Chapter Twenty Eight: Coping With Death

Ever since Lay's death, the vampires have been acting differently.

Rather than being his easy-going and loud self, Taemin-- due to the shock of seeing his hyung die right in front of him-- had been awfully quiet. No matter how many times Minho tried conversing with him, he still wouldn't utter a word.

Suho, who was the hyung and was meant to comfort his donsaengs, had been shedding the most tears. He would pause and become dazed for a few minutes then he'd resume his crying while clutching onto Lay's ring-- the only object left behind by their dead friend.

D.O. was more agitated than saddened by the sudden death. Baekhyun had tried approaching him but he nearly got his head ripped off his body. Due to that, everyone avoided him.

Believe it or not, Key was the only one who could comfort Jonghyun. Sometimes those two would disappear (because of Key's invisibility) making Sun Young think that there was something that the two were hiding.

Kai was definitely hurt the most. There were times-- lots of times-- when he'd have a mental breakdown and end up screaming Lay's name with tears streaming down his face. He was unciouncious now, Kris had to make him that way after he almost bit Chanyeol out of anger and confusion.

Kris' policeman friend-- whose name was Heechul-- had brought them to a private rest house in Incheon, where they could collect themselves and rest. He left though, saying that he had to meet up with "The rest of Suju."

Everyone knew that they couldn't set out to meet Tao's friend, Minseo, if Luhan was still unconscious and half of their group was emotionally unstable... so they needed to fix them. Fast.

"We're wasting time," Chen groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Who knows what G-Dragon could be plotting at this moment?"

"Shut up, would you?," Onew growled. "How would you react if one of your close friends died in front of you?"

"Guys, we shouldn't be fighting about this...," Xiumin said from his seat. The werewolves (except Luhan), plus the Park twins, were in the lobby. They were trying to find a way to help the vampires so they could continue their travel.

"We need to give them time," Sun Young said, her eyes glued to her lap. "It's not easy to recover after losing a loved one."

Chanyeol gave Sun Young a look of sympathy. After they "moved in" their new home, depression hit her. She was unable to use magic for half a year and would have breakdowns every night. She recovered, barely.

"Taemin still won't speak to me," Minho broke the silence, sighing loudly before cupping his chin with his hand.

"D.O. is still being an ," Everyone turned to Baekhyun, whose hands were now in the air. "What? It's true!"

"Suho's been really down," Xiumin said with a sigh. "He's locked in his room. The only thing I can hear in there are his cries."

"Jonghyun... he refuses to eat anything," Key said sadly.

"Kai definitely has the worst case," Chanyeol stated. "He almost bit me, remember?"

"Well, what do you suggest we do?," Minho asked before faceplanting on the table.

A lightbulb suddenly lit above Sun Young's head. Of course. "I think I have an idea."

ㅇㅇㅇ

"You're an idiot," were the first words Luhan heard after he opened his eyes.

The room's walls were a blinding color of white, making Luhan think that he was back in that lab in Exodus-- where he was tortured and experimented on in many morbid ways. He was about to scream for help, then he saw Kris and Chen just a few feet away from his bed.

"What?," Luhan managed to croak out and rubbed his eyes. For some reason, his whole body was aching.

"You're an idiot," Kris repeated and crossed his arms. "You tried surrending yourself. Not only did you threaten your own life, you threatened everyone else's too."

Chen stared at Kris, expecting him to tell Luhan about Lay's death. When he didn't, he was left baffled. Why won't he tell Luhan what really happened?

"I'm sorry," Luhan whispered and dug his head under his pillow.

Kris sighed and took off his shades before wiping it with his shirt. "It's fine. You're alright and that's what matters."

"No," Luhan's muffled voice could barely be heard, since he was now buried under the duvet covers. "He's dead because of me."

At first, Chen wondered how Luhan found out about that... then he remembered the alpha's mind reading abilities and mentally facepalmed, since his thoughts were probably read.

Kris gave Chen a glare before looking back at Luhan with a soft expression. "Luhan---"

"Lay is dead because of me," Luhan repeated and quietly sobbed under the thick covers of the bed.

"Hyung," Chen said softly and sat on the bed, right next to Luhan's head. "It isn't your fault."

"If I didn't try and surrender myself, Lay would still be alive and the vampires wouldn't be depressed," Luhan turned towards the wall, ignoring Chen's reassuring statement.

"Luhan, don't be stupid," Kris ignored Chen's burning glare and continued. "You just tried to help us. Like I said, it's enough that you're in one piece."

Luhan pulled the duvet slightly, revealing his glowing blue eyes. Chen stared at him. Were his eyes always like that?

"Lay died on the spot. Not even Sun Young could have done anything to help," Kris said slowly. "Don't think about it, at least---"

Luhan suddenly sprinted towards Kris, Chen throwing himself out of the way at the right time. The alpha growled, his pointed teeth revealed for the first time.

"You don't understand," Luhan growled, his blue eyes full of anger, and grabbed Kris' collar. "Because of me, Lay is dead. Sun Young was almost captured. Taehyung almost killed me and his friends almost killed everyone else. All this happened because I was too much of an idiot to realize that surrendering myself will just worsen everything. I can hear everyone's thoughts, Kris. Every vampire in this house hates me. Heck, Kai wants to murder me. And you know what else I found out? Huh, Kris? G-Dragon, he no longer wants me back. He wants Sun Young. Why? I don't even know!"

Chen was able to stand up after landing on the cabinet, which was now broken. "G-Dragon only wants Sun Young now?"

Kris sighed and squeezed Luhan's shoulders. "I understand, Luhan. I'm sorry."

Luhan took deep breaths, his fangs sinking back in and his eyes turning back to their normal shade of blue. "No, Kris. I'm sorry for attacking you."

"G-Dragon only wants Sun Young now?," Chen repeated, since nobody had listened to him a while ago.

Luhan looked away and rubbed his nape awkwardly. "Well..."

Kris glanced at Luhan with confusion. "Luhan? Do you know something?"

Luhan sighed and sat on the bed, bringing his knees to his chest. "I kinda read Taehyung's mind..."

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