[MS11] To See the Sun

words: 7005
rate: PG13
(11th Cycle of the Mourning Song series.)


11th Cycle: To See the Sun

No one ever said
growing up was simple.
No one ever said
telling the truth was hard
and that lies were easy.
No one ever said
I might lose you one day.

Kyuri quickly took in the movements of the pureblood as the Hunter fought with him. As much as she could, she gathered patterns, possible blind spots and if the pureblood seemed to favour right over left or vice versa. She ran right into the fight, her fist whipping out and catching the vampire’s temple in a powerful blow. The vampire stumbled backwards and the Hunter took up a stance, hands fisted and ready for when the enemy struck back,

“Ma’am,” he huffed, his face already drenched with perspiration, his body bobbing slightly with the effort it took to fill his lungs properly,

Kyuri didn’t have time to reply as the vampire charged at her. The Hunter stopped, hooking an arm around its chest and pulling the vampire away. He caged the vampire, trying to throw it against the side of the alley. Its fingers dug into his arms and he ground his teeth to stifle a cry when sharp nails pierced his skin. Suddenly, he was flipping through the air and thrown onto the ground, his entire body tensing at the shock of the blow. He gasped for air, the wind knocked from him as his lungs fought desperately to open up again.

Kyuri came up behind the vampire, one arm wrapping around its neck, her other arm going behind his head, her hands planted firmly on the sides of its face, preparing to snap its neck. However, the vampire grabbed her arms. She loosened her body, preparing for what she knew would happen. The vampire hunched over, using the motion to propel the Head Hunter over its head. Kyuri kicked out a foot to the side, caught the alley beneath the souls of her shoes and was able to twist in the air and land on the ground. With her grip on the vampire’s neck, she tried to twist its head, but her position in front of him made it awkward and she was only able to throw its larger body into the alley wall.

The vampire recovered quickly from the blow, swinging around to face her just as she began reaching for the gun. It lunged for her and, with horror, she realized the gun was no longer where she had kept it. It came so close she could practically feel its breath against her neck before it went sideways, the Hunter having jumped from the ground and tackling it down.

The Hunter began to scrimmage.

Kyuri leaned back against the alley wall, her hands instinctively going to her stomach. She felt no pain and had been careful not to get hit there. Her movements were slower than normal, however, always accounting for the fact that she was several pounds heavier and that extra weight was a precious life she had to protect. Had she only herself to protect, she would’ve fought harder, swifter – she could have won.

She scanned the ground, trying to find where her gun had disappeared to. She guessed it had slipped away when she had been thrown by the vampire. She saw the briefest glint of metal as light occasionally slipped into the alley as cars drove by. She hurried towards the gun only to feel a sudden force at her back.

She was sent flying to the ground. She tried to twist to force herself to land on her side instead of her front, her left arm flexing to break her fall as her right arm curved around her stomach to protect it. The ground scraped across her arm and she heard the tear of her sleeve and the burn of her skin being broken. She also heard the sick sound of a large pop and felt the immediate stab of pain in her shoulder as it felt as if it was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Choking on a sob, she looked over her shoulder just as the Hunter jumped to his feet and lunged at the vampire again. Using her right hand as a prop, she gingerly got to her knees and then to her feet. She quickly bent over and snatched up her gun. Straightening, she checked that the gun was ready as she slouched against the wall, clutching her left arm to her torso, just above her stomach.

She raised the gun trying to aim as the Hunter continued to struggle against the vampire. She had six shots, but she knew that she could easily shoot the Hunter instead of the vampire. The Hunter was thrown against the wall and she heard the sickening crack of skull against brick. The vampire immediately picked up the Hunter by the collar, drawing him up to feed. Before she could think, Kyuri ran towards them, shoving the distracted pureblood with her good shoulder. She heard the Hunter sliding to the ground against the wall as she aimed her gun at the vampire.

Bang!

The vampire was still lunging back at her, his sudden movement causing the bullet to enter his abdomen instead of his chest. He shoved Kyuri against the wall and the force of the blow winded her completely. She was gasping for air as the vampire gripped her neck with one hand. She felt nails biting into her skin and before they sunk in too deep, she was in the air again, being thrown deeper into the alley way. She landed on her back, being unable to curl or twist her body with her protruding stomach and dislocated shoulder.

The impact on the ground was accompanied by fire below her right shoulder blade. The pain didn’t dissipate as it burned, throbbing painfully. She forced her eyes open, blinking back the hot tears as she tipped her head up as best she could, seeing the vampire walk towards the Hunter again. Laying her head back, she raised the gun as best she could. Closing her eyes, she pictured the vampire, where he had been, what angle would be best to shoot from. With his back to her, she shouldn’t be able to get his heart because of his shoulder blade. However, being on the ground, she could shoot at an angle that slid just beneath his left shoulder blade and into the desired organ.

It was a one in a million chance, but it was all she had left.

Struggling to keep her arm raised from the ground, her entire body shaking from lack of air and the constant pain, she aimed with her eyes closed. She tried to figure out the mathematics quickly, using her memory as her only guide.

Bang!

She raised her head in time to see the vampire’s torso jolt forward. From its movement, she guessed that she had hit too low, the bullet embedding itself into the left side of its mid-back.

Bang!

She tried again, this time its right side jerking and she calculated she had hit just right of its spine. She was shaking too much, unable to shoot with a steady hand; she’d never be able to hit it properly.

The shots got the vampires attention. It turned towards her and she momentarily believed she could see its fangs even in the darkness. It approached – no, prowled – closer and she forced her body to move. However, she still could barely breathe and the pain in her back and shoulder had increased in intensity to the point where she felt practically paralyzed. She couldn’t even scramble away as the pureblood towered over her. He picked her off the ground by the collar of her sweater as if she weighed no more than a feather. Her body jolted with pain and she felt air rushing past her as he threw her once more.

She fell to the ground like a ragdoll, the Hunter collapsed on the ground against the wall beside her. The vampire was standing over her again in the blink of an eye. She was picked up again, smashed against the wall and a new pain began to spread on the crown of her skull. She fidgeted, trying to break free of its iron grasp only to feel the pain shoot down her body and, instinctively, she stopped moving, the pain consuming her. She was distantly aware of the vampire’s head moving closer, tilting towards her neck.

Closer.

Trying to grip the gun, only to realize her hand was numb and she couldn’t even tell if she still held the gun.

Closer.

She shut her eyes, ignoring the present, ignoring the situation, unable to fight back for the first time in her life.

Closer, still.

She felt hot breath against her neck, smelt the stench fill her nostrils. Her luck had finally run out.

Then nothing.

She felt that floating feeling as she felt her body lurch towards the ground, too weak, too consumed with pain to stop herself, to steady herself. Arms like warm steel wrapped around her, catching her and she was barely able to raise her head. Her head lolled against a shoulder, the scent of the one holding her up endearingly familiar.

“Kibum,” she managed,

Kibum’s attention swung from the vampire he had just killed, its body on the ground and head twisted at an odd angle, back to his wife. His eyes running over her dirtied but unscratched face.

“Twins… safe?” Kyuri murmured, trying to raise her right hand to Kibum’s face, only to feel the pain slice through her beginning at her shoulder blade and travelling down her limb.

“Yes and the Hunter is okay. Unconscious, but breathing,” Kibum replied as the alley was suddenly filled with people; Hunters.

Sirens filled her ears and the flash of red light filled the night.

All Kyuri saw was Kibum. Her heart soared even as her body seemed to burn with pain before sizzling to numbness.

“Pain… everywhere,” she managed, finding it difficult to keep her eyes open, to keep her head raised from his shoulder.

Kibum was alarmed when Kyuri’s eyes closed and her body became even limper in his arms. He called over a pair of paramedics with a stretcher. With their help, they laid Kyuri on the stretcher, Kibum not wanting to do further damage by trying to lift her all on his own as he would have done in different circumstances.

Once she was safely on the stretcher, the paramedics began to quickly assess Kyuri as Kibum realized the white sheets of the stretcher had begun to turn crimson. He looked down at his right arm which had been hooked behind her back and his entire sleeve was drenched and he smelled the distinct scent of blood.

“We need a bolus, stat!” One paramedic cried as he stuffed pieces of cloth beneath Kyuri’s back at the level of her right shoulder blade.

“We transfer this one first, the other patient can wait for the next ambulance,” The other announced as he began to start an IV line on Kyuri,

“What is it?” Kibum demanded, and added when the other man hesitated, “She’s my wife, damn it!”

“It seems like she has a pneumothorax and her pulse is alarmingly low,” the first paramedic explained as he was desperate to stop the bleeding.

“Okay, let’s get her into the ambulance!” The second paramedic announced as he finished setting up the IV, holding the bag high above her as they began rushing her to the vehicle.

“I’m coming with you!” Kibum exclaimed, his tone and expression brooking no argument even as he jumped into the back of the ambulance behind them. “Hankyung!” He looked back to the sidewalk,

“Don’t worry, I’ll get the twins,” the older man insisted as he turned and ran into the building.

The back doors of the ambulance shut close. A slight jolt signaled the ambulance beginning the journey to the hospital.

Kibum clasped his hands before him, his lips pressing to them as his eyes stared unwaveringly at his wife’s face. She was all he had since he was twelve. Had it truly been ten years since he first met her? She had become his first friend and it had not been an easy path. She had said his piano playing had caught her attention, enraptured her. She said asked him why he was lonely that first meeting and he had called her rude. From that moment on, she had walked past the window every day.

He wasn’t sure what had made him do it, but one day he asked why she had such free time during the day when she should be in school. With an unwavering gaze and an even tone, she had said that she had no school. After she had left him that day ten years ago, he had secretly followed her. She had walked around aimlessly and, once night had fallen, she had sought out a shelter, the worker at the door regarding her as a ‘regular’.

It was none of his business, he had originally told himself. However, it took one restless night’s sleep to convince him otherwise. When she came by his window the next day, a Council Member had been in attendance and offered her a place in the Council. He had believed their association with one another to end there.

Unfortunately, they kept running into each other at the Council and she continued to visit him everyday when he was in the music room. Her temper made the other trainees too scared to even approach her just as his own cold exterior dissuaded people from approaching himself. How ever it had happened, he was the only one who dared challenge her whenever she was in a temper and she was the only one who riled his emotions. They had both been alone in the world and found solace with one another.

Now, they had so much more. They had family and friends. They belonged. He fought to keep family in their lives, trying to orchestrate them staying in Korea when they first came three years ago to SJA. He fought to keep friends in their lives, first, ensuring their Japanese Hunters remained safe when one become a turned vampire, then, convincing Kyuri that they move permanently to Korea. They had built a life together in Seoul and their children were happy and healthy. After so much fighting, he refused to lose his wife, the first light in his life.

He reached out tentatively and clasped her cold hand.

His gaze did not once leave her hauntingly beautiful, pale face.

All the while, he had forgotten to worry about their unborn child.

What happened to running
to the ends of the earth?
What happened to staying up
to see the sun rise?
What happened to you and me?

…

No one ever said
that we had to stay together.
No one ever said
that we couldn't stray
from each other's lives.
No one ever said
I might hate me one day.

Midnight

“Kibum!”

He looked up just before he was almost tackled to the ground, a pair of slim arms wrapped around him and hugging him tightly. He immediately relaxed the moment he recognized his cousin-in-law. He hugged her back before she pulled away, her gaze wide with concern,

“I couldn’t get a hold of Sungmin, so I came here before trying more than once,” She explained, “What happened? Hankyung didn’t say anything when I saw him and the twins in the waiting room.”

“Kyuri was outside with a Hunter beside our apartment. They were attacked,” Kibum explained, “At some point she had gotten one of the building’s security guards to call both me and Hankyung. I was at SJA finishing some work, so, when I got there she was… the vampire was close to feeding from her.”

“How is she doing?” Taeyeon asked hesitantly, eyeing the door just behind him. She knew she sounded idiotic considering they were in the intensive care unit.

“She… she wouldn’t stop bleeding,” Kibum stammered as he turned and practically collapsed against the door, “They said something… something had pierced her lung from her back and… and it kept bleeding. She… Her heart stopped twice on… on the way here.”

“Kibum!” She gasped, gripping his arm tightly.

She had never seen her cousin’s husband look so emotional, so defeated. Even his voice, which was always monotonous, was filled with depths of despair and sorrow that she could practically feel waves of the negative emotions flowing out from him.

“They…” He turned, pressing his forehead against the wall, his hands fisted on either side of his shoulders.

Taeyeon kept her distance. She wanted nothing more than to comfort him, to hug him fiercely and lessen the pain and guilt that was evident in every line of his body, in every word he said. However, she knew he wouldn’t welcome such comfort. He had always been strong and silent, his schooled expressions and flat tones more often a mask than not; they were his shields. To show such emotion, to be so vulnerable was something she knew her cousin-in-law hated. So, she remained silent, she remained physically distant as Kibum reigned in his emotions.

After endless minutes, he said quietly, “They had to perform surgery the moment we got here.”

Taeyeon gasped, “The baby!?”

Taeyeon didn’t know what it cost him, but Kibum managed a small nod.

“Is the baby okay? Kyuri was only five months along!” Taeyeon said, hating how redundant she sounded, but it was all she could do,

“Just shy of twenty weeks,” he confirmed, “She’s so small, Taeyeon,” he said quietly, his voice gravelly and thick with emotion, “She’s in the NICU right now, but… they don’t… they don’t…” He shut his eyes and his fists tightened until his knuckles whitened, “They don’t know how long she’ll live.”

“Oh, Kibum,” she said softly, laying a hand on his shoulder.

It stiffened and she was prepared for him to pull away from her touch. But, slowly, ever so slowly, his muscles relaxed beneath her hand and accepted her comfort.

“I… I… I want to be with her, but I don’t want to leave Kyuri,” Kibum confessed,

“I can stay with Kyuri?” Taeyeon offered,

Kibum shook his head, “I… I need you to watch the twins at least… at least until we leave the hospital.”

“Of course,” Taeyeon agreed, “I can call Kyuhyun? He more or less knows his relationship with Kyuri. I’m sure he won’t mind staying with her so you can stay with the baby.”

“No,” Kibum shook his head as he turned to face her again, his water eyes avoiding her gaze, “He doesn’t understand everything right now and it’d be selfish to force this on him when he doesn’t remember anything, still.”

“What about my aunt?” Taeyeon suggested tentatively, “Kyuri mentioned how she calls all the time.”

“I… I will… eventually,” Kibum relented,

“My mother?” Taeyeon offered,

“I don’t want to bother –”

“Look, Kibum. Something devastating just happened to your wife and child. It’s not going to bother anyone if you ask them to spend some time at the hospital just so you can be at your baby’s side,” Taeyeon insisted fiercely, “Let me call Kyuhyun. He doesn’t understand everything, but he knows Kyuri. Let him stay with her, it won’t be such a burden on him and you’re allowed to be selfish.”

“I… I don’t know,” Kibum murmured as he looked away, swiping at his wet eyes,

“Kibum, I know you want to, but you can’t protect everyone all the time,” Taeyeon said hesitantly,

“They’re my family!” Kibum exclaimed then, his fist pounding against the wall, “I should be able to protect them at the very least!”

“Then, you should know when it’s time to ask for help!” Taeyeon argued. She sighed before continuing on gently, “Let me call Kyuhyun. I’ll keep Kyumi and Kyuki with me and he can keep your wife company. That way, you can be with the baby.”

“But –”

“That baby needs someone, Kibum. She needs to know she has something to live for,” Taeyeon stated, her hand absentmindedly going to her own stomach. She blinked back the threat of hot tears, “Go.”

Kibum swallowed hard, the lump forming in his throat almost suffocating. He nodded as his vision blurred with tears. He moved to leave, then turned back to her. He hugged her tightly, fiercely and, just as fast, left, running down the hallway.

Taeyeon breathed slowly, deeply, steadying herself as she pulled her phone from her purse. Fighting the threat of tears, she dialed Kyuhyun’s number.

What happened to running
in the rain, playing as it poured?
What happened to secret smiles
and silent promises?
What happened to you and me?

…

Now I look back
and can't help but think that
I would do it all again.
Yeah, I look back
and can't help but think that
I would change how it all ends.

Kyuhyun was running. He had almost fallen down the stairs several times as he was struggled to pull on his shirt. He ignored the curious stares of a few servants who had watched him. He had been sleeping, the unusually bright Saturday making him feel exhausted. When his phone rang, he had almost ignored it, almost let it ring into silence as his head was heavily with sleep. He had seen the name on the display and hesitated in answering it, having not spoken to the singer in weeks. When he answered, he had hardly said ‘hello’ before Lee Yeon – no, it was Taeyeon, wasn’t it? – had told him in a single breath what was happening and what she wanted from him.

He had pulled on a pair of jeans and grabbed a sweater as he left his room, bolting down the hallway to the main stairs as he went. When he reached the front foyer, as he had finally pulled on his sweater, the head butler happened by.

“Young Master?” He asked, concern evident in his old face,

“Driver… need,” he gasped, trying to catch his breath as he staggered to the front door, his energy practically non-existent at that point.

“Of, of course,” the butler replied as Kyuhyun tore the door open,

“Wait… there’s… no need,” he said as he leaned against the front door’s frame.

He stepped into the cold night and saw his assistant waiting for him. He managed it down the front steps to the car parked there. He looked over the car at his assistant. Mijoon stared back before gesturing to the car and getting into the driver’s seat. Kyuhyun glanced to the butler who stood at the front door. He nodded once to the old man before slipping into the passenger seat.

Mijoon tore away from the curb, driving furiously down the long driveway, the gates opening. He drove right through the moment he was sure the car could go between. He didn’t even look at the speedometer as he raced down the silent streets.

“How did you know I was going out?” Kyuhyun asked quietly as he got his seatbelt on, his hand grabbing the door’s handle as the older man took a sharp turn,

“I got a phone call,” was all Mijoon said.

“From who?” Kyuhyun questioned.

Hesitance and, then, “Someone.”

They fell into silence and, although Kyuhyun’s curiosity was peaked, his worry overcame all other emotions. His sister was in the hospital? Her baby was also in care? He didn’t understand. His niece and nephew – as how he regarded them now – were young, but not young enough to be called babies. Then, did that mean… He thought back to the last time he saw his sister. She hadn’t looked pregnant but, if she had had the baby now, she couldn’t have been too far into the pregnancy; surely not beyond the second trimester?

It was strange, Kyuhyun knew, how strongly he had reacted in hearing his sister was in the hospital. His emotions were volatile in their intensity. He had only known about his sister a few short months, had only spoken to her on two separate occasions and, yet, he already cared about her as if she were his other half. It was ridiculous and, yet, it felt right. For not the first time, he wondered if he knew his sister before but his illness had wiped away the memories. If that were true, then at least part of him remembered what he could not.

Parallel to these thoughts, Kyuhyun had also been thinking of what Lee Yeon – no, Taeyeon, he kept reminding himself – had told him. He had still not approached his parents about the scar on his right temple, but he often caught sight of it now when looking in the mirror, fragments seen through strands of his hair. He would run a finger along the faint ridge and wonder, and try to remember. A migraine would set in and he would turn away from his reflection, his past.

Faintly, he remembered the name ‘Taeyeon’ from those first days when he woke up in the small, windowless room. He remembered the name, but could not remember how he had learned it, if someone said it and, if someone did, what that voice sounded like. The name, however, was there in his mind, faintly imprinted on some locked memory. He would chase down ends of memories, only to have them slip away before he grasped them and, then, he was left wondering what it was he was trying to remember. His memories were, as always, elusive, and he was beginning to suspect their connection with his migraines.

If the photograph was proof, he had known the singer since a very young age.

“…I promise you that everything I have done in the past three years has been to reunite with you, Kyuhyun…”

They had been friends up until three years ago, around the time he had woken up in the windowless room. That meant they had been friends for almost his entire life and, yet, he couldn’t remember her, just as he couldn’t remember his sister.

He had said that he needed proof – solid, undeniable evidence. Regardless, he had already begun to question all he had known the past three years. Was his illness truly all it could be? He couldn’t really argue against him being sick since he lived it every day. But, was his illness to blame for his amnesia? He wondered.

"That's what they told you? I knew they had devised some story to tell you but I never imagined..."

Taeyeon – it was getting easier to refer to the singer as such – had said those words to him and it made him wonder. Did something else happen three years ago that caused his amnesia? What could have happened that effectively wiped out his memory? He didn’t remember anyone from before the time in the windowless room. He could barely even remember those he met when he left SJA and returned home with his mother. He distantly recalled someone assuring him that it was his mother whom he was going away with and, yet, he couldn’t recall that someone’s face or voice or even their words. All he remembered was trusting that voice and finding some comfort in it that everything would be okay if he left with his mother.

Kyuhyun was pulled from his reverie as the car stopped in front of the hospital and Mijoon’s voice softly stating, “Here.”

Kyuhyun undid his seatbelt and then glanced at Mijoon, “Can… Can you come in with me?”

Mijoon glanced at him before pulling away from the curb and muttering “Okay” as he drove into the parking garage.

Knowing where the ICU was, Kyuhyun more or less ran in its direction, Mijoon always by his side. Kyuhyun immediately headed to the nurses’ station,

“I’m looking for my sister –”

“Kyuhyun?”

Kyuhyun turned around to find Taeyeon standing in the doorway of a dimly lit room. He walked over to her, realizing that she had been in the waiting room. He glanced past her to a couch where his niece and nephew were curled up on their sides and fast asleep.

“I came as fast as I could,” he explained, “Where is she? What happened?”

“She’s in room 203, just…” Taeyeon paused, her eyes focused past Kyuhyun.

“Ah… this is my assistant, Choi Mijoon,” Kyuhyun introduced, “I trust his discretion, so you can say whatever you want.”

Taeyeon stared curiously at the assistant for a heartbeat, before swiftly turning her attention back to Kyuhyun, “Kyuri was… well, she was attacked outside her apartment building.”

“Where’s her husband? I know she’s married,” Kyuhyun asked,

“He’s in the NICU right now,” Taeyeon explained,

“So, she was pregnant…” Kyuhyun murmured,

Taeyeon nodded, “Because of the injuries she sustained, they had to get the baby out if it had any chance of living. However, Kibum – your sister’s husband – doesn’t want to leave either of them alone. I thought perhaps you would be willing to stay with Kyuri so Kibum can stay with the baby.”

“Of course,” Kyuhyun agreed immediately, surprised at how easy, how instinctive the decision had come to him; “But what about the twins?”

“I’ll take them home with me,” Taeyeon answered, “They don’t really understand what’s going on and Kibum hasn’t been able to spend time with them to explain since they got here.”

“Do you have a way home?” Kyuhyun asked, glancing at Mijoon,

“Yes, my driver’s been waiting this entire time. He’s such a dear,” Taeyeon replied, “He already transferred their car seats over.”

“Over from where?” Kyuhyun inquired,

“The one who brought the twins here… um… a co-worker of your sister’s,” Taeyeon explained as she walked back to the twins, squatting before them and gently waking them up. “Mimi, Kyuki, wake up, now. You’re staying with me tonight.”

Kyumi had promptly moved from the seat into Taeyeon’s arms, leaning her cheek against her aunt’s shoulder. Kyuki had sat up, but was rubbing his eyes with little fists as if he could physically push away his sleepiness. As he blinked around the dim room, he caught sight of Kyuhyun just outside the door.

“Uncle?” He said sleepily,

Before Taeyeon could stop him, Kyuki had slipped from the couch and hurried to Kyuhyun, wrapping tiny arms around his legs. Kyuhyun didn’t hesitate to pick up the little boy and, immediately, his mind was filled with images of a dark alley, a man standing before him, a warm, comforting presence beside him and something else shifting in the darkness. The images shifted slightly and Kyuhyun realized that presence beside him was, in truth, his sister holding Kyuki.

“A monster was going to hurt Umma,” Kyuki said, hugging Kyuhyun fiercely,

“A monster?” Kyuhyun blinked, looking up at Taeyeon, “He… He was there when it happened.”

“Kibum didn’t say,” Taeyeon said as she walked over, Kyumi in her arms,

“No, I… I… his mind…” Kyuhyun stammered quietly, aware that his assistant was close by behind him.

Taeyeon’s eyes widened.

“But, why would he think it’s a monster?” Kyuhyun murmured,

Taeyeon hesitated and, finally said, “I’ll explain later. I should get them to bed.”

“I’ll help you bring them,” Kyuhyun said as he followed her out.

They were silent, Mijoon silently trailing them, giving them their space. Once outside, Taeyeon located her driver immediately, the car parked at the curb. As the driver opened the door for her, Taeyeon put Kyumi first into a car seat.

“Uncle?” Kyumi piped up then, moving her head to look up at him,

“Um… yes?” Kyuhyun asked. He had never spoken to the little girl.

“Kyuki said you’re like me and Kyuki,” she said before smiling, “You are Umma’s Kyuki!”

Kyuhyun handed over the little boy to Taeyeon who guided the sleepy child to his own car seat, buckling him in as he sleepily said bye to his uncle. Taeyeon climbed out from the back seats, Kyumi saying bye before she closed the door.

“What… What did she mean?” Kyuhyun asked, not knowing his niece’s name,

“Kyumi? She probably means how Kyuki is her twin, so, in a sense, you’re the Kyuki to their mom,” Taeyeon explained,

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, “Wait… wait… you’re telling me that not only is Kyuri my sister, but she’s my twin sister?”

Taeyeon sighed heavily, looking at him ruefully, “We need more than a few minutes to answer these questions. I promise the moment I have more time, we’ll stop and talk more.”

“Okay,”

“And, that means you can’t ignore me anymore,” Taeyeon said knowingly, “I’ll come back as soon as I can. If you need me, just call my phone.”

Kyuhyun nodded and Taeyeon watched him re-enter the hospital. She turned her attention to the assistant who hadn’t left his spot, “So… you’re Kyuhyun’s assistant?”

Mijoon hesitated before giving a short, curt nod.

Taeyeon’s gaze swept him up and down, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing ever so slightly as they came to rest on his face, “If you hurt Kyuhyun in any way, you’ll live to regret whatever game this is.”

Mijoon said nothing; his gaze steady as Taeyeon turned back to the car, slipped into the front seat and closed the door. He watched the car drive away into the night. He turned towards the hospital, Kyuhyun no longer visible. Sighing heavily, he steeled himself. He would do everything he could before time ran out.

He had the sudden impression that his time as Kyuhyun’s assistant would come to an end and soon.

What happened to running
to the ends of the earth?
What happened to staying up
to see the sun rise?
What happened to you and me?

…

What happened to running
in the rain, playing as it poured?
What happened to secret smiles
and silent promises?
What happened to you and me?

“Hello?”

“Heechul?”

“Zhou Mi?” He murmured, having been too tired to even look at his phone before answering it.

“Kyuri was attacked by a vampire.”

Heechul, who was lying on his stomach in bed, the phone barely held securely by his ear, shifted so when he spoke, his words weren’t muffled by his pillow, “I know.”

“Ah… Geng is with you,” Zhou Mi replied,

Heechul didn’t reply, the sleeping body beside him was evidence enough.

“I… I’m at the hospital,” Zhou Mi said quietly,

“Why do you sound like you shouldn’t be there? Too many tasty morsels walking around?” Heechul muttered, teasing lightly,

“No,” Zhou Mi defended before adding tentatively, “Kyuhyun’s here.”

Those two words woke up Heechul like nothing else. He sat up immediately, almost kicking Hankyung out of the bed in the process. He clutched his phone to his ear, “What? You saw him?”

“He came here with his assistant,” Zhou Mi answered, “I just saw Taeyeon leave with the kids.”

Heechul pressed the heel of his palms to his eyes to rub away the sleepiness, “Okay, but you’re at the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“And Kyuhyun’s at the hospital?”

“… Yes.”

“This isn’t some part of your plan, is it? Because I think it’d be a little overwhelming considering what his sister just went through,” Heechul more or less hissed at the other man,

Zhou Mi sighed heavily, “I know that. I’m not an idiot, Heechul.”

“Wait… and his assistant is there, too?” Heechul questioned,

A longer pause before the younger man replied, “Yes.”

Heechul ran his free hand through his short hair, “Zhou Mi, promise me that you’re not going to confront this assistant or whatever? You’ll leave well enough alone in the mean time?”

Zhou Mi hesitated before answering, “I’m not going to reveal anything to Kyuhyun.”

“Somehow, your words aren’t reassuring,” Heechul said drily,

“I’m not that selfish, Heechul,” Zhou Mi defended, “Kyuri could have died tonight. Kyuhyun will be shaken up enough dealing with his sister being hospitalized. I’m not going to pounce on him at a time like this!”

Heechul absent-mindedly slapped away Hankyung’s arm which had risen to try and pull him back to the bed; he was sure the foreigner was doing it out of sleepy instinct rather than purposeful intent. “Do you know what state Kyuri’s in?”

“She’s in the ICU and the baby is in the NICU,” Zhou Mi reported,

“The NICU? Wait – the baby? She was pregnant?” Heechul questioned, his alarmed voice loud enough to awaken the other man in his bed. Before Zhou Mi could say more, he swore, “Damn it… and if she was attacked… Where’s Kibum?”

“I just ran into him before I called you. He was heading to the ICU to settle Kyuhyun in,” Zhou Mi answered; “Kyuhyun is supposedly staying with Kyuri so Kibum can stay with the baby.”

Heechul blinked into the dimness of his room, the darkness occasionally pierced by soft moonlight. Slowly, his gaze dropped down to Hankyung’s, not surprised to find the younger man staring up at him; “Zhou Mi… why did you call me? What’s going on?” He asked, suddenly alert,

“Kibum didn’t say much, but I can tell he’s… well… he just doesn’t know what to do,” Zhou Mi said, “Kyuri and the baby are… on the edge… and, he’s not sure what to do to pull them back; to save them.”

“I’ll call you back, okay?” Heechul said as he slipped from the bed, pulling a shirt on, “Just… Just try to keep Kibum calm right now. He needs support and Kyuhyun doesn’t know him, so he can’t give it.”

“Alright,” Zhou Mi replied hesitantly,

“I’ll call you back,” Heechul repeated firmly before hanging up the call. He glanced at Hankyung, “That was Zhou Mi. He’s at the hospital.”

“And?” Hankyung sat up,

“I need to talk to Kangin,” Heechul said as he headed for the door, slipping on shoes as he unlocked his door, “I’ll be back soon, but I need to talk to Kangin right now. I’ll explain things when I get back.”

Before Hankyung could say anything, Heechul had slipped out the door.

Heechul walked quickly, the Headmaster’s bed chamber only accessible from his office. When he got before the double doors which opened to the Headmaster’s office, he was frustrated to find it locked. He ran to the nurse’s office and grabbed what medical utensils he knew would help him. Returning to the doors, he made quick work of the lock, effectively breaking into the office. It was barely a minute when he stood before the Headmaster’s bedroom door, pounding a fist against the solid wood.

The door ripped open and Kangin stood there in his dark glory, his eyes narrowed dangerously and bared to the waist, not evening stopping to put on a shirt before confronting the knocker.

“Heechul? What the hell are you doing at two in the morning?” Kangin practically growled,

Heechul didn’t even flinch at his friend’s intensity. He knew Kangin hated being woken up, but some things were more important than his best friend’s beauty sleep; “I need to talk to you.”

“Now?” Kangin questioned before Heechul’s somber expression broke through his anger. He sighed, “Now,” as he edged Heechul away so he could step out of the bedroom and close the door behind him, “What’s going on?”

Quickly, Heechul explained all he knew of the situation, which, in truth, wasn’t very much. He knew the bare bones of what Zhou Mi had told him and, that was all he could relate to Kangin. However, it was all they had to work with and they needed to formulate a plan immediately.

“If it was any other situation, I would say let nature run its course. If it was any other person, I would say the same thing,” Kangin said as he leaned back against the wall beside the door, his muscled arms crossed over his bare chest; “However, we have resources others do not. They can do a blood transfusion.”

“Will it work?” Heechul asked,

Kangin didn’t need to ask for elaboration, he understood perfectly to what Heechul referred to; “A turned vampire, essentially, has two blood supplies. The one they were born with and the one that gives them sustenance.”

“That’s why when I had them do a blood transfusion three years ago, I wanted a blood match for Kyuhyun,” Heechul said, “because I wasn’t sure how blood types worked for vampires.”

“Vampires can drink any blood type and the same goes for turned vampires. Vampires, if for some reason they were to get a transfusion, can still have any blood type. Turned vampires, however, were once human and had a blood type. So, it’s fortunate you based the transfusion on Kyuhyun’s blood type back then,” Kangin confirmed, “Because he still, essentially, is half human, Kyuhyun can give blood but it will carry his blood type.”

“So, because Kyuri and him are the same blood type, the transfusion will work both ways,” Heechul concluded.

“Do you know the baby’s blood type?” Kangin inquired,

Heechul shook his head, “More likely than not, it’ll be a positive blood type, but that won’t be a problem. The problem will be if its blood type is O or B.”

“Vampires have healing agents in their blood. Turned vampires have it but its weaker, diluted,” Kangin stated, “If Kyuhyun does the transfusion, it can speed Kyuri’s healing and help the baby to live.”

“Will Kyuhyun do it, is the question,” Heechul said, “Even if he’s aware of Kyuri, he still has no memory. Sungmin told me that Kyuhyun told Taeyeon he believes himself to be very sick. If that’s what he thinks, he might not do the transfusion because he’s sick and wouldn’t want to transfer his illness to his sister or the baby.”

“It might be time to tell Kyuhyun the truth… everything,” Kangin suggested quietly,

Heechul’s eyes widened, “The risks…”

“At this point, I think the risks are worth it if it means we can save two lives,” Kangin answered quietly, steadily, “I know that, in telling Kyuhyun, we risk his sanity… we risk any ground we’ve gained with him thus far… indeed, he could run off and disappear after we tell him the truth, but I don’t see any other way to ensure both Kyuri and her baby live.”

“Medicine…”

“Is always a gamble. Even as a nurse, you know that. Nothing in life, in health, in healthcare is 100 percent,” Kangin countered, “But, this transfusion, this risk, can push us closer to that 100 percent.”

Heechul walked over to Kangin’s side, turned and leaned back against the wall, shoulder to shoulder with the turned vampire. Sighing heavily, he held up the cellular he had been gripping the entire time. Dialing Zhou Mi’s number, he raised it to his ear and waited for the line to be picked up.

“Heechul!” Zhou Mi answered almost immediately,

Heechul hesitated. He turned his head just enough to lock gazes briefly with his best friend. Inhaling slowly, he steadied himself. The words were too easy to say,

“We have to tell Kyuhyun he’s a vampire.”

What happened to you and me?
You and me?

...

(http://www.autumn-nights.net/2012/04/ms12-fragments-of-glass.html">12th Cycle - Fragments of Glass)


A/N: For those who don't know...
ICU - Intensive Care Unit.. patients who need a higher level of care, constant monitoring would be placed on this unit.
NICU - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.. newborns who need a higher level of care, constant monitoring would be placed on this unit. A neonatal is traditionally considered from birth up until a month after their born.

Also, on blood types.. if you've forgotten, Kyuhyun & Kyuri have A- blood type.