Mina worked her wonders on brewing a very special sort of concoction in order to help Taehyung gain strength for a couple more weeks. Because it would break their hearts to just see him lay in bed all the time, without the ability to move even a limb and be active.

It was quite a sad time for all of them, as they all knew what would eventually happen. Yet they took their time to enjoy life to its full extent for as long as they could. Nothing too extreme, since the werewolf bite grazing the vampire's shoulder grew day by day, special herbs or not. It did not look pretty, the flesh turned into a painful mixture of red, purple, green and black. The sight of it made Jungkook's stomach turn and his heart clench when he accidentally walked in on the redhead changing one day.

And no matter how many times Taehyung kept reassuring him, he knew it was not fine. Or painless, for that matter.

Taehyung felt his end near aswell, as much as he tried to deny it. He felt calmer, sadder. Wearier.
Was this what dying felt like?

He was perfectly happy throughout the days, spending time with all his loved ones. But as the end of a day neared and the sun disappeared behind the canopy of trees that he saw outside his window, he felt his heart drop and his limbs lose all their strength.
Why must he leave the moment he had found genuine happiness?

He and Jungkook visited the woods a few more times, just listening to the chirping of the birds and the rustle of the leaves as animals swiftly moved along the trees. Jungkook had now properly learned how to feed on animals, almost managing to do it without flinching by now. And the redhead was very proud of him for doing that.

And as they laid side to side on the forest ground, Taehyung loved to tell him stories about the long, long life he had lived so far, anything that came to his mind. Mostly they were funny stories, although they grew slightly gloomier as the pain in his shoulder increased gradually.
Jungkook would just study his face as he talked away, wondering if this would be the last times he would see the other's thick eyelashes flutter in the fresh early summer's breeze.

"Is he gonna be okay, Mina?" A small hand grasped the golden door handle tightly, lingering there as if hesitant if to open it.

"Of course. Nothing to worry about, Ahjinnie. Taehyung's just a bit tired and needs some rest. He'll be up his feet in no time." A slender, much bigger hand enclosed the little girl's hand and pulled it away from the handle softly. As Ahjin turned around and stared at the blonde woman's face, she thought she saw a sad smile that did not match her words.

Of course, she was not being truthful. The vampire behind the door had just collapsed on his way back from a very sweet day in town, where they had taken the little girl shopping. It seemed that he had now reached his ultimate limit, where no concoction of herbs could keep him upright anymore.

Mina saw Ahjin's brows furrow, she was a smart girl after all. But it was too early to tell her now. Or maybe they were just too afraid to admit it themselves.

The witch squeezed the cheeks on the child's face softly, pointing downstairs. "Let's go out for dinner, what do you say? You'll start school soon, might aswell celebrate it before you go back to the orphanage. We'll have your favourite, and some nice chocolate ice cream for dessert." Calling for Chaeyoung to accompany them, she descended down the marble staircase while still tightly holding on to Ahjin's hand.

Meanwhile, Taehyung was wrapped in not only two, but three thick and fluffy blankets in his bedroom, Jungkook seated on the edge of the large bed as he looked down on him, his heart shattering into a million pieces when seeing the faint glimmer in his eyes.

"Please don't tell me it's time already," he whispered, clutching the other's hand tightly.
Taehyung simply smiled in response, looking him in the eyes as well as he could.
"You know... most vampires die within a week after getting bitten. It's been like a month already."

"I'm not believing this. This is all a nightmare and I'm gonna wake up soon, with you perfectly healthy and safe. This would have never happened if you hadn't met me. Why did you have to meet me?," Jungkook spoke aloud in frustration.

The vampire laughed weakly. "This isn't your fault, don't ever blame yourself. God just really fucking hates me. The moment I find happiness, he takes it away from me. But at least I got to experience it, you know? Happiness. I always thought something was missing, no matter how intimate I was with someone. Something was always missing. But with you, it actually feels genuine. Or maybe I'm just being stupid. But I don't think I am."

Jungkook wiped his eyes, feeling tears slowly well up in them. "Stop. This isn't goodbye, stop making this sound like some kind of farewell."
For a while, there was silence. "But it is."

"No, it's not. You look like you're sweating, are you hot?" The redhead shook his head, sighing.
"Surprisingly, I feel pretty cold. The blankets are perfect." He moved their intertwined hands towards his lips, kissing the younger's hand softly.

After a while, he spoke. "There's one quality of being a vampire that I forgot to tell you about. Kim Seokjin forgot to mention it, too. Kinda sad, actually. It's an underrated one." Jungkook tried to laugh, but felt tears softly slip from the corners of his eyes again.
"What is it?," he asked.

"We can make people see things. Memories, hallucinations, dreams. It's like seeing a movie. At least that's what my friend Tzuyu said when I showed her how eighteenth-century life looked like. She was fascinated. I miss her so much." The ravenette sniffled lightly.
"That sounds... beautiful."

"It is. But I didn't just tell you this without any reason. I want to show you something. It's a sad memory. I never told you why Mina and I got so close, right?" Jungkook nodded.
"It's something I've always kept secret, I don't know why. Probably felt more meaningful that way. But she helped me find a purpose when I couldn't. I'd like you tell her because we don't talk about stuff like that, it's embarrassing. So, do you want to see?"

He nodded again. "S-Sure."
There was no point denying that this was extremely confusing. What memory could possibly be so significant to him that he never felt like telling anyone? Was he about to witness a detailed backstory containing the forming of a beautiful friendship between a witch and a vampire?

However, he also didn't feel like crying and facing the grief and sorrow filling every single corner of his heart from what would happen very soon. So he took his lover's other slender, suddenly kind of pale hand too and closed his eyes, not knowing what to expect at all.

-

It was like he had stepped into a new world, like dreaming. He knew he was still sitting on the edge of Taehyung's bed and clasping his hands tightly, yet his eyes perceived something entirely else. It was like he was in a movie, but not precisely in the movie. A strange phenomenon for sure.

He jerked back as he heard a loud sob behind him, turning around abruptly and seeing a body on the ground, blood flowing from its neck and the person's eyes milky and unfocused. Dead. Next to it knelt another body, this one very much alive. By taking a second look, it was a shaking Taehyung.

He looked unlike himself, his hair black instead of red and covered in rags and dirt instead of the usual designer clothes that always seemed to make his very presence glow. But it was him, the slender hands that he had held a million times, with the pretty amethyst ring on his middle finger glowing in the golden afternoon sun. Only now did Jungkook notice his surroundings. He was in the woods, his feet treading on healthy ground. However, no matter how much he moved, his presence went completely unnoticed.

Another wail interrupted his growing train of thoughts. "I-I," young Taehyung sobbed. "I am a monster. A d-demon! Whatever is the matter with me?!" He clutched the body beneath him, his fingers bloody. "I cannot feel a pulse. I kill-- no, oh no." He kept sobbing hysterically, and Jungkook had the strong urge to wrap his arms around him and tell him that it would be fine. But his fingers couldn't touch him, no matter how hard he tried. That was probably why he didn't notice him.

It was pure torture, watching the poor boy kneeling over the corpse and cry and scream for what could have been hours. Enough, Jungkook thought. I've seen enough, please let me get back again!

All of a sudden, another voice rang through the forest. "Taehyung? Taehyung, I know you're there!" It was a woman's voice, and not a minute later, an also black-haired Mina came into sight, panting and gripping the skirts of the old Japanese gown she was wearing.

Taehyung suddenly muffled his sobs and went into hiding immediately, hiding behind a thick tree and sitting against the trunk with his knees pressed agsinst his chest, silent tears still streaming down his face.

It didn't take long for the witch to find the dead body, her simply sighing and closing the corpse's eyes with a sad expression on her face. "You should have taken my advice, dear boy. A vampire cannot control his thirst while being emotionally vulnerable, and that can have consequences." She seemed to know that he heard her, and he did.

"But that does not mean hopelessness. We can work through this together, you and I. Let me help you, and do not give yourself fault! There is hope for you, I know there is!" She sighed again when Taehyung didn't respond, lifting herself up and looking through the trees with a sad face.

The scene changed, now Jungkook was standing on the high edge of a cliff, hard stone beneath his feet. And again, there was that wailing sob that made him turn around and his heart clench. He had never seen Taehyung cry, and the sight of it seemed to shatter his heart in a million pieces.

"You are very well aware of how pointless this is, are you not?" It was Mina again, now wearing a different, now pastel green gown with one hand grabbing a devastated-looking Taehyung's shoulder.

"I don't care! I cannot bear this burden anymore! Why should I be alive if I am already dead? There is no point! I am nothing but a viscious monster out of control!," it suddenly burst out of him like a fountain of painful emotions, bottled up for days or weeks.

"Taehyung, you are not the first vampire I have ever encountered. Of course, what happened was wrong and tragic, but--"
"Tragic? I killed a man! I ended someone's life, I took a beloved father, or brother or friend of someone! And why? Because I am a monster that deserves to be slain!"

"Why, no! Because no one has taught you how to control your urges and bloodthirst yet. But that can change. It is a long and weary process, but it can. Don't lose hope, I beg you." The vampire let out a heart-wrenching sob.

"How? There is no hope! There is no fixing me or bettering me, the only way to save this world is by killing me! You said a vampire can die. But how?" Mina grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
"Do you even hear yourself? I am not telling you for sure. You do not want to die and I know it. You are afraid of the changes you are going through and that is not a tragedy. Yes, you have done a horrible thing that you will probably regret for many years, but the wound will heal if you give it some time. Please, stop doing that. You're not jumping off this cliff again. You know it won't work anyhow." Taehyung buried his face in his hands.

"I have to do something. I cannot be alive for one more second, I cannot bear it! All the guilt and self-accusation and the voices screaming at me that I'm a beast that is a danger to everyone, I cannot bear it!" Mina sighed again.
"Do you seriously think you are the first one to feel this? I have been here for quite some time and I can assure you, many vampires have gone through the same turmoil you are going through. But they made it. They made it, just like you will make it. You have a purpose, so please take a deep breath and ask yourself what you want. Do you want death or do you just want the pain to stop?" And surprisingly, the vampire went silent.

"How would I ever recover from this?" The witch smiled.
"Do you have any idea how long life is? Yours especially. You don't know half of it. It will get better when you know you're not alone. Why do you think I am here? I have a purpose, just like you do. Please try to find yourself again, you will not regret it. I will be with you every step along the way, and together we will make this world a better place. Please, Taehyung. Believe in yourself, just this once. Vampire or not, you deserve to live." As the two of them hugged, Jungkook let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had held for literal minutes. His throat felt clammy, like it was being choked, and only there did he realize those were suppressed tears.

-

Although he had expected to see even more and he wanted to see how Taehyung managed to work through the guilt he felt, he was surprised to see the picture dissolve and found himself back in the vampire's bedroom. Just as he was about to ask about the remaining memories, he suddenly saw why.

Taehyung had fallen asleep.

With a heart heavy of emotion, he smiled and ran his fingers through the other's hair. "Wow, what a history," he just whispered and decided to let him rest peacefully.
After giving his forehead a little kiss that spoke clearer than words could describe it and carefully closed the door behind him, he suddenly encountered a figure standing in the hallway.

"How is he?" As if speaking of the devil, Mina watched Taehyung's bedroom door apprehensively.
"He's asleep," Jungkook answered quietly, not quite daring to look at her after the powerful memory he had witnessed. He knew the two of them had a deep bond, but now he felt he didn't know half of the depths of it.

He remembered what Taehyung had said to him before showing him the memory. He wanted me to tell her how much that memory meant to him.

"Mina," he spoke. "He- he just showed me something. A memory. About how you two became friends. He killed someone out of bloodthirst and then tried to kill himself out of guilt, right? And you helped him out of it? Helped him find his purpose again?"

For a while, she did not speak. Jungkook thought she was about to either walk away or give him a quiet answer, however, he didn't expect her to suddenly burst in tears.

"D-Do you have any idea how scared I was to lose him?! I was always so calm and collected around him, but truthfully I was scared! What if I had lost him?" Shocked, the brunette patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"But you didn't. You saved him." She shook her head.
"No, he saved himself. Situations like these, where your own thoughts hurt you and damage you like knives would, you can only save yourself. All I did was open his eyes and remind him that he still had the strength to save himself. But what if I had failed? The thought still haunts me!" She sniffled, wiping her eyes carefully.

"Well, you haven't. How you made him see purpose again, I don't know. But you did." He tried to smile as well as he good.

"Every vampire has a purpose, believe it or not. Supernaturality has a deeper meaning than you think. And luckily, Taehyung eventually saw that. It was just extremely hard for him to even see a purpose, with his mother dying and his bloodthirs--"
"Wait, his mother died that time?" She nodded, sniffling again.

"Yes, and he didn't even get to say goodbye. He must have felt so alone, like it's only him against the whole wide world. It took him a great while to see that he had someone to lean on." Suddenly, she let out a laugh.

"That was when he started collecting jewels. After our talk, he stopped trying to jump off that goddamn cliff and when he started getting better, I made him a friendship necklace, made him promise he would stay. And luckily, he kept that promise. There were falling-outs, there were times so brutal he turned off his humanity. But eventually, he always found his way back. Too bad his time is over." It was as if Jungkook's heart broke all over again. But right now, he almost felt angry.

"How can you give up on him so easily now, huh? After centuries of you guys helping each other through the struggles of life? There has to be a way!," he exclaimed, her scoffing and shaking her head.

"How I wish. It doesn't work like that. A werewolf bite is fatal to vampires, no potion or spell can cure it. Delay the venom spreading within the body, yes. But not cure. So forget it." She lowered her head, only few quiet sniffles escaping her now.

"It's so unfair! There has to be something, some loophole, some plant or ritual or whatever the fuck! I can't let him die like that, not when we planned on spending eternity together!"
Suddenly, she gasped and jumped up.

"That's it." He raised his brows.
"What's what?"
"A loophole. There is something. One thing."
He widened his eyes and stared at her.

"What? What is it?!" But all of a sudden, her expression deflated like a balloon.
"But there is no way we could ever... How could we?"
Jungkook had to strongly hold himself back to not grab her shoulders and shake her thoroughly.

"But what is it?" Mina sighed.
"An Original vampire's blood. The only known cure for a werewolf bite. But how would we ever... There probably aren't any Originals left inside the country--" She stopped abruptly as she saw him jump in the air and touch his head with his hands.

"What's wrong with you?" She frowned, clearly bewildered.
"Min Yoongi. I completely forgot-- There is still hope. We can save Taehyung!"

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(guyszzzss it's been a very long while but i had such a huge writer's block for this chapter it took me so long to figure out just hsdhsis wow

luckily i got it figured out now :D i wrote about 1k words more than i usually would so i hope that can be sort of a compensation😭 i literally dislike this chap so much for no reason tho but that makes me wanna do the next one better so excuse whatever anticlimactic bunch of shit this was lmaodhdjsjs

besides, this is my first vampirism update as a 17 year old yay🎉 sorry for the crazy delay and thanks for tuning in regardless💜💜 you're great and i love you byebye🥰💜)