PROLOGUE

"Whatever you do, don't look back. Just run."

"But...oppa what will happen to you?"

"Don't worry about me. We will meet again, I promise."

Gov't Research Facility; Seoul, South Korea
March 16, 2001

An overwhelming weakness crippled Jonghyun's body as he lie on the freezing cold operating table. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he caught glimpses of the tall men in lab coats with clipboards in their hands and latex gloves covering their long, pasty fingers. This was the third time today that Jonghyun was taken into the bone-chilling room on the third floor. He knew what was to be expected. They would strap his frail limbs down to the table and fill a syringe with yet another dosage of the unknown substance. Jonghyun closed his eyes and winced in pain before the doctors prepared the needle. He envisioned the intense burn that would take over his body, coursing through his veins and into his head. The instant jolt of searing pain always brought him to tears, but he had to be strong. He didn't want to be like the other children whose bodies were sent to the incinerator to be turned into waste. They would never have a chance to see their families again.

His optimism would be the very thing that killed him if his lungs didn't give out on him first. Jonghyun's struggle to breathe seemed to be put at ease as soon as he saw her face. Junghwa was his only source of light—happiness in spite of the darkness. She was like the little sister that he always wanted, and he would forever protect her. Even as they both lie strapped to operating tables, they couldn't help but to glance at one another from time to time. Jonghyun could hear her croupy coughs and saw as she spat blood onto the floor. The men in lab coats quickly covered their mouths with masks, proceeding with caution as they cleaned the mess.

"Give it to her now!" one of them shouted with his hand over his mouth.

Though they knew Junghwa couldn't fight back, they still handled her body with brute force. They gripped her chin and forced her head back, squeezing a clear liquid down . As she choked on the bitter-tasting medicine, tears flowed freely from her eyes.

"Leave her alone!" Jonghyun hollered trying his hardest to break free, growing weaker from over-exertion.

Two doctors held the young boy down while one of the nurses inserted a needle into his bruised arm. Jonghyun convulsed, clinching his eyes close tight. The substance sent a surge of heat and pressure to his head. His heart started to beat slower and slower until his chest felt hollow. When he looked over at Junghwa, he could see her reaching out to him. Her eyes were glassy and glazed over from the effects of the medicine.

"Oppa...I’m okay." she whispered as one last tear rolled down her cheek.

Jonghyun could remember his eyes closing just as he reached out to her. What was to happen to him, he didn't know. He only hoped that he would wake up back in his bed wrapped in his blanket. It was the waking up from the long slumber that was the most difficult. There was no telling how much more that his body could withstand. He wished that he had listened to his mother and behaved like a good boy. Maybe they wouldn't have taken him away. Now, he missed his mother and her cooking. Her japchae and bulgogi, he missed the most. She would always hold him at night and kiss his forehead until he fell asleep. Those were the things that he took for granted. As he grew older, Jonghyun fought his mother's affection. What would all the guys think, he thought.

His sickness only made him misbehave more out of rebellion. He hated the fact that he had a very limited time to live. All of his future aspirations were nothing more than figments of his imagination now. Though Jonghyun knew that everything his mother did was out of love, all he wanted to do was be left alone. Her words couldn't arouse miracles. They couldn't heal his weak lungs. They surely wouldn't give him the chance to play soccer again with his friends, but they were comforting. He missed every last one of those words.

"Kim." a deep voice shook him from his sleep.

Jonghyun slowly opened his eyes and focused them on the tall figure in the doorway. Just as he tried to roll over on the flimsy mattress, his heart started to pulsate and thump in his chest at an alarming rate. His pupils started to dilate and perspiration tattooed the back of his neck. His attempt to stand quickly failed as he fell to his knees. Jonghyun gripped his chest questioning whether this would be the last breath that he took.

"What's...what's happening to me?" he managed to get out of from his quivering lips.

The man knelt down to Jonghyun and lifted his head with his thumb and index finger. He gingerly parted the young boy's lips and squeezed a drop of blood from a vile onto his tongue. Its coppery taste sent chills up Jonghyun's spine. That was his first encounter with its poison that would forever plague him. He would never forget the way it felt going down his throat. That craving, that intense longing for the unorthodox would be etched into his mind. There was no turning back. It had consumed him.

Gov't Research Facility; Seoul, South Korea
November 9, 2006

Every second that the clock ticked, Jonghyun prepared himself for the moment when the nurse and security guard would enter his room. He sat, waiting, with his eyes focused on the steel door with the chipping, white paint. When the doorknob jiggled and he heard the keys clanging together outside, a smirk crept across Jonghyun's face. They weren't the slightest bit ready for the Hell that they were about to encounter. The blood that coursed through his veins gave him a euphoric high; it made him stronger.

"Kim, are you ready for your treatment?" the security guard asked entering the room with the nurse close behind him.

Jonghyun could tell by the small vibrations that occurred beneath the nurse's feet that she was new and fear was already starting to set in her body. She held the large container full of blood on a silver tray in her hands. She slowly approached the ravenous teenager with caution. The security guard stood by just in case Jonghyun was to try anything. It wasn't like that man was capable of controlling him even the slightest bit. Once a drop of blood touched his tongue, Jonghyun was invincible.

"Here you are, Jonghyun." the nurse said with a bow before handing him the container.

He rolled up his sleeves and peeled back the top from the flask. The nurse retreated slowly away from him, afraid of what was to come. Jonghyun drank the warm, crimson liquid in one gulp without so much as stopping for air. His brown eyes glow an intense red hue, his pupils dilating from the rush. His body started to tremble as his thirst was only escalated by the substance.

The nurse gasped loudly as Jonghyun rose from the bed with his head hanging low. When he looked up at her, she instantly froze. Before the security guard could reach for his stunt gun, Jonghyun already had a grip on the woman's neck. He admired her pale skin, deriving pleasure from her fear. Within seconds, he had snapped her neck and drawn blood from it with his elongated canine incisors. As her drained body fell to the floor, the security guard quickly reached for his stunt gun to defend himself.

The long, electric whips that shot out of the gun like tentacles were brought to a halt by Jonghyun's hands. Jonghyun yanked the security guard toward his body and snapped his neck with his bare hands. He knelt down to the man's lifeless body and grabbed the keys from his belt loop. Jonghyun gently wiped the remnants of blood from his lips and walked out of the room. He knew he wouldn't get far in his stained clothing. Thinking fast, he slipped into one of the storage rooms and changed into a pair of scrubs.

He roamed the hallways in search of Junghwa's room, creeping past the nurse's station on each floor. When he reached the door marked with her initials, Jonghyun opened it with caution making sure that he didn't bring too much attention to himself. Inside, Junghwa lie on the cold, concrete floor with her hair matted to her face from the sweat. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up into the air.

"Oppa, what are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes barely gaining focus.

"I'm going to get us out of here, little sister." he whispered smoothing her hair back with his hand. "Are you able to walk?"

She slowly shook her head resting it on his shoulder. Jonghyun feared that they would soon get caught if they didn't leave now. The only thing that he could do was allow her to feed.

"Here, drink." Jonghyun said slicing his forearm and holding up to Junghwa's lips.

She quickly shook her head pushing his arm away.

"No. Please don't make me do it." she begged him fighting her heightened senses.

"You have to!" he raised his voice. "You need your strength, otherwise you won't make it. Now, drink!"

Junghwa could no longer fight her need to feed. She sank her teeth deep into the flesh of Jonghyun's forearm. Her hands shook as she held it in her grasp. When she let go, her body trembled from the toxin that filled her blood stream.  Unlike Jonghyun, she couldn't handle a large quantity in such a short amount of time.

"We have to get out of here." Junghwa's words vibrated in .

If they stood any chance of making it out of the facility, Jonghyun had to cause a distraction. He tore fragments of cotton sheets and lit them on fire with a spare match that he had in his pocket. Just as the alarms and sprinklers went off at the West Wing, he and Junghwa made a dash for the stairways. They took labored breaths as they ran out the emergency exit. Security guards scrambled all over the lawn in response to the fire that was happening indoors.

When they got a distance away from the facility, Jonghyun stopped and placed his hands on Junghwa's shoulders.

"Little sister, I want you to run." he said to her catching his breath. "Run as fast as you can, do you understand me?"

Junghwa objected, shaking her head at his request. She gripped his shirt to prevent him from leaving her.

"I won't leave you!" she cried.

He fought his tears and shouted, "Just do it!"

"Whatever you do, don't look back. Just run."

"But...oppa what will happen to you?"

"Don't worry about me. We will meet again, I promise."

Though Junghwa fought like hell to stay by Jonghyun's side, she knew what she had to do. They both took off in different directions. The whole entire time that Jonghyun ran, he cried for his little sister. He made a promise to her that he was unsure that he could keep. He prayed that she made it out safely, and he prayed for the day that he would see her again if they made it out alive... 

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency; Seoul, South Korea
Present Day

"Kim Kibum reporting for duty." the young detective beamed with pride with his badge in hand.

Unlike his overzealous approach, the other detectives sat around the office drowning their sleep deprivation in lukewarm coffee. The men sported a five o'clock shadow that probably hadn't been shaved in weeks. Kibum stood with a handful of manila folders that were in need of filing. One of the detectives approached him with her black v-neck tucked into her pants; her gun and badge hung from her belt loop.

"You must be the new kid." she commented with a smirk. "I'm Detective Cho Hyosung. Don't cross me wrong, and you'll do just fine."

Kibum nodded and replied, "I will do my best."

Hyosung chuckled and pat the younger one's back nearly knocking the wind out of him.

"How about you just file those reports for now, eh?"

Kibum returned to his usual office duties that consisted of sorting and filing reports. He sifted through the stuffed file cabinet trying to find space for the stack of folders on his desk. When he got to the last folder, some of its contents fell to the floor. He knelt down and picked up the photographs of two young children. Curiosity got the best of him, and he couldn't help but to sneak a peek at the file.

Inside, there was missing children reports for both Seo Junghwa and Kim Jonghyun. Kibum remembered back when he was a kid, and he heard about this story all over the news. The police never found those two children among the others that had disappeared that year. He couldn't believe that he was actually holding those reports in his hands. 

"Kim, are you finished filing those reports?!" the captain shouted from his office.

Kibum quickly stuffed the last folder into its rightful place.

"Yes, sir." he responded bowing to his elder.

"Good. Now, you can start doing some real work around here." the captain said tossing him a packet of stapled pages. 

Kibum looked down at the stack of reports from homicides that had occurred all over the metro area. Though he heard about them, he never thought that the captain would trust a rookie with such an assignment. Maybe it was just his confidence talking, but Kibum felt like he was a whole new man. He was going to work with all the big guys.

"Detective Cho will be your new partner." the captain announced. "I want you two to investigate the crime scene in Hongdae. I expect a brief on my desk by tomorrow morning. Understood?"

Kibum quickly nodded with a smile on his face.

"Do you hear that?" he said with glee to his new partner. "We're partners!"

Hyosung rolled her eyes at the thought of working with a rookie. It wasn't like she could go against the captain’s orders anyway. She might as well get used to seeing that exaggerated smile for the next six months.

"You're gonna need this." she said throwing Kibum a paper bag. "This part always makes the rookies nauseous."

Kibum knew that he long way to go before he could be on Hyosung's level. If his father were alive, he would be so proud to see how far he had come. Maybe he would make great strides and achieve everything that his father wished to do—the Seo-Kim case being one of them. Though the police stopped searching for the two a long time ago, there was something about that case that didn't sit well with Kibum. Their disappearance was anything but a simple kidnapping. This had to be premeditated.

A/N: Hey hey hey! I'm so happy to be bringing this story back! I can't wait to share my crazy ideas with you all. I hope you all enjoyed the back story. For my previous subscribers, welcome back! :)