Track 51. BRICK BY BORING BRICK by Paramore | ♩

A woman, probably in her late thirties, was sitting in front of Hyerin. There was an uncanny resemblance between the woman and Hyerin. The button nose, the mouth, that familiar spark of viciousness in the eyes...

Hyerin looked at her with remorse and defeat. “I’m sorry, mother.” She sighed deeply, her shoulders depleting. “I wish we could do something to reverse it, but you know how curses are. They’re in effect for eternity.” 

“Exactly.” Her mother stared at her with determination, she then reached out and placed her hand above her daughter’s. “If I can’t reverse it, then we shall resort to something else.” 

“And that is?”

“Revenge.” 

Hyerin’s eyebrows furrowed with disapproval. “What? No. You’re up against Haejung, one of the most powerful superhumans at the moment.” She argued. “What’s done is done.”

“Have you forgotten what Haoran has done to you?” Hyerin’s mother hissed. “He made you feel like you were his final chapter only for you to find out that you weren’t the conclusion to the serie—”

“I haven’t.” Hyerin replied quickly. “But there’s no point in dwelling on it. He loved me, I loved him but Mei was the one for him. It made me furious how he…” Hyerin breathed deeply. “...He couldn’t have broken it down to me softly, and not dropped it like an atomic bomb out of nowhere. I’m mad, I am, I really am and I—” I really wished I was the one. His final book, the last page, the period. Maybe...just maybe...in another lifetime… Hyerin shook her head out of the thoughts that she buried eons ago. “You didn’t deserve to have your lifespan cut in half for being forced to place that curse on Mei but remember, Mei’s gonna have to deal with it the rest of her life, and she doesn’t deserve that as well.”

“All that girl needs to do is not speak a word about the Ignis Clan’s Black Flames and she can get by!” Her mother looked at her with wild eyes and frustration. It was clear that she wanted so badly for Hyerin to see the injustice, and while Hyerin was not entirely blind to such a thing, vengeance was just not her thing. It would lead to a cycle and who’s to say that they would outsmart Haejung? They were normal witches. Haejung was not a normal vampire. There was a huge gap between their strengths. 

“Look, mum. My heart breaks for you. It does. Immortality is every superhuman’s gift, but it can still be taken away. It’s sad that the clock has started to tick for you, but look at it this way, mum—despite immortality, there are ways to kill superhumans. And they’re not done nicely. They’re usually brutal.” Hyerin squeezed her hand as if she was trying to transfer the care and affection she had for her mother. “Think about it. You’re luckier than those who were killed. Let’s just look on the bright side, yeah? Knowing that you’re going away soon will make each moment more worthwhile, won’t it?” 

Her mother parted to say something, but she shut it and flashed Hyerin a small smile. “You’re right, my daughter.” She said quietly. “You’re right.” 

(The crystal ball becomes clouded, and a different scene surfaces…)