White Noise - Part 35
Notes | Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31
32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | Epilogue
Before Onew and Joon went to their previously assigned meet up place (a small fenced in parking lot), both of them 'grabbed a snack', so it was strange when they finally got there and Jungmo was nowhere to be found.
"They got him." Joon said.
"Fine." Onew said, "Whatever." he clenched his fists and started towards the sidewalk, but then the familiar taxi cab pulled up in front of him. Jungmo got out of the backseat, with no visible injuries - just a pissed off expression and obvious exhaustion.
"Where's the hunter?" he asked between heavy breaths.
Onew sighed, "Couldn't save him this time. Before long, they'll probably send him to The Council too, and we'll save him along with your other friend."
Somehow, Jungmo didn't look surprised. Exasperated and angry, but not surprised. "And in the mean time?"
"In the mean time, I go home." Onew stepped by Jungmo, grabbing the cab door's handle, but Jungmo quickly stepped between him and the car. "You're kidding. After all I just went through, I--"
"You're the one that agreed to the stupid plan." Onew said with a scowl.
"It wasn't that stupid, right?" Joon asked from afar. "Surprisingly, the hunter lived~."
"I don't know why I trusted you." Jungmo said, shoving Onew backwards. Onew stepped back and glared as Jungmo jerked the car door open. "I'll save them without your help. And next time I see you, we're enemies."
Onew laughed a bit, "Then what's stopping me from killing you now?"
"A moving car, maybe." Jungmo said, climbing in the backseat and pulling the door shut. Onew watched the car drive away with a blank expression, then scowled, turning to Joon. "Where's your car?"
Joon stepped closer, looking uncomfortable. "You know, Onew, you kind of got me involved in a lot, and I'm just saying--"
"Just give me a ride. You don't have to torture Key."
"Right on." Joon said, giving Onew a thumbs up.
***
It did occur to Minho that, rather than going in the direction Kwang indicated, he could look for his way out. If he could get out of this place, then maybe he'd have a good chance of finding Onew. He thought for a moment, if he just bonded with Onew again, he'd be free. But he rethought that quickly. Free? Hardly so. He'd be Onew's again. When he thought about it, he wasn't sure if he wanted that. Connected to a murderer, who yeah, was at least better than the murderer he was connected to now - but then he'd just be on the run, right? It seemed like no matter what, he was trapped. Freedom wasn't possible.
Or was it? Sure, the vampires would tell him that there's no way he can get out of being bonded without dying. They didn't want to lose him. Maybe there was a way, though. Maybe one of Taemin's hunter friends could help him. It was worth hope, wasn't it?
Of course, he'd have to manage to escape here and elude whoever would come for him before that could happen. Which seemed pretty hopeless.
He was standing there in the hall, considering all of this, when a small woman stepped to his side, touching his shoulder. "Minho?"
He turned to her, an odd looking woman with her hair in two braided buns on top of her head and a gigantic bow topping the yellow sleeveless dress that she wore. Her makeup was over the top, her eyelids purple mixed with a sparkly blue.
He blinked at her, almost hesitant to answer, "Yes?"
She had a pretty smile when she smiled at him, saying, "You're a handsome man when you're awake. Like a prince."
With her less than normal appearance, the girl wasn't his type, but he couldn't help feeling extremely flattered. He blushed, though he wasn't too involved with himself to overlook the bit of oddness in her compliment. "We met while I was asleep?"
"We did." the woman nodded. "So we haven't been properly introduced yet." She held out a hand, "My name is Dara. Of course, I know your name."
Minho shook her hand, which was colder than his in a familiar way, and he realized she was a vampire - and quickly began wondering if it was too late to bow, or whatever he was supposed to do...
"You're in a tricky situation, little prince." she noted. "Care to come with me to my parlor?"
He was obviously supposed to be with Kwang, or well, Nichkhun, but he wasn't sure he was allowed to turn down a vampire anyway. Not that the thought of going off with a new vampire was thrilling. He couldn't trust a vampire like her any more than the others, regardless of how friendly and flattering she was being.
Before he could answer, she simply took him by the hand, saying "Come, come." and led the way.
They made just three turns through The Council's confusing halls before they paused at a door, which for The Council was very simple directions. So Minho wasn't too surprised when the door opened to reveal one of those secret staircases. He knew The Council building was tall, and wondered why there seemed to be no elevator. He supposed that this building was specifically created to be as confusing and tiring as possible.
"I met Onew." Dara said, as they walked up the stairs. "He was supposed to be waiting for me when he, well, failed to rescue you. I really should have locked him up..."
"He'll be back." Minho said.
"I know." Dara replied, "Probably sooner than he thinks, since he has me on his side."
"You.. on his side?" Minho questioned.
The top of the staircase had three doors at a platform. One to the left, one straight ahead, and one to the right. Dara took the left door, which led to - what else? - a narrow creepy hall.
"I guess you wouldn't know." Dara said, and smiled at Minho. "But I'm a member of The Council in the Republic of the Philippines. And yes, as I just told your council here, I'm on Onew's side."
Minho took some comfort in that, but he realized, not half as much as he would have if she'd come to him yesterday.
Onew was just the lesser of two evils, wasn't he?
Dara stepped a few doors down, holding it open. Minho walked in to the room, which lacked personality especially when in comparison to the woman that took him to it. It was a simple double bed with white bedding, a dresser next to a closet with a suitcase propped up against it, and an empty desk.
They walked in, and Dara was quick to continue speaking after she shut the door. "I'd like to know how you feel about stuff, if you don't mind sharing."
"What kind of stuff?" Minho asked, as sure as he was that he would mind sharing. It was hard for him to confide with anyone in general... strangers were on a whole different level. Especially vampire strangers.
"Interestingly, I heard you wanted to be bonded with Onew even now. True?"
"Somewhat." Minho decided to answer shortly.
Dara stepped close to him, standing on her tip toes to be nearer his face, giving him a good scrutinizing look. Minho raised a brow, very much wanting to take a step back without looking like, well, kind of a wuss.
Finally, Dara "Hmm'd" and stepped back again, dropping flat on her feet. "Either way, I brought you here to give you some advice, and I'll have you know that advice from me is su~per valuable, so I hope you'll take it seriously."
Minho blinked at her.
"I need you to stay here, and follow The Council's, and Siwon's, rules. If Onew comes for you, and tries to bond with you, you can't allow it."
"You said you were on his side."
"I am, which means I want what's best for him, not what he thinks is. To keep him out of trouble, don't bond with him until it's allowed."
"When would it ever be allowed?" Minho asked, frowning. "The Council hates Onew, and Siwon seems to be on pretty good terms with them."
"If in the end, there's nothing The Council can do for you, then by all means - break some rules. But right now I.. that is, we, are going to be fighting with you. So, please do be patient, and don't make me look like an idiot." she cringed, "Not that Onew hasn't already.."
"Why would you do this for me? For us?" Minho asked, suspicious.
"There's a bigger picture." Dara said simply. "To be perfectly honest, my main goal is making sure that Heechul doesn't officially become a member of The Council."
Minho wasn't sure he wanted to get into vampire politics, so he decided not to ask why. He nodded, figuring if the woman had something against Heechul, they were at least partly on the same boat.. maybe a very large boat, sitting on opposite ends, but still...
"So..." she asked, "Can I trust you?"
Minho frowned at her, not sure how to answer. As if reading his mind, Dara very quietly added, "Getting back to Onew, at least, should be better than staying here... isn't that right?"
He looked up at her, eyes a bit wide, and nodded.
She smiled, and opened the door. "Yes. I think I can trust you. You may go."
Minho walked out, hearing her softly add a "Good luck." before the door closed behind him.
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