Chapter 238 - Cho Mansion (4)
*A While Ago*
Hobin sped towards the Cho mansion. Jina texted him that they were heading to the Cho mansion to try and find Siwan and Jiwoon. He broke all the traffic rules but Hobin did not care.
"AGH!" he yelled as the demon inside him began to struggle for control. He was panting and sweating as he tried to keep his urges under control. The demon snarled inside him and he could hear it getting more impatient.
"Just let me take over!" the demon snarled.
"No!"
Hobin stepped hard on the pedal, driving through the incoming cars, almost colliding with a few but he did not care. His brother was in danger.
Finally, he pulled up in front of the Cho mansion. He jumped out of the car and ran towards the house at full speed.
"AGHHHH!" he cried and doubled over in pain in front of the mansion. A strong wave of energy hit him. He struggled with his vision and his mind was phasing in and out of consciousness. Several images were flashing in front of him.
"Daesung…"
A soft voice called out to him but he could not pinpoint where it was coming from. It was like a whisper, pulling him.
Suddenly, Hobin found himself in a dark room. White fog was covering the area, clouding his vision. He tried to wave off the fog but it was getting thicker and thicker by the second.
"What the hell?" he muttered.
"Daesung…"
He froze. It was a familiar voice calling out to him. He knew who it was but her voice was lower than usual and almost desperate. Hobin slowly turned around to meet her face to face.
Jina...no. She was not Jina. They had the same appearance and were the same height. But Hobin knew who it was. The demon in him was also surprised. He was thrashing inside Hobin's heart, trying to come out. But Hobin controlled him, not letting him out.
"Daesung," the girl called him.
"You...you're the woman from my dreams," Hobin stated. The girl did not reply but was walking slowly towards him. Her full form came into view and Hobin was shocked.
Her dress was stained red and blood was gushing out of her stomach. The girl was in immense pain but she had a wide smile on her face as she came nearer. She was staggering in agony, using up all her willpower to approach Hobin. It was as if her life depended on it and he was the only person who could save her.
Seeing her scared Hobin. He knew that she was not Jina. It was obvious that she was someone else and only had the same face as her. But that was the problem. They had the same face.
His mind was now in a daze and he fell into a trance. The girl's image was replaced with that of Jina's, stabbed and critically hurt. He was torturing himself with the memory of Jina's dire state after the attack last month and Hobin was gripped by a fear he had never felt before. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that this was not Jina, he could not help picturing her like that. His mind played sadistic games on him while the demon inside him was gloating.
"She'll end up like this if you don't let me out," the demon sneered. "Do you want that?"
No. He did not want that. But he was not going to let a demon run his life.
The girl finally reached him, her lips curved into a small smile. She slowly held up her hand and touched his cheek. Her gentle smile made his heart melt and he could not look away.
Why? Why was she controlling him like this?
"Meet me at the point where the sun never sets," she whispered.
It was as if Hobin was no longer in control of his body but it was not the demon who was in charge. He did not know what made him do what he did next but he affectionately poked her forehead.
The scenery around them changed and they were now standing in the middle of a temple. It was completely destroyed with debris falling around them. Everything around them was burning to ashes but they were not scared. Instead, they looked into each other's eyes, letting their love guide them.
He looked down and realized that there was a sword stabbing the girl's stomach. She was holding it with her hands, panting heavily as she tried to take it out. But he stopped her.
"Let...me...die…" she moaned. "I won't...live…"
"I know," he whispered. He was not going to stop her. She was dying and nothing in the world could bring her back. If that was the case, he was not going to try and save her.
He circled around the injured girl, his grip on her arm. The girl was about to collapse but he hugged her from behind. His large hands were on hers, holding the long sword. It was so long, that it could probably stab two people at once.
"You can die," he whispered into her ears. Her eyes slowly widened upon hearing his words. What did he mean by that?
"But only with me," he finished. Before the girl could stop him, he pushed the sword further into her until it pierced through her body and stabbed him. The girl cried but the pain did not bother her. She looked down at her hands, the very hands he used to kill himself.
He coughed out blood, staining her dress even further. If this was pain for humans, it was an agonizing death for a demon like him as well.
So this is what death looks like, he thought.
"No…" The girl tried to push him away but it was too late. He was going to die by her hands and that was final. She wanted him to live even if it was without her. But he chose to die with her.
He plunged the sword deeper into them, ensuring that they would die together. If she was going to die, then he would go with her. No matter where she went, he would follow. This was their fate and no one could change it. He would not let it change.
She cried out in agony when he pulled the sword out of their bodies, letting their blood stain the walls of the burning temple. Both of them collapsed on the ground, near death.
The girl used her last ounce of willpower to turn to him. She crawled towards her beloved, slowly reaching out to hold his hand. Both of them were pale and dying but the physical pain was nothing compared to the torture their hearts were going through.
"Why?" she wept. "Why did you do this?"
He flashed a small smile at her. His bloody hand wiped off a tear from her beautiful face and stroked her cheek. The nights they spent together, the promises they made. Everything was coming back to him and even in that state, he was happy. He was with her and dying with her. That was all that mattered.
"I promised you," he whispered. "That I will protect you."
The girl was crying hard, still holding on to his hand. Was this really their fate? Were they destined to die like this?
"I did not want to kill you!" she cried.
"I know. But I want to die with you."
They held onto each other in their dying breaths, not letting go. The world was ablaze with the flames of the curse which plagued the country but they no longer cared. It was a cruel fate for them but they were together and happy.
"If I get a second chance to live…" he breathed. "I will fall in love with you all over again…"
He was gazing at her with his scarlet eyes but she was no longer listening. Her beautiful green eyes were closed and she was still as a rock. Her body no longer moved and her voice would never call him again.
She was gone.
A single drop of tear rolled down his face as he watched her. His own vision was blurring and starting to dim. A cold wind swept by in the middle of the fiery temple, whisking away his soul.
So this is death, he thought one last time as darkness engulfed him and everything went silent. Forever.
…
"Ow ow ow!" Hobin winced as he controlled himself. He had blacked out for a few minutes.
What the hell happened? He wondered. There was a burning temple and he was with Jina's lookalike. But they were dying. He stabbed himself with the sword which was killing Jina's doppelganger.
Why didn't he kill himself with another sword? Hobin frowned. Unless...unless he could not kill himself and he was using Jina's lookalike to kill himself alongside her?
Hobin recalled that Jina was able to kill a demon but had no idea how she did that. That only meant that in their previous life, Jina had the same powers and so did he.
This was not a vision nor was this a premonition. It was a memory.
The sound of someone screaming broke his reverie and he finally remembered why he was there.
"Bro!" he yelled and entered the mansion. The pain in his heart would not go away but he endured it.
As soon as he entered the house, he saw Siwan attacking Jiwoon.
Hobin's temper flared at the sight of his beloved brother being possessed by that bastard. Siwan would never hurt someone deliberately and Hobin's blood boiled upon the thought of Sungki making his brother suffer like that.
"OI!"
Sungki froze and turned around to face Hobin.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BROTHER'S BODY!" He roared and punched the demon hard on the face.