As her body touched the floor, she huddle up, hugging her knees as she looked at the door. All sort of thoughts had already gone through her distorted mind. Blood, killing, no misery left at all in her body. No tears fell from her eyes any longer, and as she stared at the gap on the door, she felt the silent rage rising upon her body, until it clouded her reasoning. Going out wasn’t an option, it was a necessity, but alone, she couldn’t do it.

Long hours passed by as she looked at the gap, until a shadow disturbed the thin ray of light, making her furrow. She looked up as she heard the doorknob hustle, it had been a few good hours, she could tell by the soreness of her body. Her face felt sticky, where the tears had dried and the makeup had run. Her face turned into a furrow as she saw the man walking inside. Taemin, looking at her sternly, his hands balled into fists next to his body. She slowly stood up, almost losing her balance due to her sore legs, but she stood up, staring at him. “Chaerin.” He muttered.

Chaerin continued to stare at him as he closed the door, slowly locking it and setting his guns aside. She had seen enough of him to not get impressed or affected by anything he could have on his body. “Taemin.” She muttered sternly. He took a deep breath, then looked at his side, towards a barred window, slightly hidden behind a curtain. “I’d say you didn’t come here to reminiscence on the past, have you?” She said, and he smiled crookedly, shaking his head no.

“You can’t stay here, and neither can I.” He said as he moved to sit on the chair next to the window. Chaerin followed him with her gaze, not moving an inch. Everything seemed to have turned into her enemy, people she knew turned into different beings, wearing the flesh of the people she thought she loved, of the people she thought she could give her life for.

“Clearly.” She said softly.

“But I can’t let you go through the front door, not without a plan.” He said, now looking firmly at her.

“Planning to stand against your father?” She said, to which Taemin shrugged.

“I’m trying to find the common benefactor in all of this.” He said. She nodded, crossing her arms as she studied him.

“How do I know you’re not being Sooman’s puppet?” She said, to which Taemin chuckled, but his face showed no humor, nevertheless.

“You can go ask him, probably would get us both jammed in here.” He said as he laid back on the chair. “Or you could hear me out. You’ve got nothing to lose anymore.” Chaerin nodded, slowly moving towards him.

“I’m listening.” She said, and Taemin nodded. “What would be the common benefactor?”

“I am still trying to figure it out.” Taemin said. “We do have a common enemy.”

“And who is that?”

“As much as you wouldn’t want to admit it, that man would be Jiyong.” Taemin said, and Chaerin narrowed her eyes.

“Wrong.” She said, and Taemin smirked.

“Am I?”

“Yes.” She said, and looked at the guns laid on her vanity. “The common enemy would be the man Jiyong works for.”

“Kwon Younghwan, is it?” Taemin said, to which Chaerin nodded. “And what would be your plan?”

“An eye for an eye, I have thought.” She said, and Taemin nodded, putting his hands together in deep thought.

“Have you thought that, maybe, Jiyong won’t care about his father at all? I mean, if he does loves you, what makes you think he won’t go and kill Younghwan first thing?” Taemin said, and Chaerin shrugged.

“I have thought about that, he himself had told me such.” She said, “But still, an eye for an eye. Something’s got to make him twitch, I will attack that.”

“So you’re willing to make your dear Jiyong suffer?”

“In order to reach Younghwan, yes.” She said. Taemin narrowed his eyes, moving forwards towards her.

“What’s with the sudden change? What made you go from the depressed lunatic to the vengeful ?” Taemin said, and Chaerin smirked.

“I have always been the vengeful , it’s just that Jiyong happened to be my core. And someone touched it.” She said, and Taemin nodded.

“So, I’m guessing you won’t find Jiyong’s core unless you get something out of this, am I right?” Taemin said, and Chaerin smirked, nodding.

“The only thing I need is his safety. Get him out safely, no matter what happens, no matter what you see, you will have to get him our safely.” She said, then turned around, holding a knife that was lying on her vanity, next to Taemin’s guns. “The rest will be done in due time. An eye for an eye.”

The road seemed longer than he remembered, the trees where made a blur as the car speeded through the streets. Nothing seemed familiar, yet everything was remembered. Jiyong’s hands where clasped around his gun, his finger close to the trigger, but not on top of it. His eyes were fixed to the front; clenching his jaw, he continued to breath in and out, slowly, calming his senses as the adrenaline rose like waves through his veins.

The familiar road to the Lee’s house was starting to be seen, and he shifted on his chair, preparing his muscles for the fight. No matter what, he was coming out of there with two things, Chaerin and Sooman’s head. For one, he had no idea why, for the other, his body need him to do that. The blood of the Lee was too tempting to feel, even if he wasn’t at fault, he needed to feel it running through his fingers, need it to fill his body with it. His monster was out, no longer did Jiyong had any control of the things that went through his mind, the Dragon was in full control. The way his body moved, the way his hands twitched every now and then, almost as a killing tick on his muscles, it was all a Dragon, loose on the wilderness of the road.

The car pulled to a stop, and the gates were in full view. Fortunately, or maybe in the worst fortune, the place was empty. No guards were waiting outside, no one was watching the surroundings, there was not a single soul in the place. “It’s a trap.” Youngbae said as he looked around. Jiyong, however, just shrugged and loaded his gun.

“Or maybe it’s what it is, easy as cake.” Jiyong said as he opened his door.

“Cake it’s not an easy recipe, and this is no less easy. This is a trap.” Seungri said. Jiyong rolled his eyes and got out of the car.

“Just call the others, make them come ASAP.” He said and walked towards the gates. He could hear some footsteps behind him, but didn’t need to look to know it was Youngbae right after him, looking around the place.

“So this is a trap.” Youngbae muttered as he touched the gates, they were open.

“Or maybe they forgot to lock.” Jiyong said, his eyes furrowed as he entered through the gates, his eyes narrowed and his face furrowed.

“So we look for Chaerin and kill Sooman, right?” Youngbae said, and Jiyong nodded.

“Simple.” Jiyong said, then stopped, looking straight into the main doors. “Also, kill every person that moves.”

“Shouldn’t it be easier to keep it low profile?” Youngbae said, and Jiyong shook his head.

“These es bruised my face, they deserve it.” Jiyong said, to which Youngbae rolled his eyes.

“Let’s keep it low profile until we find Chaerin.” Youngbae said, and Jiyong rolled his eyes, walking towards the door. He slowly opened the door, hoping to find anyone in there, but not to his surprise, he found none. He gave a quick glance towards Youngbae, who shrugged and nodded. Jiyong nodded back and walked in, gun held high in front of him.

“I’ll go downstairs, you go upstairs.” Youngbae said, already moving out of view. Jiyong nodded to no one and walked towards the stairs, moving swiftly and smoothly, without making any noise at all.

As he got to the second floor, he noticed stains of blood dripping from the hand rails, still fresh and red. His face furrowed as he touched it with the tip of his finger and put it close to his face, examining it. He shrugged and continued walking, now more aware of his surroundings. To the front, he noticed a door ajar, light coming out of the room, moving softly, as if it came from candlelight or a fireplace. He moved in a fast pace towards the door, opening it softly as he looked inside. On top of the bed was a man, probably in his mid 30’s with multiple gunshots. The man was clearly from the house, thing that made him alert. Something wrong was definitely going on.

A rumble and a glass breaking made him jump, and he quickly got out of the room, following the noise. It came from the room next to that one, where a door was tightly closed. He touched the doorknob, it was locked. Without giving it much thought, Jiyong moved back, kicking the door open and moving inside, his gun held high in the front. He pointed everywhere as he looked at the corners of the room, and finally, towards the vase that fell from a table, close to the bed. He moved towards it, and his eyes snapped wide open. “Chaerin.” He said softly as he touched the bed, smelling her perfume all over the place. “Chaerin!” He yelled, looking around the room.

A shadow next to the door made him frown, and he pointed his gun towards it, ready to pull the trigger, when a soft voice made him stop in pure fear. “Jiyong?” Her voice said softly, and he quickly lowered his gun, widening his eyes at her. Chaerin came out of the darkness, her face wet from tears, her makeup smudged and her clothes ragged. “You came.”

“Of course I came, I told you I’d look for you.” He said, not daring to much an inch. She let out a soft chuckled and ran towards him, hugging him tight. He hugged her back, kissing the top of her head, feeling her body next to his. Never did he thought happiness could be found in such circumstances, but it was possible, he had found it right there and then.

“You shouldn’t have.” She muttered, and he frowned, pulling her slightly away from him, enough for him to see her face. “It is not safe.”

“Nothing is safe.” He muttered, and she shook her head quickly, looking at the door.

“Are you alone?” She said and he crooked his head slightly.

“Why?” He asked. She bit her lip and looked at him, and for the first time, he felt he couldn’t trust her. It wasn’t fear he saw in her eyes, it wasn’t the innocence of not knowing, rather than the malice of knowing everything and still playing it through. The lack of innocence made him back away, hold his gun and look around. She wasn’t the girl he left, rather than a woman made of steel, a woman made for kill.

“We will all die here.” She muttered, and he narrowed his eyes at her, his gun held back firmly, looking at the door.

“Not you, at least.” He said. Just then, gunshots were heard from the lower level, and he jumped slightly, holding her arm and putting her behind him. “Come with me.” He said, and to his unfortunate hidden desire, she followed him, obliging to everything he said.

“They broke in not long ago, killed almost all of our men.” She said as he got out of the room, his gun held high as he moved silently, followed by a too silent Chaerin.

“Your men?” He echoed, not taking his eyes off the place.

“Sooman’s men, at least. I manage to run up here, I don’t know where they are, or what they are doing.” She said. “I think they’re your father’s men.”

“What makes you think that?” Jiyong said, to which Chaerin narrowed her eyes.

“They wore Dragons all over their clothes. And one of them, I’m assuming is your father, had one gun just like yours.” She said, and Jiyong stopped.

“My father wouldn’t come to do a job himself.” He said, and she shrugged again.

“Killing the Lee heirs would be a job to do by himself, wouldn’t it?” She said, and he nodded, his eyes shifting towards the stairs.

“Considering the fact that I didn’t fulfilled it, it would be something he would end himself, that’s true.” He said. More gunshots were heard, and he could feel her tensing at the sight of a man retreating as he shoot. Jiyong instinctively moved to protect Chaerin, but she had already pulled out a gun out of Jiyong’s jacket, pointing at the front. He looked at her quickly, then at the front, where the man was panting as he loaded his gun.

“Kikwang.” Chaerin muttered, her voice sounding tense. Jiyong tensed his jaw and nodded, slightly touching her hand.

“Should we help him?” He said and she shrugged.

“Right now I don’t know who is who anymore, and I don’t think he’ll be too happy to see you.” She said, then blew some air from . “Come to think of it, you could have teamed up with your father and be here to kill us.” Jiyong widened his eyes and looked at her, his face in complete disbelieve.

“You don’t believe that.” He said, and she shrugged, slightly smiling.

“I somewhat do, somewhat don’t.” She said. Jiyong scoffed and took out a knife, handing it to her.

“You have my second gun, now my knife. Without this gun I’m holding, I’m unarmed. You have all the odds at your favor. If I try to kill you, pull the trigger and put a bullet right into my skull.” He said, and she nodded, holding the knife.

“Is everything about Dragons?” She said, and he chuckled, looking at the knife his grandfather gave him.

“We are the Dragon Dynasty, so yes, everything’s about dragons.” She rolled her eyes one more time, and another gunshot was heard. This time, it was followed by a thud, and he tensed up. He looked down, and his eyes widened in pure fear. Youngbae was down, Kikwang pointing at his direction with a finger too close to the trigger. He took a deep breath and made a run for it. He could tell Chaerin was following him suit, since he could hear her steps right behind him.

As he reached down, Kikwang narrowed his eyes at him, pointing his gun right through his forehead. Jiyong lifted his hands, letting his gun fall from his hands. “I’m not here to hurt you.” Jiyong said, taking quick glances at Youngbae, who apparently had a shot on his shoulder and another one at his side. Kikwang narrowed his eyes again, ready to pull the trigger when Chaerin stood in front of him, lifting her arms, protecting him.

“Kikwang, stop.” She said.

“He killed your father, his father is here killing us all, and you’re asking me to stop?!” Kikwang said, rage spilling from his pores.

“He’s not with his father.” She said, almost trembling. Kikwang scoffed and looked at Jiyong again.

“Now you’re going to tell me you’re here to protect us?” He said, and Jiyong narrowed his eyes, shaking his head no.

“No, I came here for Chaerin, you just happened to be in the way.” He said, then looked at Youngbae. “And now you’ve injured my brother.”

“As far as I know, he’s just your pawn.” Kikwang said, and Jiyong smirked, looking around the house. He could see pictures of the Lees, including Sooman and a woman, whom he assumed, was Misook. He could see the similarity on Youngbae, too much to go unnoticed, even for her family.

“There’s so much you don’t know.” Jiyong said, slowly lowering his hands. “But for now, let us get back to business.”

“Business?” Kikwang said, also lowering his gun.

“My father, you may want his head on a plate, and I no longer care for his wellbeing.” Jiyong said, making Kikwang widen his eyes.

“He’s here, that’s all I know.” Kikwang said.

“Taemin?” Chaerin said, and Kikwang shook his head.

“I don’t know.” Kikwang said. Jiyong moved slightly, and Kikwang lifted the gun again, pointing at him.

“I’m just checking my young brother here, see if you didn’t killed him.” Jiyong said.

“I didn’t pulled the trigger, he was there when I got here. That man, on the other hand, was the one I killed.” Kikwang said, pointing at a door behind them. Jiyong looked to the door and saw one of his father’s men lying dead on the ground. Jiyong scoffed and went over Youngbae, lifting him up slightly, checking his pulse. To his relieve, he was alive, just unconscious.

“Bae, hey, wake up.” Jiyong said, slapping him softly. Youngbae’s eyes moved slightly, and he continued to shake him until he woke up. Youngbae snapped up, quickly holding his gun, looking frantically around. “Hey, hey, it’s alright, I’m here.” Jiyong said, putting both his hands on his shoulder.

“What happened?” Youngbae said, looking from Chaerin to Kikwang, then finally at Jiyong.

“You dozed off during work hours, that’s what happened.” Jiyong said, handing him his jacket. “Here, press the fabric to that wound, make the blood stop.” Youngbae grabbed the jacket and pressed it to his side, flinching a bit as he did.

“So what happened? Are we being ambushed?” Youngbae asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Kikwang said. “By your people, actually.”

“Younghwan’s people, he meant.” Chaerin said. Youngbae narrowed his eyes, then looked at Jiyong, who nodded at him.

“Father’s here cleaning up my mess, I guess.” Jiyong said. Youngbae let out a sigh and shook his head, almost regretting hearing those words.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my children, happily plotting against me. This warms my heart.” A man said from behind, making Jiyong jump up, completely unarmed. He looked around, his body moving by itself towards his gun, only to be stopped by another man kicking it, then another holding him up. “Now, now Jiyong, did you really thought you had it against me?”

“I could try, there’s nothing lost there, father.” Jiyong said as he struggled with the man holding him up. He saw the others being caught too, and his heart raced faster, adrenaline going wild on his blood as he tried to free himself to no avail.

“You could try, but you will fail, you always do.” Younghwan said as he walked in. After him, a man dragged Taemin and Sooman inside. Both of them badly injured. “Now, Kikwang, Chaerin, good to see you.” Jiyong kept staring at him with narrow eyes as he fixed his coat and walked closer to Chaerin. He stood in front of her, and Jiyong’s heart got caught in his throat as he saw Younghwan pulling out a knife, the twin to his own. He put it close to Chaerin’s throat, but she didn’t trembled, didn’t even flinched.

“Get away from her.” Jiyong hissed, almost in an unrecognizable voice. Younghwan, however, didn’t even seemed to have listened to him, since he continued to play with the knife on Chaerin’s throat.

“Now tell me, little roach, how have you managed to have done so much chaos on my company without moving a finger?” Younghwan said. “Scouring your way like a rat, finally reaching my core, only to let it all fall into pieces. What should I do with you?” Younghwan smirked as he slightly cut her neck, and she flinched a slight bit, only for a brief moment, not losing her eye contact with Younghwan.

“It seems to be a poor managed company, then.” She said, and Younghwan slapped her face, hard. She let out a gasp as she spat out blood. Jiyong struggled, growling lowly as he saw her face starting to swell.

“I swear to you old man, I’m going to kill you!” Jiyong hissed as he continued to struggle against the man that was holding him. Younghwan turned around, a smirk plastered on his face as he looked at his son.

“You can’t kill me. You can’t kill anyone, you’re a disgrace to your name; you’re just a scoundrel, a mutt I should have abandoned at the streets when you were born. You and your good for nothing of a mother are a ruin to my empire.” He hissed and grabbed the knife up, pointing at Chaerin’s chest. “Killing her won’t change a thing, but I know it will make you strong enough to end what you started. If you got the balls.” He said, his knife going steady towards Chaerin’s chest. Jiyong felt his hands trembling in fear as he saw his father’s firm hand going right towards her chest. He knew there was nothing he could do, nothing he could possibly do to stop the unstoppable.

“NO!” Jiyong said, then quickly closed his eyes, if something were to happened, he couldn’t bear to look, couldn’t bear to see the blood oozing out of her body as she slowly fell lifeless on the floor. He couldn’t bargain that, couldn’t make himself strong enough to face the fact that he was going to lose her, and he couldn’t do nothing but stand down until the end.

But, as destiny had never slapped him stronger in the face, a gunshot make him open his eyes wide in pure fear. He looked at Chaerin, who was gasping as she looked down, her eyes as wide as his. He couldn’t process anything alright, only that she was gasping, and so was he. Another gunshot, and he felt himself being freed, his arms feeling the rush of blood on them again as he almost fell to the front. He gulped down, and another gunshot was heard, this time from the man holding Chaerin. “Jiyong, here!” He heard, and when he looked to the side, he saw his golden gun flying on his direction, but still, he couldn’t process who threw it to him. He simply moved and shot the man holding Chaerin, then shot again the man holding Youngbae.

Not long after, all he could hear were gunshots and people falling on the floor, way too fast for him to process anything at all. “Chaerin!” He screamed as he moved, a bit crouched as he continued to shoot whoever got in his way.

“Jiyong!” She screamed back, and he looked to the side, looking at her shooting people dead. His heart skipped a beat, almost as if watching her for the first time. She was a whole new other person, one he didn’t knew at all, but was sure as hell intrigued to know. “There’s no way out!” She said.

“We’ll make our own!” He said, still shooting the people running in their direction. He had managed to spot his team, all of them fighting for their lives as the men continued to ambush them. Sooman was standing close to Chaerin, also fighting for an exit.

“All exists are covered! Only way out are the windows, but the gate is also surrounded!” Seungri screamed as he moved closer to Jiyong, holding a dagger in one hand, a gun on the other. Jiyong looked around, holding in his breath as he tried to think of something coherent.

“Both Lee’s and Kwon’s are on our heels, there’s no way out!” Youngbae screamed as he shoot another one.

“Chaerin?” Jiyong said as he saw Taemin nodding. Sooman was slowly standing, glaring at everyone as one of his men handed him a gun. He didn’t hesitate in holding it up in Jiyong’s direction, but he was too distracted to care.

“Taemin, now!” She said, and quickly, Taemin ran towards Jiyong’s direction. Jiyong couldn’t even breathe properly as he saw Chaerin’s hand move swiftly around, the knife pointing at her direction.

“Chaerin!” Sooman said, slowly lowering his gun, so did Kikwang. “Put that knife down.”

“If I’m dead, you’ll lose a part of your treasure, you’ll lose Sooman, you’ll lose.” She said smiling.

“C-Chaerin?” Jiyong said as he saw her trembling hands. She looked at him, and in that moment, everything stopped, and he finally understood what was going on. There was no way out, not for all of them at least. One single movement of her hand would make a window, one they would manage to break easily and get out, but the stake was too high. He knew Younghwan was dead, and it was up to him to make the Dragon Dynasty stand up, but he hadn’t fathomed to do it with her blood staining his way up. “Please, don’t.” He muttered, almost out of breathe, his voice breaking, his hands trembling. He had lost it all, the strength, the anger, the conviction.

“An eye for an eye Jiyong.” She said, and he shook his head. “I love you.” She said. He tried to run towards her, but in that exact moment, Taemin held him back, holding him from moving any further.

“STOP! NO!” He screamed, but nothing he could do could stop her now. She smiled at him, and with a tear falling from her eye, she stabbed herself with the knife he had given her before. His own knife, carved with the curse of the Dragon, carved with a curse he had carried since he was born. “NO!!” he screamed one more time before Taemin dragged him out. That was his window, since every Lee in the room went towards her, almost forgetting he was there, holding the gun that had started it all.

The last thing he managed to see was her body falling on the floor, her blood staining it as Taemin dragged him out. He had gone numb, had seen her die right in front of his eyes, killed by her own hand. He had killed him, had repaid the pain he had given her, had hit the deepest core inside his shell. She found the only reason that could kill him, had kill the only reason keeping him together. “Listen to me Jiyong.” Taemin said, but Jiyong had gone deaf, blind and stupid. He couldn’t reason, couldn’t think; couldn’t even see properly anymore.

“Why?!” He said, holding his gun up, intending to point at his own forehead, but Taemin’s hand was faster, he had stopped him from pulling the trigger.

“She did this for a reason, and that reason was to save you, now go! Get your team out of here! You listen, get them all out, NOW!” Taemin said, pushing him out of the mansion. Jiyong looked at him as he walked back into the mansion, leading his team out. All of them got out, and Youngbae got by Jiyong’s side, almost carrying him as they got out of the place in a hurry.

All the strategy, all the movements, everything went to end the moment she put that knife right into her skin. He had lost the battle, had lost it all, she tried to save him, but doing so, she killed him merciless. One movement of hers and he had died in an instant, and what was worst, he had lost the will to even kill himself. His pain was too much, and as he was led out, silently mourning as every limb and muscle on him trembled, he knew he was no longer needed in that world, yet, he couldn’t get out of it. Darkness was the only thing that welcomed him, and for that, he had to thank, but also, for that, he had to kill, to continue to become the monster of the night. Her sacrifice had meant his death, and his death has become the death of many others, because that night, that place was cursed, and by his hand, all of them will meet the same pain he was feeling. He was out, but they were going out too, and someday, when his time comes, he would be the one settling the scores right.

Gily's Notes: Ok, I need to appologize for the lack of updates and the sudden end of this. But truth is, I have to work, I have many things to do, and can't really seem to finish this. But I promised a sequel, and a sequel you will have, just give me time to write it.

The idea is right in my mind, and... I know you hate me and all, but there's still so much in store for everyone in this story. So many things to make things up, lol!

Hope you enjoyed this, and thanks for bearing with me until the end. This road hasn't finished just yet, it just made a slight stop. 

Thank you all, don't hate much eh!

Happy Reading~

See you next time!

Gily ♥