Blood and Devotion | Woosan (English version)

24 - New Bonds

Going towards home, San realised he and Wooyoung had to do something important. Noticing his stare, Wooyoung raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Seonghwa. We definitely need to go and thank him. Not only did he forgave us, but he also saved you by telling me about the bond. Besides, you have to apologize properly this time."

Wooyoung grimaced and San's gaze hardened.

"Right now?"

"Yeah, Wooyoung. Right now."

"...Alright. He keeps making me uncomfortable, but he was very fair to us. Let's go."

San and Wooyoung walked to their house to explain to Hongjoong and Yeosang what they had done to Mingyu, and then headed for the house in the forest, looking for Seonghwa.

As soon as they were close, San began calling his name.

They did not have to wait long for the handsome light-haired vampire to show up.

"San! And... Wooyoung. I take it you were able to tell him about the bond?"

San nodded, "Yes. Thank you Seonghwa, thank you very much. I don't know what would have happened without you," San said, rushing to hug him. Seonghwa immediately accepted the hug, touched by that naive and spontaneous gesture of tenderness.

San turned around with Seonghwa's arm still around his shoulders, only to see Wooyoung with a raised eyebrow. San cleared his throat. Wooyoung hastened to collect himself.

"...Seonghwa. I came to thank you, too. I've been out of my mind lately, making too many mistakes in a short period of time. Thank you for showing San the way to help me. Thank you for being kind to him, forgiving and sparing him, despite what our clan has done to you. I am really sorry for hurting you all for no reason."

Seonghwa sighed, crossing his arms. "...I will not forgive you without receiving anything in return. San has told you what I want, right?"

"You want me to teach you mind manipulation."

"Yes. And not only to me. To everyone in my group who is able to learn. I want you to explain me exactly how it works. Do you accept, or would you prefer that we visit your home, as you did with us?"

"I accept," Wooyoung immediately replied. San held back a sigh of relief.

Seonghwa smiled. "Very well. First of all, tell me why San and Yeosang cannot learn."

"Mind manipulation requires great knowledge of one's potential, control and a calm state of mind. Perhaps San may have told you that there is a risk of permanently damaging the subject's mind. In San's case, he is still too young, plus at this day he wouldn't be able to handle the consequences of a few inevitable mistakes. Yeosang, on the other hand — he doesn't have enough self-control and gets too caught up in emotions. I think in your case there is no problem learning, but as for your clan — I don't know them."

Seonghwa nodded, thoughtful. After a moment he replied. "Jongho is my right-hand man. He is 119 years old. I think he is very steady, I would like you to test him. Mingi, at the moment, can't do a damn thing, thanks to you, while Yunho has just recovered and is very angry and unstable at the moment. Those two were friends even when they were human, they were turned by the same person. However, I think they are both very valid and they might try it later on, too."

Wooyoung nodded, "Great, then. Call Jongho. San and I will wait for you here. If that Yunho is as angry as you say, maybe it's better if he doesn't see us," he said, casting a worried glance at San, who had blinded him.

San, however, had a different idea. "No... I... would like to go and apologize to him again."

Seonghwa smiled at him. "Follow me, then."

San held out his hand to Wooyoung, who immediately took it with a sigh and then started running after Seonghwa.

As soon as they arrived, they noticed Yunho and Jongho arm wrestling on a bench outside the house. The two vampires immediately stopped, glaring at them.

San, who had prepared such a good speech to say, found himself stammering. "H-Hello, Jongho, hello Yunho...I...came to apologize...again..."

"Now that I see you, I feel even more like punching you," Yunho said.

Wooyoung seemed about to say something, but San gave him a warning look.

"Don't be like that," Seonghwa scolded them. "San is my new little brother, don't be rude, he has already explained everything that happened. Wooyoung is his bond, so be nice to him too. Also, he will soon teach us something really amazing."

At this, the two vampires raised their eyebrows, curious.

"What if I told you that they have revealed to me how they feed without killing and that soon we could do it too?"

At this, the two quickly rose from the bench.

"Really?!" exclaimed Jongho.

Wooyoung took a step forward. "Of course. But don't think it will be easy. It took me months to learn and I'm older than all of you."

"Yunho," Seonghwa said. "We agreed with Wooyoung that you will learn later, together with Mingi, when you both have fully recovered."

"And what do I do in the meantime?!"

Seonghwa pointed his head at San, who smiled at him somewhat awkwardly.

Yunho huffed as he entered the house, giving San a quick nod to make him follow him. San hurried off, leaving Wooyoung, Seonghwa, and Jongho to their first lesson.

Yunho sat beside the bed where Mingi was still unconscious. San looked at his closed eyes, uncomfortably. Who knows how long it would have taken him to fully heal. The heart was the only vampire organ that could not be regenerated from nothing, so if you burned it, the vampire would have ceased to live. But it was still the slowest organ to heal. Nevertheless, to think that someone could heal after such a wound was still mind-blowing to San. The vampire body was truly amazing.

"...So it is true that you have a technique for not killing humans. Is it as difficult as...your bond said?"

"I think so, but actually I've never tried. I'm too young. Besides, I don't think I'll need to learn..." replied San, thinking back to Wooyoung's delicious warm blood. "Look, I know I've told you before, but I'm so sorry about your eyes. I'm glad you're okay now, but it must have hurt a lot. The thing is, while you were strangling me, I felt like you were the person who killed me. I panicked."

"...Don't worry. As you said, I was strangling you. You were just defending yourself. Also, come to think of it, you saved Mingi from Wooyoung. Thank you. He and I have been friends for a good 86 years. We became schoolmates in 1932. Then we became vampires together. I can't imagine being without my best friend for eternity. I got really scared."

"I understand you well," San said, thinking of Wooyoung. "I hope we can all get along in the future," San added, venturing a smile.

"...Who knows, maybe," Yunho said, returning it shyly.