Mixed Blood

29: The Calm Before The Storm

It was Sunday morning and rain was falling. Each of the respective soulmates were still swaddled in their blankets to avoid the cold. They were absolutely sure the rain would stop by noon since their ever-accurate weather forecast never disappointed. And if ever the weather decided to throw them a curve ball, one of the Mystics was an Atmokinetic so that would immediately solve the problem.

Putting his plan into action, Jeonghan sent Joshua a private message. However, after minutes of waiting, Joshua did not respond so Jeonghan simply, albeit hesistantly, gave up on his plan, which was rare for Jeonghan to do so, and hoped everything will be alright later for Seungcheol. His mind was just too worried about his soulmate to think of anything else right now.

Just as Jeonghan was about to put down his phone, a notification alert rang from his device. It was the chat group Seungkwan specifically made for them during the first day of class so the Paragon Vampires were not part of the chat group.

"Good morning, guys. Is everyone ready?" Seungkwan's message read.

"I am actually very nervous," Chan replied.

"AND I AM SUPER EXCITED!" Mingyu wrote.

"You really wanna get bitten, huh?" Jihoon typed.

"Why, Jihoon-hyung? Can't you imagine Soonyoung-hyung's mouth hovering near your neck; his breathe hot and his fangs just grazing on your skin?" Mingyu responded.

"MINGYU!" Jihoon answered quickly.

"Woohoo... I know someone's blushing," Jeonghan teased.

"I am slightly nervous but I know Junnie will take good care of me," Minghao mentioned.

"I think Jun-hyung is gonna devour you good tonight, Minghao. We all know how flirty he was. Imagine him being augmented by the moon later," Jeonghan teased.

"Someone's gonna have a rough night later," Seungkwan joined the teasing.

"I hope Wonwoo and I will rock and roll later," Mingyu said out of nowhere.

"MINGYU!" Jihoon scolded again.

"Come on, Jihoon-hyung. You do know it could also happen to you later," Mingyu defended.

"I k-know but I a-am not o-openly i-i-imagining it," Jihoon stuttered out of embarrassment.

"By the way, I am having trouble choosing what lip tint color should I use," Seungkwan sassily brought in his not-so-important concern.

"Are you serious?" Chan replied.

"Yes, most serious. Okay, so we have one Woodmist, which is kind of natural and earthy or Rouge Sensation, which definitely has more of that, you know, va-va-va-voom feel. Which do you think Vernonie will like more?" Seungkwan messaged, followed by a picture of the two mentioned variants. He bought the variants after getting featured in a TV show about three sister-witches. Pushing it a little bit further, he decided to use the exact same line from the show to ask his friends.

"Rouge Sensation."

"Rouge Sensation."

"Rouge Sensation."

"Woodmist."

"Rouge Sensation."

"Okay, Rouge Sensation it is. Very good," Seungkwan followed the majority decision.

"Now, going back to the topic. How about you, Jeonghan-hyung? How are you feeling?" Chan asked.

"I am actually extremely nervous. I am afraid to lose Cheollie," Jeonghan answered the message.

"Lose Seungcheol-hyung?" Seungkwan reacted

"Why?" Minghao simply replied.

"What do you mean?" Mingyu wanted some clarifications.

"Oh yeah, right. I haven't told you yet," Jeonghan remembered.

"Told us about what?" Jihoon probed.

"About the prophecy."

So, Jeonghan had no choice but to explain the prophecy to the other soulmates. He revealed everything from the history of the prophecy, the possible interpretation by the Mystics, how the prophecy applied to Seungcheol and how the problematic unsolved parts of the prophecy were endangering Seungcheol's life later.

"Wow. I did not know such a prophecy existed," Jihoon commented.

"Why do prophecies need to be cryptic anyway?" Mingyu protested.

"So that is why Seungcheol-hyung has been drowsy all school week long. He was already getting weak," Minghao recalled.

"So, what are you planning, Jeonghan-hyung?" Chan inquired.

"Seungcheol and I were hoping that if we are bonded later on, everything will return back to normal or else..."

"Or else what?" Seungkwan was slightly slower than everyone.

"Seungcheol will die," Jeonghan typed with a heavy heart.

"Are you really serious?" Jihoon wanted to confirm.

"Yes. That is why I am extremely worried and anxious right now," Jeonghan confessed.

"Don't worry, hyung," Mingyu consoled.

"Everything will definitely be alright," Minghao reassured.

"I think this is enough chatting for now. We need to prepare ourselves for later after all," Chan reminded everyone. "As for you, Jeonghan-hyung, just stay positive."

"Chan is right. I guess I'll see you later, everyone," Jeonghan initiated.

And with that everyone disconnected from the chat.

Meanwhile, Joshua just woke up. And if you are asking why, he was up late crying because of two people. His eyes were still red and puffy and his hair was disheveled. He turned his phone on to check for any important messages. As expected, the first message was from Jeonghan but he decided to ignore it. The second was from the chat group Seungkwan made for them during the first day of class. Diligent as he was, Joshua backread the whole conversation. He was emotionless at first but one section of the conversation caught his entire attention, especially that one succinct message from Jeonghan.

"Seungcheol will die."

Those words repeated in Joshua's head like some sort of a catchy advertisement catchphrase. Yes, he even double-checked to make sure it was not part of a joke. But after reading the prophecy and the sincerity and genuine concern from Jeonghan's messages, he concluded that it must be real.

Joshua couldn't take it off his mind. It was in his mind while fixing his bed. It was in his mind while he was cooking and eating breakfast. It was in his mind while he was washing the dishes. So, to take his mind off of the thought, he took a cold bath.

But contrary to his expectations, the thoughts about Seungcheol and Jeonghan intensified under the shower. Instead of solace, he was even more bothered in his thoughts about the two. He was feeling conflicted. He wanted to see the two of them but he also wanted to avoid them. He greatly worried about Seungcheol and Jeonghan but he couldn't afford himself to face them since he was feeling guilty about avoiding them.

Furthermore, his still-unstable feelings for the two was adding to the weight even more. No matter how hard his mind told him he hated the two or he had no feelings for the two, his heart would refute and say otherwise. Every time his mind will remind of how the two looked happy in each other's arms to fuel his anger, his heart would go erratic instead. His heart would sometimes even overpower his brain and flash images of him being wrapped in a hug between Jeonghan and Seungcheol. He was in a lonely battle with himself.

Defeated, Joshua just leaned his body to the wall.

"I don't know what to do anymore."