[ flashback ]

It was silent in Lee Dongho's office.

The air was still and the candle placed in the middle of the table barely flickered as Dongho's unsleeping green eyes skimmed through this year's report of the hotel's revenue. By candlelight his bone structure seemed sharper, as if cut by granite, and his eyes were darker, turning from their light green to almost olive.

Either way he was an exceptionally handsome man, a man who just oozed class and power, a man who easily excelled in everything without too much effort. It wasn't hard to spot the resemblance between the two Lee brothers, even though Dongho was slightly shorter than his older brother Jiho. His hair was slightly curly instead of the poker straight strands his brother flaunted, and his expression was less severe and hard and more laid-back and easygoing.

No one expected grand things from Lee Dongho. Just one of the benefits of being born second. Everyone coddled and cosseted him until he grew up to be a cocky, irresponsible man-child whose only abilities in life were reduced to spending his family money and being a loving uncle to his brother's daughter.

Until one fateful day all of that changed.

Dongho experienced a metamorphosis so phenomenal it turned him into a completely different person. After Jiho and Reyah's untimely death, it was suddenly expected of him to take care of everything: his little niece and her half-brother, the family's business, the finances, the marketing... everything. The shift in his dynamic with the world was so palpable now that he had to be in charge of everything. He had to be a father, a guardian, a protector and a boss to thousands of people.

It was an exhausting and demanding ordeal, but he was giving it his all.

The flame grew dimmer every second as the wax melted down to its last. In an instant it burned down, ceasing to cast shadows that radiated out as crooked hands. The remainder of the wax slowly turned to liquid, running down to the side dramatically as if it met its abrupt doom.

A knock on the door dispersed the quietness of the room. Dongho looked up, brow twitching, and put his pen down. He glanced down at the clock wrapped around his wrist. It was probably Nadya – his ferociously loyal secretary, confidante, Protector, and sadly, one of the many women whose love he could not return.

He sighed, rubbing his temples, before standing up and walking around the desk and heading for the door.

"Nadya, it's late."

His hand wrapped around the chrome doorknob and started twisting it just when he heard a couple of muffled sobs from the other side of the door.

"Nadya, is that you?" Dongho's brows pulled together.

"It's me, uncle Dongho."

Within a heartbeat, he flung the door open, holding his breath. Aera's shadow stretched over the floor as his eyes landed on her bare feet sinking into the soft red carpet of the hotel hallway.

"Ari?" Dongho rarely felt nervous except for when he was left alone with his niece. In fact, he avoided such circumstances so meticulously he had already mastered the skill painfully well. "What are you doing here? At this hour?"

Aera gulped, glancing sideways. Her mouth and limbs were shaking, her eyes bloodshot and pink-rimmed.

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Come in." Dongho prompted immediately, making way for her to walk into his office.

His heart began to pound into his ears, sensing something odd. He took a seat behind his desk and gestured for Aera to do the same. She awkwardly mimicked the motion, chewing on her dry and cracked lower lip.

"I'm listening, Ari."

"It's about the inheritance." Aera announced.

Dongho leaned back into his chair, mindlessly undoing the button of his suit.

"What about it?"

"I don't want it." She quickly replied.

The shock registered on Dongho's face before he could hide it.

"How come?"

"I just don't want to have anything to do with it," Aera stated, seeming a little bit spaced out. "It's a constant reminder of my parents' death. It hurts."

Sorrow tugged at the corner of her lips, however for some reason the mournful emotion did not reach her eyes that now seemed glassy and empty.

"Hm, I..." Dongho mused, interlocking his fingers in front of him as he rested his elbows on the desk. "I'm just surprised, Ari, that's all. I thought you would want to hold on to it and continue your family's legacy."

Meanwhile, his thoughts crashed around his brain frantically. How was he supposed to tell her there was no running away from destiny? That money and fortune was not the only thing she was about to inherit from her parents?

Had the time come already... the time to come clean to his niece about everything? About the Powers, about the Keeper and the Protector, the Manipulator, the Red and the Black Thread...

Dongho did not feel certain about it yet, but perhaps fate was pressing her cold hard blade against his neck now. He wasn't ready, but then again, would he ever truly be ready for this conversation? He had always thought he had more time to prepare himself, to decide on how to break it to her so that she would not be too shocked and freaked out. Aera's mind was a fragile space and dark shadows ran rampant in both sides of her family...

"Actually that's the opposite of what I want," Aera took a deep breath in, drawing his attention back to herself. "As a matter of fact, uncle Dongho... I would very much appreciate it if you could write me off your will."

Dongho was appalled, his hands falling limply on the desk.

"What? Ari, you can't be serious about this!"

"I am dead serious, uncle Dongho. I want to forget everything, about my misery and about the way my family was torn apart. It's breaking me."

"You have to know, your mother and father loved you very much," Dongho was not relenting, leaning in. "It's unfortunate, horrible even, the way their lives ended, but by no means would they want you to do what you're doing right now!"

"I don't care what they would want." Aera declared blankly. "I don't want the money, nor the family business."

Frustration burned in Dongho's gut. Unlike his brother, he had always been impulsive, unable to conceal his true emotions and hold his temper in.

"Then what am I supposed to do with it, Ari?!" he scowled unpleasantly, his jaw twitching. "It is yours by right and I have no children of my own, I can't possibly throw it all away-"

"Give it to Hyukjae and his mother."

Dongho was sent reeling back, shell shocked gaze pinned at a serious Aera, astonished by how ludicrous her proposition sounded.

"Are you insane?!" he struggled to keep his voice down and not yell at her. "I am never, ever giving away what your mother and father, and their mothers and fathers, worked their whole life for to these horrible, awful-"

His mouth snapped closed. Aera's face crumbled as she lowered her head, her shoulders wracked by the silent sobs she tried swallowing back but failed.

"Oh, Ari." Dongho sighed, walking around to kneel down next to her, looking deeply into her eyes. He chastised himself internally for never knowing how to behave in front of her. He felt so incapable of dealing with this situation. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like this."

Her hands balled into fists, red painted nails digging into her palms as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hands.

"It's okay uncle Dongho, I understand that my demand is unexpected." She sniffled dejected.

Dongho's gaze dropped to her lap as he brought her hands down and took them into his own.

"You know Ari..." he trailed off uncertainly, his thumb caressing her hands lovingly. "I need to tell you something." His voice was barely above a whisper and died out as soon as his gaze wandered her hands and soon landed on her nails.

Red.

Red.

Aera never wore red.

She despised red.

In a sonic flash, Dongho got on his feet and jerked back, his back hitting the wall.

"You fuckin' bitch!" he hissed, pointing with a trembling finger.

Aera's features swirled together, contorted into a chaotic blur, until they morphed into something completely different.

"I never knew you could be so dense." Jiah giggled mockingly, crossing her long legs as she rested her chin on top of her hand.

Dongho exhaled heavily, his eyes wide with confusion as if his brain could not turn fast enough to take in the information from his eyes. Then, his face slowly relaxed as he finally came to terms with it, and a small smirk played on his lips.

"This has to be dumbest thing you've tried to do, Jiah." He stated. "Posing as my niece? Sooner or later I would have known it was you."

"You Lee men are not so difficult to fool." Jiah pulled herself up from the chair, chuckling softly.

"Spare me the nonsense. What do you want?"

Jiah swayed around the desk, her fingertips gliding on the mahogany wood. She was increasing the tension on purpose, a cruel infliction of suspense she loved to perform.

She let out a small gasp as her unnaturally long fingers got ahold of the framed photo decorating Dongho's desk. She brought it up to her face as her long red nail scratched against the face of a woman, her beautiful face framed by unruly chestnut hair.

"How sad." She mumbled, but the beaming of her face did not the match the context of her words. "Isn't it heartbreaking how badly fate fucks things up sometimes?"

"Put that down." Dongho snarled, his eyes glinting with menace.

"They say there's somebody for everybody out there," Jiah whimpered, the sound too exaggerated to be sincere. "But what happens when that somebody is also your brother's somebody?" she quirked a brow, her tongue poking out to swipe across her plump red lips.

"Stop talking!" Dongho warned, his voice a husky drawl as he took a step forward.

"Isn't it cruel?" she continued in a singing voice. "We expect everything to be wrapped up perfectly, for fate to have it all figured out, that we're each appointed a soulmate. But many times, this is not the case." She finished with a tinge of pathos in her voice as if she was reciting from a poem.

Jiah put down the photo carefully, looking back at Dongho.

"Reyah," she licked her lips, relishing in the way the name left her mouth. "Her name echoes the word for 'paradise' in some Slavic languages. Paradise, is that what your brother's wife meant for you, Dongho? A promised land, a happiness you knew existed for you but could never reach, something treasured and adored by afar but never obtainable..."

Dongho observed her silently, his anger brewing like a storm at sea. He knew perfectly well what she was doing. She was riling him up, aiming at his weakest spot, his fiercely kept secret, his Achilles's heel.

"She's the reason you never settled down and created a family," Jiah purred, voice thick with twisted delight. "The reason you so eagerly welcomed the idea of taking care of her only daughter when you could have easily said no. The reason you don't let a hair fall off Aera's head. But also, the reason you avoid any emotional intimacy with her. Because the memory is still too vivid, the pain still too harrowing. She reminds you of her. It's driving you insane. Aera reminds you of the only woman you ever truly loved even though she was not yours to keep. You dared fall in love with your brother's soulmate, Dongho. You're a sinner, just like all of us."

Infuriated and outraged, Dongho marched up to stand right in front of Jiah, his eyes narrowed with anger and frustration.

"Get. Out." He spat.

"You hide heartbreak so well," Jiah grinned, abnormally sharp teeth glistening in the dim light. "But you cannot fool me, Dongho."

"Jiho and Reyah are long gone," he argued. "And I would give my life to protect the result of their love, Aera. I may have loved Reyah, but never even for a second have I thought of ruining the life she had with my brother. They were both happy, I could see that and it was not my place to interfere. In case you have forgotten, I am not someone you can manipulate, Jiah. My brother might have fallen victim to your wicked witchcraft shit, but not me." he tapped a finger on his temple.

"I offered you a deal back then, didn't I?!" Jiah hissed, ferocity blazing in her blood red eyes. "We could really helped each other, Dongho. We were each other's golden ticket to paradise. I promised you would get Reyah if you help me compel Jiho to leave her... but you were too busy playing the moral hero!" she snapped, poking his chest threateningly.

"I would never betray my brother."

"Poor, little Dongho..." Jiah's smile fell as she brushed a finger over his chin. "Always coming second to his big brother. You just couldn't help yourself, could you? Wanting what you could never have, longing, yearning... falling for your brother's girl. Admit that you wanted to steal her away from him, Dongho. Admit it. Admit you prayed every night that she would choose you. That she would realize that there was more than enough space in the human's heart for more than one person..."

"Enough!" Dongho thundered, slipping a knife from his sleeve and pointing it at her. "I've heard enough! Get out!"

Jiah merely smirked, glancing down at the blade.

"I thought we could come to a mutual understanding, Dongho, but it appears that is impossible. What a pity, I was eager to cooperate with you."

"You cannot waltz into my office pretending to be someone else and expect me to trust you, Jiah."

"Nevermind. It was never my intention to tell you this, but I guess it's only fitting that you learn this now," her voice lowered as she leaned in, their faces inches apart from each other. "I killed your dearly beloved Reyah and your brother."

Dongho's face dropped, pure agony written all over it as his fingers uncurled around the handle of the knife. It fell down with a dull thud.

His ribs constricted as if held by metal bars.

"You did what-"

"Oh yes," Jiah mumbled. "And now... you're next."

She pressed a hand over his chest, her fingers sinking into the flesh as if it were foam. Blood started leaking from Dongho's mouth, his eyes glassy and twitching as he stared straight ahead at the redhead in utter shock.

"You should feel lucky I'm going easy on you. Your niece will suffer a death way more horrendous than this one," Jiah smirked, her hands clasping around Dongho's heart that beat in her palms vigorously, fighting against the evil intrusion.

"Aera... will stop you. You'll see..." Dongho said in between gasps, the color leaving his face little by little.

"Pfft!" Jiah snorted in a rather snobby manner. "As if."

"She's... strong..."

"Weak, bitchy and whiney is what she is." Jiah's porcelain face screwed in disdain.

"You have no idea..." Dongho's head lolled back, however he kept fighting. "No idea... the lengths... my brother would go to... to be with his daughter again... he'll do anything... anything, I tell you... to be reunited with her... he can create anything out of nothing... my brother... anything..."

"Splendid." Jiah murmured with a bored expression.

Dongho's hand clutched around Jiah's wrist, the other splayed against his ribcage.

"Mark my words... the Lees stop at nothing... to be with the ones they love." He breathed out with major difficulty, his tongue covered with blood and his nose bleeding.

Jiah tilted her head back and rolled her eyes. With a smirk, she twisted her hand inside of his ribcage, about to stop his heart indefinitely.

"Rest in peace, Dongho."

Wide-eyed, Dongho slid down Jiah's chest and his body met the floor. He shut his eyes and exhaled deeply, his chest heaving with his last breaths.

Just as he was about to slip into eternal slumber, his bloody eyes snapped open to stare up at the redhead who towered over him.

"I thought you'd know this by now, Jiah..." he hissed, placing a hand on his chest. "There is no rest for the wicked."

Jiah scoffed, walking right around his body, and shut the door just as Dongho's last breath finally left his mouth.

[ end of flashback ]

***
present day

"I believe we could go for something more inconspicuous." Aera admitted, eyeing the black sequin dress labeled with her name on it, the lace peppering her fingertips with soft, sensual kisses.

"If JB left those here, then we are obliged to wear them," Layla said, twirling around in her baby blue ball gown.

"No one questions JB's orders." Jungah mumbled, a bit too morose for Aera to be comfortable with. In her lap, a golden high couture dress lay but she was less than enthusiastic to try it on.

"This dress is so cute, right!!" Hazel chirped, jumping around in a rose pink dress that hugged her tiny frame perfectly and matched the milky complexion of her skin.

"It's been so long since I've felt this prretty," Giselle purred in a heavy French accent, her hands clasping on her long red ball gown cascading down her long tanned legs. She was a vision of sultry seduction, a fiery chaos of sex appeal no man could remain indifferent to.

"I can't... I can't wear that." Nana mumbled, face slack and ashen as if she had been whitewashed. Her traumatized gaze was pinned at the soft satiny fabric of the purple dress placed on the bed in front of her.

"But it's so beautiful," Hazel clicked her tongue, towering over the detested piece of clothing.

"No!" Nana groaned. "No way in hell I'm ever wearing that... that... that thing!" she looked utterly disgusted by the dress.

"Can we turn around already?" Taehyung called out from across the room crankily.

"Yeah, I'm running out of cracks in the wall to stare at." Yukwon said.

Aera redirected her gaze at the three men facing the wall. There they all were – Yoongi, Taehyung and Yukwon, all of them clad in the most extravagant clothes she had ever seen them in.

Although all she could see of them right now was their backs, granted the girls had made them look away while they were getting dressed up.

"Just a second!" Layla chimed, slipping her dress over her head and fixing it up. Then, after a series of moans and grunts, she helped Aera get into her own dress.

"Ready!" Layla announced, triggering several annoyed groans from the boys as they turned.

The first reaction Aera registered was Taehyung's. His lips parted imperceptibly, thick dark brows raising only the tiniest bit. Then, his face twisted in utter disbelief and he gripped at his collar, loosening it up a bit.

"You look... ravishing."

Aera's gut turned upside down even if she didn't want it to. This was the highest she had ever heard Taehyung appreciate a woman and probably the first time she ever heard a compliment slip his mouth.

"Thank you." she immediately felt the flush of rosy hue filling her cheeks.

Yoongi caught her gaze next. At first, he seemed as unimpressed as ever, his arms folded across his chest. He stood statuesque, a little bit too frozen for it to be natural. Then, the sweetest blush covered his pale cheeks, the type of blush Aera had seen on him only when he was very emotional or deeply moved. His jaw twitched for a split second and his lips tightened before he let his face relax into the same blank calmness as before.

No commentary came from him, but the blush tainting his face spoke for itself.

Aera had to try and hold in her nervous laughter. Next was Yukwon, who gawked openly at all of the girls, his jaw rolling down somewhere on the floor.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" he shrieked, causing Hazel to cover her ears. "Incredible, amazing, spectacular, show-stopping, striking, beautiful, stunning!" he panted. He had to stop because he was out of breath, but his enthusiasm was deeply appreciated by everyone, prompting subtle smiles on their faces.

Taehyung smacked the back of his head lightly.

"Easy there, wolf boy."

"How can I stay silent before such otherworldly beauty?!" Yukwon exclaimed, awe-struck and about to trip over his feet.

Yoongi pushed himself off of the wall, all serious and business-like, the dapper tux wrapped around his slender frame. Taehyung followed suite, his jet black hair flowing gracefully with the motion.

The two men stood on each of Aera's sides, holding their arm out for her to grab it.

"It's time." Yoongi mumbled, face slack and impassive.

"Shall we?" Taehyung smirked with mischief.

Aera's eyes darted back and forth between the two outstretched arms before her and the two men looking at her expectantly. She felt awfully put on the spot, but somehow found it in her to be bold.

With a deep sigh, she took them both.

"It's my pleasure."

***

Impatient anxiousness pooled in Aera's gut as her heels clicked on the marble staircase leading to the spookiest mansion she had ever seen.

There was no one out there.

"Are we sure we're in the right place?" Yukwon asked.

Aera wanted to ask the same thing. Somehow the extravagant evening gown she was wrapped in felt more like a cage and less like a piece of clothing. She glanced questioningly at Nana.

"This is the place, I'm certain of it." The brunette stated less than confidently, eyeing the sinister looming building before them. No sound could be heard.

Cowardly, Aera glanced at Taehyung and Yoongi on each of her sides, both of them a picture of dashing handsomeness, black eyes focused and unaffected.

"Shouldn't we just go in?" Layla asked. "I mean, we were invited."

It was odd how peaceful it seemed from the outside. However, Aera was sure everyone else could sense the looming, impending feeling of doom just like she could. Silently, they all advanced up to the staircase.

Out of the blue, just like he had done it several times before, appeared the same man whose face haunted her mind. JB bowed politely, his gloved hand wrapped around his trademark cane handle shaped like an eagle.

"Welcome," he purred, gesturing around. "I am happy to announce that you are the first guests of honor to arrive."

He stepped down, a look of intrigue dancing on his perfectly chiseled face. His slightly longer hair stretching a little bit under his chin, a piercing adorning both his nose and the area under his right eye. The left one was a bloody scarlet hue, sending chills down Aera's spine.

"How rude of me," he said. "I guess I should have greeted you all personally. Let's start with those who are new to the customs of Abaddon."

Aera's blood froze when he started striding straight towards her way more brusquely than she anticipated.

"Lee Aera," JB muttered, halting right in front of her. "The Loved one. The Keeper of the Powers. The girl who was called weak, naïve, a child way too many times. You're fragile, but your hair smells of blood and war. Your heart is made of burning flames and you have the strength of a thousand warriors. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He lowered down to take her hand more gently than Aera expected. He brought it to his lips and she shuddered at the coldness of his mouth as it pressed on her skin.

JB turned to Taehyung.

"Kim Taehyung," he smiled. "The Passionate one. Eros. The personification of Lust and Seduction. Your charm is your biggest weapon, but also your biggest curse. You hate it. You have it all, but you have nothing. Never good enough. Never the chosen one. Always underestimated and kicked to the curb. You yearn to be the only one. To have and to possess. You're not a sinner... you're just beautifully broken."

Aera felt how Taehyung's grip around her hand tightened when JB said 'the only one', but he said nothing.

"Lim Yukwon," JB went on, turning to the blue-eyed boy. "The White Wolf. The man with the happy mask. You hide behind your humor and your jokes to shield the broken man you are deep within. Your lies are as rotten as is your desire to free yourself of the curse of your werewolf kind," he stated. "But you'd never let it show."

Finally, JB turned around to face Yoongi. It was then that Aera noticed that he had never truly looked at the black-eyed man on her right before, as if JB was intentionally not acknowledging his presence.

Not a muscle twitched on Yoongi's face as the taller man started talking.

"Min Yoongi," the words left him slowly as JB narrowed his eyes. "The Manipulator. The Liar. The Trickster, the Deceiver... you're a man of many names, aren't you?"

The air was crackling with tension and menace now that JB took another step forward, his face mere inches away from Yoongi's.

"But there's a name you have not been called before." he said deeply.

Yoongi didn't turn his eyes way and instead just stared back blankly.

Aera felt as if a cluster bomb had exploded in her mind as she heard the words that JB said to Yoongi next.

"Hello, brother."