[CONTENTID1]Blue Iris[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Seven[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Baekhyun kept his arm wrapped securely around Yoonhee’s back, guiding her to his car that was parked close to her flower shop. Her apathetic state worried him. He had never seen her act like this before, and he suspected she was in shock. Baekhyun decided to take her to a place where she could rest—his home.

Yoonhee didn’t pay much attention to what was happening around her. She kept her empty eyes on the road, sometimes feeling Baekhyun’s gaze on her. After they sat in his car, he drove to the very same place where Junmyeon had taken her not long ago. The large property still looked exactly the same, but this time, its appearance didn’t intimidate her anymore.

Baekhyun parked the car in the garage and opened the passenger door to help her get out. Her motions were wobbly and clumsy; she wasn’t in a state where he could leave her alone and he regretted letting her go yesterday. Whatever had happened within the past 24 hours had completely shaken her. How he hated seeing her like this—he wanted her to be happy.

Upon their arrival in the mansion, Baekhyun caught a glimpse of Junmyeon. He leaned in the doorway to the dining room, watching them with furrowed brows. However, he didn’t approach them, sensing that something was off, and let them pass without a word. Yoonhee was too upset to even realize that he was there and barely processed the way from the car to Baekhyun’s bedroom. She just clung to his hand and stared at the wooden floor as they walked.

“Make yourself at home,” he said and guided her to his sofa. She sat down, looking forlorn and all too much like a wilting flower. Her shoulders sagged and her eyes were framed by a reddish hue.

“Do you want something to drink? Are you hungry?”

She shook her head and as she did, the loose scarf around her neck slipped. Baekhyun’s eyes didn’t need a second to take note of the violet marks engraved on her skin. He inhaled sharply, curling his hand to a fist. His nails dug into his palm, leaving crescent moons. Flames of anger through him, nearly burning his calm demeanor to the ground.

“Yoonhee,” he said, reaching for her chin and tilting it up so he could get a better view of her neck. “What happened here?”

When her entire body tensed, his heart was stabbed by needles. She didn’t look at him and shamefully stared at the sofa.

“Please tell me,” he continued, hoping to coax the answer out of her. Baekhyun already had a suspicion in his mind as to who the perpetrator was, but he needed confirmation from her in order to be sure. Given how uncomfortable she looked, he wasn’t convinced she would tell him. He sat down with her, his eyes tracing the marks on her delicate neck—whoever had done this to her would pay.

“Yoonhee?” he whispered, and despite his simmering anger, he managed to keep his voice steady and calm. Only his red eyes revealed his murderous thoughts, but Yoonhee didn’t notice their color since she looked down at her lap.

“I broke up with Sooyoung. It didn’t go well,” she said eventually. “He threatened me.”

Baekhyun was silent for a tad too long. She heard him swallow, grinding his teeth in an edge of rage. “It’s good you finally broke up. You should have told me, then I wouldn’t have left you alone with him,” Baekhyun answered, his tone shifting and seething with indignation. “He won’t reach you here. You will stay with me from now on, where you are safe.”

A mere week ago, hearing these words from a vampire would have shaken her to the core, but now, oddly, they held a promise of security that she desperately needed. She opened her eyes to the undeniable truth; Baekhyun wasn’t her enemy, he wouldn’t hurt or even kill her despite being a vampire. A strong wave of relief washed over Yoonhee, and a few tears rolled over her cheeks.

His scowl was replaced by a frown and he leaned in to embrace her carefully. He waited for a sign that she was uncomfortable with the action, but when he received none, he tightened the hug and let her rest her body at his chest. Only when he nuzzled his face in her neck did she flinch a little.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I won’t do anything,” he whispered with his lips on her jugular, feeling the thrumming of her nervous heartbeat. He left a kiss on her bruise, soothing and soft like the petals of a flower. With every tiny peck he planted on her neck, she became more comfortable with his touch until she closed her eyes and sighed, melting into the relieving feeling of secureness.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Baekhyun asked. “Would that help?”

She mumbled a quiet yes before she began her explanation, snuggling up to him and seeking comfort. “He got angry when I came home yesterday because I was gone for a whole night. And then… he saw the bite mark and lost it,” she recalled and swallowed hard. “He put his hands on my neck and… and I couldn’t breathe. It was frightening. After that, he left and the next time I saw him was in the morning when I broke up with him and he kicked me out.”

Even though her hearing wasn’t as good as that of a vampire, she picked up a low growl from her soulmate. Had he been anyone else, it would have unsettled her. “How dare he treat you like that—he’s lucky I wasn’t around,” Baekhyun hissed. “He vandalized your shop as an act of revenge.”

“Yes,” she breathed. “I’m sure it was him.”

“He will regret his actions,” Baekhyun scowled. Just the idea of this disgusting bastard laying his hands on his soulmate made him furious—he couldn’t stand it and the longer he thought about it, the more his blood boiled. “Did he hurt you like this before?” After seeing the bruises on her neck, Baekhyun didn’t believe it had happened for the first time.

Her eyes remained closed as her features contorted. Lips setting in a hard line, she frowned. Her hand on his chest curled into a fist, grabbing the fabric of his shirt tightly. “Yes,” she confirmed. “He… he sometimes hit me when he got angry and… and he often said I’m not pretty enough for him. That I should wear make-up when I’m with him.”

Baekhyun wanted to ask her why she had never told him about these issues, but no matter how upset he was, he bit his lip and kept the question to himself. She must have been ashamed—that’s what he deduced from her body language. Baekhyun began to understand why she was so insecure about herself—and who was to blame.

“He lied,” Baekhyun growled. He attempted to keep his voice soft but failed as his resentment was too intense. “You are gorgeous, the prettiest soulmate I could ask for. And he is blind if he doesn’t see it.” He gazed down at her curled-up body, brushing his fingers through her hair in a comforting gesture. Her eyes opened and glanced up at him, meeting his ruby red ones.

“Really?”

“Really,” he answered. “You took my breath away when I first saw you, and now you still do, buttercup.”

A faint blush dusted her cheeks after hearing his compliments. She was too damn adorable. The reddish shade in his irises faded and made way for the frosty blue that was their original color.

“What now?” she asked, leaning her head against his chest. “What should I do now? I lost everything I have in a single day.”

“First of all, you need to stop worrying. You haven’t fully recovered after I drank your blood, so it’s important to give your body some rest,” he answered. “I will take care of your shop and prepare a room where you can stay. The one next to mine is empty, you may move in as soon as it’s ready.”

“But there are many vampires in this house,” she mumbled uneasily. As far as she knew, the entire clan lived here.

“Yes, but they rarely enter the part of the building where I live. Each of us has our own space since we value our privacy,” he explained. “You don’t have to worry about them. They won’t do anything to you. This is the safest place where you can be.”

Yoonhee wasn’t convinced and decided not to wander the building on her own, just in case one of them would spot her.

“Are you still not hungry or thirsty?” he asked and when she shook her head, he added, “Okay, if you say so. But remember you need sustenance to recover.” His strict and firm voice reminded her that he cared about her wellbeing, maybe more than she cared about it herself.

“I will leave now and prepare everything for you,” he said and brushed her hair gently before loosening his embrace. Yoonhee shifted and made space for him so he could get up. Baekhyun didn’t miss the unease that crawled over her face at the idea of being alone in a house filled with vampires.

“Don’t be scared, little flower. The others won’t hurt you, trust me. And I will be back before you know it. Until then, please rest.”

“Come back soon,” she said, earning a reassuring smile.

“I will.”

When he was gone, Yoonhee needed to distract herself from her unease and from the deep hole that had been ripped in her chest after losing her flowers. So she began to roam around in his room, looking at picture frames and shelves, eager to discover more about her soulmate. Baekhyun didn’t keep many things in his room—it was furnished modernly with dark gray and blue tones and lacked unnecessary decoration. Everything she saw had a purpose.

From the music books stacked on the shelves to the expensive-looking clock on the wall, or the computer he kept on a desk in the corner. His room was quite large, even offering enough space for the grand piano he had told her about. It was a majestic musical instrument, and when she passed it, her fingers experimentally pressed a few keys. Sadly, she didn’t remember much of her piano lessons, otherwise, she might have played a song.

Yoonhee sat down on a low bench in front of a window. She peered outside at the garden, realizing that it was fairly big. The property must have cost a fortune… She assumed that Junmyeon was its legal owner since he was the leader of the clan. She would have to get used to living here—it was certainly different from all the places where she had stayed before. Her former homes had never been luxurious and she had been fine with that. This house made her feel intimidated with its daunting size and the many vampires who lurked insi