Warning: Gross Content. Minds with weak stomachs avoid.

Minho sat outside alone without any company offered.

He felt almost as empty as the day he lost Taemin.

Sure, Jonghyun and him were in separate ways to do their work, but at least there was reassurance they could still meet up.

It was another task added to obtain Jonghyun. That meant all of them had to go get him and head straight to where they needed to be. Finding Jonghyun required risking a lot, but they weren’t just going to leave him behind.

But without any way to contact Luna or Onew, trying to even come up with the idea to try and find him was impossible.

Minho stared out to the trees. How was he supposed to get out there if one thing after another went out to stop him?

Minho rubbed his face, blowing out air as he tried to configure a plan again.

  “M609?”

Minho turned to a guard—hands holding a peculiar silver rope with it tied around . . .

  “A horse?”

  “P062,” he huffed, pulling it forward, the horse giving the guard a heavy snuff, “Pegasus.”

  “Pegasus? Minho stared, “Those things exist?”

And they’re creatures?

  I wouldn’t expect you to be so shocked after all you’ve see, Young Majesty.

  “She’s something, isn’t she?” the guard rolled his eyes, “Bugged me until I brought you to ‘Young Majesty,’ which I guess means to your ,” he tied the rope around the bottom of the table, “Not sturdy, but whatever,” he left.

The creature strode up to Minho’s side, its head nodding up, It would be better if we were at level, wouldn’t it?

Minho, stunned, stared and just nodded.

The creature scoffed and very, very slowly began sitting on the ground until it finally laid down.

  “Isn’t that . . . bad for you?”

  I’m not dying anytime soon, it snorted, Well, with your success, Young Majesty, I could finally be laid to rest. Finally.

Minho finally blinked, “Wait, what.”

The creature rolled its eyes again, I’ve awaited death for over two thousand years, the creature nodded, With you, my wish will be born. My fascination of life has come to a close, and now I await the discovery of the after-life.

 “And how do you know about this?”

  Luna explained, of course, the creature pulled its head down, Which brings me to my reason of arriving.

Minho fully turned to the creature, expecting it to go on.

  Not even a please or thank you, it whinnied, Alright, Young Majesty, here we go. You know Taerant is missing, yes?

Minho drew closer, “Yes.”

  Please speak in your mind, it warned, Do not give yourself away so easily.

  . . . Right.

  Do not have a fit, Young Majesty, as I tell you Luna’s new problem.

  Is Jonghyun dead?! Minho widened his eyes.

The creature shook its head violently and Minho slowly calmed—yet none of the anxiety left. There was still another problem.

  Onew is missing.

Minho abruptly stood up, staring down the creature.

Two pieces of the puzzle missing? Especially the one he needed?

And what possibly would SangJung do to Onew?!

  That’s not possible—!

  Sit, Young Majesty! You’re gaining attention!

Minho froze, slowly looking around, realizing the many faces sneering with and edge. They were all getting riled up and ready to fight.

  “Sorry. . .” Minho apologized, bowing, sitting back down, How?!

  Luna was looking for a meet with Onew about previous issues, but he was no longer scheduled into the furnaces. She checked all other documents and his name was no where found. Last source said he went to Kapsoo and never returned for the whole week, yet Kapsoo is out and about. Not one can find trace of him—there is no evidence or approval for him to go on the outside hunt, so he must still be within these borders.

Minho held his face in his hands, unable to make any comment. What was he going to do now? Luna can’t see him, Jonghyun’s gone, Onew’s gone, Taemin’s still an unknown, and he didn’t know where to go to or what to look for anymore. His group members were disbanding one by one and he didn’t know if they could even reunite.

The only one left was Bom; he could only hope Kapsoo left her alone.

  Can you be any use? Minho asked, trouble laced in his voice.

The horse put its head on the table, blinking,  Of course I am willing of any service, Young Majesty.

  Good, Minho nodded, I need to see Luna as soon as I can, but that needs a distraction. I don’t want to risk you any torture, though.

The horse shook its head, If it is for the good of the rest of our population, I will play any part. But, Young Majesty, I don’t exactly know your motives. Can you explain why exactly you’re doing as you are?

( Bom's Theme )

  “Luna!”

She grabbed Minho and dragged him out of his room, adjusting the wall in a rush to where she wanted to go—immediately to the hospital wing.

  “Luna, unless Pegasus is holding a distraction right now, we’ll get caught for a reason I don’t know!”

  “I stole you for a reason, didn’t I? I’m rushing for a reason, aren’t I? We’re going straight to the reason, so shut up!”

The teleported to the hospital wing, and the cold shift of air that wafted in Minho’s face suffocated him for a few alarming seconds before he was being dragged again, trying to catch his breath.

Luna pulled him to the back rooms as quickly as she could; the entire hospital emptied of any workers and patients, and it left Minho wondering if she cleared them all out.

  “I haven’t seen you in almost forever, and now you—”

  “Not important!”

Luna hastily opened an iron door, a creak making Minho’s ears split as she shut it behind them, this back room dimly lit.

  “Why are we in here?”

He could hear a coughing fit from the far back. A familiar coughing. A mid-pitched strain cough that tries to cut itself off in the midst of it.

When he recognized it all, Minho was the one leading Luna to the back, a distinct fear catching up with him as he quickly pulled away the divider and revealed who he didn’t want to see behind it.

Bom’s orange hair was let loose, surrounding her face as she was bent over the bed, a low-cut barrel just below her as she coughed down to it.

  “Poor elder,” Luna gasped, “Why would you let your hair down?” she tried pulling back the sweaty strings of hair, making a loose ponytail behind her.

Minho wasn’t sure how to handle it. If Bom was just simply sick, Luna wouldn’t be so frantic and dragging him down here.

No, he couldn’t lose another piece of the puzzle. He couldn’t lose another one he cared about and taught him so much.

  “Bom,” Minho found strength within him to push Luna out of the way kneeling down and holding her face, “Bom, I thought it was just a cough.”

  “I thought so, too,” her voice just barely broke the whisper. Her eyes kept tightly shut as she coughed again, but not just air.

At that point, Luna was sitting behind her on the bed, trying to comfort her as much as possible.

  “Bom,” Minho called her again, trying to tilt her head up, “Bom, look at me.”

She coughed and heaved a few more times before she slowly shook her head, her hands tightly constricting the bars of her bed. She was sweating profusely and her body shook every few seconds. He couldn’t tell if she was hot or cold, but all he did know was that this was no common flu.

  “Bom, you have to look at me,” Minho called softly.

She denied him again.

  “Park Bom,” Minho sternly called her, “You will look up.”

Immediately after his order, Bom’s eyes had opened, looking up at him weakly.

Minho’s stomach dropped, seeing as to how her normal eye colors—brown and slate gray—had both turned dark gray, “Bom, is there no way to heal yourself?”

  “This is beyond me,” she whispered, brows pulling together, “Beyond creature.”

  “Human,” Minho didn’t bother questioning.

Her head swung down again as she coughed, her body lunging, “Human.”

  “It was SangJung’s accomplice,” Luna’s voice shakily spoke up, catching Minho’s attention, “SangJung is one to think thoroughly, but he also has his back up men to fill in holes or forks in the road. This is the same accomplice who thought up of how we all are working together and Bom is another part of us.”

  “Luna,” Minho grabbed her wrist, “What did he do?”

Luna eyes started watering, “I’m sorry I didn’t know sooner, I would’ve—”

When Bom lunged once more, Minho shook Luna, “Luna. What. Did. He. Do!”

  “He poisoned her!”

After she spoke, Minho lost attention with her as Bom’s skin crawled with white frantically whipping around, causing the Warrant to start using her vocals, just barely, but agonizingly.

  “Bom!” Minho held her face again, “Bom, is this just like the first time?!”

Her face grew paler, her skin started to lose its elasticity, eyes drooping, her hair turning pale to the point it turned gray, and her lips quivering.

  “Different,” she spoke, but her voice was aged and frail, “The—the same affects, but it’s slower. Torturously . . . slower.”

Her head hung low again as she continued as before, her body shrinking in size; weakening alarmingly.

  “L-Luna,” Minho still held Bom’s face, “Leave.”

Luna exploded, “What are you talking about?! I’m the nurse—!”

  “And you can’t do anything, so leave!” Minho yelled at her, his voice loud and booming; something he never heard before, “Now!”

Luna fell off the bed from his voice, quickly getting to her feet, looking behind her and watching as she forced herself out of the back room completely with the slam of the iron door.

  “Bom—Hey, Bom,” Minho tried to slow down his urgent voice, “Look at me again, girl, look at me.”

Bom’s fingers slackened from the bars and her body grew limp—the only assurance she was still living was her coughing mess.

  “Did Daesung ever find that cure, Bom?” Minho forcefully pulled her head up, “Stay with me, Bom, tell me!”

Bom ever so slightly shook her head, red trickling down from .

Minho wiped that away. He was trying not to be frantic, to be completely panicked, because he was the one who had to fix this. He wasn’t letting Bom go. She already made a mark in his heart and she couldn’t leave. She wasn’t going to die now.

Minho started hearing his heart in his ears and the deep, pulsing beat in his chest. His adrenaline was high, and he didn’t really know what he was doing at that point.

His body wasn’t his own, then. Something started treating him like a puppet—or so it felt.

It was odd—it was like thousands or millions of years were catching up with him now and instincts were just being cut loose.

His right hand guided the loose hair by Bom’s ear away and brought himself close to that side of her neck, a moment, stopping himself there.

You’re a Daegrent, Minho. An unfamiliar voice called to him.

Bom’s hands found their way to Minho’s arms, grasping tightly on to his shirt, “Minho . . .”

He could feel his own pupils dilating and this animalistic instinct kick in. At that moment, he felt no regret of what he was doing.

Minho growled out as he bit down on the thin flesh, the gush of blood rushing from the inside and over his mouth, down her neck and on to the floor.

Minho was no longer Minho, but more-so just the Daegrent. His head pulsed and his sight went colorless. The metallic taste in his mouth was just as revolting and he never pulled away, but dug his teeth deeper in, as if looking for something.

Bom cried out in pain, unable to hit him or push him away as he pushed deeper into her neck, his destination just on the tip of his teeth . . .

And there, he had tasted unpleasant bitterness.

He growled viciously as he in, drawing his teeth back—but not all the way out. Until two upper teeth from each side of his mouth was just at the tip of her skin, he slashed his way horizontally, ripping the skin before fully pulling out, spitting out all that he took into the barrel.

 Minho fell on his side trying to catch his breath; trying to come back from whatever voodoo he was going through. He wanted his body back, and he was getting it just as much as color returned.

He was dizzy when it all hit him—the scent of blood driving him nauseous. And to think it was all in his mouth.

He finally blinked, regaining balance as he pushed himself on to his knees, holding on to Bom’s face as her breathing slowed down.

Though, it was all alright. Her face was rejuvenating, just as the rest of her body was, returning to the young look of a woman. Only looking worn out after a hard day’s work.

  “. . . Bom?” Minho asked, wanting her to open her eyes.

When she didn’t respond, he lightly patted her face, “Bom?”

Each time he called her name, his voice started to echo, new voices in the background of his head, going from distant to right next to him, and next thing he knew, he wasn’t holding anything at all, but watching something in black and white. . .

  “Dear Bom,” the blond man pulled the hair sticking to her bloodied neck away, drawing closer to it, “Wake up.”

His tongue ran over the dark gray mess on her neck, away all the evidence of an open wound slowly by swallowing, caressing the side of her face and the curve of her left hip.

He washed away everything, slowly a quietly revealing the dark marks on her neck—the signs of an eternal bond he was relieved to have.

Bom’s eyes slowly opened just as the man pressed his lips over their new bond, placing her hand over his, waiting for him to pull away.

But he kept himself there.

Loud voices and sounds of time travel filled Minho’s ears until he saw color again, Bom in his hands as before.

It was quiet and calm.

Minho could hear Luna’s quiet footsteps return, but he didn’t bother to look back at her. He stood up finally, pushing Bom until her back was to the bed before trying to remove her soaked ponytail from the side of her neck.

He could hear Luna open as he drew his face closer to the mess, but he could also hear her close it instantly.

Without thinking about it, he slowly at her neck. Partially, he wanted to cringe at the great disgust it was to taste so much blood on his own tongue, but he willingly stuck through to it.

His left hand held her face as his right placed itself on her left hip, steadying himself closer to wash away the red deed that had been done, slowly, revealing the two black marks of a new bond.

It wasn’t until he was swallowing that Minho had realized he was trying to do more than it all away and trying to reveal the new markings. He knew he was still some sort of puppet as he still away at the surrounding blood on her neck, trying to keep his face in the same spot.

He felt a hand over top of the one on Bom’s face, and as if on instinct, he pressed his lips to their new bond willingly.

  “Daesung . . .” Bom whispered, her hand trying to hold on to Minho’s, “I missed you . . .”

Minho pressed his lips to her neck again before pulling away and opening his eyes, seeing as to how Bom was actually awake and coherent.

Minho didn’t know what to say to her.

  “Your Majesty,” her eyes brimmed with tears as she smiled, holding Minho’s face in her hands.

We are no longer parted.

Minho hugged Bom to him as she cried.

Bom had fallen asleep, leaving Luna to clean up the mess on Minho, sitting on the bed across from Bom.

  “What was that?” she asked, giving him a new shirt—one that wasn’t soaked with blood.

  “I bit her,” Minho put the shirt on, feeling oddly good—brand new, almost. He still felt odd, though. How did he really save her? If it were that easy in the past, no one would've had to die. . .

Luna rolled her eyes, “I get that. I meant . . . the whole -her thing and kissing-her thing. Taemin would be pissed off."

  “You wouldn’t understand, Luna,” Minho furrowed his brows, longingly staring at Bom, “That . . . wasn’t really me.”

Luna wiped off Minho’s mouth with a rag and dipping it into water, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean,” Minho sighed, “I don’t know. I still felt like me—I felt like I was doing it on my own free-will. But I didn’t feel like . . . I had my own body. Like I was sharing it.”

Luna ran her hand through her hair and scrunched up her face, “Sharing, huh? Like . . . with the King, I’m guessing?”

Minho nodded and shrugged, “That’s my best guess. I think she showed me a memory after I bit her. It was Daesung doing what I had done. It’s . . . It’s my best guess.”

  “So, you have a real relation to Daesung?” she asked, folding the dirty shirt.

  “I believe it, now,” Minho nodded, laying down, “After that, there’s no way it could be anything else.”

Luna nodded with a small smile, but soon scoffing, “So, how does it feel to know you’re the actual King, Mr. ‘Your Majesty’?”

Minho laughed at her mockery and shook his head, staring back at Bom, “I’m still a little out of it. Hasn’t really sunk in yet, it’s only been, what, ten minutes? I don’t think I’ll really ever accept it, you know?”

  “Hey,” Luna called, handing the folded shirt on a divider, “You may not accept the crown, but you know you’ll have to accept the family. It’s who you came from.”

Minho nodded again with a smile, “Yeah.”

Luna packed up her things before joining Minho on the bed, arm propping her head up as she looked at him quizzically, “How did you do it? Save her, I mean.”

Minho’s smile dimmed, slowly shaking his head, “I don’t really know. I just . . . tasted something horrendous and even it in until I felt it was enough. I spit it all out though, that’s for sure, or else I’d be undergoing what she was.”

  “So, you ate her poison?” Luna raised a brow.

  “You say that as if she made me dinner and got a surprise,” Minho buried his face into the pillow.

Luna chuckled before lightly hitting Minho’s shoulder, “Fine, be that way. I’ll give you a few minutes to rest before you have to tell Bom you need to go. That suspicion thing isn’t over. Not now, especially when you saved her.”

Without another word, Luna took all she needed before heading out of the room, leaving Minho to perk up and get out of bed over to Bom, adjusting her to one side of the bed before joining her.

It felt very familiar as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body to his, a steady breathing on his throat. Even more-so familiar when she held back on to him.

He knew it was Daesung who was feeling the familiarity of his time with Bom.

But it was Minho who was being reminded of Taemin.

----Note~-----

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

WELL... RIGHT NOW AS I WRITE THIS, I HAVE SEVEN MINUTES BUT I'M GONNA GO MAKE THE HEADER IMAGE.

BTW I DON'T OWN PS SO I COULDN'T CHANGE HER EYE COLORS WHHHHHHHHY.

THIS WAS INTENSE AND I LOVED/HATED WRITING IT.

I WANTED TO END ON A SEMI-GOOD NOTE.

MEANING THE WHOLE BOM AND DAESUNG THING.

I DIDN'T PLAN THEM TWO TO... YEAH.

WHY IS THIS ALL IN CAPS, IDK.

ANYWAY, GO TO THE BTS FOR A CHAPTER ON THEM. IT'S NOT ANGST. <3

HAPPY HOLIDAYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I'M THANKFUL TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO VIEW ANY PART OF THE STORY, SUB, COMMENT, VOTE, IDK. I LOVE YOUUUUUU. <3

~FlaMinhoe