[3] Code: REBIRTH || KTH

Ch22: The Butterfly Bracelet

"Right." Seol nods to herself. "Let's just hurry home."

They resume their walking, hands held as Seol quickens her pace and forces Taehyung to catch up as well. The street stretches out into the dark, and Taehyung notices a group of around five men ahead smoking on the sidewalk, laughing and pushing each other around. They look drunk, judging by the way they sway and stumble. It's better to avoid them, Taehyung thinks to himself as he squeezes Seol's hand before crossing the road.

Seol doesn't protest, noticing the the men as they continue their walk on the other sidewalk. Her heart beats fasten when the men notice them as well and start talking in hushed voices while eyeing them. They start crossing the road, and Taehyung lets go of Seol's hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer as they walk faster.

"Hey!" One of the men shouts. "Hey, sexy, you could use a new boyfriend."

Taehyung doesn't even flinch, but Seol notices the way his jaw clenches, the way he grips her a little tighter as the men start walking behind them.

"C'mon, baby, you know I can do you betterㅡ"

Seol's heart almost stops the moment the man grabs her wrist and turns her around. Taehyung turns and pushes the man who stumbles back a few steps.

"Don't fucking touch her."

"Or what?" Another man approaches Taehyung, his breath reeking of alcohol. "Are you gonna bite, you son of a bitch?"

"Taehyung," Seol hisses, tugging at his shirt, "Let's go."

"Listen to your master, you dog," The man chuckles, "Go on, wag your tail for a treat."

Taehyungs fights the urge to punch the man in the face, his hands trembling at his sides. As strong as he may be, he knows he has no combat skills whatsoever. Not to mention he's outnumbered. And Seol. All that matters now is making sure she's safe. So he turns around, taking Seol's hand in his, but he doesn't make it a step forward before the man grabs his shoulder, turns him around and lands a punch on his jaw.

Taehyung takes a second to recover before punching the man right back, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he hears Seol letting out a small scream. He turns around to look at her, but another man elbows him in the face, blinding him for a moment.

One of the men grabs Seol's wrists and pushes her to a wall.

"Told you you could use a better boyfriend," He laughs.

Seol spits in his face and he slaps her so hard her face turns to the side. He grabs her face and turns it towards him, pulling out a pocket knife and pressing the blade to her neck.

"Don't you fucking move."

Seol thrashes around, screaming for help when she notices a couple on the other side of the road, but they just stare, watching. She looks for Taehyung but there are three men huddled around him, and the man grabbing her struggles to hold her in place. A sharp pain shoots at her side, and she freezes as the burning sensation gnaws at her. The man freezes, too, looking down as he pulls out the knife lodged in her abdomen, the blade dripping thick red blood.

Taehyung is kicked to the ground, a leg shoving hard at his ribs as another smacks him in the face, making his head spin. He hears a thud before the men stop throwing kicks, and he knows the collective silence that lasts for a second is not good news.

"Fuck! I stabbed the girl."

"What?!"

"She's fucking dead, bro, run!"

"Run! Run!"

Taehyung's head spins, his vision hazy as he steadies himself up with his elbows on the ground. He hears the quick footsteps of the men growing farther away as he looks around, his eyes falling on Seol lying still a metre away. With her chest heaving in shallow breaths, her hair sprawls across the floor as she lies on her back, her head turned to the other side so Taehyung can't see her face.

Taehyung shudders at the sight of her as he crawls towards her, a hand on his throbbing ribs. When he turns her face to him, her eyes are open with an empty look in them. Her eyes flash in recognition, and she looks at Taehyung.

"Seol," Taehyung says, gathering her into his arms.

Something wet brushes against him, and he looks down to see the blood staining Seol's blue dress, a growing red spot on her side. Taehyung curses under his breath, pressing a hand to her wound that makes her wince.

"Seol," Taehyung calls again, "Baby, stay with me."

"Tae," Seol says, her quivering voice barely above a whisper, "I don't want to die."

"You won't die, you won't die." Taehyung shakes his head.

His trembling hands reach for his phone from his pocket as he hastily tries calling the emergency with fingers too slippery, blood smearing on the screen.

"Tae," She calls again, a tear slipping from her eye.

"I'm right here." He pulls her close. "You're going to be okay."

"I don't want to die." She lets out a sob.

"You're NOT going to die, got it?" He says, his voice quivering, a tear rolling down his cheek, "You're going to be okay, just stay with me."

Taehyung finally manages to call the emergency as he puts the phone to his ear. One ring. Two rings. Threeㅡ

"119, whats your emergency?"

"I need an ambulance. My girlfriend got stabbed."

A pause.

"...Is she a hybrid?"

Taehyung flinches in disbelief. How can this be relevant? Why does it matter?

"No," He answers anyway, "She's human."

"Could you provide your location?"

What would've been the answer had he said yes?

"Just track me down."

Seol's eyes start shutting slowly and Taehyung's heart thrums violently against his chest.

"No, no, no, no, Seol, open your eyes." Taehyung drops the phone as the emergency dispatcher says something, her voice fading away.

He puts one hand on Seol's wound as her other caresses her face. "Seol, please, look at me."

Her body goes limp, her beaths halting.

"No, no, please, FUCK." He presses his ear to her chest. Nothing.

"Seol, open your eyes, please, please." He presses his forehead to hers, speaking between choked sobs. "Don't do this, please, don't do this to me, I cant do this without you, please."

His tears fall on her face, her blood wetting his shirt. Taehyung can't feel the throbbing pain in his ribs anymore, all he feels is the ache gnawing at his heart, his head occupied with one thought, don't let this be real, don't let this be real, this isn't real, it can't be real.

He puts a hand under her head and pulls her in to his embrace, his other hand circling her waist as he buries his face in her shoulder, as if his body knew this would be the last time he'd ever get to hold her despite his mind's denial. His body shudders, his hands clenching around her still body.

"It should've been me," He whispers to her, to himself, to the universe, to no one, "That should've been me. Take me instead, please, take me instead."

Her butterfly bracelet clad hand lies in a pool of blood.

---

A/N: My sincerest apologies