Hoseok
*5 months later*
All of Bangtan was at the grand hall with other groups and leaders. Namjoon was with Myung who was holding Logan. I smiled at the cute little boy who turned one last week. They were talking with Bang Shi-Hyuk.
The rest of our group were together, talking, drinking champagne and laughing. Not far from them were Yeonjun and Minji who were smiling and trying to get away without attracting attention. I was glad those two have healed well and have gotten together.
In the corner I could see Jackson chit chatting with Solar and Hwasa. On the other side there was G-Dragon talking with Suho. Suho… that guy… I could never stomach him. I could have sword he was the reason my family was dead but I had no proof of that.
‘Hey, you okay?’ I heard a voice from behind me say. I turned around to look at Hanuel who stood there, looking stunning.
She was wearing a blue, tight fitting dress that had slits that went up to her thighs. The front of the dress was decorated with golden intricate designs. She was wearing a pair of gold high heels that really seemed to suit her. Her hair was left down, with only a part of it clipped up.
Her Scarlet tattoo showed on her forearm but somehow it did not look out of place. On the contrary, it looked as if it belonged – as if it was just a part of her.
I looked at her face which had minimal make up, yet still looked so beautiful. She looked ethereal especially when she smiled like that. God – she was so beautiful and I could feel my heart race the more I looked at her. I felt an unfamiliar feeling in my chest – a feeling I welcomed yet scared the * out of me.
‘Hobi?’ she called again, as she touched my arm, jolting me out of my thoughts.
‘Hmm? Yeah? What?’ I asked to which she giggled. She shook her head and sighed.
‘Are you okay? You look like a lost puppy Hoseok,’ she said, still laughing.
‘Whatever,’ I said, unable to hide the smile on my face. ‘Want to go get some air?’ I asked and she nodded. I reached for her hand and took her outside to the balcony.
‘This place is beautiful,’ she said as she looked at the garden below us.
‘It is,’ I said just as I heard the door open. We both turned around to see Lisa and Chanyeol there. They stopped as they looked at us.
‘Babe, maybe we should go some other place,’ Lisa said as she smirked while placing her hand on Chanyeol’s chest.
‘The balcony is big enough for all four of us,’ Hanuel said, trying to seem polite. Chanyeol chuckled while Lisa smiled.
‘Oh no, that’s not the problem but my fiancé and I don’t like sharing spaces with cold-blooded assassins like you,’ Lisa said. I saw Hanuel stare at her, fer face devoid of emotion. Lisa giggle as Chanyeol nodded at me and pulled her out.
I turned back to Hanuel who had already turned around. I saw her hold on to the ledge and I sighed. God dammit Lisa! I went to her and wrapped my arms from behind her and rested my head on her shoulder.
‘Ignore her Hanuel. She’s only jealous of you,’ I said, trying to comfort her.
‘I highly doubt that. Why would she be?’ she asked, scoffing but I could hear the coldness and hurt in her voice.
‘Because she had a crush on Jungkook for the longest time. She tried becoming a part of Bangtan for a while through her friend Jennie but Jungkook rejected her. A lot of those girls who pass comments about you, most of them are jealous of your beauty and strength,’ I said kissing her cheek.
‘Whatever. It’s not like she’s not right Hoseok. I am what I am,’ she said. I sighed as I turned her around to face me.
‘Are we really having this conversation again?’ I asked but she didn’t say anything. ‘You think of yourself as a monster, but you’re not,’ I said.
‘I am Hoseok and it’s useless to lie about it. I accepted it a long time ago. What I can’t,’ she paused, almost as if unsure whether to say it or not.
‘Go on. Talk to me,’ I said as I rubbed at her cold arms.
‘I can’t deal with you or the members of Bangtan seeing me as a monster and I know there are some who do,’ she said.
‘I don’t know who thinks that but I don’t care about what they want to think. You’re more than you think of yourself. Have you forgotten what I told you five months ago?’ I asked.
‘N—no,’ she said with a smile.
*Flashback*
*5 months ago*
I saw Hanuel sitting down on the ground as she stared at her hands which still had dried blood on them. I sat down right in front of her.
‘What are you doing here all alone?’ I asked her. She looked at me but her face was expressionless – cold, numb… almost dead.
‘I… I didn’t want. I have so much blood on my hands Hoseok,’ she said as she looked at her hands which shook slightly.
‘We can wash it away,’ I said as I reached for her hand but she jolted it back.
‘No, you don’t understand. I’m not just talking about this blood. These weren’t the first people I killed without mercy!’ she said.
‘Did they show Yeonjun any mercy when they beat him and shot him?’ I asked but she did not respond. ‘They would have killed him if we did not get there in time,’ I said.
‘He begged me and I… oh God, they did nothing to me Hoseok. His begging did not even make me stop to think about what I was doing,’ she said.
‘Do you think he would have showed you any mercy? Did he show Minji or Yeonjun any mercy? Answer me!’ I said, yelling a bit. She shook her head and I sighed. ‘We’re in a world full of monsters Hanuel. Yeah, maybe we’re both monsters but maybe we were meant to be monsters to defeat the ones worse than us,’ I said.
‘I don’t know. I feel like I cannot even look you in the eye Hoseok. I … I wanted you to see the best parts of me – the strong side, the thoughtful, the kind. I never wanted you to see this part,’ she said.
‘Oh Hanuel,’ I said as I inched closer and hugged her again. ‘I don’t care about which side you’ll show me. It can be the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the amazing and the scary. It won’t ever change the way I see you,’ I say.
*End of Flashback*
‘I had not realised how much I needed you back then. I was worried about so many things – whether my brother was going to make it and how you and the others saw me. A part of me was so scared I would be kicked out of Bangtan and I don’t know if I could handle that,’ she said and I smiled.
‘We’re your family and you’re ours. We would never let you go!’ I said as I hugged her tighter. ‘Do you want to tell me who in Bangtan has been making you think otherwise?’ I asked but she shrugged.
‘There’s Jennie and Daniel for sure. I overheard them talking about me once, about how I did not deserve to be a member of Bangtan because of my past and who I am and especially being part of the inner circle,’ she said and I nodded.
‘I see. I can talk to them if you want,’ I offered but she shook her head. ‘No? Why not?’ I asked.
‘I don’t want fights and I don’t want them to hate me even more than they do now,’ she said.
‘You can be such a big softie sometimes,’ I said laughing as I tickled her sides. She laughed and slightly pushed me away.
‘Stop that Hobi!!’ she said, yelling a bit until the door opened. We both turned to look and saw Taehyung there.
‘Hey lovebirds, Jackson wants to make a speech,’ he said, with a knowing smile. I let go of Hanuel as we both nodded to him. Taehyung chuckled and left as we looked at each other.
‘Do you think they know about friends with benefits thingy?’ she asked, a red tint to her cheeks. Wow I never thought I’d think of her as cute. Sexy? Yes, beautiful? Yes... but cute… but dang, she looked cute right now!’
‘Who knows? They might think there is more or they might be oblivious,’ I said chuckling. ‘Come on, let’s go inside. We both know how much Jackson loves his microphone,’ I teased.
We walked inside and went towards where all the other members were. From the corner of my eye I saw Jennie and Daniel standing next to each other. Their eyes were on us but I found myself glaring at them. Jennie seemed to notice as she gulped and quickly looked away.
‘Hey man, are you okay? You look like you want to punish someone,’ Yoongi muttered from next to me.
‘I’ll tell you about it later but I’m fine, don’t worry,’ I said as he nodded, not really convinced.
I watched as Jackson, ever the peace maker went to the podium. He was wearing a fancy suit that almost seemed to glitter in the light. Jackson was always someone who exuded confidence and charisma. People could not help but like him which is how he managed to stop the all-out gang wars that used to happen.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for coming tonight. I know it’s not always easy for all of us to gather under the same roof,’ he began just as we could hear murmurs among the crowd.
‘Well he could say that again,’ Hanuel whispered from next to me, causing me to chuckle.
‘Not long ago, there was almost a war erupting with the Scorpions going rogue, but that has been solved and we keep on working on keeping the peace between us,’ he said.
Suddenly the lights all went off together. My heart skipped a beat, knowing something was wrong. ‘What the * is going on?’ I heard Yoongi mutter from next to me as I heard guns being drawn out.
‘*,’ I heard Hanuel curse as she drew out her sword. The lights came back on and I gasped as I saw a number of cloaked women everywhere. There must have been at least thirty of them.
I looked at Hanuel who stared, a hard look on her face. ‘Now, now we don’t need violence tonight,’ a woman said as she stepped forward. Everyone’s eyes were on her as she removed her cloak.
She looked middle-aged but had a beautiful stance. Her hair was black as coal and kept in a ponytail. Her face was as white as snow and her lips popped with red. She was wearing a black, leather corset along with black leather pants. She had her sword on her back and her Scarlet tattoo was on her neck.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce myself. My name is Domina Vindictae,’ she said. I felt my blood run cold as I turned to look at Hanuel. Did she come for her? No, I won’t let her touch her!
I took a step closer to Hanuel, almost trying to get in front of her but I knew she would not let me. I saw Domina Vindictae smirk as she started making her way towards Hanuel.
‘Hello Domina Umbra. We finally meet again after two years. You have not made things easy for me,’ she said.
‘Likewise,’ Hanuel replied as she held on to her sword. ‘What do you want?’ she asked.
‘I want you. I want your head on a silver platter, traitor,’ Domina Vindictae said.
‘Well you can’t have her!’ I yelled out as I made sure I was close enough to Hanuel but Hanuel put her hand up, stopping me.
‘I would not dare come closer boy or my ladies will have your precious Bangtan ripped to ribbons,’ Domina Vindictae said.
‘Leave them out of this!’ Hanuel yelled. ‘This is between me and you,’ she added.
‘You were always such a weakling with feelings. You had the potential to be the next Lady Scarlet but you have a soft and weak heart that cares too much about others,’ Domina Vindictae said.
‘That’s because you did not break me,’ Hanuel said but Domina Vindictae just laughed.
‘Are you sure?’ she asked as she snapped her finger. ‘I have a surprise for you,’ she said.
‘Wh—what?’ Hanuel said. Domina Vindictae pointed to a balcony and we all turned to look in that direction. We saw two Scarlets there as they seemed to be throwing something over the balcony.
Everyone gasped as a body of a woman fell but got stuck because of the rope around the woman’s neck. It was clear that the woman was dead – her white dress covered in blood and her face as pale as a ghost. I could hear some screams and more gasps but my eyes fell on Hanuel who dropped the sword.
Her eyes became wide as a look of horror washed on her face. ‘N…no …. Lux!’ she whispered as she walked closer. She stood almost beneath her. ‘NOOOOOOO!’ Hanuel screamed.
Her scream was blood-curdling and I felt my body freeze. I saw Hanuel fall to her knees as she screamed and cried…God I never saw her cry like that.
‘Did you like my surprise?’ Domina Vindictae asked as Hanuel looked at her briefly. ‘This was a warning. This little Umbra, is only the beginning,’ Domina Vindictae said.
The lights all turned off again and all I could hear was movement. The lights came back on and I quickly realised there was not a Scarlet anywhere in sight.
My eyes darted back to Hanuel who was on the ground, on her knees, crying. I rushed to her and took her in my arms while I heard Jackson yell out orders for the girl’s body to be brought down.
