“Drink.” 

Moon Byul offered Yongsun a goblet filled with red liquid. 

Sensing that it was blood, Yongsun's eyes glowed red. Her fangs sharpened as her instincts urged her to consume it. But, “No,” she scowled. 

Moon Byul sighed and placed the goblet down on the floor. “The world will continue existing, Yongsun. Whether you like it or not, the same goes for you.” 

Yongsun hugged her knees in the darkened corner. Once Moon Byul closed the door, all the faint light had gone as well. Like hope that had left with Yoon-do. There was no point in living with him gone. Love had died wth him. 

Sunlight embraced the city of Seoul with warmth. For the first time, Yongsun found the view from her office enthralling. A pang of regret hit her as she trailed the glass wall with her fingers. She should not have drank that blood. If she contained her thirst back then, she would not be suffering in the present.

She had made the same mistake twice now. Her first in the past, when Yoon-do planned to have children, only for him to die. Why did she repeat history after almost eighty years? It was foolish of her to even begin to assume that a fox like Moon Byul would want children. To the gumiho, she was another mere toy she had grown bored of. 

A certain thought crossed Yongsun's mind. With her current situation, she had the chance to do something otherwise deadly. Picking up her blazer, she marched out of her office. On her way, she came across her secretary. 

“Miss Oh, reschedule all my meetings meant for this afternoon. Set them for tomorrow.” 

The secretary's eyes widened, but she was quick to give a nod and reply, “Yes, Miss Kim. And if they ask where you are?” 

“Tell them I went to visit a significant place .” 

Yongsun then walked away with a solemn face. 

“Have you engaged in with Sorin during this period of her being a dawnborn?” 

Such peculiar question made Moon Byul stop reading. Eyes narrowed and mouth agape, she glanced up. 

“Sorry, what?” 

“Answer the question, Yul,” Irene demanded . 

“I can't. It's difficult to tell,” Moon Byul retorted. 

Irene crossed her arms and asked in a sharp tone, “When was the last time you ed?” 

Moon Byul looked away, her human ears turning red. “About a week ago or so.. "

“Has Sorin slept or eaten human food?”

“I have no idea,” Moon Byul stated. An unfortunate fact, among all other things. She used to know everything about Yongsun. Until she became a.. what Irene said, dawnborn.

“Try better, Yul. You are her lover.” 

Moon Byul stared down at the page below her. “Not anymore, Joohyun,” she sighed. 

Ripe silence embedded the room with untold considerations. Moon Byul and Yongsun's possible faults laid heavy calculations in Irene's head. By morning glory, she would never have to experience anything of that sort in abruptness. It was wise of her to cast those spells on Seulgi. 

“The bullet that almost killed you,” Irene redirected the conversation. 

“What about it?” A great hunger for answers filled Moon Byul's voice. 

“Did you not take the time to examine it? I'm certain you've picked up the distinct smell.” 

“There was something.. Although I couldn't quite pinpoint..” Moon Byul tried to recall every scent she had encountered in over a millennia of existence. 

Irene raised her brow and interrupted the gumiho's thoughts. “Something such as Korean monkshood?” 

Moon Byul's nails sharpened to claws as she flinched at Irene's mentioning. It became clear to her now. 

“The bullet is for your kind. Especially you. There is a spell that binds it to your flesh alone.” 

“So it can't hurt anyone except me?” 

“That seems to be the truth.” Irene picked up the bullet and tossed it to Moon Byul. 

Moon Byul's skin tore and burned the instant her palm caught the projectile. The stinging made her wince and lay the bullet on the table. 

“Can you remove the spell on this?” 

Irene picked up the bullet and removed the paint with blue flames from her index finger. “I can. But that would not do much. I have a feeling that one of my kind is behind this. You could be under a curse as well.”

The smell of burned monkshood wafted in the air. Irene's revelation made Moon Byul tilt her head. “Is it possible for witches to curse someone they've never met?” 

“With enough materials, yes. Hair, pictures, blood— they suffice. You are a public figure in Korea, which widens the possibility.” 

A sigh left Moon Byul's breath. Then, a groan followed as she clutched her stomach in a sudden kick of pain. 

“Good grief, Whee. Please calm your kid down,” she gruffed. 

The gumiho's mumbling reached Irene's ears. “Dolorosus nexus, huh?” Her gaze overflowed with inner amusement of Moon Byul's visible suffering. 

Moon Byul continued holding her abdomen. “What?” 

“Linked souls, shared pain,” Irene explained. “I thought you were one to use Agnita dominii.” 

“And use it to take control? No, thank you.” It took Moon Byul a few minutes to figure out Irene was speaking Latin, naming spells she had no awareness of. 

“Even when Sorin is not present, you remain under her influence. You two are something else,” Irene mused. 

“Not anymore,” Moon Byul replied with a bitter smile. She rubbed her belly as the pain began to disappear. 

The mixture within the cauldron near Moon Byul began boiling. Irene approached the hot liquid, with its purple smoke and a swirling black mist. She brought empty vials and filled them with the potion that had brewed. 

“I will talk to the Twelve Ghosts and find out who's behind this. While I do, you may want to find elves. I am not the person to come to when it comes to metal.”  

Moon Byul stole a glimpse of the bullets. How troublesome. 

“There is something in that monkshood bullet. As for the silver one, there is a chance that it's more than the metal. You need to confirm it.” The suggestion emerged from what Irene had recognized earlier. 

“About Yongsun being a Revenant vampire..” Moon Byul tapped her foot against the hardwood floor. 

“She's most likely going to enter a journey of Remortem. Still, there's a chance she'd continue being a Revenant. If so, she'll turn human after completing her dawnborn phase. If you don't want that to happen, then stop her from eating her first human meal and sleeping through the night.” 

Moon Byul stared into space as she pondered. She had quite the delicate dilemma now. Whether Yongsun was a Revenant or Remortem, it meant she was defenseless. Whoever made that silver bullet would never pass up this opportunity. 

“Is there anyway to quicken the Remortem?” She raised the question with the hope that Irene would say yes. 

“There is no shortcut, Yul. Sorin needs to let her body dry out all the blood she accumulated. Depending on how much she'd drunk, it could take as long as a few weeks to a month.” 

Before Moon Byul could suggest an alternative, her phone grabbed her attention. She discovered Wheein was calling and picked up. 

“Whee?” 

“Byul, come quick! Yongsun's at a church!” 

The gumiho jumped to her feet.