“I thought I’d told you to stay away.” Baekhyun’s voice was stern and emotionless.

“Byun Baekhyun!” Minseok gasped spinning around to look at his former lover. Just as beautiful as I remembered…

“Chanyeol needs to learn to keep his mind to himself.” Baekhyun said agitated as a frigid breeze rushed about the two.

The room was silent, but more than a thousand words passed between the two as they stared at each other. Baekhyun’s gaze was intense and burning, bright red eyes the pierced Minseok’s soul. However, Minseok wouldn’t look away. He couldn’t look away. He was just as captivated as he was the first time when he was only a young prince. Memories that were once his own rushed back to him.

The milky white skin, the delicate, long fingers, the beautiful eyes that stared into his soul, the flawless complexion… He’s perfect.

“Kim Minseok, right? That’s your name in this life?” Baekhyun asked breaking the stillness of the room, a bitter expression frozen on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and his icy gaze made Minseok shiver.

Minseok nodded in response, “That’s my name, yes…”

“What are you doing here? I thought I’d told you to stay away.”

“You never said anything of the sort to me…”

“Ah,” Baekhyun’s shoulders slumped slightly, “I guess I was thinking of someone else.”

“Someone else?”

“Xiumin, I mean. I was thinking of Xiumin.”

“That it is me…”

“Was you.” Baekhyun corrected in annoyance, “You’re not the man I fell in love with.”

“Yes I am!” Minseok wasn’t sure why, but he felt the need to defend himself.

“You’re all of them, but none of them. I fell in love with you in your last life. Not this life. You’re not him.”

“I wasn’t him in my last life either… Or my life before that. Or any other life before that. You learned to love me then…”

“What does it matter, Minseok?” Baekhyun asked sitting on the edge of the bed in the center of the room, “Do you love me?”

This question surprised Minseok. Did he? He had only just discovered about his past life and who he was to Baekhyun and who Baekhyun had been to him. He knew that deep down inside he loved Baekhyun, or maybe it was just Xiumin who loved him… Memories from his past life and the reality of this life were starting to blend together.  He didn’t know anymore.

“I guess that’s a no?” Baekhyun’s voice was distant and Minseok couldn’t pick out exactly how he truly felt.

“It must hurt,” Minseok said suddenly, surprising himself and equally so Baekhyun, “It must hurt you for me not to remember who you are.”

Baekhyun flinched at the words and Minseok thought for a second he saw a flash of emotion in his red eyes… Real pain, real heartache. The vampire turned his eyes out the window as if to cover up the feelings that were so clearly visible in them. He sighed heavily and watched the clouds drifting slowly across the sky.

“I’m used to it.” He said coldly.

A stabbing pain ripped through Minseok’s chest, “I’m so sorry… I’m sorry I can’t remember anything we had.”

Baekhyun didn’t respond. He looked back out at the window as another cold gust blew about the room. Minseok shivered as he watched the wind ruffle Baekhyun’s perfectly black hair and the loose shirt he was wearing. He’s flawless.

“Baekhyun…” Minseok whispered trying to draw the man’s attention, “Byun Baekhyun…”

"Don't say that name anymore." Baekhyun’s voice was distant and detached.

“Why not?”

"I don’t want you to say it the way he used to."

“I’m the same person, Baekhyun! Look at me! I’m the same man who fell in love with you!”

Baekhyun’s body twitched as if he were fighting with himself to keep his eyes turned away, “Just do me a favour and stay away from me.”

Words were stuck in Minseok’s mouth, there was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn’t say it. He didn’t know how to say it. There was a knock on the door that interrupted the rising tension between the two and Minseok was almost relieved to see Chanyeol there. The bright smile on Chanyeol’s face almost made him relax. The taller vampire let himself in rather nonchalantly and wrapped an arm around Minseok’s shoulders lightly. His smile didn’t waver once.

“Things are tensing up in here,” Chanyeol chuckled, “Why don’t you go down and get a cup of coffee from Yixing?” his attention now directed towards Minseok, “Before you say some things you’ll regret,” his eyes turned to Baekhyun and they almost narrowed, but the smile was still plastered onto his face, “both of you.”

Minseok left the room hastily almost knocking into poor Yixing as he stood there waiting. The nervous butler lead the man to the kitchen where he would prepare some coffee. Meanwhile, Baekhyun’s room only grew more tense as Chanyeol let out a deep irritated sigh.

“Really?” He asked narrowing his eyes to glare at his friend.

“What?” Baekhyun scoffed laying back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

“What are you doing here if you aren’t going to come back into his life, Baekhyun? You’re just causing him confusion!” Chanyeol was livid and Baekhyun shifted feeling uncomfortable. His friend’s wrath was not exactly something he liked to be on the receiving end of. In fact, the last time the two had gotten into a fight, Chanyeol had taken nearly eight years before he calmed down enough to forgive him.

Baekhyun let out a small sigh, the sadness he held back finally washing over him, “I can’t just do this to him again… I didn’t mean to come back into his life. You know I can’t help it. I tried to get away, but I always find myself coming back here and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Chanyeol ran his fingers through his hair, thinking and tugging on the strands, “You can’t treat him like this either.”

“I can if it makes him stay away from me.”

“That’s your plan?”

“I don’t have a choice, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun yelled rising up from the bed in a fury, “I hate hurting him! I hate losing him! I just want to watch him live a normal life for once! I want to see him grow old and die happily! Why are you making it so difficult?!”

Chanyeol blinked slowly and chewed on his bottom lip deep in thought, “You and I both know this isn’t going to work. It’s too late for him to live normally now. He already knows too much.”

“Junmyeon can fix that…” Baekhyun mumbled, his eyes now downcast, his shoes seemingly very interesting.

“You wouldn’t dare do that to him.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Junmyeon wouldn’t let you.”

“I could make him.”

“I wouldn't let you.”

Baekhyun huffed, “I just don’t want him to suffer anymore. It’s unfair to him.”

***

“How would you like your coffee?” Yixing asked nervously as he poured up a mug.

Minseok sighed and smiled weakly, “I’ll take it as is. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Yixing smiled back now feeling less nervous and placed the mug on the countertop before his guest.

One small sip and Minseok took a sharp inhale of breath, the heat burning his tongue, “Ouch!”

“Ah!” Yixing exclaimed, “Are you alright?”

“I just burnt my tongue is all,” Minseok said, sounding rather funny by the way his tongue was now numb.

Yixing squinted at him and then smiled, “Better now?”

“What? Oh-” the numbness in his mouth melted away, “How…?”

“Vampire.” Yixing smiled cheekily at his response and sat down across from Minseok, “I remember you from your past life, Xiumin.”

“Minseok.”

“Minseok, sorry,” Yixing blushed, “You and Baekhyun… I remember you two were always so in love. I was so jealous. I wanted someone like that too.” he sighed contented by the memories.

“Were we really in love?” Minseok found this hard to believe, “He doesn’t seem to like me much.”

Yixing chuckled to himself, “He loves you.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because he’s willing to give you up.”

“What?” Minseok was left stumped by Yixing’s words, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve said too much,” Yixing covered his mouth shyly and looked away.

“You two look like you’re having fun,” Chanyeol yawned as he entered the dining room, “Could I get a cup of coffee too, Yixing?”

“You don’t drink coffee your-”

“Chanyeol.” He corrected, “And don’t make me ask again.”

Yixing finally grasped the hint and rushed to the kitchen to make coffee for the King. However, he was still unsure whether or not he was supposed to actually give it to him...

“How are you?” Chanyeol asked beaming.

“Confused…”

“Understandable,” Chanyeol hummed, “The sun is coming up in a few hours. Why don’t you get some rest? You must be tired.”

“I have work…” Minseok mumbled with a yawn, “I’m sorry for having intruded into your home again.”

Chanyeol laughed, “Oh, there will be plenty more intrusions. Don’t worry about it.” He grinned.

***

The room was too bright. Minseok blinked his sleepy eyes at his computer screen, straining to read the small words. A yawn passed through his lips and then another followed, but it wasn’t his own. Jongdae frowned as he let out a yawn of his own and then slapped the back of his co-worker’s chair. That startled Minseok back into reality, the sleep leaving his eyes at the sudden contact.

“Quit it,” Jongdae huffed, “You’re making me yawn too.”

“Ah,” Minseok pursed his lips together holding back the yawn threatening to leave his mouth, his eyes watering in the process, “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Or at all these past few weeks...

Jongdae’s face blanched as he remembered just how long Minseok had stayed in Junmyeon’s office the other day, “What happened to you at work yesterday anyway?”

“Hm? Ah. Junmyeon and I chatted for a while about work related things and then I left shortly after that. He gave me the afternoon off.”

“What kind of work related things?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Minseok rolled his eyes, “We weren’t doing what you’re clearly wondering.”

Jongdae blushed a little, “Don’t be ridiculous.” he muttered.

Minseok quickly got back to work. And by work, he meant only staring at the computer screen barely paying attention to what it was that he was doing.

Weeks passed this way. And yet no matter how hard he tried to get rid of them, thoughts of Baekhyun floated through his mind. He couldn’t tell if they were his own or if they belonged to someone in his previous lives. Either way, he felt his heart swelling with a strong longing he had never felt before in this life… There was something about Baekhyun that he was obvious naturally drawn to. As much as he didn’t really believe in it, he couldn’t help, but think that maybe they were soulmates.

“I just want you to stay by my side forever. Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard for us to be together?”

“Please, Xiumin, I need you here with me… I need you…”

“I love you!”

‘Did he really mean those words?’ the thought caused Minseok an indescribable pain and he didn’t even realize that he was crying until Junmyeon waved a tissue in front of his face.

“Are you alright?” Junmyeon asked, half sitting on Minseok’s desk.

Most of the lights were already off on their floor and Jongdae was long gone (after a very heated  discussion with Junmyeon in his office). The janitorial staff were mopping up and wiping the windows down with the curtains pulled back so that Minseok could see that the sky was very dark. Junmyeon wasn’t even wearing his sunglasses anymore. This seemed to happen almost everyday now...

“You’ve just been sitting here for a while,” Junmyeon said troubled, “You’ve been acting like this for almost a month, Minseok. I’m worried about you. Is there anything I can help you with? Anything on your mind you’d like to get rid of…?”

Minseok shook his head, “Unless you can take away several hundred years of pain…” he chuckled sadly to himself, “That wouldn’t help... I don’t think there’s any helping me now."

“What do you mean?!” Junmyeon was concerned and shocked by his best employee’s words, “You can’t mean that-”

“Junmyeon, I think I’m in love.”

“O-Oh.”

Minseok looked from his computer screen and up at his boss, “Can you tell me where I can find Baekhyun again? I want to see him… I need to tell him…”

“I… I want to help, but I’m not sure myself…” Junmyeon rubbed his temple pensively, “Perhaps… When it comes to vampires, old habits die hard.”

“Old habits?” Minseok wondered aloud and then it clicked. “He’s a regular here.” Sehun’s words rung in his ears once more. The club downtown… The Gate.

***

It was particularly chilly this evening. The sun was only just setting and Minseok could make out some of the faces of vampires and of humans alike getting ready to exchange shifts or hitting the bars early after a long day of work. The sky was painted a beautiful purple-blue shade that spread into a blackness above him as the twinkling of the first stars dotted the sky. He watched the shapes of the clouds moving overhead with the wind as their guide across the expanse and the moon.

Streetlamp after streetlamp clicked on. The bulbs slowly lighting the streets beneath with a warm yellowish glow. Minseok huddled himself on what was left of a barstool in the rubble of the club. He leaned against the part of the bar still standing and huffed out a breath of air, watching it’s heat form against the cold. He pulled his scarf closer to his face and covered his nose with the thick fabric hoping that his face wasn’t too red.

It was black, mostly. The lights from outside the bar barely lit the gaping hole where the entrance used to be located. The sign that had hung overhead laid in pieces at the foot of it. The club had seemingly been forgotten about as he heard people walking back and forth outside of it, giggling and making noise as they hopped from bar to bar. Minseok was surprised he had even been able to make his way inside of the remains of the building. Most of the heavier, falling parts of the walls had been removed, but the rest of the sturdy structure stood unwilling to go down. He had heard rumors that the place would be cleaned up in the next month and turned into a restaurant instead.

“What are you doing here?” the words cut like a knife into the silence.

Minseok shifted, he knew it was Baekhyun’s voice, but he couldn’t see him, “I needed to see you again.”

“I thought I’d told you to stay away from me.”

“You’ve said a lot of things to me in this life, Baekhyun,” Minseok breathed out still squinting into the darker parts of the club, searching, “And I don’t think you honestly mean any of it.”

“What do you know?!” Baekhyun spat particularly loud so that it echoed throughout the empty club.

Minseok shuddered, “Let me see your face…”

The room grew silent and after almost a minute of Minseok holding his breath, he thought that maybe the vampire had left him all alone. He let out the air he hadn’t realized he was holding in his lungs and sighed, about to get up from the barstool when he saw Baekhyun emerge from the same corner of the club his usual table had sat. He looked so pale against the darkness, so very alluring.

“Oh, Baekhyun…” Minseok whispered, tears forming in his eyes and an ache rising in his chest.

“That’s enough,” Baekhyun said harshly, “After tonight we cannot see each other anymore. Never again. Do you understand me?

“Why? How could you… How could you do that to me?!” the vampire stayed silent, “You promised to find me... You said you would! I’m here now! Look at me, Baekhyun! I’m right in front of you! Why would you leave me?!”

“What does it matter to you?!” Baekhyun screamed, “You’re not Xiumin!”

“It matters to me, because I’m the one who asked you to wait for me! That was me, Baekhyun! I am Xiumin! I am everyone before me! I asked you to be patient. You always said we’d meet again. For sakes, Baekhyun, don’t you love me?”

Baekhyun suddenly appeared before Minseok, grabbing him by his collar, the rage clear across his face and in the way he moved. He pushed at Minseok and slammed him against one of the blackened and dusty club walls hard.

"Don't you ing dare." He hissed. Minseok writhed beneath him in pain and shut his eyes against the deadly stare that followed the severe words, stabbing into him like stakes. Somehow this hurt more than dying... Baekhyun loosened his grip at the sight of Minseok terrified and felt ashamed, but his words were no less mean, "Get lost."

He pushed at Minseok one more, throwing him against the wall harder than he meant to. He turned quickly and heard the man wince in pain, slumping to the ground with a thud. He cringed at the sound, but he didn’t dare to look behind him. There was no way he could without his heart shattering into a million pieces. Minseok couldn’t understand… This was for the best.

“But I can’t!” Minseok said weakly. He was getting frustrated and there were tears pricking in the backs of his eyes, “I can’t pretend that it was all a dream! I can’t pretend that I don’t love you, Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun spun around at the words and glared daggers at the man struggling to get up from the dirtied floor, “Don’t you understand?! I’m the reason you always die such cruel deaths! It’s me! I can’t let you live this way anymore Minseok, I just can’t!”

“I never asked you to protect me!”

“Well I can’t just watch you get hurt either! Just let go of me! Let go of the memories! Walk away from me! You deserve a real life for once!”

"How can you expect me to just walk away, Baekhyun?! How can you expect me to just throw it all away?!" the latter didn't respond, his enraged face never changing, so Minseok continued digging into him as he pulled himself off the floor, "I'll never be the same! Not after loving you! I can't just lose you AGAIN!"

Baekhyun looked Minseok straight in the eyes and something inside of him snapped, he wasn’t sure why looking at this face, the face of the man he loved, made him feel so angry tonight, “You don’t think I’m affected by this too, Minseok?! You’ve never lost me! I always lost you! You’re the one who leaves me behind! Dying… Always…” Baekhyun sniffled and fisted his hands into the hem of his shirt averting his eyes from Minseok’s intense stare, “Always dying before I can save you!”

“I have lost you, Baekhyun! God knows how many times I’ve lost you! In the moments between life and death, you’re all I can think of! You’re always the last thing on my mind! Every damn time. My last words… My last thoughts, ‘Baekhyun I love you.’ Don’t you dare tell me I don’t know what it’s like to lose you. And I’m sorry I can’t remember you when I come back into the World, but it doesn’t meant that it hurts any less!”

“It’s not the same!” Baekhyun yelled back childishly, tears now spilling down his cheeks, his voice cracking and his heart breaking, “Why… Why do you always do this to me? Why do you always leave me alone?” his words became incoherent through his tears and he couldn’t stop himself from shaking, he felt like he might collapse at any moment.

Minseok grabbed Baekhyun by the shoulders roughly, “Look at me!” Baekhyun couldn’t even raise his head, his chest heaving with sobs, but Minseok didn’t falter, “Can’t you see that I’m here now?! Can’t you see that I’ll always come back to you?! Can’t you see that I… That I  love you?” his voice softened and he gently pulled Baekhyun against his chest into a warm embrace, “I belong to you. I can’t let you go… I need you. Don’t push me away anymore…” he murmured into Baekhyun’s ear, “Can’t we start again…? Just one more try… Please…”

Baekhyun choked on his tears, “I… I…”

Minseok looked Baekhyun in the eyes, “You’re everything to me… You’re all I know.” slowly his eyes dropped to look at the vampire’s quivering lips and before he knew it, they were pressing together in a hasty and needy kiss. They broke apart all too soon and Minseok whimpered at the loss of the precious contact he had desired for so long. The longing to touch his lover transcending through time.

Every fear, every doubt faded from Baekhyun. He studied the face of Minseok for a long time and admired the way he looked, as handsome as always, as perfect as always. He sighed blissfully and let the worries wash away. If there was anything he wanted more than to protect Minseok, it was for him to be happy. And if that meant risking everything to be with each other again, then Baekhyun was more than willing to give up his own safety.

Hesitantly, the vampire reached up to caress Minseok’s face, the tears still streaming down his own cheeks as he brushed at the ones falling down his beloved’s, “Why did I even try to live without you?”

“You don’t have to anymore.”

Tasha: I hope that this chapter was alright?? Again, it's so hard to write and come up with ideas on your own somtimes... I cry ;~; I can't wait for Silver to get back! Ahhh ~ I hope you enjoyed it anyway... And I apologize for some of the language used, I did try to cross it out, but... Ah well. Forgive me? ALSO I hope that another update in such a short period of time maybe makes up for the poor, unedited quality of these chapters? ^^; As always, thank you all for reading! I don't know what I'd do without all of your support! <3 xoxo