Bloodline ✦ Nomin

24

Jeno sits on his knees beside the couch which Jaemin lies on. His nose still bleeds as Jeno waits desperately for Yeeun to return to aid him. She peeks her head out from a doorway nearby and says,

"I need you to tell me exactly what he did so I know what I'm dealing with."

"H-he used demonic abilities to find you and to get us here," Jeno answers.

"What? I don't understand. Why did that cause him to faint like this?" Yeeun asks with an air of frustration to her tone.

"He's not a demon," Jeno explains, "He's an archangel."

"I'm sorry?" Yeeun exclaims in immense confusion, "What the fuck?"

She dips back inside the room, and Jeno can hear the clanking of glass as well as some shuffling as she seems to search for whatever it was she was looking for. When she finally returns to the living room, she holds a small bottle with a round base and a narrow neck. It contains some sort of glimmering blue vapor swirling around inside, trapped in the confines of the glass by a cork. She bends down and puts the bottle close to Jaemin's nose before gently wriggling the cork out with a faint pop. Jaemin breathes in the vapor until there's none left, and Yeeun practically shoves the cork and empty bottle in Jeno's face for him to take. The second he does, she slips out another bottle filled with a glowing, bright green liquid from the pocket of her oversized, knit cardigan. She pops the cork out and puts it back in her pocket before placing her left hand on Jaemin's bloodied chin. The gently opens his mouth and cautiously tilts the bottle, allowing only two drops to fall into his mouth before shutting it once more.

"That should help. I've never dealt with an archangel using demon powers before, so I'm not sure how to combat the side effects of that...but if this is anything like other sorts of spell-induced fainting, he should be okay. He's going to be asleep for the next couple hours though. I can't fix that. His body needs time to fully recover from the physical trauma of whatever that magic did to him," Yeeun explains calmly as she puts the cork back in the bottle and extends her hand out for the items in Jeno's hands.

"At least he'll be okay," Jeno returns them to her.

"Why were you two looking for me? And how did you manage to find me?" she asks with a furrowed brow as she looks down at Jeno.

"Well...we needed your help. We were told there was someone who could help us, but we weren't given a name or place. He used his powers to locate you. He said the name Yeeun...I assumed you were who he was talking about," Jeno rambles out.

"I'm not sure what you need help with, but I can assure you, I'm not who you're looking for," she denies.

"But you have to be."

"I don't have to be anything. Two strange men show up at my door and I'm just expected to trust that one of you is an archangel and the other is...."

"Half angel, half devil," Jeno murmurs.

Yeeun's face suddenly drops, her lips parting as she stares at him with a dumbfounded look.

"I...I'm sorry...I don't think I ever caught your names..." she speaks in a much quieter voice.

"I...um...I'm Jeno. Lee Jeno," he says, "This is my soulmate, Na Jaemin."

Yeeun drops the empty bottle from her hands, causing the glass to shatter on impact against the wooden floorboards. Her hands fly up, cupping over her mouth.

"Oh my god..."

"What? What's going on?" Jeno's eyes flicker from the broken glass to the woman who is backing away slowly from him.

"You have to leave. Now!" she cries out in distress, "Oh god, he's already on his way, isn't he?"

"Who? Yeeun, what are you talking about?" Jeno questions as he stands up.

"Yuta! You've lead him right to our safehouse, you fool! He's going to kill us!" she screams at him.

"Yeeun! Yeeun, listen to me!" he tries to yell over her so that she can hear him, "Yuta's dead!"

Yeeun falls silent as she gazes wildly at Jeno.

"Wh-what?"

"Yuta's dead. We killed him," he assures her before going on to add nuance to his statement, "He cursed another angel so that when he was harmed, it would do the same to them. But he was so focused on Jaemin and I that he didn't anticipate the angel using the Ares sword to kill himself and take Yuta out in the process. I watched him die. I can show you."

Jeno carefully steps over the glass on the ground and approaches Yeeun. He takes her head in his hands, and he recalls the night Renjun sacrificed himself to kill Yuta. The memories play back like a movie, and as soon as he watches Yuta take his final breath, Jeno lets go of Yeeun.

Her lips part as she very clearly struggles to process what Jeno had just showed her.

"You...you did it...You killed our father," she speaks in a hushed voice.

"I'm sorry, did you say I killed our father?" he asks, believing she made some sort of mistake.

"He didn't tell you?" she inquires, "I guess that makes sense given the circumstances."

"What are you talking about?" Jeno feels his frustration taking hold of him at her confusing ramblings.

"Jeno...I'm your sister."