Chaeyoung gently pulled her hands from Jungkook's hold. She held his face and smiled at him as she wiped his tears. Chaeyoung tilted her head to press a kiss on Jungkook's lips, letting her lips linger for a moment before she welcomed him into her embrace.

"Then, will you promise to do as you claimed you would?"

Jungkook's hot breath blown toward her shoulder. He broke the embrace with such a deep frown. "Chaeyoung..."

"Do you promise, no matter what?"

He closed his eyes and reluctantly, he nodded. Chaeyoung smiled, gifting him a few more kisses all over his face, tenderly and unrushed. "Then, people should not worry."

When Jungkook's frown and concern were still apparent, Chaeyoung's smile widened on her face. "I just needed your answer. I know you're not a traitor. You will never be. I just needed you to hear yourself, to assure yourself that no matter what happens, you will remain loyal unlike your father. He might be related to you by blood, but you are nothing like him."

"You are not a Dual," he stated. His eyes were on hers, waiting for her confirmation.

"Yes, I am not."

It was like he had been holding his breath the whole time that when he released a sigh, his chest seemed to drop ceaselessly. Jungkook buried his face into her chest, his arms wound around her body, crushing her into him.

"You will promise not to scare me like that again, Chaeyoung," he said, voice slightly muffled.

Chaeyoung chuckled softly, her fingers gently twisting about his red locks. "Did it terrify you that I might be a Dual? A monster?"

"You as a Dual do not terrify me," he said. "Losing you terrifies me."

Chaeyoung's lips formed a small smile. "Then do not push me away anymore."

Jungkook pulled back slowly. His brows drawn together. "I am sorry," he said, cupping her cheek. "I was trying to protect you."

Her thumb rubbed his cheekbone momentarily, tracing the outline of his face as she stared into him. "I know you meant well," she said. "And I know you wouldn't do it if you knew."

He stared at her confusedly. "If I knew?"

Chaeyoung inhaled softly and exhaled. She did it a few times. Another reason why she wanted to know what Jungkook would do if she was a Dual was that she wanted an assurance that being loyal to the village should be prioritized.

She had considered, for a brief period, to see Junhoe as no foe of hers. But with the revelation of who he was, and the relation of her own family members in the deal, sometimes, deep adoration and love should be sacrificed. She could never understand, though, how her father prioritized duty over anything else, yet he was betraying the village by keeping Junhoe's identity a secret.

Jungkook, who was irrevocably in love with her, would also sacrifice love if it meant that people were going to be safe from harm of the Duals. She would do the same. She should do the same. Even if it meant that she needed to lose her family members who had silently betrayed them. She had known what she needed to do, but she had doubts. Now, uncertainty was no more. Even if the world went dark for her, she knew she still had the lights of her life. Her brother, her friend, and Jungkook.

Jungkook needed to know who Junhoe was. It was no longer a suspicion. Junhoe himself had confirmed it.

"You wouldn't want me to be with Junhoe," Chaeyoung calmly said, "if you knew that he is a Dual."

The color disappeared from Jungkook's face.

"The man whom I am supposed to be united to... is a Dual, Jungkook."

Chaeyoung explained to him how she figured it out, how she became certain of it. She told him every single thing that he needed to know. Everything that Jimin told her, she let Jungkook know.

She hadn't the slightest idea how she was going to confront her parents about it, but she knew that she would do it together with Jimin.

*

Jimin had just finished tending to a Cultivator child's shattered toes, leading the boy out of the tent with his father when an agonizing cry of a woman pierced through the serenity of the Healing Sector.

The woman, looking slightly older than his mother, was of the Cultivator Sector. She had dropped to the ground, a younger woman on her back had fallen to the ground with a thud, body limp and unmoving. "Help!" the older woman cried.

Jimin rushed toward them at the same time two guards kneeled beside the two women. One guard tried to help the older woman up to her feet, the other one checked on the unconscious younger woman.

"Help my daughter!" the older woman pleaded, crying louder. "Please!"

"What happened?" Jimin asked, healing the older woman's scraped knees but she couldn't speak as she continued to sob.

The guard carefully turned the younger woman's head to the other side, checking her pulse with furrowed brows. "Healer Park," the guard looked up. "She's still alive. But she's too weak."

Jimin noticed the paling of the woman's skin, veins showing around her neck and temple and jaw, lips blue. Poison through ingestion, Jimin told himself in his mind.

"Let's bring her to my tent," Jimin said while he held the older woman, comforting her.

Just as the guard was about to lift the young woman's body from the ground, Jimin heard hurried footsteps from behind him. Before he could turn to see, the person reached them.

Junhoe dropped to his knees beside the unconscious woman. His slightly trembling hands betrayed the composed look he had on his countenance. Without a word, Junhoe took her into his arms and walked toward his tent.

Jimin said nothing as he led the older Cultivator woman toward his own tent, but the woman refused to be separated from her daughter. Jimin had no choice but to bring her into Junhoe's tent where he was quietly healing the poisoned woman.

"Please don't let her die, Junhoe," the older woman begged, sobbing hard.

Jimin furrowed his brows at how Junhoe was addressed by his first name instead of the formal way an official Healer should be addressed. Jimin's eyes observed the woman whom Junhoe was trying to heal, he shifted his gaze to Junhoe. He saw how Junhoe's jaw was locked, his hands moved from one part of her body to another as he was healing yet none of those parts was completely healed. He seemed distracted and panicked. Something Jimin had never seen before.

"Stop," Jimin said.

Junhoe cursed under his breath. "Get out of here."

"She is running out of time," Jimin stated.

"I know!" Junhoe yelled, his eyes widened at Jimin. Then, he looked back down at the woman, taking the deepest breath before he resumed the healing.

"You're distracted. You can't heal her."

"Your presence is a mere nuisance and distracting. Get out of here, Park Jimin."

"She is distracting you," Jimin sternly said. "Let me heal her."

"I can heal her."

"You can't." Jimin tried to stop Junhoe's frantic hands around her body, only to have Junhoe slap his hand away. "She will die soon. There is not enough time if you continue to heal her like this."

Junhoe clenched his fists, muttering curses before he punched the bunk she was on. He grunted when Jimin pushed him away, asking him to sit on the stone bench.

Ignoring the way Junhoe was throwing a fit, Jimin began healing her stomach. He believed that the poison had already settled in her guts. Jimin took a glass of water, poured it into her mouth and commanded the water to move down her throat using his finger.

He pressed his palm against her stomach as his hands glowed, making his other hand into a clawing gesture before slowly, he moved his clawing hand upward from her stomach to her chest, taking a while at her throat before he brought it up to her mouth. He closed his eyes tightly, singing the song of healing louder in his head and with an elegant twist of his wrist, the water earlier came out of her mouth, now darkened in color.

Jimin repeated it three more times until the color that came out of her was clear. He began the standard healing right after, bringing the natural color of her skin back as her veins were no longer as evident. She stayed unconscious, but her pulse was no longer weak, and her breathing was back to normal.

He inhaled deeply, thinking of a glass of water for himself. This wasn't exactly his first time healing a poisoned patient, but the other times were all poisoned by contact and not by ingestion.

Junhoe and the woman's mother rushed toward her. Jimin took it as a cue to leave the tent quietly. But before he did, he took a quick look at Junhoe. His mind brought back a memory of Chaeyoung when he helped to heal a badly wounded Jungkook.

His sister had been so restless, so worried. He knew exactly why she had acted that way. Perhaps, Junhoe's reaction to the woman who had almost died was no different.

After the last patient went home, Jimin was ready to call it a day when Junhoe entered his tent. He eyed the younger man, scoffing when the latter stayed silent. He knew Junhoe wanted to thank him for saving the woman but was reluctant, for it would crush his pride. Jimin didn't think he needed it anyway. He didn't heal the woman for Junhoe. Healing was part of his job.

Junhoe still hadn't uttered a word and Jimin sighed, thinking that perhaps he should be the one to break the silence. "Has she woken up?" he asked with a tired voice.

"Yes," Junhoe answered after a moment. "She just went home with her mother."

Jimin nodded, slightly curious of who could be poisoning her, but he said nothing.

"She poisoned herself," Junhoe said.

Jimin had almost forgotten that the man inside the tent with him was a Dual. His ability to read Jimin's mind, there was no doubt of it any longer. Jimin tried to keep a calm composure.

"Why?" he calmly asked and lowered his voice, "Because she found out that you're a Dual?"

Junhoe stiffened momentarily at the word 'Dual', his face grim as he continued to look down. "She knew about it long ago because I told her," Junhoe revealed. "She accidentally mentioned it to Chaeyoung."

"So she felt guilty toward you," Jimin assumed and Junhoe reluctantly nodded.

He thought of Chaeyoung and what she had told him and Taehyung. His parents knew Junhoe was a Dual. Why would they agree to do it? He felt his jaw hardened. As he threw a look at Junhoe again, he felt his resentment for the man grew. Why would Chaeyoung be sacrificed to this monster?

Junhoe released an aggravated sigh. "It's the only way. For me to stay alive."

Jimin's brows were knitted, confused. He couldn't understand it.

"The unison of a Dual with a person who shares the same ability as the Dual's primary ability will help the Dual to rid his secondary ability," Junhoe explained with a lowered voice. "The firstborn will inherit the secondary ability of the Dual."

Jimin sucked the air sharply. His hard gaze fixated on the younger man. His jaw clenched. "But why my sister? There are so many female Healers out there. Why must it be Chaeyoung?"

It couldn't be because Chaeyoung was not as skilled as her other peers.

Junhoe closed his eyes for a moment. "It has nothing to do with Chaeyoung being a weak Healer."

"Then why?" Jimin pressed.

"It's the only way for the secret to stay as a secret."

Jimin scoffed. "It's no longer a secret now, is it not?"

Why would his parents agree? He kept questioning himself. If they knew that Junhoe was a Dual, why would they want to keep it a secret? Why would they choose to betray the village?

"If I were to marry another Healer, it would be closer to impossible to keep my identity as a Dual a secret. My parents sought help from your parents in exchange for them keeping your parents' secret for years," Junhoe said and Jimin's eyes widened in shock.

"What secret?"

"You have to ask them," Junhoe said and marched to exit the tent.

Jimin felt his heart rate pick up as he considered all the possibilities. He thought of his father's harsh treatment toward his sister.

"Koo Junhoe," he said quickly just before Junhoe exited. Jimin gulped, feeling a weight on his chest. "What secret?"

"I can't reveal more than that, Park Jimin."

"Tell me what secret," Jimin pressed further, ignoring that Junhoe had just told him that it was all he could say.

Junhoe took a deep breath. A moment passed, he turned back toward Jimin with a clenched jaw.

"The situation that Chaeyoung and I are in right now is similar to your parents' situation a long time ago."