THE PAST, CONTINUED

Daehyun froze at the sight of the once triumphant general. He didn't have a good feeling about his entrance and his hold on So Eun's hand instantly tightened.

Hong Yu smirked as he sauntered lazily towards them, his eyes focused on Daehyun.

Daehyun swallowed, trying not to show his fear. Why the hell was the general looking at him? He only met the general once before. And the general looked so out of it right then.

"Hong Yu." Minister Jung frowned. "What are you doing here? You escaped jail? Do you know that if Taejo finds out about this, he will never EVER let you live?"

"Live?" Hong Yu laughed, looking a little unstable. So Eun shuffled closer to Daehyun, trying to gain security.

"Who cares about living right now?" Hong Yu laughed. "I don't care about that now. I chose this because I thought that if Taejo was dead, I'd be living the high life. I never expected someone..." he seethed, narrowing his eyes at Minister Jung. "Someone to kill my son instead."

Minister Jung flinched and Officer Kim stood up. "Hey, you can't say that. He was protecting Taejo Wang Geon, he was just doing his job. If you hadn't betrayed our cause, you wouldn't even be complaining about this. Your son's death is for the greater good, Hong Yu."

"Greater good?" Hong Yu spat. "I don't care about the greater good if my son is dead. And he wouldn't be dead if you didn't kill him, Jung Jaehyun." he glared at Daehyun's father.

Daehyun frowned and his mother let out a whimper. "It wasn't his fault." she whispered tearfully.

"You know," Hong Yu suddenly smiled. "The scariest enemy is someone who doesn't have anything to lose. Because then he will do anything for revenge. Absolutely anything."

So Eun involuntarily shivered and she glanced up at Daehyun. Daehyun noticed her movements and squeezed her hand tightly. Hong Yu was evil, he would be punished wouldn't he? That was how the world worked, bad guys got punished, the good guys were rewarded. Right?

"Stop this crazy talk, Hong Yu." Officer Kim decided to end this stupid show of his and So Eun mentally cheered for her dad. Officer Kim pulled out his sword and pointed it at Hong Yu, advancing nearer. "If you plead guilty right now, I might consider helping you out in front of Taejo Wang Geon, Hong Yu."

Hong Yu laughed and rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah?"

And the most unexpected thing happened. Hong Yu ran towards Officer Kim and the latter tightened his grip of the sword in front of him, preparing to defend himself if Hong Yu managed to produce any unexpected weapon.

But no. Hong Yu threw himself at the sword and let it pierce through his heart.

So Eun gasped and Daehyun instantly wheeled around, shielding the view from her. He was breathing hard, his heart thumping quickly and his eyes wide with horror. He couldn't believe what just happened.

Hong Yu crumbled onto the ground with a satisfied grin and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he took his last breath. Minister Jung immediately ran over to shake Hong Yu's dead body, swallowing hard. "I never thought..."

Officer Kim let out a humph. "He deserved to die anyway." he muttered, but his eyes looked sad. "So now that this has happened.." his eyes widened at the sight. "What..?"

Hong Yu's ghost floated from his body and he crossed his arms, smirking at the crowd while they gaped at him. Daehyun swallowed, his eyes wide. So Eun tip toed from behind him and gaped at the ghost, paling instantly. "How?" she whispered.

"Surprised?" Hong Yu's ghost laughed. "All of you didn't know huh? When someone dies, their ghost has to be sent to where dead people are supposed to go. I changed that when I met a witch in the forest. I gave her some taels and she granted me a wish. The wish that my ghost form would be able to stay in the human world until I am ready to go, I would have the powers I need to do what I want."

Hong Yu smirked and narrowed his eyes at Minister Jung. "And I sure know what I want right now."

Minister Jung moved back, swallowing. His wife gasped beside him, choking. "You're going to kill us." Minister Jung whispered, his eyes fixed on the ghost form.

"Yes, no." Hong Yu smirked. "I'm not going to kill you, because where's the fun in that? YOU killed my son, so the best way to return the favor is to see your son suffer, is it not?"

Daehyun froze and So Eun hugged his arm. "You can't kill him!" she pleaded. "Not Daehyun! I'll take his place!"

Daehyun's eyes widened and he immediately pulled her behind him. "Ignore her. Kill me if you must, don't touch my fiance, my parents or hers." he bargained.

Hong Yu laughed a loud sinister chuckle. "Oh you really think you're in a position to bargain?" he snickered. "No, I'm not going to kill you. In fact Jung Daehyun, you're not going to die. EVER. From this day onwards, you can never die. You will remain 19 years old for thousand and thousand of years. I'm blessing you for immortality, don't you think that's a gift instead of a curse?"

Minister Jung met Daehyun's eyes, obviously panic-striken. "There's a catch somewhere isn't there?"

"Smart guy." Hong Yu's ghost floated around merrily. "When you live till a thousand years and no one from your original life is alive anymore, don't you think that's lonely? Oh man. And what's more...you'll have to see your girlfriend die every single time."

Hong Yu floated over to So Eun and caressed her cheek lightly. So Eun cried and cowered away from his cold touch. "You're a pretty little thing." he commented blandly. "Too bad you'll be dying on your eighteenth birthday huh?"

Daehyun gritted his teeth and glared at Hong Yu. "What are you talking about?" he hissed. "She's not going to die. I won't allow it."

"It's not up to you." Hong Yu laughed. "She will die, whether you want it or not. Because Jung Daehyun, when I curse you, I curse her. And when I curse her, both your family suffers. Don't you think it's such a wonderful idea? Not only in this life, but the next, and the one after, and your lives after this...every single time the reincarnation process returns Kim So Eun to the living again, her parents would have to see her die on her eighteenth birthday. How marvellous is that?"

Daehyun paled and he met So Eun's eyes. No. That couldn't happen. No way.

"But you can save her you know." Hong Yu sang as he floated in a dance. "Since I'm such a nice man, I'll let you have a chance. If, I say if because it's going to be really difficult. If you ever manage to save So Eun from dying on her eighteenth birthday, the moment the clock strikes twelve on the day after her birthday, your curse is lifted. Daehyun returns to a normal human being and So Eun can continue to live. Now, don't you think I'm such a kind saint?"

So Eun shivered and leant against Daehyun while he held her. She stared up at him, depressed while Daehyun closed his eyes. "You're lying. You can't do such a thing."

"Oh really?" Hong Yu cocked his head to the side. He tweaked a single finger and a sword came flying at Daehyun. Daehyun gasped and quickly pushed So Eun away, the sword missing her by inches and stabbing his stomach. He gaped at the blood pouring out of his wound and collapsed onto the ground, choking. He couldn't breath. He felt like dying.

He pulled the sword from his stomach, his eyes almost closing. , he was really dying. The pain was so intense that no words could describe it. It felt like his body was on fire, dipped in the coldest water at the same time. It was horrifyingly painful.

So Eun flew to his side, together with his mother and hers, all of them crowding around him in panic. The fathers rushed over, perspiring beads. "DAEHYUN!" So Eun cried, grabbing his hand. "You can't do this to me! Don't die!"

Hong Yu rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten what I said? He. Can't. Die."

So Eun blinked and stared down at Daehyun's wound. The gaping large bloody whole was sealing up so quickly that it looked sick. The blood that had spilled onto Daehyun's robe ran back into his body and the wound closed rapidly, as if time was being fast forwarded a thousand times..

Daehyun groaned and shuddered. He tried to sit up and surprisingly managed it, the pain at his wound getting lighter by the second. He stared down and his eyes widened at what had happened. "What...?" he gasped.

"I told you right? You're now immortal~" Hong Yu sang. "Have fun Daehyun~ Have fun, Jung Jaehyun, watching how your son doesn't age and watching how he grieves over the death of his fiance till your death. And remember the best part..."

He flew closer to them and everyone cowered. "It will all repeat itself again in your next lives."

Hong Yu laughed as he flew away, disappearing into thin air.

Lady Kim helped Daehyun sit up straighter, her brows furrowed worriedly. "Are you okay, Daehyun? Does it still hurt?"

Daehyun pressed down on his wound and felt nothing unusual. "No." he sighed softly, his gaze shifting over to meet So Eun's worried ones. "Unfortunately....I'm alright."

So Eun closed her eyes and a lone tear trickled down her cheek.

Fortunate, yes. Because he was saved.

Unfortunate? Yes. Because that also meant that what Hong Yu said was true. So Eun would die on her eighteenth birthday.

"Don't worry." Daehyun interlaced So Eun's fingers with his. "I will never let you die. Let's throw off this curse once and for all."

-----

THE PRESENT

So Eun felt tears trickling down her cheek, just like how Daehyun had described his finace to look like. How could something like that have happened? It was pure torture, not only on Daehyun's part, but also on the girl, the girl's family, and Daehyun's family. Daehyun's parents would never even have a chance to see their son and they would remain childless forever because their first son from the Silla Period hadn't gotten a chance to get reincarnated to their current lives.

To be completely honest, the curse was perfect. Because it hurt everyone, every single person possible. It was perfect. Perfectly ruthless.

Daehyun slowly met her gaze, his eyes sad and expressive. He was looking at her with such strong regret that So Eun felt fresh tears instantly springing from her eyes at his gaze.

"I failed." Daehyun whispered. "That life. Even with bodyguards and how I stuck to yo-...Sohyun twenty four hours a day, Hong Yu managed to find a way to kill yo-her. He appeared when I was at the toilet and talked to yo-..Sohyun alone. He told yo-her how he would lift the curse if she was willing to die for me in that life. She did. She killed herself." Daehyun shook his head, pain with the memories. "But Hong Yu lied."

Daehyun took a deep breath, feeling himself choking. He was about to cry as well, any time. He closed his eyes to blink away the tears and composed his feelings. "For one thousand years, I've tried to stop Hong Yu from killing yo-Sohyun." he continued. "But I haven't succeeded. Hong Yu has more tricks up his sleeve than I ever imagined. He could make Sohyun's death an accident or a dramatic serial killing case. I have no idea how he's going to kill her, which is why it's hard to fend him off. And that babo...." he shook his head when he thought of the other times So Eun had died because of him. "She never blamed me once, and she always loved me more than what's good for her. She never should have sacrificed anything for me."

"But it makes sense." So Eun's voice was unusually thick because she had been crying. "She must have been worried that if she manages to live past her eighteenth birthday and the curse is lifted, you would return to human form and you would have been vulnerable. You can die too, Daehyun."

So Eun rubbed her temples from all the thinking. "Especially if the killing takes place a few moments before midnight, it's especially dangerous. She can't let anything happen to you then and stay safe herself. Once the clock strikes midnight and you put yourself in danger, you'll die. I can understand where she's coming from."

Daehyun looked away. Of course he knew. That was what the past So Euns have been worried about. And he wasn't particularly happy that this one was worried as well.

"So..." So Eun looked at Daehyun. "This time you're trying to save her from dying as well? Kim Sohyun?"

Daehyun nodded, playing with his fingers. He wasn't going to let history repeat itself. This time will definitely be different. "I've always been trying to save her. I'd watch her grow up from a cute baby to a beautiful young woman...but never able to see her live past 18. I'll do everything I can to save her, everything."

So Eun most definitely couldn't fall in love with him to sacrifice for him like she did in the past. No way. He stared at her meaningfully.

"Have you found her? Your Kim Sohyun?" So Eun asked, wiping her tears away. "Does she look exactly the same as the first life or does she look completely different?"

"The same." Daehyun said at once, gazing at her. "She's still beautiful, extremely so."

So Eun bit her lip, a little unsettled at his praise for his love. "So you've seen her in this life?"

Daehyun looked away. "No. I haven't found her in this life yet." he lied. "I'm still looking for her."

So Eun immediately straightened. "Then I'm going to help. I'm going to help you find Kim Sohyun and together we can stop this curse." she punched her fists in the air.

Daehyun frowned and looked at her. "No. You won't be able to find her." he snapped at once. Because she didn't even exist, you babo, he thought.

"Why are you giving up now?" So Eun looked desperate. "We can find her, I know we can. You can't give up now, Daehyun. You haven't even found Kim Sohyun so how are you going to protect her?"

She stood up from her bed. "I'm going to look for the phone book. Wait here!" she ran out of the room.

Daehyun stared at her and sighed, rubbing his temples. "At least now you think I'm in love with another girl. This is good, isn't it?" he whispered.

-----

Okay, so for those of you who don't get WHY So Eun wants to sacrifice for Daehyun, here's the explanation.

He can't die right? So why sacrifice for him? He'll live anyway.

WRONG.

Because as said in the story, her death happens ON her birthday itself. If, somehow or another the accident happens just before midnight...let's just say a car accident.

A car tries to run So Eun over at 11:59pm on May 16th, her birthday. Daehyun runs out to save her from getting hit by the car, but if he gets hit himself?

Assuming he takes the hit instead of So Eun, he's going to be severely injured because the accident was meant to kill. But he can't die right? So nothing's wrong.

No.

Because if the timing placement is cleverly manipulated, Daehyun's injury would be too severe to recover in one minute before midnight strikes. When it turns 12:00 on May 17th and Daehyun successfully manages to save So Eun and she survives, that means the curse is lifted. Right?

When the curse is lifted, Daehyun is human again. Which means those injuries WILL matter and it will KILL him because he is now capable of dying.

That is why So Eun wants to sacrifice for him, because there IS something to lose.

People who don't understand this theory can wallpost or message me :)