

Rara laughed heartily; something about how light Baekhyun’s ‘yeah’ sounded, accompanied by a casual smile, made her feel with so much ease. “Really?”

“Really. I think the advisors gave him the position on the same day as your graduation.”

“What?” Rara asked with disbelief. “That was, like, four months ago.”

“I know.”

“Well, why’d you wait four months to give back my memories?”

“I wanted your love, but I wanted to earn it. You think I’d just come up to you and tell to you drink my blood?” Baekhyun chuckled. “Yeah, you would have stabbed me with a scalpel or with those bizarre scissors with bent tips you use for cat dissection.”

“By the way, can I commend everyone for their acting skills? Damn...If I had seen someone whom I’ve known all my life and had to act like I didn’t know her at all, I think I would not be able to hold myself back from telling her the rest of the story.”

Baekhyun chuckled and eased himself on the couch. “I’ll tell you how it went for everyone.”

The Best Friends

August, 2012

Start of Classes, Junior High

“You sure she’s in the library?”

Shinae snickered. “When it comes to knowing Rara the longest, I call dibs on that. I’ve known her since kindergarten, I’ve known her before Baekhyun met her.” Kyung Mi smiled in agreement. “I know her like the back of my hand.”

“I’m kind of nervous, Shinae.” There was a tremble in Kyung Mi’s voice. “How are you going to face her and act like we’re meeting her for the first time?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Shinae confessed. Rara had been a constant figure in her life, and now she's suddenly removed from the whole picture. It happened so abruptly that it didn’t give Shinae enough time to prepare for the day she’ll need to start over with her own best friend. “We’ll figure it out.”

They better. It was also difficult for Kyung Mi as she was overflowing with gratitude for the salvation that Rara and Baekhyun had given her back then. To look at Rara as a complete stranger might sting more than it should.

Rara was looking at the list of books she needed for reference for their homework. She had been acquainted with some of her classmates but she knew deep down she stood alone. She wanted to stand alone—an introvert, through and through.

While she was gathering the books in her hands, she felt someone put a book on her stack, immediately catching her attention.

“Uh, thought you might need that, too.”

Rara found herself staring at one of her classmates—Choi Shinae. There was another one behind her, the one with the thick spectacles—Shin Kyung Mi. She looked at them for a moment, as if she was trying to process what Shinae just told her.

Shinae smiled quite anxiously at Rara. Oh, Rara. You’re still you...still not afraid to stare at people. She thought. Her hand twitched a little bit, almost dropping a book she had been holding. I just wanna give you a tight hug right now.

Kyung Mi swallowed her fear and nervousness and mustered up the courage to say, “I see you’re also about to work on our homework.” Rara nodded slowly, muttering ‘yeah’ under her breath. “Why don’t we, uh, do it together?” She suggested, beaming. “Just like old ti—”

“—Just like...like how classmates are supposed to, yeah?” Shinae gave Kyung Mi a side-eye, making Kyung Mi mouth an apology immediately. At this period of their lives, the ‘old times’ she was about to mention is non-existent to Rara. This was a clean slate. A temporary clean slate. “How about we look for half the books on the list then we’ll borrow them and finish the rest of the homework at a coffee shop?” Shinae proposed. “Then, we could get to know each other.”

As Rara looked at them, Shinae inwardly grinned. And as usual, you’re always so suspicious of other people’s motives. But despite that—

“Sounds like a plan.”

Ah, she’s still kind enough to open up to new people. Kyung Mi thought with a smile. I was a kid back then—I was a stranger. And yet you saved me, without second thoughts.

You haven’t changed the slightest bit, Rara. Shinae and Kyung Mi’s mind chorused.

May, 2018

Planning; Shinae had ust informed Kyung Mi that Haoran had been given the middle throne, the throne of the head of the vampire council, and asked Kyung Mi if she had any idea as to how they’re going to lead Rara to Baekhyun without forcing her.

“Okay first of all,” Rara stared at him for a moment, as if she was waiting for him to do something out of this world. “What did Kyung Mi mean when she said ‘cabin-turned-into-mansion’?”

“Oh, you caught that, huh?” Baekhyun smiled. “This mansion is—was our cabin. I had it demolished, but this is the exact same land.”

“What?!” Baekhyun watched Rara in entertainment as she took in the surprise that she had been living in a bigger version of the cabin she used to share with Baekhyun.

“I don’t think you recognized the woods that much since the mansion took so much space; much of the trees you’re familiar with might have been taken down.”

“You idiot...” She muttered, making Baekhyun laugh. “Goddamn...I remember...we planned this...but I—”

“Ah, to be the one to forget, huh?” He teased.

“Shut up.” Rara shot back. “Can’t believe you did it...I mean, library, office...” Rara straightened up, composing herself. Baekhyun had always been two or more steps ahead of her.

Or maybe not.

“But it’s not foolproof, is it? The plan?” Rara asked knowingly. She listened carefully when Baekhyun retold how Shinae and Kyung Mi tried to incorporate not only themselves, but Baekhyun as well, into her life. It seems that what her two best friends deemed as foolproof was not as well-built.

“I guess not.” He replied, chuckling lightly, understanding the flaw that Rara was pointing out.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter