Her | ✓

Chapter 23 - Brother Dearest

Sooyun slowly opened her tired eyes, squinting as she waited for the blur to subside and see the room clearly. She felt kind of stiff, but a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Instinctively, her hand swung up to touch her neck. She winced slightly as her palm grazed the mark. Or...where the mark should've been.

There was bandaging on her neck. But something was strange. Why did she feel lighter? Why did she feel like a bird spreading its wings? Wait, that was a weird comparison.

Grunting, she sat up and surveyed the room. Taehyung was slumped over the edge of the bed next to her, a hand clutching hers. She glanced over and found Kyung Mi unconscious beside her on the bed, the girl swimming in blankets. And then...What?

The top of a raven head was leaning against Kyung Mi's side of the bed. Sooyun caught a whiff of her brother's scent, confirming her suspicions. But why is he here?

A groan from beside her made her head turn and two sleepy eyes slowly started to acknowledge her presence. Taehyung shot up and squeezed her hand.

"You're awake!"

"Um..."

Taehyung sighed heavily with relief. He sat on the edge of the mattress and looked deep into her purple eyes. "How do you feel?"

"F-Fine, but what happened?"

"I..." He looked away, his hand balling up the comforter in his fist. "I forgot. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"...I lost control and you started to suffer. The mark had started to bruise and wouldn't stop bleeding and I had no choice but to call Jungkook," he sighed and ruffled his hair.

"You were in so much pain and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't protect you like I said I would. Jungkook's point has been proven. I'm useless."

Sooyun frowned and squeezed his hand. "You are not useless! You did help by calling him! Tell me what happened after that."

"Well," Taehyung sighed, "he did some spell or whatever to remove the mark and-"

"Wait. He did what now?" Did she hear it wrong?

"He removed the mark." Taehyung stared at her blankly. Sooyun shook her head. Was that it? That's why she felt so different. So...free.

"So, that means..."

Taehyung tilted is head curiously as a smile shifted onto her face. "That means...?"

"We can be together completely now. I can- We can be true lovers," she said in quiet happiness. Taehyung registered what she said and grinned. He launched himself onto her and cradled her tightly, a warm embrace on her cold body. "Awesome!" he whispered in her ear. Sooyun nodded and hugged back.

"Gosh, you two are so noisy!" An annoyed groan came from the other side of the bed and the couple broke their sweet hug. Taehyung smirked. "You're awake, huh? I was hoping for another few years of peace. Oh, well."

"Ha. Ha. I can still snap your neck before you even realize that I did it," Jungkook threatened as he stretched and stood up fully. He eyed his sister, catching her obvious gaze.

"Ah, don't look at me like that."

"Show me your hand," she demanded. Jungkook rolled his eyes away. "It's fine, Sooyun-"

"Show me!"

He sighed and shut his eyes, slowly lifting up his left hand. Sooyun's eyes widened in pain at the burn on his hand. Yes, if a mark is removed, the marker will carry a red scar—a burn for the rest of their life. A symbol to remind them to be careful of who they choose as a lover.