The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

40 | The True Confession of Love

The night settled around the manor, darkness gripping its grey walls when the restraints binding the members opened on their own. With a thud, they stumbled forward onto the wooden floor but remained still for several minutes. It was Johnny who got up first followed by Jaehyun. Slowly, they crept forward, eyes tearing up as they did, to the centre of the hall where Taeyong lay in a pool of blood.

The silver stake was still inside his chest and his hand still over it. With a sob, Jaehyun took a step backwards, shaking his head as he looked over at Doyoung and then at everyone else.

Haechan broke down first and Mark immediately rushed to his side to calm him down, while crying himself. Jungwoo lay staring at the ceiling but Doyoung who had been watching silently till now, suddenly rose from the floor and made towards the door.

'You can't fight her.' It was Taeil who spoke, stopping Doyoung in his tracks.

'I am a vampire,' he hissed, turning around.

'You are,' Taeil said, who neither had a speck of tear in his eyes nor any sorrow on his face. 'But she is a trained assassin. You are no match to her skill.'

The members looked at the Senior in horror, shocked not at his words but the way he was behaving – Taeyong was lying in the middle of the hall with a stake in his heart but he seemed to care more about straightening the creases of his cloak which had his full attention. With a sigh, he walked towards the window, smoothing out the collar of his shirt underneath and peered outside as though admiring a view from his holiday home.

'Senior Taeil,' Mark attempted, thinking that the trauma had gotten to him

But Taeil turned around casually and said, 'They are gone, my Lord, you can get off that dirty floor now.'

'Senior Taeil...' Mark blurted out but when he heard Haechan gasp, he looked round to the centre of the hall to see Taeyong sit up like a ghost.

Jungwoo screamed and fell backwards, aghast, and Johnny and Jaehyun stunned in their places.

'Taeyong?' Doyoung asked, horrified and expecting an apparition to speak.

But when Taeyong replied, his voice was very much his own and it was him who spoke, 'She loves me,' in a child-like giggle.

'What?' Jaehyun asked.

'Dal-ae loves me,' he repeated.

'She staked your heart,' Doyoung said.

'I know,' Taeyong replied with the biggest smile on his face. 'Only she can stake my heart.' He pulled the silver dagger out of his chest and it crumbled just like Dal-ae's silver collar earlier and turned to dust before vanishing completely.

'I am confused...' Haechan said, wiping away his tears.

'Shhh,' Mark hissed at him.

'We'll explain later,' Taeil stepped in. 'It's not safe and it's best we get out of here quickly. Johnny, can you help Jungwoo? He seems like he can use a hand.'

Jungwoo did need help; from the moment Taeyong had opened his eyes, Jungwoo had gone rigid, staring at him agape.

'C'mon, buddy, let's go,' Johnny said, heaving Jungwoo up in one quick motion. And with a swoosh of several cloaks in the air, Jaehyun helping Taeil, they found themselves transported back to their shelter between the mountains.

The moment their feet landed in the hall of the chalet, Doyoung blurted out, 'Explain,' looking from Taeyong to Taeil.

'I am alive because she loves me. It's the truth, Doyoung,' Taeyong added seeing the expression on the other's face then walked over to Jungwoo and Haechan, who had been made to settle down by the window. He kneeled in front of them and said, 'I am sorry for what happened, you must have been scared.'