An End to Forever
An End to Forever
Author: flow19
Pairings: Sooyoung/Leeteuk, Sooyoung/Yunho
Genre: Romance, Angst
Rating: PG
A/N: This is the sequel of Even After A Hundred Years, which could be found here:
http://flow19.livejournal.com/80550.html
Since I really can’t decide between my two favourite leaders, I’ve decided to make two endings. This is the first of it :)
o-o-o-o-o
Many things are bound to change after a hundred years.
Sooyoung witnessed that first hard, crossing the 20th century to the 21st century without a wrinkle on her… the benefits of being a vampire. She saw how fashion changed through the decades, how technology improved and everything else. Nothing stayed the same, even vampires. It was what her encounter with Jungsu, Leeteuk or whoever he was. Appearances didn’t change but apparently, everything else does including to whom a dead heart could beat for.
She kept her face composed; frozen that way to keep any emotion from crossing her face as she stood in front of a modern looking home. All she could do was wonder how the owners of the house would react if she told them that her own house used to stand where their home was and that she lived there one hundred years ago? They would probably call her crazy.
It was almost like her heart was beating again for she felt all the pain, anguish, sadness and anger as she gazed at the house, remembering her family and how they were taken away from her. Though a vampire didn’t tend to remember much about her human life, she managed to carry their memory with her through her transition. If those memories weren’t enough to kill her inside, she carried her human memories of Jungsu with her. It was unbearable and she had no choice but to live with it - she had forever to figure out what to do.
Taking one last glance at where her home used to stand, she moved faster than what the naked eye could see; the brunette beauty soon standing amongst the trees of the forest behind it. It was just like how she remembered it to be probably except for the fact that a couple of trees were cut off here and there. It looked different like everything else. She hadn’t been there for a hundred years and yet it made her feel the same way it did the last time she was there - the feeling of a broken heart.
“Soo, it’s me.”
She closed her eyes, internally cursing herself for not feeling another presence near her. Was fate really screwing up with her? She would know that voice anywhere and anytime and the fact that he was saying the exact first words he said to her that night shot pain through her. With her face as composed as it was earlier, she slowly turned around and found herself face to face with whoever Jungsu was now.
“You’re done pretending now?” Her voice was stiff; her eyes narrowed into slits.
Leeteuk kept himself composed as well though his eyes had a hard look in them. “I had my reasons. My coven doesn’t know who you are.”
“They don’t know that you fell in love with a human who is now just like you? Great.” She laughed sarcastically. “I didn’t know my life is such a perfect case for Nancy Drew.”
The older vampire pressed his lips into a thin line. “What happened?”
“Many things happened in a hundred years.” She put her hands on her hips; her long wavy brown hair cascading down her shoulders as the moonlight illuminated her beautifully. “You need to be more specific than that.”
“How did you end up… like me?”
It was almost like he was afraid to ask and that didn’t go by unnoticed by her. “Do you want a detailed account or a condensed version of it, Leeteuk-ssi?”
A flash of hurt crossed his face in a split second before it disappeared. “I have forever.”
Sooyoung smiled bitterly. “So do I…”
“Did that Yunho guy turn you?” He nearly snarled as he forced himself to say the name.
“I thought you wanted the detailed version? Yunho oppa doesn’t come in until later in the story.” She walked around; her movements making her look like she was dancing instead until she found a tree trunk to sit on. “So where do we start? Ah, yes… the night you left me here.”
Leeteuk didn’t make any move to sit down. Instead, he remained standing with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, looking like a perfectly carved statue. Sooyoung spared him a glance before staring a pointedly at a random tree. “Finding you became my obsession. I had every intention on rebelling against my family - the only people who loved me - just to find you. I wanted to tell you that I didn’t care that you’re a vampire… that I love you regardless.”
His stance stiffened but his face remained calm. “Did you rebel?”
“I didn’t have a chance to.” The brunette vampire could no longer keep the pain and sadness from showing on her beautiful face; her eyes shifting to the direction of her old home. “The Japanese showed up in our house one night, trying to take us. Appa fought so hard to save us… but he was bayonetted to death right before our very eyes. The Japanese took us with them and I was separated from unnie and umma. That was the last time I ever saw.”
“I’m so sorry…”
“Everyone says that… even if they will never understand how much it hurts.” She shook her head. “On my first night as a Japanese captive I knew that if I stayed there, I’d only end up getting raped and murdered. I found a way out... but freedom didn’t last long for me. The Japanese chased me and I got shot - thrice.”
His eyes were wide now; a look of utter shock and pain on his face. “What… Sooyoung…”
“I fell and I heard them heading my way to check if I really was dead. I played dead, hoping that I’d survive even if could feel that I was already about to die. Then, I heard a deep growl and the soldiers ran away. I thought it was you.” She shook her head bitterly; a pained smile on her lips and tears welled in her eyes as she got up from the tree trunk. “It was Yunho oppa… and to answer your question, yes. He was the one who turned me.”
He was visibly seething now. “If I’d known…”
Sooyoung let out a snarl, facing him and crouching as if she was ready to pounce any moment. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? You weren’t there! You ran from me! I needed you the most and you weren’t there!”
The dark haired vampire lowered his head in shame. “I’m so sorry…”
“Why are you here?” Her voice softened a touch, sounding almost unsure. “You practically shoved me away in front of our covens, denying that you know me. Why are you here now?”
“Do you love Yunho?”
The question made her as still as a statue. “What?”
“He loves you.” He tried to speak as casually as he could but his eyes were always the windows to his soul and the irritation was evident from them.
“I know.” She barely opened her mouth when she answered but she knew he heard it nonetheless.
Leeteuk did. “Do you love him?”
“I’ve been hurting him.” The tall brunette vampire looked back past her shoulders as if she was looking at something before turning her attention back to him. “All these years, he’s always loved me. I couldn’t return his feelings even if I know that if I search myself well enough, I know that I love him deep down too.”
“You love him too?” He repeated; shock emanating from him.
“Yunho oppa isn’t hard to love and I’ve been with him for a hundred years already… But I couldn’t find it in myself to be with him… not when I’m still so hung up on you. It’s unfair to him. I told myself on the way to see you earlier that whatever will happen is going to be my answer… if it’s time to let you go or that we were meant to be.” A sad smile crossed her face. “Looks like it’s the first one, yes?”
“Sooyoung…”
“Ever since I walked away from you in that clearing, I’ve come to realize something. I loved you and a part of me always will. You’re the first… man I ever loved and nothing’s going to change that.” She spoke once before he could say anything else. “What happened in that clearing is the closure I need; the sign that I can move on now.”
His eyes went wide. “Are you… Is this…”
A mildly amused look crossed her face. “Yunho oppa, you can come out now.”
A look of pure shock crossed Leeteuk’s face as the breeze swept passed them. He watched on silently as a figure hesitantly and slowly began to appear from amongst the trees; Yunho joining them soon after. He had an unsure expression on his face as he stood behind Sooyoung; his eyes locking with Leeteuk’s. Both men didn’t forget what Yunho had said to Leeteuk in the clearing and she could only roll her eyes as the two were obviously sizing each other up.
Leeteuk could only smile humourlessly as a realization hit him; his eyes never leaving the pair in front of him. The expression on Yunho’s face clearly showed that he was thinking of the same thing; his eyes moving from the other male vampire to the lone woman amongst them.
Leeteuk kept his face as composed as possible as he spoke. “You knew he was there even if he was hiding.”
It was a statement, not a question; one that Sooyoung easily recognized. “Yes.”
“How did you know?” Yunho voiced the question that was at the tip of the other man’s tongue.
“I always know when you’re around.”
“And yet you didn’t even recognize I was around earlier.” Leeteuk shook his head, muttering almost to himself. “So I guess this is goodbye for now, Sooyoung.”
She nodded, allowing the smallest of smiles to grace her lips. “Goodbye. I’ll never forget you.”
He turned to leave but only after letting his guard down completely; his vulnerability showing through. “I loved you too, Sooyoung, and I guess like you, I always will. I know we’ll run into each other again… our lives will always be intertwined.”
“I’ll see you someday, Jungsu oppa.”
Then he was gone.
Heechul pushed himself off a tree in the outskirts of the forest; an eyebrow arching as Leeteuk came out and joined him. His lips formed a thin line as the older vampire looked calm and collected but his eyes told a different story. Wordlessly, the two set foot back to the clearing where the rest were waiting, where Sora was undoubtedly pacing back and forth as she waited.
“How did it go, hyung?”
“Her place is with Yunho.” Leeteuk whispered. “Just as my place is with Sora.”
Yunho and Sooyoung stayed in the forest in silence; his gaze seeming to nearly bore a hole through her head if it could. She let out a deep breath - he one hundred years’ worth of searching had come to an end. As painful as it honestly was, she knew she had to let her Jungsu oppa go and everything else that went with him. Their paths crossed in 1911 but now they were living completely different lives; something that would stay that way for eternity.
“You knew I followed you?”
“Like what I said, oppa… I know when you’re around.” She whispered, finally turning to face him. “I think a hundred years of being with someone will do that to a person.”
Yunho swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. “What… What you said to him earlier…”
“I know that you love me.” The brunette closed her eyes as the wind blew against them, relishing the feeling of contentment and closure that had resulted from what happened just moments ago. She felt like she was starting fresh again. “And yes, in a way I do love you.”
“But?” He was smart enough to know that there was still more to it.
Sooyoung smiled, taking a step closer to him. “I want us to take it slow. I’ve spent one hundred years holding on to the past and I want to give myself time to completely move on. I never wanted to be unfair to you and I don’t want to start now or ever. I don’t want us to seem like a rebound… you deserve more than that. I owe you my life.”
A smile of his own made its way to his handsome face, pulling her against him in a split second. “Lucky for us we have all the time in the world.”
“We are lucky.” She nodded, laughing softly as her hands came to rest on his broad chest. “I am lucky. You’ve always been there for me all these years… I always had you by my side.”
“But when you say that we should take it slow…” He brushed the stray strands of her hair behind her ears; his eyes twinkling. “I’ve been waiting one hundred years to do kiss you.”
Sooyoung rolled her eyes, bringing up a hand to cup the back of his neck, and pulled his down to kiss him.
o-o-o-o-o
Italy, 2026
Yunho looked at the horizon, mesmerized as the sun began to set, meeting the crystal blue waters of the sea and painting the sky with the warmest shades of red, purple and orange. He knew that he only had to wait for a couple of more minutes before the night greeted him and he could come out of the house without having to wear the pendant that protected him from the scorching sun. At times he hated having to enjoy the sun by being hidden from it but he had learned to live with it; the pendant he was wearing making it easier to protect himself from the light that could kill him.
“You’re supposed to get the grill starting by now, oppa.”
He need not turn to around to know that she was standing behind him. “Why are we having a barbecue night when we can live without food?”
“We all need our human moments once in a while.” Sooyoung murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder. “Besides, I need to use my cooking skills every now and then.”
The dark haired vampire rolled his eyes good naturedly. “Did you have a good day?”
She nodded. “It’s nice to be out and about with the girls… though we had a little problem when our designated driver nearly forgot to wear his pendant before he came out in the open.”
Yunho could only make a face at the thought of his dolphin-sounding friend. “Junsu…”
“Taengoo gave him an earful for it.” A chuckle escaped her lips, tightening her grip on him a fraction. “It’s safe to go out and start the grill, oppa. Don’t go all lazy on me.”
In a blink of an eye, he turned around in his arms and faced her; a soft smile on his lips. “Have you spoken to Leeteuk hyung lately?”
“I have.” She nodded once more, resting her chin this time on his broad chest to look up at him. “He said that they’re somewhere in Europe. I didn’t hear him well because Sica and Heechul oppa were arguing in the background. Why?”
“Because I called Yunho and said we’re paying you guys a visit.” A voice chimed in from the doorway; the two turning to find Leeteuk standing there with a smile on his face, Sora by his side and the rest of his coven packing into the house behind him.
Yunho and Sooyoung could only laugh as the rest of their own coven arrived at the same time; their vampire guests’ impatience resulting into a heap of tangled limbs on the floor. Jaejoong was the first to his feet, stating that he was the one who had let Leeteuk and his coven in before glaring pointedly at Yunho for not starting the grill and at Leeteuk for becoming one with the door. That led to everyone dispersing around the place; Leeteuk volunteering to assist Yunho with the grill.
“Remember the last thing you said to me in the clearing the first time we met?”
“If you can’t love her, I will.” Yunho quoted himself, pausing as the memory flooded back into him. “Why are you mentioning this to me now?”
“Because I never got the chance to thank you for that… I’m glad that you love her.” Leeteuk kept his attention on the grill as they dumped the sufficient amount of coal. “I didn’t love her enough to make her happy. You did, you still do and you always will. I’m at peace to know that she’ll be happy for all eternity.”
His attention shifted to where Sooyoung stood, chatting with Yoona and Tiffany. She caught him looking at her and flashed a smile his way; the early evening light illuminating her. “We all are and will be happy for all eternity.”