“Have you heard?” a worried man asked entering a rather large study.

The room was circular and bookshelves covered almost all of the wall space, except for the large window in the middle. Dark, black curtains were pulled back to reveal the dusty panes and the dusk of the night that was slowly starting to fade away. A tall man sat slumped in a large armchair next to the window, legs extended lazily in front of him. He rested his chin delicately on one large hand, leaning towards the window against the ledge, his other hand dangling over the side of the armrest. His eyes were half closed as if he were drifting into sleep, and perhaps he was. It was, after all, rather late for a vampire to be awake.

“Hmm?” he barely mumbled in response to the man who had nearly burst into the room.

“Your highness, you’re not even paying attention to me.” the man sounded exasperated.

“What was that?” asked the taller man as he finally pried his eyes from the window.

“Have you heard?”

“Ah,” he turned his gaze back to the window, “I’ve heard. Or I’ve seen rather.”

“What do you propose that we do? And come away from the window! The sun is coming up soon!”

The tall man sighed and watched the sun as it began to rise over the horizon. The light hurt his eyes, but he had gotten used to the feeling by now having done this almost every night for the past seventy-three years. He knew his limitations when it came to the sunlight and he knew what would happen if he waited too long, but everything was well worth it.

“Isn’t the sunrise the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” the man sighed blissfully as the rays began to burn his eyes. He put on a pair of sunglasses quickly and reached out blindly for the curtain tie, tugging at it gently so that it would come undone. As the silk fabric slipped from the curtain and fell between the man’s fingers, the thick, black fabric dropped against the opening of the window.

“I wouldn’t know, your highness,” the man replied.

“And please,” he sighed in annoyance, pulling the sunglasses from his face, “Just call me Chanyeol.”

“Your highness,” the man squeaked.

Chanyeol raised a hand to silence him, “Yixing, calm down.”

Yixing took a deep breath and counted to ten in his head, a routine that he had picked up once coming to work under the young vampire king. He let out a long, slow breath and closed his eyes to calm his nerves. Working under someone so relaxed caused him more stress than he thought he could ever handle.

“Now then,” Chanyeol spoke, striding across the room to face Yixing fully, “Where is he?”

“Who, Sir?” Yixing asked.

“Baekhyun, of course.”

“Ah,” Yixing cleared his throat, “He’s downstairs, but your highness-” Chanyeol gave him an unapproving look, “...Chanyeol… He’s brought someone with him.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, “Byun Baekhyun bringing someone with him? How unlike himself… Unless,” Chanyeol smiled softly, “He’s found him again.”

“Him, your high- Chanyeol?”

“I’d like to see Baekhyun straight away. Send him to my office please.”

“Yes, your highness, uh, Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol Sir,” Yixing stuttered to himself as he tried to determine which words he was supposed to use in order to address the king.

***

“Good morning, Byun Baekhyun.” Chanyeol greeted as the older vampire entered the room.

Chanyeol was lounging lazily in his office chair, staring off into space as Baekhyun entered. The tall man before him was wearing a robe and a pair of ridiculous fuzzy slippers that matched. He watched as the man tilted his head back and yawned sleepily. He was as pale as always and his hair was a slightly different shade since the last time he’d seen him. If a transition from black hair to bright red could be considered slight.

“I haven’t seen you in so long, Baekhyun. Where’ve you been?” Chanyeol asked gesturing to the chairs in front of his long, oak desk.

Baekhyun shifted and sat reluctantly, “I was in Europe.”

“What were you doing there?” Chanyeol frowned, “Hiding?”

Baekhyun pursed his lips into a firm line. He didn’t really want to talk much about why he was in Europe, besides it had nothing to do with his friend. “Are we going to talk about last night or not?”

“Come on,” the taller whined, “We haven’t seen each other in ages! Can’t we do a little catching up?”

“We have eternity to catch up. But the human race might not be so lucky if we continue this pointless conversation. And for God sakes, Chanyeol, could you please put on some clothes?”

Chanyeol huffed, “I heard you found him again.”

Baekhyun clucked his tongue trying hard to hold back the harsh words that would otherwise spill out of his mouth, ”Stop trying to change the subject.”

“Alright, alright. So, you were there, care to tell me what happened exactly?”

“Shouldn’t you already know?”

“What I see and what I know are always very different, Baekhyun. You should know that. Besides, I like hearing other people’s point of view. It adds to the depth of the visions.”

Baekhyun reclined back in the chair and folded his arms over his chest, “There's not much to tell. The man had a gun and set it off, it didn't take me very long to tell who they were. I fled soon thereafter. I heard the explosion on the way here. I didn't think they'd attack humans this soon though. They only ever came after us before. I'm worried, Chanyeol. Chanyeol, you're spacing out again," Baekhyun snapped his fingers, "Pay attention."

"Why is Junmyeon here?" He suddenly cut off his friend, "Baekhyun you aren't going to..."

Baekhyun gritted his teeth, "It's for the best."

Chanyeol slammed his hands down on the oak desk causing it to shake under the pressure, he stood from his chair abruptly, clearly very angry, "You can't do this to him, Baekhyun."

"Just to take away the memory of the club, that's all." Baekhyun muttered, "It could cause bad memories from... From the last time." He cleared his throat suddenly and Chanyeol softened, letting out a small sigh in relief.

***

Help…

Help me…

There’s a fire… Everything is burning down around me…

Baekhyun, where are you?

Who is Baekhyun? Who owns that name?

“Xiumin!”

“I’m over here!”

That’s not my name, but…

“Save me!”

“Xiumin, I’m coming!”

“Hurry, Baekhyun! I’m trapped!”

“Xiumin, Xiumin! Keep your eyes open for me, I’m going to get you out of here okay?”

I open my mouth to speak, but I just cough.

“Listen to me. Listen to my voice… Don’t go. Please don’t go… Not yet… Not again…”

Again...?

“If this is about me saving you the other night, you don’t have to thank me.”

Wait… What was that?

“Stay with me!”

“L-Let go of me!”

“Xiumin! I will answer your questions if you just come with me!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Please, Xiumin… Don’t go…”

Please forgive me...

I… I love you Baekhyun…

“HELP ME!” the scream echoed in Minseok’s empty bedroom.

He shot up from his bed, breathing heavily as he whipped his head around, lost and confused. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he tried to remember what happened. A throbbing sensation pulsated through his brain. The dream he had seemed more strange than usual. It was as if he was actually there… As if part of it was a dream, but the other part… Was real. He could feel something, but all he had were blurry images. He couldn’t remember what happened and what he heard but it seemed different somehow.

“What is happening to me? I must be crazy.” He mumbled to himself. “These dreams…” He sighed and pushed himself off of his bed.

Minseok sluggishly pushed himself around the house to prepare for his day. As he was heading into the bathroom, he stared long and hard at his reflection. Dark circles around his eyes, messy hair, wrinkled clothes. He looked the same. However, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of his dream. It was so strange how he could barely remember any of it. He would remember most of his nightmares but this dream seemed blurrier than usual.

Could it be… That it wasn’t a dream…?

He let out a deep sigh. What he wanted was answers but, at that moment, he needed coffee. Minseok let out another sigh as he tucked the thought away in the back of his mind and started to prepare for his day.

***

Wasn’t I planning to go meet Baekhyun at the club…? I was heading to the club right…?

Minseok hadn’t realized that he’d arrived to his workplace until he almost tripped over his own chair. He caught himself before he could make a fool out of himself and did a quick survey of the room to make sure no one had seen. Jongdae watched the scene when he stood up from his desk to greet his friend.

“You okay there, buddy?”

Minseok quickly spun his head towards the voice and blinked several times.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Jongdae raised a brow. “Did something happen last night?”

This caught Minseok’s attention. “Last night? What did I do last night?”

The younger man was taken aback at the questions. “Uh, you told me you were going to the club to meet with that stalker vampire but I couldn’t come with you because… I had other plans.”

Minseok took a moment to process the newly received information. He stared down at his desk to think things over. He didn’t know what he did, but one thing was for sure, he had gone to the club the night before as he’d originally thought. Did that mean something happened? That had to be the case if he didn’t remember. Something must have happened when he met Baekhyun. If Jongdae wasn’t there to witness anything, who else could he ask? He should probably go to the club again later that night.

“I should ask Sehun about it…”

“What...?”

Minseok snapped his fingers. “That’s it! I’ll go back to the club tonight and ask Sehun what happened! He would surely know.”

Jongdae huffed at the vampire’s name. Before he could question Minseok any further, Junmyeon strolled into the office and grinned. Jongdae’s face suddenly flushed and he lost his train of thought. Junmyeon reached over and patted Jongdae on the shoulder, giving him one of his brightest smiles.

“Good morning, you two.”

Minseok watched how close his boss and his friend were together. To say the least, it felt strange to know that something was happening between them. In a good or bad way, he wasn’t sure and he probably didn’t want to find out.

“Good morning to you, too, sir.” Minseok greeted, though his greeting was left hanging when he witnessed the two never breaking eye contact. Minseok rolled his eyes as he went to pick up his mug and started heading towards the staff kitchen to fill it with some coffee.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he noticed there was still coffee in the pot. He hurriedly made his way over to pour some into his mug. As he was filling up his cup, the news on the television caught his attention. He placed the coffee pot down and turned his head to face the screen.

“... Last night, there was a deadly bombing at The Gate, a club located downtown on fifth street. The police had rushed to the scene, only to find that any suspects had escaped. Many were injured and there was a total of fifteen casualties. The victims were rushed to the hospital as soon as possible. A few witnesses who chose to remain anonymous had told us that there was a gunshot that seemed to have signaled a massive shooting before the bomb had been set off. The police are investigating at this moment. We will report updates as soon as they become available…”

Minseok stared at the television, the rest of the report disappearing into the background. He was glad he wasn’t holding his mug because if he was, he would have dropped it right then. His brain started pounding against his skull again. Minseok ignored the pain as he tried to remember what happened, but he couldn’t. It was as if the entire night had been removed from his memory. There was nothing there, he couldn’t remember anything...

A photo of the club from the night before flashed across the screen. It was mainly of flames engulfing the building and a large gaping hole. The image was probably taken from afar because Minseok couldn’t exactly see inside the club. When the image disappeared, Minseok focused in on the club behind the reporter. The fire was out and soot covered from what he could see. Police tapes and the police themselves covered most of the the interior of the club, but he could see how damaged it was on the inside. The screen then switched back to the news station and the topic had changed. Minseok watched for several more minutes before he picked up his mug and resumed filling it up.

Questions were filling up his mind and he had to find the answers as soon as he could. He had to find someone. Anyone.

Why is such a huge part of my memory gone…? I don’t understand.

Minseok slowly entered the office, not exactly paying attention to what he was doing. He switched himself to autopilot in order to think of a plan. He sat down at his desk and started up his computer.

He didn’t know what to do to find answers. Minseok originally planned to go to Sehun, but after the bombing that had happened, he didn’t know where the bartender could have gone. Or if he was even still alive. He also needed to confront Baekhyun again, because if he went to the bar last night, he was sure he should have met the vampire before something happened… Unless something awful happened to him too.

“Kim Minseok,” a voice suddenly coaxed him from his thoughts, “What are you still doing here?”

“What?" Minseok asked stupefied.

"It's 5:46," That couldn't be... I only just got here... Junmyeon touched his shoulder gently, "Are you alright?"

"I..."

“If this is about me saving you the other night, you don’t have to thank me.”

"What?" Minseok blurted.

"What?" Junmyeon quickly removed his hand from his employee's shoulder, "I said are you alright?"

"When you touched me just then... I..."

"What are you talking about Minseok?" Junmyeon chuckled nervously, "Let's get you home, yeah?"

He knew he heard that voice. He was not going to back down easily from this, especially since his boss looked like he was hiding something. He was determined to get the truth from anyone he could. Minseok stared at Junmyeon for a moment and frowned.

"I heard someone say something." Minseok said furrowing his eyebrows, "Didn't you hear it too?"

"What?" Junmyeon asked nervously, "I don't know what you're talking about..."

"I have a feeling you do..."

"Minseok," Junmyeon laughed, "You're being ridiculous!" He clasped a hand on his back and then instantly regretted it.

"I will answer your questions if you just come with me!”

"You had to have heard that Junmyeon!" Minseok exclaimed, "That voice is so clear! I... I'm not crazy! I'm not!" He began to panic as spoke these words, mostly trying to convince himself that he really was not going insane when it seemed so obvious that he was.

Junmyeon sighed, "You're not crazy, Minseok, you just... I tampered with your memories."

"You did WHAT!? How is that even possible!?"

"I'm a vampire, remember. That's what I do. That was the power I developed. I can change the things in your mind. But your memories are strong." He groaned in annoyance suddenly, running his fingers through his hair roughly, "For God's sake, I told Baekhyun it wouldn't work."

"B-Baekhyun?" He's alright... For some reason, Minseok felt so relieved to hear that.

"Let me take you to see Chanyeol. He can explain everything better than I can." Junmyeon said shifting his briefcase from one hand to the other.

"Who?" Minseok asked confused, gathering up his things quickly.

"Park Chanyeol, he's more or less our king..." Junmyeon rolled his eyes, "But he's also Byun Baekhyun's best friend."

***

This was not what Minseok had been expecting when Junmyeon called this Park Chanyeol guy their King. Sure, he was tall with a very deep, authoritative voice, but he almost looked like an elf... He was wearing light blue jeans with holes ripped at the knees, a grey t-shirt and a black housecoat. His hair was combed to the side, but it stuck up in random places as if he'd just woken up. Perhaps he had.

He invited Minseok into his office eagerly, gesturing to the large chairs, and then sat in his seat behind his giant desk. The king grinned, his chin resting in the palms of his hands, elbows leaning against the top of the oak tabletop. His eyes sparkled behind crescent shapes and his smile was the friendliest Minseok had ever seen.

"I haven't seen you in so long," Chanyeol said excitedly.

"Do... Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you."

Do I know you?

No. But I know you.

Minseok's face fell ashen and Chanyeol leaned back in his chair, crossing his long legs and folding his arms neatly across his stomach. His voice became more serious and deeper if possible, "You know those words, don't you, Xiumin?"

Please, Xiumin... Don't go...

"Or maybe you might remember if I call you 'Baozi'?"

You really ought to be more careful, Baozi.

"You have other names too, I bet you can't even remember that far back."

"What is going on here!?" Minseok screamed, his head was throbbing with so many words he knew, but didn't remember coming into his mind. Flashes of images, his nightmares, swarmed inside of him and they frightened him. There was just so much suffering… So much pain… So much… Death.

"Coffee?" Chanyeol asked smiling brightly again.

"Excuse me?" Minseok asked astonished by Chanyeol’s sudden change in tone.

"You'd like a coffee. I can get you one!"

"Wha-?"

"Trust me, you're going to ask for it later anyway. I've got a lot of things to tell you, Kim Minseok. I've got the answers to all of those questions. Just sit back and let me tell you a story."

Silver: We hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to everyone who subscribed, upvoted, and commented! We super appreciate it!

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